[mythtv-users] Will these machines give me xorg headaches?

[Karl Newman]

On Thu, Jul 5, 2012 at 3:59 PM, Damian <myth at surr.co.uk> wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I'm planning on replacing an old MythBox and 'always on' LAN server with one
> of the selection here:
>
> http://www.mediacenter-tv.co.uk/slim-line-media-centres.html
>
> The thing I'm worried about is the graphics output and if I'll be able to
> configure it.
>
> I have an old BenQ W100 projector which has a native resolution of 480p.
> Yes, I know that's rubbish, and I'll get HD when it dies, but it's perfectly
> adequate for watching SD films until then.
>
> When I first set up the last machine, I had a NIGHTMARE getting a workable
> resolution though to the projector. I had a lot of help on this newsgroup,
> and after about 2 months of trial and error I got the nVidia drivers doing
> what I wanted them to do. They feed a 720p image to the projector, which the
> projector can interpret.
>
> These new machines mostly have integratd Intel graphics cards. Is that going
> to give me a headache again??
>
> I temporarily have a Windows XP machine plugged into the projector, and that
> doesn't know what to make of it. I've not spent time trying to solve it as
> it's only there for a short time, but I'm back to the 16:9 ratio being
> ignored and the only options available being 4:3.
>
> If it helps to see how good/bad this problem is, here's a link to the
> xorg.conf file that gets around the problems with my nVidia card and lets
> things display properly:
>
> http://pastebin.com/Eb70dVYV
>
> I'd really appreciate your best guess as to whether those xorg.conf changes
> may work with any graphics card, or if they are nVidia dependent.
>
> And while we are on the subject, how does Intel graphics on the motherboard
> compare to nVidia's for MythTV use?
>
> Looking forward to your thoughts,
> Damian

Well, I just replaced a failed nVidia system with an intel setup and
it was far from easy. All told the system was offline (for myth
purposes) for over a month. A big part of my problem was getting the
video modes to work correctly. I have an old SD CRT (480i only) and am
using an HDMI->S-video converter to get a signal to it. I had tried
earlier using a HDMI->component video but had a terrible time trying
to get an interlaced mode working. It sounds like your projector
understands progressive modes so maybe you'll have better luck. I
played around with the new (in 3.3 or 3.4) kernel ability to insert a
custom DSDT to specify the available modes (and thus override that
read from the video output device). I did get it to work, but it was
still better and simpler for me to downgrade my output type to
S-Video. As far as Myth's support of intel, I have VAAPI working fine
with low CPU usage. From what I've read on the list, several others
have tried and failed, but it wasn't all that difficult for me to get
it working; just a few key settings/libraries. The quality with isn't
fantastic but heck I'm still using a 480i display so obviously it
doesn't bother me much!

So, I guess my advice is: Good luck! Most likely it will not be plug and play.

Karl