Debian - No Widescreen?
 

I'm currently experiencing some problems when plugging my linux box into a Widescreen monitor / HDTV (using the VGA slot). The problem is that it the driver only seems to support 640x480 and 800x600 resolutions on this Full HD TV / Monitor; however, when plugged into a standard monitor the 'xrandr -q' command shows a vast array of resolutions from 640x480 upto 1280x1024.

This is a pretty skinny install of Debian Lenny using just LXDE desktop and hardly anything else.

As a relative newbie to Linux...

Can Linux support widescreen / HD resolutions and if so, how do I configure this install to work with my spanking HDTV using the VGA port?

Thanks in advance - M

Something like the following should work for 720p:

I could probably be more helpful if you post the output of xrandr when the machine is connected to your TV.

Evo2.

What vga and what driver are you on?

Vesa, the generic usage driver, can't do widescreen.

Sorry for the late reply and the replies are appreciated!

@evo2 - I haven't got the exact list to hand but from memory the options where 800x600 and 640x480, both with options for 60Hz and 75Hz. That was it.

@jim_p - that sounds a bit more like it. I did look into this but couldn't locate where this information is available (and where it can be changed). Sorry, I'm a newbie at the Linux platform so any pointers to obtain this information and react to it would be appreciated.

M

At a terminal do a
and locate the stuff concerning your vga card, eg in mine

I get widescreen with Lenny, and it is a great improvement on what I had before.

It you are new it is worth simply trying ctrl+alt+keypad + to see what happens.

You might as well post:as well as above suggestions.

The TV's instructions may say something about the limitations of using VGA.

Cheers Guys. Here are the output's...

The 'bit' you probably need from lcpci...

VGA compatible controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. CN700/P4M800 Pro/P4M800 CE/VN800 [S3 UniChrome Prod] (rev 01)

from xorg.conf...

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Configured Monitor"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default Screen"
Monitor "Configured Monitor"
EndSection

and from lsmod...

Module Size Used by
nls_utf8 1792 1
nls_cp437 5504 1
via 34304 1
drm 64672 2 via
vfat 8960 1
fat 40220 1 vfat
nls_base 6528 4 nls_utf8,nls_cp437,vfat,fat
button 6032 0
parport_pc 22436 0
parport 30408 1 parport_pc
snd_via82xx 20248 0
gameport 10504 1 snd_via82xx
snd_ac97_codec 88228 1 snd_via82xx
ac97_bus 1664 1 snd_ac97_codec
snd_mpu401_uart 6400 1 snd_via82xx
snd_rawmidi 18592 1 snd_mpu401_uart
snd_seq_device 6412 1 snd_rawmidi
snd_pcm 60680 2 snd_via82xx,snd_ac97_codec
snd_timer 17668 1 snd_pcm
snd 44964 7 snd_via82xx,snd_ac97_codec,snd_mpu401_uart,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq_device,snd_pcm,snd_timer
soundcore 6112 1 snd
i2c_viapro 6804 0
snd_page_alloc 7816 2 snd_via82xx,snd_pcm
i2c_core 19728 1 i2c_viapro
via_agp 7680 1
shpchp 25496 0
pci_hotplug 23204 1 shpchp
agpgart 28336 2 drm,via_agp
pcspkr 2304 0
evdev 7808 4
ohci_hcd 18436 0
squashfs 35976 1
zlib_inflate 14080 1 squashfs
loop 12428 2
aufs 108304 1
exportfs 3712 1 aufs
ext3 103688 2
jbd 35092 1 ext3
mbcache 6656 1 ext3
sd_mod 22032 5
ide_generic 2432 0 [permanent]
usbhid 35712 0
hid 32128 1 usbhid
ff_memless 4232 1 usbhid
usb_storage 75840 3
via82cxxx 6916 0 [permanent]
ide_pci_generic 3844 0 [permanent]
sata_via 6916 0
ide_core 95144 3 ide_generic,via82cxxx,ide_pci_generic
ata_generic 4612 0
ehci_hcd 28300 0
uhci_hcd 18448 0
libata 141088 2 sata_via,ata_generic
usbcore 117616 6 ohci_hcd,usbhid,usb_storage,ehci_hcd,uhci_hcd
scsi_mod 129804 3 sd_mod,usb_storage,libata
dock 8076 1 libata
8139too 20096 0
8139cp 17024 0
mii 4864 2 8139too,8139cp
thermal 15132 0
processor 28080 1 thermal
fan 4100 0
thermal_sys 10784 3 thermal,processor,fan

-----------------------

@lugoteehalt

This particular TV works fine with other resolutions, albeit using Windows.

Provided that you have the xserver-xorg-video-openchrome package installed, add this bit in your xorg.conf to "force" it as a driver for usage.
and add these to your Screen section if you still dont get widescreen

Hey Jim,

That was absolutely spot on! I've now got an issue with the xorg.conf being overwritten on boot but I'll investigate that first before posting a new thread. (Although if you've encountered this before I'll appreciate any pointers).

If not, have a good holiday break.

M

I am a total idiot. With "vesa this and vesa that" in my head, I wrote vesa as a suggestion in xorg.conf. Change it to