Have an interesting little issue here: I have Open SUSE 11.0 32-bit with KDE 3.5 running on an AMD-based machine which uses GEForce 8200 chipset. This is connected via DVI-HDMI cable to a Samsung LN-T4671 46-inch flat screen.
The NVIDIA driver installed properly and I configured the screen to 1920 x 1080 at 60 hz refresh. But according to SAX2, the screen is only running at 800 x 600. There is no 1920 x 1080 resolution in SAX2.
I had tried fooling around with various settings with SAX2 a few weeks ago and royally loused up my xorg.conf. I subesequently rebuilt the machine a few times for other reasons and let the issue go, but I’d like to start addressing it again.
The screen also sometimes has lines running across or flashing green pixels – only when I’m using it for the computer. On TV it’s fine. The screen’s HDMI 1 port is set for “just scan” so the image does not bleed off the edges (overscan). Since my webpages require extensive scrolling and the images/text is all jaggy, I tend to believe the SAX2 version of what the resolution is.
I’m afraid to start fooling around with SAX2 again without some assistance.
What are some things I should do to get better actual resolution out of this screen? Thanks.
My manual had said it should be 60, but I’ll try 29 just to see what happens.
What I don’t understand is the interaction between the NVIDIA driver and SAX2 and why the former sees the screen as being 1920 x 1080 (which it should) and the latter only sees 800 x 600.
Also, SAX2 is set by default for a 15-inch CRT screen and a 4:3 aspect ratio. It doesn’t recognize 16:9 – only 16:10 and 4:3 – and it only sees computer resolutions (the highest computer resolution I can get in a 16:10 ratio is 1600 x 1024 or something along those lines). Of course, I’m using a TV, so that changes things.
I’m afraid to fool around with SAX2, because the last time I did, I had to purge my Xorg.conf file and start over again – it had completely messed up the OS to the point that the X-server wouldn’t even start. The machine had since been rebuilt a few times.
I think I’m starting to get it here…the NVIDIA driver controls the graphics card. SAX2 is for the monitor. Problem is, SAX2 recognizes computer monitors, not HDTVs. I did set SAX2 for 16:10, 46-inch screen and 1600 x 1050 on the monitor res (leaving the card at 1920 x 1080).
Is there any way to have the NVIDIA driver do everything and disable SAX2 altogether?
Almost certainly, you will need to manually edit xorg.conf to cope with a flat panel tv running at the desired resolution and refresh rate. (Don’t use sax2 for this as it will fail).
Ok, this suggests that the X-server is trying to use the EDID from the monitor. I know there are some options you can set to force it to use the modeline(s) supplied (but of course they must still be valid). Have a look at /var/log/Xorg.0.log for any errors or relevant messages pertaining to this.
This thread discusses a similar problem. Maybe it will be of help.
To be honest, I have seen these options included in device, screen, and monitor sections with various posts. Try adding to device section for global effect, or monitor section if it is particular to that monitor. Also, you may find only the first option listed is required.
Don’t forget to make sure you keep a backup of any working xorg.conf in case you need to revert to it from runlevel 3. All I can offer. Hope this helps/works…
I put those options in, but I had to take them out. OpenSUSE would not even boot properly when I took the reboot and the screen was flashing an invalid mode message. I rebooted in FailSafe mode and took the lines out of the xorg.conf file.
I guess I’m just going to have to live with it. Really, as long as I can see video properly (which I can), that’s all that matters, because it is after all a home theater PC, not something that I’m going to be doing work on…I’m just a perfectionist, that’s all.
If you’re still having this issue, try the following in order:
First double-check the monitor manual to see what resolutions are supported on the computer (VGA/DVI/HDMI) input(s); sometimes the H/V rates are limited compared to video input rates.
Also check the NATIVE resolution of the display; although the device may be able to resample higher/lower resolution inputs to correspond to the native resolution, the best results will always be obtained by providing the native resolution.
Second, open an xterm window and type in the command
grep -i randr /var/log/Xorg.0.log
That will indicate if xrandr is doing something wacky at startup of the X server (please post output here).
Third, from the xterm window run
xrandr
with no options (also post the output). This will show what mode the display driver is using.
These things along with the xorg.conf which you have already posted (assuming it hasn’t been changed since then!) may give some additional insight.
