I'm trying to get Knoppmyth working on my system which uses a Trident video card with S-video out. I've followed every piece of advice I could find on here regarding modifying the XF86 config files etc but with no success. Basically when X starts I'm just getting a garbled picture, and when previously using Knoppix and having exactly the same problem, I'd found that using the boot 'cheat code' 'fb800x600' worked perfectly. Would I be able to use a similar work-around with my Knoppmyth config?

Shauns,

Try the X vesa driver. You can do that by dropping to the console, log in as root and do:

$dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86

select the vesa driver. You could also just edit the /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 if you are familiar with that and substitute vesa for whatever driver you are using.

Caution, the vesa X driver is a "lowest common denominator" type driver and it will be slower than one optimised for your video card. It will almost always work though.

Best of luck! Thanks!

Andrew Lynch

many thanks for your help. edited the xf86config-4 file to use the VESA driver which produces a working tv-out, thanks! however the quality is terrible. I also tried experimenting with the trident driver options, such as the 'tvchipset' and whilst this wouldn't produce a useable output, it did produce lots of coloured lines. Any other suggestions for improving the quality/getting the trident driver to work? thanks again

Do you have access to another video card? Preferrably a NVidia or recent ATI? They can produce good quality TV-out but I am afraid I cannot help you with the specifics on how to make the Trident driver work correctly.

Do you know the specific chipset your Trident card is using? Maybe there are other options available.

The vesa driver will allow you to complete MythTV configuration and get some minimal functionality. It probably will not allow you sufficient throughput for decent video playback though.

I hope this helps. I believe it would be worth it for you to purchase as cheap as a NVidia card as possible (preferrably a fanless one) as it will make your life much easier for approximately $30 from newegg.com.

Best of luck in your efforts!

Andrew Lynch