[mythtv-users] Nvidia TV Encoder not listing any support HD modes

[Bonj]

Justin Nolan wrote:
> I'm giving up trying to output 1080i via DVI->HDMI without all types of 
> weird judder, so I've turned to tv-out/component video. I've never seen 
> any different between Component and DVI on my Sony 1080i RPTV, so it 
> shouldn't be any loss. Although I've ran into a major hurdle: I can't 
> get any HD resolutions working w/ TV out. My graphics card is a XFX 
> 7200GS, and I'm using a nvidia 7-pin HDTV breakout cable plugged into 
> the TV out port (gfx card manual says the port supports 4, 7, and 9 pin 
> cables/adapters).
> 
> I'm using the latest driver from nvidia, and my xorg.conf is as such:
> 
>> Section "Monitor"
>>     Identifier     "Generic Monitor"
>>     HorizSync       30.0 - 130.0   
>>     VertRefresh     50.0 - 160.0
>>     Option         "DPMS"
>> EndSection
>>
>> Section "Device"
>>     Identifier     "nVidia Corporation G72 [GeForce 7300 SE]"
>>     Driver         "nvidia"
>> EndSection
>>     
>> Section "Screen"
>>     Identifier     "Default Screen"
>>     Device         "nVidia Corporation G72 [GeForce 7300 SE]"
>>     Monitor        "Generic Monitor"
>>     DefaultDepth    24
>>     Option         "UseDisplayDevice" "TV"
>>     Option         "TVOutFormat" "COMPONENT"
>>     Option         "TVStandard" "HD1080i"
>>     SubSection     "Display"
>>         Depth       24
>>         Modes      "1920x1080"
>>     EndSubSection
>> EndSection
> 
> According to the xorg log, it doesn't seem to complain about the HD1080i 
> mode. But then:
> 
>> (WW) NVIDIA(0): No valid modes for "1920x1080"; removing.
>> (WW) NVIDIA(0):
>> (WW) NVIDIA(0): Unable to validate any modes; falling back to the 
>> default mode
>> (WW) NVIDIA(0): "nvidia-auto-select".
>> (WW) NVIDIA(0):
>> (II) NVIDIA(0): Validated modes:
>> (II) NVIDIA(0): "nvidia-auto-select"
>> (II) NVIDIA(0): Virtual screen size determined to be 800 x 600
> 
> What actually happens on the screen is that for the first few minutes 
> its a garbled mess of flickering red lines. After a few minutes the 
> screen appears in a small 800x600 window in the center of the screen 
> surrounded by black. My tv displays grey bars on the left and right on 
> everything except an HD signal. That tells me it actually is receiving a 
> 1080i signal, but with only a 800x600 pixel image.
> 
> And here's the part that is really making me pull out my hair. The 
> nvidia tv encoder on the card isn't reporting any supported HD modes:
> 
>> (--) NVIDIA(0): Connected display device(s) on GeForce 7300 SE/7200 GS at
>> (--) NVIDIA(0): PCI:1:0:0:
>> (--) NVIDIA(0): NVIDIA TV Encoder (TV-0)
>> (--) NVIDIA(0): NVIDIA TV Encoder (TV-0): 400.0 MHz maximum pixel clock
>> (--) NVIDIA(0): TV encoder: NVIDIA
>> (II) NVIDIA(0): TV modes supported by this encoder:
>> (II) NVIDIA(0): 1024x768; Standards: NTSC-M, NTSC-J, PAL-M, PAL-BDGHI,
>> (II) NVIDIA(0): PAL-N, PAL-NC
>> (II) NVIDIA(0): 800x600; Standards: NTSC-M, NTSC-J, PAL-M, PAL-BDGHI, 
>> PAL-N,
>> (II) NVIDIA(0): PAL-NC
>> (II) NVIDIA(0): 720x576; Standards: PAL-BDGHI, PAL-N, PAL-NC
>> (II) NVIDIA(0): 720x480; Standards: NTSC-M, NTSC-J, PAL-M
>> (II) NVIDIA(0): 640x480; Standards: NTSC-M, NTSC-J, PAL-M, PAL-BDGHI, 
>> PAL-N,
>> (II) NVIDIA(0): PAL-NC
>> (II) NVIDIA(0): 640x400; Standards: NTSC-M, NTSC-J, PAL-M, PAL-BDGHI, 
>> PAL-N,
>> (II) NVIDIA(0): PAL-NC
>> (II) NVIDIA(0): 400x300; Standards: NTSC-M, NTSC-J, PAL-M, PAL-BDGHI, 
>> PAL-N,
>> (II) NVIDIA(0): PAL-NC
>> (II) NVIDIA(0): 320x240; Standards: NTSC-M, NTSC-J, PAL-M, PAL-BDGHI, 
>> PAL-N,
>> (II) NVIDIA(0): PAL-NC 
>> (II) NVIDIA(0): 320x200; Standards: NTSC-M, NTSC-J, PAL-M, PAL-BDGHI, 
>> PAL-N,
>> (II) NVIDIA(0): PAL-NC
> 
> What would cause no HDTV modes to be listed? I've been struggling with 
> this for going on 8 hours, so any input is much appreciated. Thanks!

I use a 7200GS outputting via component breakout
cable to a 76cm widescreen Sony CRT at 1080i. At 1080i I experience 
combing effects without deinterlacing turned on. This is a side effect 
of using an interlaced mode and cannot be avoided without deinterlacing.
I have only recently upgraded my box to this hardware, so I'm still 
playing with the deinterlacers. The current setting is the "one field" 
deinterlacer, which gets rid of the combing, but isn't the best visually 
IMHO. I didn't have much time to play with it before it got commandeered 
for actual TV watching, so I have yet to experiment further, but I can 
say that XvMC with Bobx2 didn't look real flash either... must be a 
problem of either my XvMC setup, or the driver/card itself, but it 
seemed to have excessive buffering pauses.

Anyway, below is my xorg.conf:

Section "Monitor"
     Identifier     "Generic Monitor"
     Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
     Identifier     "Generic Video Card"
     Driver         "nvidia"
     Option         "NvAGP" "1"
     Option         "DPI" "100x100"
     Option         "UseEvents" "1"
     Option         "AddARGBVisuals" "1"
     Option         "AddARGBGLXVisuals" "1"
     Option         "NoLogo" "1"
     Option         "UseDisplayDevice" "TV"
     Option         "TVOutFormat" "COMPONENT"
     Option         "TVStandard" "HD1080i"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
     Identifier     "Default Screen"
     Device         "Generic Video Card"
     Monitor        "Generic Monitor"
     DefaultDepth    24
     SubSection     "Display"
         Depth       24
         Modes      "1920x1080" "1280x720" "1024x768" "720x480" 
"800x600" "640x480"
     EndSubSection
EndSection