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Old 10-19-2007, 10:09 AM   #1
yaromir
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Registered: Mar 2004
Posts: 7

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What is best way to configure two monitors + TV?

Hello, I am trying to create a configuration that allows me to use two monitors and at TV (on TV-OUT) when needed to watch movies.

I have GeoForce 6600GT with two monitors attached to it and TV connected through S-Video Tv-out. In my naive state, I thought I could just configure the S-Video out as another Screen and have 3 screens (ha!)

I would like to be able to use my PC while movie is playing.

I don't really care if I have spanning desktop (via twinView) + TV or separate Screen + TV.

One option I am looking at is having two ServerLayout's, one with two monitors, one with monitor+TV.

I would really appreciate if I get some input from people who have dealt with this problem, and ways to configure.

Grateful in advance.

Code:
Section "Device"
        ### Available Driver options are:-
        # sw_cursor is needed for some ati and radeon cards
        #Option     "sw_cursor"
        #Option     "hw_cursor"
        #Option     "NoAccel"
        #Option     "ShowCache"
        #Option     "ShadowFB"
        #Option     "UseFBDev"
        #Option     "Rotate"
        Identifier  "nvidia1"
        # The following line is auto-generated by x11-misc/mkxf86config
        Driver      "nvidia"
        Option      "RenderAccel" "true"
        VendorName  "All"
        BoardName   "All"
        VideoRam    256000
        BusID       "PCI:1:0:0"
        Screen      0
EndSection

Section "Device"
        ### Available Driver options are:-
        # sw_cursor is needed for some ati and radeon cards
        #Option     "sw_cursor"
        #Option     "hw_cursor"
        #Option     "NoAccel"
        #Option     "ShowCache"
        #Option     "ShadowFB"
        #Option     "UseFBDev"
        #Option     "Rotate"
        Identifier  "nvidia2"
        # The following line is auto-generated by x11-misc/mkxf86config
        Driver      "nvidia"
        Option      "RenderAccel" "true"
        VendorName  "All"
        BoardName   "All"
        VideoRam    256000
        BusID       "PCI:1:0:0"
        Screen      1
EndSection

Section "Device" 
        Driver          "nvidia" 
        Identifier      "tv_out" 
        Option          "TVOutFormat" "SVIDEO" #or SVIDEO etc 
        Option          "TVStandard" "NTSC-M" #or NTSC, PAL-I for uk etc 
        Option          "UseDisplayDevice" "TV" 
        Option          "UseDisplayDevice" "TV-0"
        BusID           "PCI:1:0:0"  
        Screen          2
EndSection

Section "Screen"
        Identifier      "Screen1"
        Device  "nvidia1"
        Monitor "Monitor1"
        DefaultColorDepth 24
        DefaultDepth 16
        SubSection "Display"
                Depth   1
                Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
        EndSubSection
        SubSection "Display"
                Depth   4
                Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
        EndSubSection
        SubSection "Display"
                Depth   8
                Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
        EndSubSection
        SubSection "Display"
                Depth   15
                Modes "1440x900" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
        EndSubSection
        SubSection "Display"
                Depth   16
                Modes "1440x900" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
        EndSubSection
        SubSection "Display"
                Depth   24
                Modes "1440x900" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
        EndSubSection
#       SubSection "Display"
#               Depth   32
#               Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
#       EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
        Identifier      "Screen2"
        Device  "nvidia2"
        Monitor "Monitor2"
        DefaultColorDepth 24
        DefaultDepth 16
        SubSection "Display"
                Depth   1
                Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
        EndSubSection
        SubSection "Display"
                Depth   4
                Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
        EndSubSection
        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
#       SubSection "Display"
#               Depth   32
#               Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
#       EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen" 
        Device          "tv_out" 
        Identifier      "tv_out_screen" 
        Monitor         "tv_monitor" 
        DefaultDepth    24 
        SubSection "Display" 
                Depth 24 
                Modes "640x480" 
        EndSubSection    
EndSection
Last edited by yaromir; 10-19-2007 at 10:13 AM.
 
Old 10-19-2007, 11:59 AM   #2
GrapefruiTgirl
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two serverlayouts in xorg.conf to use TV
You haven't mentioned whether your video card is able to drive ALL THREE outputs at once. I use a 7100GS from nVidia, and it will not run all three outputs at once. I use a dual-serverlayout in my file, so by default my two monitors are used, but if I want to use the TV, I switch modes so that one monitor is used, plus the TV.
Here's what my file looks like (keep in mind the stuff that's commented out is for a second card which is not currently installed):
Code:
Section "Files"
    RgbPath  "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb"
    FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc/:unscaled"
    FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/:unscaled"
    FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/:unscaled"
    FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc/"
    FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1/"
    FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/CID/"
    FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/"
    FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/"
    FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/cyrillic/"
    FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/TTF/"
EndSection

Section "Module"
    Load  "dbe"
    Load  "extmod"
    Load  "type1"
    Load  "freetype"
    Load  "glx"
    Load  "fbdevhw"
    Load  "record"
    Load  "v4l"
    Load  "int10"
#   Load  "vnc"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier "Keyboard0"
    Driver     "kbd"
    Option "AutoRepeat" "500 30"
    Option   "XkbRules" "xorg"
    Option   "XkbModel" "pc104"
    Option  "XkbLayout" "us"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier   "Mouse0"
    Driver        "mouse"
    Option     "Protocol" "IMPS/2"
    Option       "Device" "/dev/psaux"
    Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection

Section "Monitor" # KDS Monitor
    Identifier  "KDS0"
    VendorName  "KDS"
    ModelName   "Proview"
    HorizSync   30.0 - 86.0
    VertRefresh 50.0 - 160.0
    Option "DPMS"
EndSection
Section "Monitor" # IBM-0 Monitor
    Identifier  "IBM0"
    VendorName  "IBM"
    ModelName   "E74"
    HorizSync   30.0 - 86.0
    VertRefresh 50.0 - 160.0
    Option "DPMS"
EndSection
Section "Monitor" # IBM-1 Monitor
    Identifier  "IBM1"
    VendorName  "IBM"
    ModelName   "E74"
    HorizSync   30.0 - 86.0
    VertRefresh 50.0 - 160.0
    Option "DPMS"
EndSection
Section "Monitor" # Television
    Identifier  "GETV"
    VendorName  "General Electric"
    ModelName   "TV"
    HorizSync   30.0 - 86.0
    VertRefresh 50.0 - 60.0
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
    Option "TwinView" "1"
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout" # KDS0 & IBM0, IBM1
Identifier    "computer"
Screen 0      "Screen0" 0 0
#Screen 2     "Screen2" 3200 0
InputDevice   "Mouse0"    "CorePointer"
InputDevice   "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection
   Section    "Device" #Connector: KDS0
   Identifier "nVidia1"
   Driver     "nvidia"
   VendorName "eVGA Corp."
   BoardName  "NV44-A2 nVidia GeForce 7100GS TurboCache"
   BusID      "PCI:01:00:0"
   Option     "TwinView" "1"
   Screen 0
   EndSection
 Section    "Device" #Connector: IBM0
 Identifier "nVidia0"
 Driver     "nvidia"
 VendorName "eVGA Corp."
 BoardName  "NV44-A2 nVidia GeForce 7100GS TurboCache"
 BusID      "PCI:01:00:0"
 Option     "TwinView" "1"
 Screen 1
 EndSection
#  Section    "Device" #Connector: IBM1
#  Identifier "ATI0"
#  Driver     "??????"
#  VendorName "ATI Corp."
#  BoardName  "???????????????????????"
#  BusID      "?????????????"
## Option     "TwinView" "1"
#  Screen 2
#  EndSection
Section    "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device     "nVidia1"
Monitor    "KDS0" #& IBM0
DefaultDepth 16
Option     "RenderAccel" "On"
Option     "HWcursor" "On"
Option     "DamageEvents" "True"
Option     "ConnectedMonitor" "CRT-0,CRT-1"
Option     "twinVieworientation" "CRT-1 Rightof CRT-0"
Option     "metamodes" "CRT-0:1600x1200,CRT-1:1280x1024 @ 1600x1200"
EndSection
#  Section    "Screen"
#  Identifier "Screen2"
#  Device     "ATI0"
#  Monitor    "IBM1"
#  DefaultDepth 16
#  Option     "RenderAccel" "On"
#  Option     "HWcursor" "On"
#  Option     "DamageEvents" "True"
## Option     "ConnectedMonitor" "CRT-2"
## Option     "twinVieworientation" "CRT-2 Rightof CRT-1"
#  Option     "metamodes" "CRT-2: 1280x1024 @ 1600x1200 +3200+0"
#  Subsection "Display"
#  Depth 16
#  Modes "1280x1024"
#  EndSubsection
#  EndSection

Section "ServerLayout" # KDS0 & GETV, IBM1
#To switch, use:   startx -- :1 -layout "television"
Identifier  "television"
Screen 0    "Screen3" 0 0
#Screen 4   "Screen4" 3200 0
InputDevice "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection
    Section    "Device" #Connector: KDS0
    Identifier "nVidia3"
    Driver     "nvidia"
    VendorName "eVGA Corp."
    BoardName  "NV44-A2 nVidia GeForce 7100GS TurboCache"
    BusID      "PCI:01:00:0"
    Option     "TwinView" "1"
    Screen 0
    EndSection
      Section    "Device" #Connector: GETV
      Identifier "nVidia2"
      Driver     "nvidia"
      VendorName "eVGA Corp."
      BoardName  "NV44-A2 nVidia GeForce 7100GS TurboCache"
      BusID      "PCI:01:00:0"
      Option     "TwinView" "1"
      Screen 2
      EndSection
#       Section    "Device" #Connector: IBM1
#       Identifier "ATI0"
#       Driver     "??????"
#       VendorName "ATI Corp."
#       BoardName  "???????????????????????"
#       BusID      "?????????????"
##      Option     "TwinView" "1"
#       Screen 4
#       EndSection
Section    "Screen"
Identifier "Screen3"
Device     "nVidia3"
Monitor    "KDS0" #& GETV
DefaultDepth 16
Option     "RenderAccel" "On"
Option     "HWcursor" "On"
Option     "DamageEvents" "True"
Option     "ConnectedMonitor" "CRT-0 , TV-0"
Option     "TwinViewOrientation" "TV-0 Leftof CRT-0"
Option     "TVOutFormat" "SVIDEO"
Option     "TVStandard" "NTSC-M"
Option     "MetaModes" "TV-0:1024x768 , CRT-0:1600x1200"
EndSection
#   Section    "Screen"
#   Identifier "Screen4"
#   Device     "ATI0"
#   Monitor    "IBM1"
#   DefaultDepth 16
#   Option     "RenderAccel" "On"
#   Optio      "HWcursor" "On"
#   Option     "DamageEvents" "True"
##  Option     "ConnectedMonitor" "CRT-1"
##  Option     "twinVieworientation" "CRT-2 Rightof CRT-1"
#   Option     "metamodes" "CRT-1:1280x1024 @ 1600x1200 +3200+0"
#   Subsection "Display"
#   Depth 16
#   Modes "1280x1024"
#   EndSubsection
#   EndSection
Perhaps this is what you're looking for? For explanation of various options, check the xorg.conf man page, and the nVidia README documentation.
Hope this helps
 
Old 10-20-2007, 01:43 PM   #3
yaromir
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Registered: Mar 2004
Posts: 7

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 0
Thank you very much for response, I was able to setup two X Sessions.

The only problem now is when running second session
startx -- :1 -layout tv_layout

All windows are missing decorations (so cannot be moved, resized...etc). Any ideas?

Code:
Section "ServerLayout"
	Identifier	"computer"
	Screen	0	"Screen1"
	Screen  1	"Screen2" RightOf "Screen1"
	InputDevice	"Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
	InputDevice	"PS/2 Mouse" "AlwaysCore"
	# Serial Mouse not detected
	InputDevice	"USB Mouse" "AlwaysCore"
	#Option 		"clone" "on"
#No Synaptics touchpad found
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
	Identifier	"tv_layout"
	Screen	0	"Screen1"
	Screen  1	"tv_out_screen" RightOf "Screen1"
	InputDevice	"Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
	InputDevice	"PS/2 Mouse" "AlwaysCore"
	# Serial Mouse not detected
	InputDevice	"USB Mouse" "AlwaysCore"
	#Option 		"clone" "on"
#No Synaptics touchpad found
EndSection


Section "Monitor"
	Identifier   "Monitor1"
	HorizSync    28.0 - 96.0
	VertRefresh  50.0 - 75.0
	#DisplaySize  380 305
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
	Identifier   "Monitor2"
	#HorizSync    28.0 - 96.0
	#VertRefresh  50.0 - 75.0
	#DisplaySize  380 305
EndSection

Section "Monitor" 
	 Identifier "tv_monitor" #TV 
         HorizSync 30.0-50.0
	 VertRefresh 60
EndSection

Section "Device"
	### Available Driver options are:-
	# sw_cursor is needed for some ati and radeon cards
	#Option     "sw_cursor"
	#Option     "hw_cursor"
	#Option     "NoAccel"
	#Option     "ShowCache"
	#Option     "ShadowFB"
	#Option     "UseFBDev"
	#Option     "Rotate"
	Identifier  "nvidia1"
	# The following line is auto-generated by x11-misc/mkxf86config
	Driver      "nvidia"
	Option      "RenderAccel" "true"
	VendorName  "All"
	BoardName   "All"
	VideoRam    256000
	BusID       "PCI:1:0:0"
	Screen 	    0
EndSection

Section "Device"
	### Available Driver options are:-
	# sw_cursor is needed for some ati and radeon cards
	#Option     "sw_cursor"
	#Option     "hw_cursor"
	#Option     "NoAccel"
	#Option     "ShowCache"
	#Option     "ShadowFB"
	#Option     "UseFBDev"
	#Option     "Rotate"
	Identifier  "nvidia2"
	# The following line is auto-generated by x11-misc/mkxf86config
	Driver      "nvidia"
	Option      "RenderAccel" "true"
	VendorName  "All"
	BoardName   "All"
	VideoRam    256000
	BusID       "PCI:1:0:0"
	Option          "TVOutFormat" "SVIDEO" #or SVIDEO etc 
	Option          "TVStandard" "NTSC-M" #or NTSC, PAL-I for uk etc 
	Option      	"ConnectedMonitor" "CRT,TV"
	Screen 	    1
EndSection

Section "Screen"
	Identifier	"Screen1"
	Device	"nvidia1"
	Monitor	"Monitor1"
	DefaultColorDepth 24
	DefaultDepth 16
	SubSection "Display"
		Depth	1
		Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Depth	4
		Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Depth	8
		Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Depth	15
		Modes "1440x900" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Depth	16
		Modes "1440x900" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Depth	24
		Modes "1440x900" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
	EndSubSection
#	SubSection "Display"
#		Depth	32
#		Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
#	EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
	Identifier	"Screen2"
	Device	"nvidia2"
	Monitor	"Monitor2"
	DefaultColorDepth 24
	DefaultDepth 16
	SubSection "Display"
		Depth	1
		Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
	EndSubSection
	SubSection "Display"
		Depth	4
		Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
	EndSubSection
	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
#	SubSection "Display"
#		Depth	32
#		Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
#	EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen" 
      	Identifier 	"tv_out_screen" 
   	Device 		"nvidia2" 
        Monitor 	"tv_monitor" 	
	Option         	"UseDisplayDevice" "TV" 
	#Option 	"UseDisplayDevice" "TV-0"
	DefaultDepth 	16
	SubSection "Display" 
		Depth 16 
		Modes "800x600" "640x480" 
	EndSubSection    
EndSection


#Section "DRI"
#	Mode 0666
#EndSection
 
Old 10-20-2007, 02:24 PM   #4
GrapefruiTgirl
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Hmm.. No, I have no clue why that would be. Provided you are running the same desktop environment (like KDE) I would think the second session would function exactly as the first session does. That's how it works for me anyway.
Sorry I can't suggest why that would happen for you.
 
Old 10-21-2007, 11:25 AM   #5
yaromir
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Registered: Mar 2004
Posts: 7

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 0
ok, after restart the window decoration problem went away. it all works fine now.

Thank you very much for help.
 
Old 10-21-2007, 11:33 AM   #6
GrapefruiTgirl
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Distribution: Slackware64
Posts: 7,594

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Hey that's good news congrats!
 
  


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