[mythtv] Matrox G200 TV out works! HOWTO!
Michael D. Cencula
mythtv-dev@snowman.net
Wed, 18 Dec 2002 08:26:45 -0500
Read my post to the list earlier this morning.
On Wednesday 18 December 2002 06:00, Bernard Johnson wrote:
> I have a Matrox Marvel G400-TV (from what I read, it should work the same
> as what you are performing below). However, when I execute the two
> matroxset commands, I get:
>
> root@localhost# matroxset -f /dev/fb0 -m 3
> ioctl failed: Invalid argument
> root@localhost# matroxset -f /dev/fb0 -o 1 2
> ioctl failed: Invalid argument
>
> "matroxset -f /dev/fb0 -m 1", however, works fine.
>
>
> lspci says:
> "VGA compatible controller: Matrox Graphics, Inc. MGA G400 AGP (rev 04)"
>
> I would think that this would be a result of not using the right option
> somewhere when compiling something into the kernel, but I basically have
> the same thing you do except for the Matrox /proc interface, which I don't
> think is actually required.
>
> I was mostly using this information:
> http://www.flashdance.cx/tv-out-mga-fb.html
>
> If anyone could help me along, I would really appreciate it. And yes, I
> can provide you with the config file for the kernel that I've built.
>
> Thanks.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Colin Panisset" <mythtv@clabber.com>
> To: <mythtv-dev@snowman.net>
> Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2002 5:17 PM
> Subject: [mythtv] Matrox G200 TV out works! HOWTO!
>
> > Since I've just spent a hair-pulling time getting this lot going, I
>
> figured
>
> > I'd share the joy and perhaps help others work out how to get this beast
> > set up. Perhaps it'll even be useful for those using a G400 with TV-out
> > on the second head.
> >
> > This is kinda long...
> >
> > WARNINGS:
> > ** keep a rescue floppy/CD!
> > ** don't blame me if you fry your hardware/TV/monitor trying this.
>
> Tweaking
>
> > video card settings at the register level can cause signals which may
>
> drive
>
> > display hardware beyond their design specs. You can kill hardware like
> > this.
> > ** no warranty expressed or implied, contents under pressure, not
> > suitable for children, not a floatation device, sell-by date on bottom of
> > package.
> >
> > So, here we go:
> >
> > Step 1: Upgrade the G200 BIOS
> >
> > Step 1.1: Download the latest BIOS for the card from
> > http://www.matrox.com/mga/support/drivers/bios/home2.cfm
> >
> > Step 1.2: You'll need to use DOS to flash the BIOS -- I used the FreeDOS
> > install floppy (available from
>
> http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/micro/pc-stuff/freedos/files/distributions/beta8
>/ instdisk/1.44/)
>
> > as a temporary boot disk. dd the image to a floppy, then mount it. Delete
> > most of the contents, except for the command.com and kernel.sys. Copy in
> > all the .bin files from the bios .ZIP, plus ubiosdos.exe, dos4gw.exe,
> > english.mmf, and progbios.exe.
> > Leave the disk writeable.
> >
> > Step 1.3: boot the machine from the FreeDOS floppy, and execute:
> >
> > ubiosdos
> >
> > I didn't make a backup disk, just pressed enter and let it flash
> > (note: if things screw up, this could be your undoing)
> >
> > Step 1.4: force the G200 BIOS to turn on the TV out at boot time:
> >
> > progbios -maven ntsc (use pal for PAL, and off for, um, off)
> >
> > Step 1.5: reboot. At this point, I already had my TV connected to the
> > external breakout box, and was delighted to see the Award BIOS boot
> > messages. I was able to alter PC BIOS settings, and all. This could be
> > important... :)
> >
> > Step 2: Build an appropriate kernel
> >
> > Step 2.1: I built the following into the kernel (not built as modules):
> > Character devices -> I2C support -> I2C support
> > Character devices -> I2C support -> I2C bit-banging interfaces
> > Character devices -> I2C support -> I2C device interface
> > Character devices -> I2C support -> I2C /proc interface
> > Console drivers -> Frame-buffer support -> Matrox acceleration
> > Console drivers -> Frame-buffer support -> G100/G200/ ...
> > Console drivers -> Frame-buffer support -> Matrox I2C support
> > Console drivers -> Frame-buffer support -> G400 second head support
> > Console drivers -> Frame-buffer support -> Matrox /proc interface
> >
> > NOTE: you need the G400 second head support even if you have a G200. It
> > builds the driver for the MAVEN chip, which actually does the TV-out
> > conversion.
> >
> > Step 2.2: make dep, make bzImage, make modules, make modules_install.
> > Copy bzImage to the boot wherever and lilo it. Read
> > /usr/src/linux/Documentation/fb/matroxfb.txt for options you can pass to
> > the Matrox framebuffer driver through lilo
> >
> > You could boot the new kernel at this point if you liked, but make sure
> > you've kept your monitor attached to the PC, because the MGA console
>
> driver
>
> > switches to a VESA mode that my TV couldn't display.
> >
> > Step 3: Set up XFree86
> >
> > Step 3.1: In your /etc/X11/XF86Config-4, put something like this:
> >
> > ---- Begin snippet ----
> >
> > Section "Monitor"
> > Identifier "TV"
> > VendorName "Unknown"
> > ModelName "Unknown"
> > HorizSync 31-50
> > VertRefresh 60 # This is for NTSC. PAL should use 50
> > EndSection
> >
> > Section "Device"
> > Identifier "My Video Card"
> > Driver "mga"
> > BoardName "Unknown"
> > Option "UseFBDev" "on"
> > Option "HWCursor" "off"
> > EndSection
> >
> > Section "Device"
> > Identifier "Linux Frame Buffer"
> > Driver "fbdev"
> > BoardName "Unknown"
> > EndSection
> >
> > Section "Screen"
> > Identifier "Screen0"
> > Device "My Video Card"
> > Monitor "TV"
> > DefaultDepth 16
> > Subsection "Display"
> > Depth 16
> > Modes "800x600"
> > EndSubSection
> > EndSection
> >
> > ---- End snippet ----
> >
> > Step 3.2: restart X (ctrl-alt-backspace) to make sure it's using the fb
> > device. Check /var/log/XFree86.0.log to make sure.
> >
> > Step 3.3: Get matroxset from the MPlayer distribution
> > (http://www.mplayerhq.hu/homepage/), build and install it (it's in the
> > TVout subdirectory of the source). Also build and install fbset from the
> > same distribution.
> >
> > Get maven-prog from http://platan.vc.cvut.cz/~vana/matroxfb.html -- build
> > it (it'll end up being called "matrox", but you can rename it) and
> > install it.
> >
> > Step 3.4: Mirror the framebuffer onto the TV out with matroxset:
> >
> > matroxset -f /dev/fb/0 -m 3 # use -m 1 for monitor-only, -m 2 for TV only
> > matroxset -f /dev/fb/0 -o 1 2 # set output 1 to NTSC. Use -o 1 1 for PAL
> >
> > Step 3.5: Tweak the display
> >
> > This is where you may end up typing blind. See
> > http://davedina.apestaart.org/download/doc/Matrox-TVOUT-HOWTO-0.1.txt for
>
> a
>
> > great explanation
> >
> > When you have the size and location of the screen set to your liking, use
> > "maven-prog" (or "matrox", if you didn't rename it) from above to set the
> > black level, white level, saturation, hue, antialiasing, and whatnot. My
> > settings are:
> >
> > matrox 0x0e 0x3f # sets the black level
> > matrox 0x1e 0xcf # sets the white level
> > matrox 0x22 0x76 # sets the hue
> >
> > See http://platan.vc.cvut.cz/~vana/maven/mavenreg.html for a description
>
> of
>
> > the MAVEN chip registers.
> >
> > I put the resulting fbset and matrox commands in my mythtv user's
> > .xsession.
> >
> > Step 3.6: To put the text console back on the TV after the boot process
> > turns it off, I put the following lines in /etc/rc.sysinit, right after
> > devfsd is launched:
> >
> > /sbin/matroxset -f /dev/fb/0 -m 3 # both monitor and TV
> > /sbin/matroxset -f /dev/fb/0 -o 1 2 # set TV to NTSC
> >
> > Step 4: Beer (or tea, coffee, wine, spring water, or whatever)
> >
> > That's it. I only wish it had been as quick and easy to figure out as it
>
> was
>
> > to type this up :)
> >
> > Notes:
> > ** if you built ALSA drivers for a previous kernel, you'll probably have
>
> to
>
> > build and install them again.
> > ** The G200 (and, presumably, the G400) will display up to 1024x768
>
> through
>
> > the miracle of scan conversion, but 800x600 works well for MythTV for me.
> > ** don't be concerned if it seems like X is taking a long time to start
> > up in a mode that the TV can sync to. My TV also flashes like crazy for
> > about 5 seconds while this is going on. Eventually, it gets there.
> > ** My Shuttle SV24 locks up sometimes with this card. It's reproducible,
>
> so
>
> > must be a driver problem. It happens when running "make xconfig" from the
> > linux kernel tree, and sometimes when dragging the scrollbar up or down
> > in Mozilla. Turning off various acceleration features may resolve this,
> > but I haven't tried that yet.
> > ** I have run mplayer with the normal Xvideo output in this mode, and
> > it's just fine. You could also build it with the mga driver and have it
> > use the hardware acceleration, but I haven't got there yet.
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > mythtv-dev mailing list
> > mythtv-dev@snowman.net
> > http://www.snowman.net/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-dev
>
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