[mythtv-users] ATI TV Out

[Shawn Flynn]

>I was using the gatos drivers right from the debian repository.
>(http://packages.debian.org/unstable/misc/gatos)

I've never installed Debian, but I wouldn't imagine that the version of
gatos they have packaged is the tv_output version. The tv_output branch of
gatos seems to have been abandoned some time ago. On a positive note, Xorg
has tv_out for the older ATi cards built-in. You just need to install
atitvout with it and away you go. At least that's been my experience.

>How are other people getting around the  tv out problem?
>Is everyone using an Nvidia or new ATI card?

Nope. All my test boxes are "Crappy Old Hardware (tm)".
Master Backend - Dual P3/800, PVR250, Voodoo3 - Fedora Core 1
TestBox/Slave Backend - Celeron 533, ATi TVWonder, RageIIc - FC1, gatos
Frontend1 - P3/733 laptop, S3 video - FC2, Xorg and s3switch for tv_out
Frontend2 - P3/600 laptop, Rage mobility video - FC2, Xorg and atitvout for
tv

They all _work_ for tv out, but aren't great. The picture doesn't line up
really well on the tv screen since there is no overscan adjustment with
these cards. It's good enough for my testing and the occasional use, but it
isn't of the quality I'd want in my living room for everyday viewing. I'll
probably try to make a rgb2ntsc converter as described by Cory Papenfuss in
this thread (
http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/users/90425?search_string=best%
20tv%20out;#90425 ) or get a commercial scan rate converter for the laptops
when I decide to put them in the living room permanently.

If you want decent tv-out and have the option of changing the video card,
I'd highly suggest you go with a nVidia GeForce 4 or 5200. There's plenty of
documentation on getting them working, and most people seem to be happy with
the results.

Shawn Flynn