Slackware Media Center

jp_ · 10-12-2005, 12:13 PM

I'm going to turn a box into my media center.

Specs:
Abit KX7-333
AMD XP 1800
1Gb DDR 2700
400Gb of HD space @ 7800rpm
Nvidia 5200 FX with s-video and dvi ( NVIDIA Linux Drivers )
Soundblaster Audigy Gamer using ( ALSA )
logitech 5.1 speaker system

So far the install is going very well and I have all the services configured and running. The only part I'm stuck on is fixing the display. I set the box up on a monitor from Dell. I'm switching it to an older sony tv that's 20 inch until i can afford something else =D. I'm not sure what to do with xorg config file to make sure it displays correctly on a TV. I'm guessing I'll have to set the resolution to 800x600. The model # is Sony KV20V80. Any help would greatly be appreciated. Thanks.

lestoil · 10-12-2005, 02:58 PM

u need specs on monitor specifically horiz. and vert. capabilities. When u get those values run xorgconfig with those values and the correct video memory amt. I have 19'' sony and use 1280x1024 display. Find specs in monitor manual or by googling. Good luck.

jp_ · 10-12-2005, 03:03 PM

Do manufactures report sync rates on TV's? Again this is not your typicall monitor. Just a regular tv from sony.

MS3FGX · 10-12-2005, 04:49 PM

The standards for NTSC video are:

640x460
60 Hz VSYNC
15.75 kHz HSYNC

shilo · 10-12-2005, 04:56 PM

I have a Slackware box set up as a media center (MythTV). I also use an NVIDIA 5200 (Though mine is s-video + vga, not DVI), hooked up to a regular TV. A quick note that I am in the US, so this is for a standard NTSC television.

Here is what I use right now, though I do need to tweak some.

Code:

Section "ServerLayout"
        Identifier     "X.org Configured"
        Screen      0  "Screen0" 0 0
        InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
        InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection
 
Section "Files"
        RgbPath      "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb"
ModulePath   "/usr/X11R6/lib/modules"
    FontPath    "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc"
    FontPath    "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/TTF"
    FontPath    "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1"
    FontPath    "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/CID"
    FontPath    "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi"
    FontPath    "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi"
    FontPath    "/usr/local/share/fonts"
    FontPath    "/usr/share/fonts"
    FontPath    "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts"
EndSection
 
Section "Module"
        Load  "dbe"
        Load  "extmod"
        Load  "glx"
        Load  "record"
        Load  "freetype"
        Load  "type1"
        Load  "v4l"
        Load  "xtrap"
EndSection
 
Section "InputDevice"
        Identifier  "Keyboard0"
        Driver      "kbd"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
        Identifier  "Mouse0"
        Driver      "mouse"
        Option      "Protocol" "auto"
        Option      "Device" "/dev/mouse"
        Option      "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
        Identifier   "Monitor0"
        VendorName   "Sanyo"
        ModelName    "31in Analog TV"
        HorizSync    30.0 - 50.0
        VertRefresh  60.0
#        Option      "dpms"

# Set for 4:3 display
        DisplaySize     300 225
# Set for 16:9 display
#       DisplaySize     400 225

        #Refresh Rate 60Hz
        ModeLine "720x480" 26.7 720 736 808 896 480 481 484 497
#       ModeLine "720x480" 28.6 720 760 824 912 480 484 492 525 interlace
        ModeLine "720x576" 32.7 720 744 816 912 576 577 580 597
        ModeLine "848x480" 31.5 848 864 952 1056 480 481 484 497
        ModeLine "856x480" 31.7 856 872 960 1064 480 481 484 497
        ModeLine "1024x512" 41.3 1024 1056 1160 1296 512 513 516 531
        ModeLine "1280x768" 80.1 1280 1344 1480 1680 768 769 772 795
        ModeLine "1440x1050" 126.2 1440 1536 1688 1936 1050 1051 1054 1087


EndSection

Section "Device"
        Identifier  "Videocard0"
        Driver      "nvidia"
        VendorName  "nVidia Corporation"
        BoardName   "NV34 [GeForce FX 5200]"
        Option      "RenderAccel" "1"
        Option      "TVStandard" "NTSC-M"
        Option      "TVOutFormat" "SVIDEO"
        Option      "NoDDC"
        Option      "NoLogo" "true"
        Option      "HWcursor" "true"
        Option      "TVOverScan" "0.7"

EndSection

Section "Screen"
        Identifier "Screen0"
        Device     "Videocard0"
        Monitor    "Monitor0"
        DefaultDepth     24
        SubSection "Display"
                Depth     24
                Modes    "800x600" "640x480"
        EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "DRI"
        Group        0
        Mode         0666
EndSection

You may want to change the TVOverScan.

Also, I have an issue with this set up. I was thinking when I set this up that the best resolution to use would be 720x480. I think that 800x600 would work better. As it is, my system will alternate between using 720x480 and 800x600, which sucks.

I haven't messed with it in awhile (I eventually got bored and settled for "good enough"), but this should give you a good starting point for tweaking your own.

On an unrelated note, you may want to check out my post at http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...hreadid=369843 . I detail using SlackBuild scripts to handle building optimized installation of FFMpeg.