GeeXboX

GeeXboX works great at 1024x768 / 24-bit, but any time I generate an ISO above that (1280x1024 @ 24-bit, 1600x1200 @ 16-bit and 24-bit), I get the following error message:

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You passed an undefined mode number.

Press <RETURN> to see video modes available, <SPACE> to continue or wait 3 secs

Video adapter: VESA VGA
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If I wait, I end up with a black screen (PC is still powered on). If I hit Enter, I'm presented with a list of mode choices.

I saw the entry related to this error message here:
http://www.geexbox.org/wiki/index.php/Video_cards

But that information appears outdated, as it mentions "boot/isolinux.conf" which does not exist with my 1.0 generator. Perhaps the filename was changed to boot/isolinux.cfg?

Still, I tried that suggestion (changing vga=792 to vga=normal in the "LABEL geexbox" section) and noticed that Generator no longers lets me choose a resolution in the Video tab. Resolution/Color is now "Custom" and "VESA mode (dec):" is "0". I can only guess this is normal/expected but I'm not sure what it means. What resolution would it end up being set to, following this method?

Anyway, I made a new ISO following this method, and, although I don't get the "undefined mode number" error, I still end up with a black screen.

PC specs, FWIW: Athlon 850 MHz, 512 MB RAM, ATI Radeon 9250 (128 MB, AGP) w/ S-Video out.

Any thoughts? My goal is to run a higher resolution, i.e. 1280x1024 or 1600x1200.

*EDIT* I changed pal to ntsc in /etc/tvout thinking this may help, but it didn't, unfortunately.

You may as well give up trying- your h/w doesn't support beyond that resolution. That is what the error message is trying to tell you. Before you complain or argue, understand that when having video on a secondary video bridge, often different resolutions etc are supported than on the primary video bridge (e.g. VGA/DVI vs svideo/composite output).

I am the one who put this functionality into GeeXboX, because my video card is a SiS chipset, and on the secondary svideo video out it supports a maximum res of 800x600@16bit. On the primary video out it supports massive resolutions that I never use, however.

For my particular h/w and further details on the topic, read this.

Thanks for the prompt reply, khyron.

I understand what you're saying, about different maximum resolutions for the different bridges. I never really thought about that, but it makes sense now.

I wish I would have known about this limitation when I bought this video card, because it was purchased exclusively for this GeeXboX computer. It would have been nice if, when I posted here (http://www.geexbox.org/forum/viewtopic. ... highlight=) you would have mentioned to look for the maximum resolution of the svid/composite, as I would think it's assumed that I was using it to connect to a TV (otherwise, what's the point of GeeXboX, if you're connecting it to a VGA monitor). But, technically, on the post, I never asked a specific question about svid/composite resolutions - I asked about performance in general, and you answered that question correctly (it's been "performing" just fine).

Do I have to go high-end to get svid/composite 1600x1200 support in a video card?

I guess I'll try this 64 MB GeForce2 GTS w/ svid out now, that I have lying around. Although I suspect worse performance (unless VIDIX is working well these days?), I'm mainly curious what kind of svid resolutions it can do.

Perhaps this information can be added somewhere, i.e. in the Wiki hardware section? That is, explain to people that the "regular" max resolution doesn't equate to the max resolution for svid/composite, when they are looking for/pricing video cards. Also, since GeeXboX offers up to 1600x1200, perhaps some video cards that can handle that w/ svid/composite could be recommended somewhere? Again, this is considering that I'm sure most end-users use svideo/composite to connect to their TV. For example, if that kind of information was available when I bought my video card, I wouldn't have made this post =)

Anyway, know that I do appreciate the work you and everyone else has put into this project. I don't mean to complain/argue - instead, I don't want for others to run into the same problem as me (or ask the same question on the forum), so that's why I said what I said.

GeeXboX allows me to watch "computer videos" in my living room on the "big screen", streamed from my file server, and that's quite a convenience to be had for free! The support is great too!

Cheers,

-mod

The svid/composite is PAL based, and therefore resolution is stuck at 720*576
The VGA card just has a build-in rescaler, to fit the chosen resolution (800*600 or 1024*768....) to the PAL 720*576.


To really go "hi-end" , hook up your screen using a VGA or DVI connector.

Thanks for the clarification, DualIP.

To make sure I'm understanding you...

1. Are you saying that if I get a video card with a DVI interface, I'll then be able to run GeeXboX at 1600x1200?

2. If so, does this imply that my "bottleneck" (what's preventing me from going over 720X576) is the svideo/composite interface on my ATI Radeon 9250?

3. Are you saying that, even though I have a 1024x768 GeeXboX "build", that's ultimately being converted to 720x576, since I'm using svideo/composite?

Generally the DVI is connected somehow to the primary video bridge, so it allows the high resolutions that VGA allows. Note that I said "generally"- check with the h/w before you buy it.


Yes, but you will find similar limitations on all cards. Only cards that allow HDTV out resolutions allow higher settings, and these generally come with 3 component outputs (YPrPb interface) . My SiS card is of this variety, and it can allow high res outputs to tv.

[/quote]
3. Are you saying that, even though I have a 1024x768 GeeXboX "build", that's ultimately being converted to 720x576, since I'm using svideo/composite?[/quote]
Since it fails to set the fb to your desired res, MPlayer falls back to 800x600 as a failsafe, but the actual fb is most probably at 640x480 mode, in which case the video card is downscaling the 800x600 to 640x480 for display.

One question- is your machine HDTV capable? If so, does it allow VGA/DVI input? Those are the only HDTV scenarios that are supported right now- most h/w requires the h/w specific driver to access the higher modes on the TV out interfaces of the card. So even though my h/w may support it, GeeXboX does not support the HDTV resolutions via the TV out YPrPb interface. To get around this issue is tricky, to say the least.

Also, note that even if you make some kind of VGA/DVI->component converter, the picture quality will suffer, and you will get a blurry equivalent (therefore not the high-res you expect).

BTW, regarding my previous reply- many high-end TV's that are capable of HDTV do have either VGA or DVI connectors... also many users utilize GeeXboX even if it is not connected to a TV. So, alas, I cannot read minds and I just answer the question that is asked, nothing more.

Just hook-up a VGA monitor instead of TV, and I think you've a pretty good chance they just work (at least 1280*1024).


Is that really how it works??
afaik, mplayer (without software rescaling) just decodes the video, and outputs the decoded frames in their original size (512*384, 352*288 1280*720...whatever) to the video card. Mplayer knows about monitor resolution and instructs the video card hardware to rescale given frames to required output size.

Not certain, but I know that when the fb is set incorrectly, it stays at 640x480. If it wasn't necessary to set the fb correctly, and mplayer could drive the display completely, then it would simply be a matter of changing the resolution that mplayer runs at. This is not the case, however. With VIDIX, mplayers vo can do h/w rescaling, but with VESA it cannot, so I assume it does software rescaling in that case.

FYI, my GXB PC is connected to a 36" tube TV with 1080i support, so I presume it can support 1600x1200. That's why I don't want to connect it to a VGA monitor. The idea is to watch stuff in the living room instead of sitting in front of my my desktop in my room. Unfortunately the TV doesn't have a VGA input - it does have a DVI input though, and component.

Maybe I'll look for a video card with a component out, like the one you have. Those DVI cables seem to be expensive in comparison. I'll check Goodwill Computer Works.

Yeah, I'm aware GXB doesn't support HDTV resolutions. I don't have a spare P4 to run media center or myth, so I'm trying to get the highest resolution I can out of it GXB.

Use the DVI cable! It is the only good solution that will allow you to get resolutions above 800x600 on most systems. As I said, even my component output is not supported under GeeXboX! The DVI cable will run at the highest resolution GeeXboX is capable of (1600x1200, IIRC), and you won't have to do anything special to get it running, in my opinion.

If you try other video cards with component out, I doubt you will have more success than now, because they will always use a secondary video bridge. So you will just be inviting more headaches and disappointment. First check that DVI out on your card can handle 1600x1200, but I think it should. Also check what resolutions your tv can handle with the DVI input.

I was confused - didn't realize component was not supported. Had a very late last night so please excuse me.

Should it be hard to find an AGP card with DVI out? My GBX PC doesn't have a PCI-E interface.

My AGP Radeon 9200SE has VGA and DVI out. It is also VIDIX supported and has passive cooling- so perfect for GeeXboX. Note that whilst a single component out is supported (e.g. the yellow plug one), YPrPb component out is not supported (they are red, green and blue coloured).

Me again!

Although, at this point, my latest issue isn't related to GeeXboX specifically, I'm hoping to get some input. I surely hope I'm not the only person using DVI with GeeXboX. Still, please LMK if I should go elsewhere (like a general computer-related A/V forum) for help.

Background:

So, I picked up a Radeon 9250 this weekend, with DVI-I out, to connect to my TVs DVI-D input, in an attempt to run 1600x1200.

I also got a DVI-D to DVI-D cable, which I was told "should" work, since the store didn't have a DVI-I to DVI-D cable on-hand. The way I understand it, what this means is that the 5 analog pins aren't being used, but all the digital pins are (which is what matters).

For reference (helped me, at least):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvi

New issue:

When I connect my GeeXboX PC to the TV, I get "nothing" when I have the Digital Input (DVI) selected on the TV. Specifically, the screen stays black and I don't see so much as a flicker when I power on the PC. For troubleshooting purposes, I swapped my GeeXboX PC with my gaming PC (GeForce 7600 GT with DVI-I out) and I got video. So, to me, this suggests the cable is indeed "good" and is not part of the problem. Why, then do I get TV output with one computer and not the other?

Also, for troubleshooting, I wondered if, perhaps the DVI-I output of the Radeon is "bad", but that's not the case either, because I connected it to a VGA monitor (using a DVI-I -> VGA adapter) and got video.

Note that I'm not seeing so much as the GeeXboX computer POSTing, whereas my gaming PC POSTs just fine (and it even boots to the GeeXboX PC; albeit it crashes later, but that's not relative to the issue-at-hand).

In conclusion, I noticed that my HDTV's DVI input is DVI/HDPC, so I thought that the problem may be related to that. But, after reading up on HDPC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDCP), it seems that HDCP is only related to HD resolutions, so it wouldn't cause any problems with my setup. Additionally, since my gaming PC works, doesn't that also suggest HDCP is not the problem?

BTW, at the time of this failure, the DVI was the only cable connected to the Radeon.

Any ideas?

I'm making progress.

I tried a Radeon 9800 AGP as well, for troubleshooting, which also did not work. I exchanged it for a Quadro 4 700 XGL 64 MB nVidia card (the only other AGP card with DVI that Discount Electronics had).

http://www.techexcess.net/dell-6f389-nv ... l-p80.aspx

Note that the 7600 GT PCI-X in my gaming machine is also nVidia based. Could the problem be due to a compatibility issue with ATI? That actually seems to be the case, because the Quadro 4 is outputting to the HDTV DVI-in!

New problem, though =/

Video looks fine, runs at 1600x1200 but it's cropped. There's black space on the top and bottom, like widescreen, and the left and right are cut off (cropped).

I changed the aspect ratio on both the HDTV and GB, all combinations, and none of them are lined up properly. I can take pictures if needed.

Any recommendations of settings I can change in GB to adjust the picture to fit better?

I hope I'm not being a pain. I can only presume no-one knows the answer, hence I haven't got any replies.

I also posted an inquiry relative to this issue on avsforum.com to see if they had any suggestions.

Below is the latest reply I got from someone over there. If someone has time to review and give me their thoughts (as it relates to GeeXboX, of course), I would greatly appreciate it: