[mythtv-users] Dual Head MythTV

[Mark Canup]

Hi

I know there is a wiki page on this topic (http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Running_MythTV_Dual_Headed), but I'm unable to get things to work properly so am seeking assistance here. This is more of an OS-level configuration problem with X than it is Myth, but hopefully someone here can help.

I am essentially trying to use my backend as both a Linux console and a Myth frontend. I'm running Mythbuntu 12.04. The backend has an on-board Intel graphics card that has VGA and HDMI outputs. The VGA output is connected to my desktop monitor and the HDMI output is connected to my TV. I want the desktop to just be a regular console where I can run a terminal and a browser and whatnot, and the TV to be running mythfrontend.

I keep getting a virtual screen that extends across my desktop monitor and my TV. However, my desktop monitor is 1400x1050 and my TV is 1360x768, so my virtual screen ends up being 2760x1050 and part of the virtual screen has nowhere to display. This means when I launch mythfrontend on the TV, the top and bottom are missing since the TV isn't as tall as the desktop monitor. 

What I really want to do is have the two screens operate independently, with mythfrontend running at 1360x768 on the TV and my desktop running at 1400x1050 on my desktop monitor. But I can't seem to get my xorg.conf configured properly to do that. If I had an nVidia card I could use nvidia-settings to build the xorg.conf, but I have an Intel card and haven't found anything like nvidia-settings to help. arandr doesn't seem to allow creation of an additional screen.

I spent a little time trying the approach outlined in the wiki article with two X servers, but ended up where I had both the monitor and TV displaying two different window managers as I switched between virtual terminals, which isn't what I'm going for.

So I think the approach of one X server with two screens is what I want, but it keeps coming up as one X server with one big virtual screen. I don't see anything in /var/log/Xorg.0.log that indicates what the problem is. I'm a big believer in RTFM before asking, and I have also read the xorg.conf manpage, searched several Ubuntu and general Linux sites, but can't figure it out. 

Any assistance would be much appreciated. TIA

Here is /etc/X11/xorg.conf:
Section "Device"
    Identifier "IntelOnBoard"
    Driver "intel"
    Option "Monitor-VGA1" "DesktopMonitor"
    Option "Monitor-HDMI1" "Television"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier "DesktopMonitor"
    Option "Primary"
    Option "PreferredMode" "1400x1050"
    Option "DPMS" "true"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier "Television"
    Option "PreferredMode" "1360x768"
EndSection


Section "Screen"
    Identifier "DesktopScreen"
    Device "IntelOnBoard"
    Monitor "DesktopMonitor"
    Subsection "Display"
Modes "1400x1050"
    EndSubsection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier "MythScreen"
    Device "IntelOnBoard"
    Monitor "Television"
    Subsection "Display"
Modes "1360x768"
    EndSubsection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier "Multi-Head"
    Screen 0 "DesktopScreen" 0 0
    Screen 1 "MythScreen" RightOf "DesktopScreen"
EndSection
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