Mailing List Archive: MythTV: Users

"Video Mode not supported" if PC turned on before TV

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jonnylinux at gmail

Apr 3, 2009, 6:55 AM

Post #1 of 11 (7073 views)
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"Video Mode not supported" if PC turned on before TV

Hi,

I have a Philips 32" LCD TV, connected to my mythfrontend. I have an
NVIDIA 8500GT connected to the TV via DVI (and I'm using the latest
drivers 180.44).

If I turn on the TV after the PC has booted, I get a message saying
"Video Mode Not Supported", but if I turn the PC on after I've already
turned the TV on, it works!

Similarly if I turn the TV on, then the PC, then change the TV's input
to a different source (such as actual live TV), and then go back to
the PC source, I get "Video Mode Not Supported" again. I then have to
power off the PC, and turn it back on. I used to have a similar
problem when I had a FX5200 connected to it, but then I could solve
the problem by restarting X, that doesn't seem to work now I'm using
the 8500GT.

Can anyone help please?

Thanks,

Jonny
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ron at ronfrazier

Apr 3, 2009, 6:24 PM

Post #2 of 11 (6949 views)
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Re: "Video Mode not supported" if PC turned on before TV [In reply to]

> If I turn on the TV after the PC has booted, I get a message saying
> "Video Mode Not Supported", but if I turn the PC on after I've already
> turned the TV on, it works!

This is just a guess.

When X starts up, if your TV is on the X driver is able to query the
TV for supported video modes. What I've noticed is that even if my X
config specifies a format that is invalid, the driver seems to ignore
what the config file says and picks its own chosen resolution from
whatever the TV says is valid. Perhaps the issue is that if the TV is
off (or on another input) it is unable to query the supported modes,
so instead it just assumes that whatever is in the config file is
valid (which it isn't, and thus your TV complains). However, when it's
on and on the proper input, it's able to determine your config is
invalid and automatically fixes the problem.

I don't remember whether or not I had to turn on a special config
option, but if I look in the X log, it enumerates all of the modes
that are supported by my TV. It has a bunch of blocks like this:

(II) NVIDIA(0): Validating Mode "1920x1080":
(II) NVIDIA(0): 1920 x 1080 @ 60 Hz
(II) NVIDIA(0): For use as DFP backend.
(II) NVIDIA(0): Mode Source: EDID
(II) NVIDIA(0): Pixel Clock : 148.50 MHz
(II) NVIDIA(0): HRes, HSyncStart : 1920, 2008
(II) NVIDIA(0): HSyncEnd, HTotal : 2052, 2200
(II) NVIDIA(0): VRes, VSyncStart : 1080, 1084
(II) NVIDIA(0): VSyncEnd, VTotal : 1089, 1125
(II) NVIDIA(0): H/V Polarity : +/+
(II) NVIDIA(0): Mode is valid.

Then (much) further down in the log, it has a bunch of lines like this:

(II) NVIDIA(0): --- Modes in ModePool for SHARP HDMI (DFP-0) ---
(II) NVIDIA(0): "nvidia-auto-select" : 1920 x 1080 @ 60.0 Hz (from: EDID)
(II) NVIDIA(0): "1920x1080" : 1920 x 1080 @ 60.0 Hz (from: EDID)
(II) NVIDIA(0): "1920x1080_60" : 1920 x 1080 @ 60.0 Hz (from: EDID)
(II) NVIDIA(0): "1920x1080_65" : 1920 x 1080 @ 65.0 Hz (from:
X Configuration file ModeLine)

In that last block, the strings in quotes each assign a name to each
of the valid mode blocks. You can use that name in your xorg.conf file
to specify the desired resolution in the Screen Section (Subsection
Display):
Modes "1920x1080_60"

--
Ron
Ronald Frazier Photography - http://www.ronfphoto.com/
Blogging About Photography - http://ronfrazier.blogspot.com/
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jyavenard at gmail

Apr 3, 2009, 6:37 PM

Post #3 of 11 (6986 views)
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Re: "Video Mode not supported" if PC turned on before TV [In reply to]

Hi

2009/4/4 Ronald Frazier <ron [at] ronfrazier>:
> When X starts up, if your TV is on the X driver is able to query the
> TV for supported video modes. What I've noticed is that even if my X
> config specifies a format that is invalid, the driver seems to ignore
> what the config file says and picks its own chosen resolution from
> whatever the TV says is valid. Perhaps the issue is that if the TV is
> off (or on another input) it is unable to query the supported modes,
> so instead it just assumes that whatever is in the config file is
> valid (which it isn't, and thus your TV complains). However, when it's
> on and on the proper input, it's able to determine your config is
> invalid and automatically fixes the problem.

Assuming nvidia cards ; The way to get around this is by using the
CustomEDID option in Xorg.

What you do is download the EDID file using the nvidia-settings
utility, then use CustomEDID to specify where the EDID is stored. That
way , your TV won't need to be on and the PC will always know what
video options are available.

You also need to tell the nvidia drivers where the screens are located
with something like:

This is for my dual screen setup: one projector, one 17" LCD: both
connected via DVI.

Section "Device"
Identifier "Videocard0"
Driver "nvidia"
VendorName "NVIDIA Corporation"
BoardName "GeForce 8600 GT"
Option "CustomEDID" "DFP-0:/etc/X11/viewsonic-edid.bin;
DFP-1:/etc/X11/panasonic-edid.bin"
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "DFP-0,DFP-1"
Option "UseDisplayDevice" "DFP-1"
Option "UseEvents" "True"
BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection
Section "Device"
Identifier "Videocard1"
Driver "nvidia"
VendorName "NVIDIA Corporation"
BoardName "GeForce 8600 GT"
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "DFP-0,DFP-1"
Option "UseDisplayDevice" "DFP-0"
Option "UseEvents" "True"
BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
Screen 1
EndSection

Note that CustomEDID is only to be used once, even if you set two
device sections.

This is for a one screen setup:
Section "Device"
Identifier "Generic Video Card"
Driver "nvidia"
Option "CustomEDID" "DFP-0:/etc/X11/sony46x3100-edid.bin"
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "DFP-0"
Option "UseDisplayDevice" "DFP-0"
Option "UseEvents" "True"
EndSection

Check the nvidia drivers manual for more information.

Jean-Yves
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ylee at pobox

Apr 4, 2009, 8:05 AM

Post #4 of 11 (6929 views)
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Re: "Video Mode not supported" if PC turned on before TV [In reply to]

Ronald Frazier <ron [at] ronfrazier> says:
> I don't remember whether or not I had to turn on a special config
> option, but if I look in the X log, it enumerates all of the modes
> that are supported by my TV.

For the curious, the easy way to generate such data as Ronald has in
his Xorg.0.log is by putting

Option "ModeDebug" "true"

in the Screen (not Device) section of xorg.conf. I believe the
resulting debugging data also nicely replaces the Windows PowerStrip
utility that is sometimes suggested for extracing EDID modelines from
a monitor.

--
Frontend/backend: P4 3.0GHz, 1.5TB software RAID 5 array
Backend: Quad-core Xeon 1.6GHz, 6.6TB sw RAID 6
Video inputs: Four high-definition over FireWire/OTA
Accessories: 47" 1080p LCD, 5.1 digital, and MX-600
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jonnylinux at gmail

Apr 9, 2009, 12:49 PM

Post #5 of 11 (6834 views)
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Re: "Video Mode not supported" if PC turned on before TV [In reply to]

Hi all,

Thanks for responding to this issue, I've tried various combinations
of EDID settings, and I still can't get it working. I've connected DVI
to DVI on another TV (no EDID specified), and it works perfectly
(switching TV off and on again retains the signal).

I've also tried connecting via VGA to DVI converter, and I get similar
results. I'm now sure it must be to do with the TV settings (but there
don't seem to be any menus to change the setting).

Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks,

Jonny
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jaw1959 at gmail

Apr 9, 2009, 1:11 PM

Post #6 of 11 (6826 views)
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Re: "Video Mode not supported" if PC turned on before TV [In reply to]

None of my TV computers recognize their displays unless the display is on
when the computer boots. But so long as the display is on at the time of
boot, i can turn my display off and on, as long as I keep the machine
running. Is this consistent with what you see? This behavior has been
consistent with every Windows/Linux machine I've used (which is only about
15). I'm not sure if this helps, but I thought I'd try. Good luck.

jonnylinux at gmail

Apr 10, 2009, 3:01 AM

Post #7 of 11 (6813 views)
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Re: "Video Mode not supported" if PC turned on before TV [In reply to]

On Thu, Apr 9, 2009 at 9:11 PM, Josh White <jaw1959 [at] gmail> wrote:
> None of my TV computers recognize their displays unless the display is on
> when the computer boots. But so long as the display is on at the time of
> boot, i can turn my display off and on, as long as I keep the machine
> running. Is this consistent with what you see?

That's similar, but without the consistency! For me even if the TV is
on at boot time, when I turn the TV off and on again it loses the
signal (well it says "Video mode not supported" instead of "no
signal"). Similarly if I change input modes on the TV, and then go
back to the PC.

I've also had a couple of times recently when I've turned the TV on,
then the PC, and I've had "video mode not supported" all through the
boot process (no BIOS messages shown either), then I turn the PC off
and on again and it suddenly works (with BIOS messages shown). Because
I'm only occasionally seeing the BIOS, I'm reasonably sure it can't be
a problem with my X config.

Thanks,

Jonny
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jyavenard at gmail

Apr 10, 2009, 3:48 AM

Post #8 of 11 (6804 views)
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Re: "Video Mode not supported" if PC turned on before TV [In reply to]

Hi

2009/4/10 jonny Linux <jonnylinux [at] gmail>:
> Hi all,
>
> Thanks for responding to this issue, I've tried various combinations
> of EDID settings, and I still can't get it working. I've connected DVI
> to DVI on another TV (no EDID specified), and it works perfectly
> (switching TV off and on again retains the signal).

Did you use the CustomEDID option I've mentioned earlier ?

no way that wouldn't work.

Check the X log to make sure that option works properly and that it
finds the edid.bin file
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nico at youplala

Apr 10, 2009, 5:12 AM

Post #9 of 11 (6799 views)
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Re: "Video Mode not supported" if PC turned on before TV [In reply to]

On Fri, 2009-04-10 at 21:22 +1000, Jean-Yves Avenard wrote:
> 2009/4/10 Mike Perkins <mikep [at] randomtraveller>:
> > The problem isn't the computer end, the problem is that the TV
> freaks when
> > the input disappears or changes for any reason. There's no way you
> can fix
> > that by changing xorg.conf.
>
> With the right modline and the right edid, the PC will always output
> the same signal..
> That's the whole point of CustomEDID

And it does work a treat.

I need to meet you and pay for some beers!

Nico

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jonnylinux at gmail

Apr 10, 2009, 5:39 AM

Post #10 of 11 (6788 views)
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Re: "Video Mode not supported" if PC turned on before TV [In reply to]

Hi,

Yes I did try the CustomEDID, it still didn't work

> With the right modline and the right edid, the PC will always output
> the same signal..
> That's the whole point of CustomEDID

But even if the PC does output the same signal, turning the TV off and
on again doesn't affect things because the output signal hasn't
changed in the time it takes me to turn the TV off and on again.

Similarly I'm having problems viewing the BIOS screen on the TV
(sometimes it shows, sometimes it doesn't), and this is well before
the CustomEDID starts.

Thanks,

Jonny
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jonnylinux at gmail

Jul 24, 2009, 6:18 AM

Post #11 of 11 (6098 views)
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Re: "Video Mode not supported" if PC turned on before TV [In reply to]

>> With the right modline and the right edid, the PC will always output
>> the same signal..
>> That's the whole point of CustomEDID
>
> But even if the PC does output the same signal, turning the TV off and
> on again doesn't affect things because the output signal hasn't
> changed in the time it takes me to turn the TV off and on again.
>
> Similarly I'm having problems viewing the BIOS screen on the TV
> (sometimes it shows, sometimes it doesn't), and this is well before
> the CustomEDID starts.

Hi,

Sorry to resurrect an old thread. I thought I had a good system worked
out - if I turn the TV on, then within about 3 seconds turn the PC on,
it all worked fine.

But last night I tried to turn the TV/PC on, using the usual method,
and all I got was "Video Mode Not Supported". I did about 20 power
cycles, and the TV never displayed anything from the PC (not even the
BIOS screen). It's a Philips 32" LCD TV, connected via a DVI cable to
a NVIDIA 8500GT

When I had this problem a few months ago, I tried using another TV and
everything worked perfectly.

I'm wondering if the TV is interpreting the DVI signal correctly -
however, I used to get a similar problem when I used a VGA connection.

Does anybody have any suggestions about what the problem could be?

Thanks,

Jonny
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