Purpose:
Enable simple TV-out functionality for legacy ATI Radeon cards with Rage Theater 100 (RT 100) or Embedded Rage Theater (ERT).
Scope:
The driver used has successfully enabled TV-out for the following cards (other legacy cards may also work):
* Radeon 7200 / European model
* Radeon 9000
* Radeon 9100
* Radeon 9200SE
* Radeon 7000
* Radeon QD
* Radeon Mobility M7
I used a PowerColor Radeon 7000 based card with Ubuntu 6.06 Dapper Drake to produce this tutorial.
Means:
We will compile and install a GATOS patched ATI driver for X.org, the X Window System used by Ubuntu.
Skill Level:
To complete this tutorial you should be comfortable using the command line.
Conventions Used:
Commands meant to be run from Terminal or Konsole will be shown inside of boxes labeled "Code". When the command is preceded by "sudo" you may be required to enter your administrator password.
This HOWTO also contains some sections marked "STUB" where I request help in fleshing out the solution.
Prep Work:
First, install some basic compilation tools, as well as various required X libraries.
Code:
sudo apt-get install build-essential
sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-dev
sudo apt-get install x11proto-xinerama-dev
sudo apt-get install x11proto-xf86misc-dev
sudo apt-get install x11proto-gl-dev
sudo apt-get install mesa-common-dev
Fetch Driver and Patch:
You may want to create a directory in which to store the temporary files we'll be using.
Code:
cd ~
mkdir atidrivers
cd atidrivers
You can now download driver and the patch.
Code:
wget http://xorg.freedesktop.org/releases/individual/driver/xf86-video-ati-6.5.8.0.tar.bz2
wget http://megahurts.dk/rune/stuff/xorg7-6.5.8.0-tv_output.patch.gz
The latest patches can be found here.
Decompress the Driver Source and Apply the Patch:
Code:
tar xjvf xf86-video-ati-6.5.8.0.tar.bz2
gunzip -c xorg7-6.5.8.0-tv_output.patch.gz | patch -p1 -d xf86-video-ati-6.5.8.0
Configure and Compile the Driver:
Code:
cd xf86-video-ati-6.5.8.0
export XORG_PREFIX="/usr"
export XORGCONFIG="--prefix=$XORGPREFIX --sysconfdir=/etc --localstatedir=/var"
./configure $XORG_CONFIG --with-xorg-module-dir=/usr/lib/xorg/modules
make
Back-up Current X.org Driver
STUB: The user should probably backup their current X.org driver. How is this done?
Install the new Driver:
If you reboot, X.Org will now use the new video drivers. However, TV-out will only be enabled when your screen resolution is set to 800x600.
For some reason, when I rebooted I was unable to change my resolution using the Screen Resolution tool found under the System->Preferences menu. Also, my ATI card defaults to PAL output, but my TV requires NTSC. Further tweaking was therefore required.
Tweaking the X.Org Configurations
The X.Org configurations are stored in /etc/X11/xorg.conf which can be edited with your favourite text-editor. We'll backup the file, and edit with gedit.
Code:
sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.old
sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf
The relevant sections of my xorg.conf:
Code:
Section "Device"
Identifier "ATI Technologies, Inc. Radeon RV100 QY [Radeon 7000/VE]"
Driver "ati"
BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
Option "TVOutput" "NTSC"
EndSection
TVOutput can be set to one of the follow: NTSC, NTSC-J, PAL, PAL-CN, PAL-M, PAL-N, PAL-60
Code:
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "SyncMaster"
HorizSync 30 - 50
VertRefresh 60 - 60
Option "DPMS"
EndSection
I set the Horizontal and Vertical refresh rates to match that of a CRT TV. This probably wasn't necessary, but since I don't have an actual monitor attached to this computer it doesn't hurt.
Code:
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default Screen"
Device "ATI Technologies, Inc. Radeon RV100 QY [Radeon 7000/VE]"
Monitor "SyncMaster"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "800x600"
EndSubSection
EndSection
Again, since I don't have a monitor attached to this computer I'm restricting the output to 800x600. That way, TV-Out will always be enabled. Note the 'Depth' must match the 'DefaultDepth'.
End Notes
After a reboot (or an Xorg restart) your TV-Out should be enabled.
On my first try the TV output was only in black/white. A new S-Video to Composition cable solved this problem.
If you have both a monitor and TV-Out you may run into overlay issues. For example, when playing a DVD, the video may only show on your monitor, with a black box showing on the TV-Out.
This is solved by adding the following to the "Device" section of xorg.conf, setting the TV-Out as the primary monitor:
Code:
Option "MonitorLayout" "STV, CRT"
On the patch site, the following "MonitorLayout" option is suggested, but this didn't work for me:
Code:
Option "MonitorLayout" "AUTO, NONE"
Suggestions for improvements to this HOWTO are welcome.
HOWTO: TV-out for legacy ATI cards using GATOS
Adv Reply
Originally Posted by m085
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