Here is my report about using a card based on the 6200 chipset, with component out, and the 7667 drivers. The video card (MSI brand) has analog VGA connector (unused), DVI connector (unused), and a funky PS/2 looking mini-din with too many holes that goes to a break-out tail with one S-Video connector and 3 RCA female pins for the component video signals. The HDTV is a Sony wega 32HS500 4:3 aspect ratio. All works well; now, to the details.

On startup the console appears on the TV. As usual, X starts automatically. After long fidgeting, this is a configuration set that works for me.

From XF86Config-4:

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "SonyTV"
Option "DPMS" "true"
VendorName "Sony"
ModelName "34HS500"
Option "TVStandard" "HD480p"
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "TV"
Option "TVOutFormat" "SVIDEO"
Option "NoLogo" "1"
# Option "TVOverScan" "0.8"
# Option "TVOverScan" "1.0"
# Option "TVOverScan" "0.5"
HorizSync 15-46
VertRefresh 59-61
ModeLine "720x480@60" 26.70 720 736 808 896 480 481 484 497 +hsync +vsync
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "ScreenTV"
Device "Card0"
Monitor "SonyTV"
DefaultColorDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "720x480@60" "640x480"
# Modes "640x480"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "XFree86 Configured"
# Screen 0 "Screen0" 0 0
Screen "ScreenTV"
InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
# PS/2 Mouse using /dev/input/mice in Kernel 2.6
# Serial Mouse not detected
InputDevice "USB Mouse" "CorePointer"
EndSection

720x480 spills over the left and right edges of the screen when in MythTv mode, but the circles in the splash screen of the default MythTv theme are actually round. News and web pages are clipped left and right. This produces an image that, when playing DVD, is comparable to that of a Denon 1600 DVD player (my other component video source); this is from a quick, subjective assessment.

640x480 mode leaves small fuzzy edges at the left and right sides, and the circles in the splash screen are slightly oval; other than that, it looks very nice.

For the curious, nothing works using the same configuration with an S-Video connector to the TV; I suppose the HD480p TVStandard is giving S-Video indigestion. The three-cables component input, all things identical, operates well.

Apparently, the 32HS500 will go into 16:9 mode if anything sharper than 480p is present at the input. Since I don't care too much for the black bands at top and bottom and for distorted aspect ratios, 480p is good enough for me.

Hope this may help another weary traveler on the path to MythTvana
Now it's time to go to bed.

alsq

I'm happy for you in achieving success so far. But I read your goal is to get HDTV resolutions, specifically 1080i. I only hope your success extends to the next step. I will anxiously await your report...

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Aha! This is a bit off-topic.

I had a mid-flight correction after understanding the behavior of my present TV. This model of Sony is natively 4:3 aspect ratio, but will whack anything above 31.5KHz into 16:9 aspect ratio and letterbox it.

It natively supports 480p and 1080i (so likely also 540p) and will downsample 720p to 1080i. But since--I believe--anything above 480p requires hsync greater than 31.5, it will automatically reshape it into 16:9. DVDs are natively 720x480, there's nothing bad about it. The 720x480@60 modeline actually works very well, in the usual letterboxed frame.

I have too little motivation at present--since I get only one HDTV channel--to go through the effort of getting my pc3000 to work and fixing to find another working 1080i or 540p modeline (what a pain). Can't use PowerStrip (no dual boot).

alsq

Actually I doubt it has anything to do with the refresh rate when it jumps into letterbox mode more likely to do with resolution. For instance I run either 720p or 1080i to my set both at 60hz it won't accept anything but 60hz for any resolution, but when I go 720p or 1080i it locks things so I can't play with aspect ratio like I can when feeding it a 640x480 or 800x600 resolution.

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Xsecrets

Just so I am clear. Even 720p does not work? Or is it just that your telivision does not support 720p, so your not using it. However, if your telivision supports but down-samples 720p, then you could actually tell if it's working. Although quailty may be in qiestion. Did you try pumping out 720p across component video? If I can't get to 720p, I think I will just get a transcoder and a differnt card.

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AMD 64 939 Venice 3200+
1GB RAM (2 512MB DDR400 184PIN DIMM )
HD3000
2 160GB SATA Seagate Barracuda 7200.7s
MSI Nx6200ax-td128 video card
Cooler Master Cavalier 2 - 350W PS
BenQ DW1640

Thanks,

Chris Lopeman

My television downsamples 720p to 1080i. I have not tested this card/driver combination at either of those resolutions, so I cannot tell that it does or does not work. Obtaining working modelines is, for my situation, more work that I have time or motivation to take care of at present. I believe, however (and this is only a speculation) that the card/driver should be able to generate 540p or 720p signals via component video when correctly configured. As to the 1080i signal, other posts claim both success and problems. As for me, I don't know. The card is not very expensive, ~US$70.00, less than the price of a decent transcoder. It's not a 'hot' gaming card, but is suitable as a nice workhorse and if you are prepared to put some toil into its configuration for 720p or 540p, and maybe 1080i, it's probably a chance worth taking. All this is for the AGP flavor; can't tell about other buses.

alsq