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Help with configuring video driver

Hi all,

I have a problem with XVideo acceleration on my machine. The output (i.e. when playing a DVD) comes out in black and white!

I am assuming it is my XFree86 configuration at fault, because if I use the generic "vesa" driver then I do get colour output, although movie playback is then too slow because of no hardware acceleration.

The XF86Config man page is not very helpful, since under "VideoAdaptor" (which I understand is the section relating to Xv support) it says simply that there is no help available!

I tried downloading Thomas Winischoffer's latest driver (my graphics card is an SiS650) but using that I just got a black screen with Xine and no video output whatsoever.

Are there any experts with XFree who can assist me? I would be very grateful!

My XF86Config-4 file is like this:

# File generated by XFdrake.

# **********************************************************************
# Refer to the XF86Config man page for details about the format of
# this file.
# **********************************************************************

Section "Files"
# Multiple FontPath entries are allowed (they are concatenated together)
# By default, Mandrake 6.0 and later now use a font server independent of
# the X server to render fonts.
FontPath "unix/:-1"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
#DontZap # disable <Crtl><Alt><BS> (server abort)
AllowMouseOpenFail # allows the server to start up even if the mouse doesn't work
#DontZoom # disable <Crtl><Alt><KP_+>/<KP_-> (resolution switching)
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "dbe" # Double-Buffering Extension
Load "v4l" # Video for Linux
Load "extmod"
Load "type1"
Load "freetype"
Load "glx" # 3D layer
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard1"
Driver "Keyboard"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "gb"
Option "XkbCompat" ""
Option "XkbOptions" ""
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Mouse1"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/psaux"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "monitor1"
VendorName "Generic"
ModelName "Flat Panel 1024x768"
HorizSync 31.5-48.5
VertRefresh 40-70

# Sony Vaio C1(X,XS,VE,VN)?
# 1024x480 @ 85.6 Hz, 48 kHz hsync
ModeLine "1024x480" 65.00 1024 1032 1176 1344 480 488 494 563 -hsync -vsync

# TV fullscreen mode or DVD fullscreen output.
# 768x576 @ 79 Hz, 50 kHz hsync
ModeLine "768x576" 50.00 768 832 846 1000 576 590 595 630

# 768x576 @ 100 Hz, 61.6 kHz hsync
ModeLine "768x576" 63.07 768 800 960 1024 576 578 590 616
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "device1"
Driver "sis"
Option "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "screen1"
Device "device1"
Monitor "monitor1"
DefaultColorDepth 16

Subsection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubsection

Subsection "Display"
Depth 15
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubsection

Subsection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubsection

Subsection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubsection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "layout1"
InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"
InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"
Screen "screen1"
EndSection

---------
Many thanks for your time, just for looking at this thread, even if you can't contribute an answer!

Linux driver for SIS650

Hi
You can get sis650 driver for linux from SIS at :http://download.sis.com/sisdlc/driver_select.jsp
Please notice that SIS manufacture graphical chips not graphical cards, that means your card is made by someone else that uses sys chips.
try to find out your card maker and try locating a driver there
because sis drivers are just "generic" and might not fully support your specific card.

Thanks for your response!

I tried the SiS drivers, without success (XFree wouldn't really work at all). I expect the problem is one of configuration (and there's no documentation on the SiS site at all), but, for that matter, the problem is one of configuration for the sis driver that was shipped with my Mandrake distro. (I believe this driver is by Mr Winischofer).

Since the driver shipped with the distro does basically work (at least I can use my pc, and watch dvds, even if in black and white!), I might as well use that as my starting point. Since the driver does support Xv, it must be possible to get my dvds to play in their full technicolour glory.

Oh yes, about the graphics "card," I should have made it clear. I am using a laptop, so there is no graphics card as such, the hardware is included on the motherboard.

Many thanks.

Hi
I think youshould try Mr. Winischofer site again.
I have found some material regarding similar problems, there.
Search that web page for the words "Black & white" or just "white".
good luck!

I think the part of the site you are referring to is talking about is problems with the colour on the UHF TV out. I haven't even tried my TV out port yet - my movies come out in black and white even in the Xine window (it's the same with Mplayer too, so it's not specific to Xine).

I did see some configuration options on Mr. Winischofer's site to do with default colour, saturation and brightness values relating to XVideo output, so it could well be worth me playing with those. I will post back here with my findings!

Many thanks!

Have you managed to solve your problem? I have the same problem... I have a SiS graphics chip, tried to download a driver from Mr. Winischofer's site but was al in vain - Open GL screensavers and the Tux Racer game run very choppy. Ah, I have an ASUS Terminator P4 running on RH9.0, maybe someone had a similar experience...

Something else... downloading the *.o driver, and putting it in the correct directory is enough or do i need to recompile the kernel??

You shouldn't need to recompile your kernel - that much I do know!

Haven't had a chance to play with my XFree settings yet. Will post my findings once I do.

I sorted it!

In the end I used a driver downloaded from Mr Winischofer. I also took the example XF86Config-4 file from his site, and modified it based on the contents of the XF86Config-4 that was created for me when I installed Mandrake. (At first I didn't notice the keyboard was set up in German format, which made life very interesting!)

Then, at runtime, I used the sisctrl utility (again, downloaded from Mr Winischofer) to adjust the colour settings and voila! I can watch dvds in their technicolour glory. Hurrah!

The only annoying thing left is that I seem to have to run sisctrl whenever I start Xine, as whenever Xine is started it is always black and white to start with.

what about the tuxracer game? is it fast now? where did you put the SiS650 driver? After that what did you do? Can you post your XF86Config file, because I have the entry driver=sis and it still doesn't work....... (I also put the downloaded driver in the correct directory).... Still, i haven't tried the sisctl utility.

Thanks very much for your help.

Sadly, 3d acceleration still does not work, nor will it until somebody writes a driver for the sis650 that supports DRI. The Winischofer drivers support DRI on the sis 300 series only (the sis650 is 315 series).

After I'd downloaded it, I put the sis_drv.o driver file in /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/drivers (I made a backup of the existing sis_drv.o first!). I modified the /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 file (once again, making a backup first) and have posted it for you below.

With that done, I booted the X server to find that KDE worked...so far so good. When I ran Xine though, I just got a black screen in the output window.

While Xine was running, I ran the sisctrl utility, and found that it thought CRT1 was a VGA monitor. Since I am using a laptop, I set this to LCD Panel instead. This made the XINE logo appear in the output window, although still in black and white.

On the Video tab of sisctrl there are colour, saturation, contrast and brightness controls. Fiddling with these made Xine burst into colour (initially colour and saturation were both set to min, which is why the picture was monochrome).

Note that Xine has to redraw its output before you see the effect of fiddling with the colour controls. If you're actually playing a movie then it will be doing this already, but it you're just seeing the XINE logo then you will have to force it to redraw to see the effect of fiddling with the controls: minimise and un-minimise the window, for example.

And that's all. I still have to figure out why XFree doesn't take any notice of the default colour/brightness/etc settings in the config file. I also don't know yet why, even if I set these at runtime using sisctrl, I have to do it again after Xine has started, because for some reason Xine resets colour and saturation back to min.

Anyway, have a play, and let me know what you find out. My XF86Config-4 file is like this:

# XF86Config-4 example (generic)

# See other examples for Dual Head mode and Merged Framebuffer mode

# ----------- This stuff needs to be adapted to your machine ------------

Section "Files"
FontPath "unix/:7110" # local font server
# if the local font server has problems, we can fall back on these
FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/misc"
FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/:unscaled"
# FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo"
FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi"
FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
# Option "AllowMouseOpenFail"
# Option "noPM"
Option "BlankTime" "99999"
Option "StandbyTime" "99999"
Option "SuspendTime" "99999"
Option "OffTime" "99999"
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "GLcore"
Load "dbe"
Load "v4l"
# Load "dri" - no longer needed, driver loads it automatically
Load "extmod"
Load "glx"
Load "pex5"
Load "record"
Load "xie"
Load "bitmap"
Load "freetype"
Load "speedo"
Load "type1"
# For XFree86 4.1, add the following here:
# Load "vbe"
# Load "int10"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard1"
Driver "Keyboard"
Option "CoreKeyboard"
# Option "XkbRules" "xfree86"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "gb"
# Option "XkbVariant" "nodeadkeys"
Option "XkbCompat" ""
Option "XkbOptions" ""
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Mouse1"
Driver "mouse"
# Option "CorePointer"
Option "Device" "/dev/psaux"
Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2"
# Option "Emulate3Buttons" "true"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection

#Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier "USB Mouse"
# Driver "mouse"
# Option "SendCoreEvents" "true"
# Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
# Option "Protocol" "ImPS/2"
# Option "Emulate3Buttons" "true"
# Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
#EndSection

# ----------------- End of machine specific stuff ------------------------

# ----------------------------------------------------------
# MONITOR section
# ----------------------------------------------------------
# This section contains data for monitor configuration.

# The data in the Monitor section is only used for CRT1 (VGA),
# and will be ignored for CRT2 (unless CRT2 is a secondary VGA).
# If you only run with CRT2 (such as on laptops without an external
# monitor connected), you should place same sane values here anyway,
# in order to keep the X server from deleting modes from the list.

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor1"
VendorName "Generic"
ModelName "Flat Panel 1024x768"
VertRefresh 40-70
HorizSync 31.5-48.5

# Sony Vaio C1(X,XS,VE,VN)?
# 1024x480 @ 85.6 Hz, 48 kHz hsync
ModeLine "1024x480" 65.00 1024 1032 1176 1344 480 488 494 563 -hsync -vsync

# TV fullscreen mode or DVD fullscreen output.
# 768x576 @ 79 Hz, 50 kHz hsync
ModeLine "768x576" 50.00 768 832 846 1000 576 590 595 630

# 768x576 @ 100 Hz, 61.6 kHz hsync
ModeLine "768x576" 63.07 768 800 960 1024 576 578 590 616
EndSection

# ----------------------------------------------------------
# DEVICE section
# ----------------------------------------------------------
# This section contains configuration data of the video card.

Section "Device"
Driver "sis"
Identifier "SiS 650"
VendorName "SiS"
BoardName "650"
Option "DPMS"
Option "EnableSiSCtrl" "true"

Option "XvDefaultContrast" "3"
Option "XvDefaultBrightness" "50"
Option "XvDefaultHue" "-1"
Option "XvDefaultSaturation" "-1"
Option "XvOnCRT2" "false"

# Option "HWCursor"
# Use hardware or software cursor ("HWCursor" / "SWCursor")
Option "HWcursor"

# Option "NoAccel"
# Setting this option will disable 2D/3D accellerators (and Xv).
#Option "NoAccel"

# Option "ForceCRT1"
# If CRT1 (=external VGA) monitor is used depends on whether the driver
# detects it during server start. If you want to override this
# automatic detection, set this option to either "true" (to enable
# CRT1) or "false" (to disable CRT1)
#Option "ForceCRT1" "true"

# Option "ForceCRT2Type":
# This option selects the CRT2 output device type and is only useful
# on systems containing a video bridge (such as most laptops).
# Available options are:
# "TV" (if TV connector present),
# "LCD" alias "DVI-D" (if LCD panel present),
# "VGA" alias "DVI-A" (secondary VGA; use this only if your machine
# has a secondary VGA connector or a DVI-I connector
# The VGA plug on your laptop is CRT1!)
# "NONE" (this will switch off CRT2).
# "COMPOSITE" (SiS video bridge only) Force TV to use cvbs connector
# "SVIDEO" (SiS video bridge only) Force TV to use SVHS connector
# "SCART" (SiS video bridge only) Force TV to use SCART connector
#Option "ForceCRT2Type" "NONE"

# Option "MaxXFBMem":
# Only useful on 300 series!
# YOU DON'T NEED THIS ON 315/550/650/651/M650/740/741/Xabre
# This option limits the amount of memory X uses for its framebuffer.
# Its purpose is to avoid a clash between X and DRI/DRM/sisfb as regards
# memory management.
# The SiS kernel framebuffer driver (sisfb) is responsible for memory
# management for DRI. It will install a video memory heap at
# - 12 MB (=12288 KB) if more than 16MB of video RAM available,
# - 8 MB (=8192 KB) if between 8 an 16MB if video RAM available,
# - 4 MB (=4096 KB) if less than 8 MB of video RAM available.
# Other amounts can be specified with sisfb's "mem" parameter.
# If this option is set, X only uses the specified amount of memory for
# its screen and its off-screen buffers.
# Limiting X to use only a small part of RAM therefore avoids that
# the kernel framebuffer (and a DRI application using the sisfb's
# memory pool) overwrites X's screen and off-screen memory.
# When setting MaxXFBMem to "8192", memory will be used according
# to the following figure:
# 0-------8------16------24------32------40------48--------56-------64MB
# XXXXXXXX
# FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
# (X=memory used by X, F=memory used by sisfb and thus DRI)
# If DRI is disabled and the framebuffer driver is not loaded, this option
# can and should be left out.
Option "MaxXFBMem" "12288"

# Option "TVStandard"
# Can be "NTSC" or "PAL". On some machines with a 30x/B/LV bridge as well
# as on machines with a Chrontel 7019/7020, also
# "PALM" (for PAL-M) or "PALN" (PAL-N)
# Normally, this will be autodetected acoording to the BIOS setting.
# Option "TVStandard" "PAL"

# Option "XvOnCRT2"
# Only useful on machines with SiS315, 650 or 740 and only if both CRT1 and
# CRT2 are available and connected.
# Setting this to "TRUE" will show the Xv video overlay on CRT2, "FALSE" will
# show the overlay on CRT1.
# This can be changed by the Xv property "XV_SWITCHCRT".
# Option "XvOnCRT2" "true"

# Option "CHTVOvercan"
# Only useful on machines with a Chrontel TV encoder
# Setting this to "TRUE" will use overscan modes (larger image on the TV)
# Normally this is autodetected according to the BIOS setting.
# Option "CHTVOverscan" "TRUE"

# Option "CHTVSuperOverscan"
# Only useful on machines with a Chrontel 700x TV encoder.
# Not for Chrontel 701x TV encoders!
# Only useful if TV standard is PAL
# Setting this to "true" will force the driver to use a TV mode which is even
# larger than the normal overscan mode. This option overrules the CHTVOverscan
# option. Setting it to "FALSE" will make the driver to fall back on the
# normal overscan setting (BIOS selection or, if set, the CHTVOverscan setting)
# Option "CHTVSuperOverscan" "TRUE"

# Option "CHTVContrast"
# Only useful on machines with Chrontel TV encoder
# This option accepts numerical values from 0 to 15 and it adjust the contrast
# of the TV image.
# Option "CHTVContrast" "10"

# Option "SISTVAntiFlicker"
# Only useful on machines with SiS30x/B/LV video bridge
# This option allows adjusting the bridge's anti flicker engine. It accepts
# "OFF", "LOW", "MED", "HIGH" and "ADAPTIVE"
# Option "SISTVAntiFlicker" "ADAPTIVE"

# Option "SISTVSaturation"
# Only useful on machines with SiS30x/B/LV video bridge
# This option allows tuning the color saturation of the TV image. It accepts
# values from 0 to 15.
# Option "SISTVSaturation" "15"

# Option "TVXPosOffset"
# Useful on machines with SiS6326+TV, Chrontel 700x TV encoder or SiS video
# bridge.
# This option allows adjusting the TV image's horizontal position. It accepts
# values from -32 to 32 (on the 6326 -16 to 16)
# Option "TVXPosOffset" "8"

# Option "TVYPosOffset"
# Like TVXPosOffset, but for vertical adjustments.
# Option "TVYPosOffset" "-3"

# Please see http://www.winischhofer.net/linuxsisvga.shtml for more information

EndSection

# ----------------------------------------------------------
# SCREEN section
# ----------------------------------------------------------
# This section defines the available resulutions and depths.
# If you disable CRT2 (by setting ForceCRT2Type to "NONE"),
# you can use higher resolutions than the LCD panel supports.

Section "Screen"
Identifier "screen1"
Device "SiS 650"
Monitor "Monitor1"
DefaultDepth 16
SubSection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Default Layout"
Screen "screen1"
InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"
InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"
EndSection

#Section "DRI"
# Mode 0666
#EndSection

# end of XF86Config

Hey guys, i cannot get SiSctrl to function... i click on it, and nothing happens...WHY IS THIS??

i have dual monitors and its driving me nuts having it mirror. I installed the driver....why the heck wont sisctrl run?

im runnng SuSE 9.1, xfree86 4.3 and gcc 3.2

Okay, try to run sisctrl from a terminal window and tell us what you get.

nick@linux:/usr/bin> sisctrl
sisctrl: error while loading shared libraries: libXv.so.1: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

Okay, your problem is this. You downloaded the version of sisctrl that is prebuilt for the libxv library as a shared object. However, you don't have libxv as a shared object. (That's what so stands for; it's just like a DLL in windows). Neither do I.

What you need to do is download the sisctrl source, from the same place (www.winischhofer.net) and compile sisctrl from source. You will need GTK+ installed to be able to do this. If you're using SuSE then install GTK+ using YAST. If you're using Mandrake then use RPMDrake. Then, unpack the source code, enter the directory and do:

./configure

if no errors then do:

make

and (as root):

make install

and then you'll be able to run sisctrl. Update your icon to point at /usr/local/bin/sisctrl instead of whatever it is currently pointing at.

well..that wasa lost cause..i used yast, got GTK+, pretty much every gtk i can think of. it says it needs Glib. ok fine! i go , download glib from the gtk site. Then it needs pkgconfig...get that...then it needs the Xheaders....get that....then, it says it needs glib again! i gave up.

I did however get my monitors to work. i masacred my xf86config. but i still wanna get that controller to work.

I mite be switching to yoper linux, which installs in under 15minutes...is the worlds fastest linux (faster than gentoo) ..and uses apt get OR emerge. so im hoping i have an easier time.