[Cbe-oss-dev] Cannot get ps3-video-mode to work for ViewSonic N2635w

Wed Mar 10 05:39:59 EST 2010

Accidentally didn't post to list.

-----Original Message-----
From: Christopher Ozeroff
Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 10:39 AM
To: 'Antonio Ospite'; 'Geoff Levand'
Subject: RE: [Cbe-oss-dev] Cannot get ps3-video-mode to work for ViewSonic N2635w

Hello,

First of all, a big thanks to Antonio and Geoff for their quick replies, I really
appreciate it. Also, I apologize for some email formatting issues, I am forced to
use Outlook here. I will try to manually wrap the email to sane widths. Inlining
doesn't work too well either, so I'll summarize the results here instead. Apologies
for the top-post.

I was using HDMI, which I didn't specify in my original question. I was correctly
changing modes outside of X, that wasn't the problem. I did not try Geoff's
suggestion of video=720p on the boot line, because Antonio's forum had the fix.

I went to the forum listed by Antonio, and as soon as I saw the pictures posted
there, I knew that I had the exact same issue. This was my first attempt at Linux
on PS3, so Sony OS version 3.15 is the only version I have tried. Hence, I had no
idea that it was only on those patches that this problem existed. I don't know if
Antonio just tried different search terms than me; but anyway I never found the forum
he listed.

Following the forum advice, I went out last night and bought component cables and
setup the PS3 to use them instead. And they worked perfectly! No more corruption,
720p works great now.

THANKS!

So I am now another user that has been bitten by this particular strange
firmware/hardware problem. Is there anything Sony can do to fix this issue? Should I
call customer support to report this issue?

I will also post on the forum, and I will ask if Yellow Dog Linux can put a note of
this on their video FAQ. This problem is nearly impossible to solve unless you happen
to find that forum.

Thanks again!

Cheers,

Chris

On Mon, 8 Mar 2010 10:45:59 -0800
Christopher Ozeroff <COzeroff at relic.com> wrote:

> Hello,
>

Hi, I've reformatted the message to make it more readable, please consider wrapping your lines to a sane width, thanks.

Replies inlined.

> I have been trying to use Linux on my PS3 at home, in order to make a
> little videogame for my 18 month old daughter. I have tried installing
> both Yellow Dog Linux 6.2 and Ubuntu Karmic Koala (9.10) on the PS3,
> but I cannot get any video mode except 480i to work on my ViewSonic
> N2635w TV.
>

This is over HDMI, right?

> First, the symptoms: Regardless of how I set a higher resolution
> (let's say 720p) the TV recognizes the new setting (the on-screen
> display pops up), and the TV changes to that mode. The mode is
> definitely higher res, and it fits in the viewable space of the
> screen, but it is subtly corrupted. Colors are fine, but the text is
> really terrible, almost unreadable. It seems as if some vertical lines
> are missing, which can make lower-case M look like lower case N, for
> example. At first I thought that this was only the font, but I can
> also see it in the XWindow system by moving the mouse slowly (it is
> missing some columns of pixels in certain positions on the screen).
> The display is essentially unusable in this state, either in the
> console or in the XWindows system.
>

It looks like the problem described here:
http://www.yellowdog-board.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=6915

I experienced this with a Philips TV, but it does not happen with a Sony Bravia.

> With all of my searching and trying other methods, I have never seen
> anyone mention a problem like this. Does anyone have an idea what the
> issue could be?
>

Someone said it could depend on HDMI implementation on the TV part, but it doesn't happen in GameOS, I don't know how much this theory can hold.

Using component instead of HDMI fixed the problem for some people.

> Here are all of the things I have tried:
> - Two OS's, Ubuntu 9.10 and YDL 6.2
> - all combinations of ps3-video-mode, 50hz/60hz, 480p/720p/1080i
>   (1080p not supported by tv), dithering on/off, rgb on/off, fullscreen
>   on/off, full-range-color on/off.
> - I have tried removing the ps3-video-mode line on boot, and writing
>   my own Xorg.conf file. In this file, I used fbdev as the driver, and a
>   modeline I generated by referring to the manual specifications for my
>   television. I discovered several interesting issues there and fixed
>   them. If it is useful, I can post the file. Result: the file seems to
>   be correctly interpreted, but in the xorg log, the fbdev says it
>   checks the modeline with the TV, and then it seems to refuse to
> apply
> - related to xorg.conf, I have researched methods for disabling EDID
>   and other modeline checking, but those methods only seem to work for
>   the nvidia driver, I can't find any similar options for the fbdev
>   driver.
> - I have read many forums in a search for someone with a similar
>   problem, but have found no references to something similar to this.
>   Most people have more mundane problems, like screen overdraw or not
>   using ps3-video-mode in the first place

So it is not the same problem from the link above? It looks like it is.

> - Note that my TV works fine in the Sony OS. Both 720p and 1080i work
>   fine for games and XMB.
>
> Thanks in advance for any help, I am at my wit's end.
>
>
> Cheers,
>
> Chris
>
> P.S: Is there an easy way to search the archives of cbe-oss-dev? I
> don't often use mailman mailing lists.
>

google with "site:<mailinglist site> your_keyword" could do.

Regards,
   Antonio

--
Antonio Ospite
http://ao2.it

PGP public key ID: 0x4553B001

A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
   See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posting_style
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?

This message, including any attachments, may contain privileged and/or confidential information. Any distribution or use of this email by anyone other than the intended recipient(s) is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately and delete all copies. Thank you.