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Stuck With Low Resolution (800x600) With V1200

Spyros Kourias

Posts 21
01 Apr 2020 19:09


First of all I would like to thank the Apollo guys and Majsta of course for an almost impeccable 2.12 core update and a fantastic V1200 card. I can say that now I'm satisfied with what I have and I think it is one of the biggest leaps so far. However I seem to have the following problems which have to do with screen resolutions (running Coffin r54, latest SAGA driver and the latest core that I uploaded from the Apollo website):
 
  a)  even though I can see many of the higher resolutions, when I test them with my monitor (Viewsonic TV/Monitor 22") I get a blue screen. What might go wrong? In prefs can "see" options up to 1366x768 (16:9) and I would like to use the one that works with my MorphOS setup with the exact same monitor (1280x720) but how?
 
  b) Screen-modes related problem as well. When I try to run some games or programs  (eg. Milkytracker, Napalm, Heretic just to name a few), after I click on the icon I will get a blue screen and no other activity. What about that?

c) with a variety of games and programs (I just tested 194x) when these are running, I get normal sound from the monitor that is connected through RGB2Scart but no image at all and a blue screen through Hdmi (which seems normal). Any ideas?
 
  Other than that, everything is really nice and fun and I couldn't complain. However I would like to test screen modes higher than 800x600 with which I am currently stuck.
 


Gunnar von Boehn
(Apollo Team Member)
Posts 6207
01 Apr 2020 19:53


This is normal.
 
Each monitor has different resolutions which it likes best.
You can use the p96 tool in prefs to define/adjust the resolutions matching YOUR monitor.

You can "adjust" the existing resolution , that your monitor not likes. You can increase or decrease the HERZ a little.
Maybe your monitor not likes the mode in 59Hz but in 61Hz.
You can also change the SYNC POLARITY.

Good luck!


Spyros Kourias

Posts 21
02 Apr 2020 21:12


Thanks Gunnar! Today I spent a lot of time trying to tweak P96 to no avail. If anyone can help further with such settings, well here is the manual for my TV/Monitor:
 
  EXTERNAL LINK 
  and this is the model
 
  EXTERNAL LINK 
  I give up for the time being. It could be that I'm missing something in the settings process. Would I have to open a new settings panel in P96prefs and then attach it to UAEgfx or what? I dunno, really! Any help with exact or nearly exact numbers will be appreciated.


Gunnar von Boehn
(Apollo Team Member)
Posts 6207
03 Apr 2020 08:15


Spyros Kourias wrote:

  Would I have to open a new settings panel in P96prefs and then attach it to UAEgfx or what?
 

Hmm, UAE GFX you should not have at all.
Your Driver should be called "SAGA" or "VAMPIRE"
 
For adjusting a resolution you should open the tool PICASSO96MODE which is located in PREFS Folder.
 
There you select the mode you want to use.
E.g 800x600 and you change the setting on the RIGHT side.
For example 800x600 what setting /values do you see there right now?
Can you please post them?
What is the Frequency Value?

For example you should verify that this resolution is 60Hz.
Because your monitor might only except 60Hz here while other might also like 50Hz.
If the Frequency is already 60Hz, then you can try adjust it minimally. Maybe 61 Hz is what your monitor loves in reality.
If small tuning of Refresh Rate does not do the trick
then you can test if Swapping the Sync-Polarity will help you.


Spyros Kourias

Posts 21
03 Apr 2020 17:56


Thanks again for the support Gunnar! I appreciate it. I'll post a couple of photos and will state which of the screenmode in P96 work. I do have SAGA driver but none of these resolutions work except for a couple of them. I'll try to get back to you with as much info as possible.
 


Spyros Kourias

Posts 21
03 Apr 2020 21:21


Well, I have a totally fine working screen mode (800x600) which is the only one that works so far. Every other attempt was fruitless. I'm missing something basic here maybe but just for the record, the screen mode I'd prefer to use is 1280x720. Take a look at the working one and the two others that never worked so far.

800x600 (working nicely)
EXTERNAL LINK 
and the other one i''d like to test:

EXTERNAL LINK 
Any ideas on what tweaking is needed? Thanks in advance.



Golden Child

Posts 4
04 Apr 2020 01:59


Hi Spyros,

TVs are sometimes very picky about what signals they get.  Regular monitors aren't quite as picky.

If you have an linux box, (ubuntu or a live-cd like knoppix) you may try to get information from your TV by running xrandr from a terminal or by using get-edid and piping that to parse-edid.  (the ubuntu package is read-edid for get-edid and parse-edid)

On my TV, hooking up to my linux box and running xrandr gives me:

  800x600 (0x51) 40.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  800 start  840 end  968 total 1056 skew    0 clock  37.88KHz
        v: height  600 start  601 end  605 total  628          clock  60.32Hz
  800x600 (0x52) 36.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  800 start  824 end  896 total 1024 skew    0 clock  35.16KHz
        v: height  600 start  601 end  603 total  625          clock  56.25Hz

and for 1280x720 I can see:

  1280x720 (0x4b) 74.250MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1280 start 1390 end 1430 total 1650 skew    0 clock  45.00KHz
        v: height  720 start  725 end  730 total  750          clock  60.00Hz
  1280x720 (0x4d) 74.176MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1280 start 1390 end 1430 total 1650 skew    0 clock  44.96KHz
        v: height  720 start  725 end  730 total  750          clock  59.94Hz

If you look at the numbers in your posted images:

at 800x600:
  framesize = 1056  628
  bordersize = 0 0
  position = 40  1
  syncsize = 128  4

those correspond to the numbers for this mode:

  800x600 (0x51) 40.000MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  800 start  840 end  968 total 1056 skew    0 clock  37.88KHz
        v: height  600 start  601 end  605 total  628          clock  60.32Hz

framesize is total
position is start-width
syncsize = end-start

for 1280x720 you may try:

  1280x720 (0x4d) 74.176MHz +HSync +VSync
        h: width  1280 start 1390 end 1430 total 1650 skew    0 clock  44.96KHz
        v: height  720 start  725 end  730 total  750          clock  59.94Hz

framesize = 1650 750
bordersize = 0 0
position = 110 5
syncsize = 40 5

Another thing you could try is cvt timings:

reduced blank

cvt -r 1280 720
# 1280x720 59.74 Hz (CVT 0.92M9-R) hsync: 44.27 kHz; pclk: 63.75 MHz
Modeline "1280x720R"  63.75  1280 1328 1360 1440  720 723 728 741 +hsync -vsync

cvt 1280 720
# 1280x720 59.86 Hz (CVT 0.92M9) hsync: 44.77 kHz; pclk: 74.50 MHz
Modeline "1280x720_60.00"  74.50  1280 1344 1472 1664  720 723 728 748 -hsync +vsync

note these are 60hz, you can try 50

cvt 1280 720 50
# 1280x720 49.83 Hz (CVT 0.92M9) hsync: 37.07 kHz; pclk: 60.50 MHz
Modeline "1280x720_50.00"  60.50  1280 1328 1456 1632  720 723 728 744 -hsync +vsync




Spyros Kourias

Posts 21
04 Apr 2020 15:46


@Golden Child
Thanks for your detailed response, indeed! I did see some light with these settings

1280x720 (0x4d) 74.176MHz +HSync +VSync   
h: width  1280 start 1390 end 1430 total 1650 skew    0 clock  44.96KHz
v: height  720 start  725 end  730 total  750          clock  59.94Hz

framesize = 1650 750
bordersize = 0 0
position = 110 5
syncsize = 40 5

However, while the graphs are crisp, when I try to do anything, from opening a drawer to dragging icons on Workbecnh, the screen blinks on/off and is generally unusable. :( It's a pity because I have seen other people have the same problems in the past but the responses are not that clear and din't help at all.

Generally speaking, is there any detailed table of settings per screen mode that I can consult. I have spent at least 2-3 hours tweaking and testing with various values but still no result.



Golden Child

Posts 4
04 Apr 2020 17:25


https://www.manualslib.com/manual/186667/Viewsonic-Nx1940w.html?page=27#manual

there's a list of modes in the manual:

NX1940w/NX2240w
LCD TV  page 25

22"Wide Preset Timing Mode

RESOLUTION
720x400 @ 70Hz
640x480 @ 60Hz
640x480 @ 75Hz
800x600 @ 60Hz
800x600 @ 75Hz
832x624 @ 75Hz
1024x768 @ 60Hz
1024x768 @ 75Hz
1280x768@ 60Hz
1280x1024 @60Hz
1440x900@ 60Hz
1680x1050@ 60Hz
480I(60Hz)
480p(60Hz)
576I(50Hz)
576p(50Hz)
720p(50/60Hz)
1080i (50/60Hz)

The actual native resolution of your TV is 1680x1050.  I wonder if a 30hz 1680x1050 would work.

cvt 1680 1050 30
# 1680x1050 29.95 Hz (CVT) hsync: 32.08 kHz; pclk: 67.75 MHz
Modeline "1680x1050_30.00"  67.75  1680 1736 1896 2112  1050 1053 1059 1071 -hsync +vsync

cvt 1680 1050 50
# 1680x1050 49.97 Hz (CVT 1.76MA) hsync: 54.12 kHz; pclk: 119.50 MHz
Modeline "1680x1050_50.00"  119.50  1680 1776 1944 2208  1050 1053 1059 1083 -hsync +vsync

Asking my TV what it supports under linux is:

sudo get-edid | parse-edid
This is read-edid version 3.0.2. Prepare for some fun.
3 potential busses found: 0 5 7
Will scan through until the first EDID is found.
Pass a bus number as an option to this program to go only for that one.
Bus 0 doesn't really have an EDID...
256-byte EDID successfully retrieved from i2c bus 5
Looks like i2c was successful. Have a good day.
Checksum Correct

Section "Monitor"
  Identifier "LCD TV"
  ModelName "LCD TV"
  VendorName "FNI"
  Option "DPMS" "false"
  Horizsync 15-69
  VertRefresh 23-63
  # Maximum pixel clock is 150MHz

  #Extension block found. Parsing...
  Modeline  "Mode 2" 148.500 1920 2008 2052 2200 1080 1084 1089 1125 +hsync +vsync
  Modeline  "Mode 0" 148.50 1920 2008 2052 2200 1080 1084 1089 1125 +hsync +vsync
  Modeline  "Mode 1" 27.00 720 736 798 858 480 489 495 525 -hsync -vsync
  Modeline  "Mode 3" 27.027 720 736 798 858 480 489 495 525 -hsync -vsync
  Modeline  "Mode 4" 74.250 1920 2558 2602 2750 1080 1084 1089 1125 +hsync +vsync
  Modeline  "Mode 5" 74.250 1920 2008 2052 2200 1080 1084 1089 1125 +hsync +vsync
  Modeline  "Mode 6" 74.250 1280 1390 1420 1650 720 725 730 750 +hsync +vsync
  Modeline  "Mode 7" 27.027 720 736 798 858 480 489 495 525 -hsync -vsync
  Modeline  "Mode 8" 74.250 1920 2008 2052 2200 1080 1082 1087 1125 +hsync +vsync interlace
  Modeline  "Mode 9" 27.027 1440 1478 1602 1716 480 484 487 525 -hsync -vsync interlace
  Modeline  "Mode 10" 27.027 1440 1478 1602 1716 480 484 487 525 -hsync -vsync interlace
  Modeline  "Mode 11" 25.200 640 656 752 800 480 490 492 525 -hsync -vsync
  Modeline  "Mode 12" 74.25 1920 2558 2602 2750 1080 1084 1089 1125 +hsync +vsync
  Modeline  "Mode 13" 74.25 1920 2008 2052 2200 1080 1084 1089 1125 +hsync +vsync
  Modeline  "Mode 14" 74.25 1280 1390 1430 1650 720 725 730 750 +hsync +vsync
  Modeline  "Mode 15" 85.50 1360 1424 1536 1792 768 771 777 795 +hsync +vsync
  Option "PreferredMode" "Mode 2"
EndSection

and xrandr gives me a lot of options on my TV for 1920x1080 with various refresh rates:

DIGITAL-VIDEO-1 connected 1360x768+4960+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 16mm x 9mm
    1920x1080    60.00 +  59.94    30.00    24.00    29.97    23.98 
    1920x1080i    60.00    59.94 
    1360x768      60.02*
    1280x768      59.99 
    1280x720      60.00    59.94 
    1024x768      60.00 
    800x600      60.32 
    720x480      60.00    59.94 
    720x480i      60.00    59.94 
    640x480      60.00    59.94 

one thing you may try is an interlace mode like 1920x1080i or 1920x1080 with lower rates like 30 or 24.

Yes, TVs are a finicky lot.  They only support whatever resolutions and refresh rates that they've tested and vary those even slightly and they'll report "Unsupported signal".  It's pretty frustrating sometimes.

A regular monitor is usually much more forgiving.


Golden Child

Posts 4
05 Apr 2020 10:17


A couple of more things you could try:

perhaps going with true color requires too much bandwidth?  You might try to get it going with lower bandwidth requirements.

In the screenshot, you are going with TrueColor/Alpha, maybe try 256 color and see what happens?

I found a list of CEA resolutions in drm_edid.c, you could search for "1280x720" and find an entry for 24,30,50 or 60 hz for the timings.

EXTERNAL LINK 
It's interesting that CEA timings (for TVs) is slightly different than CVT timings (for monitors).

At
EXTERNAL LINK 
there's a calculator for CVT timings (that shows reduced blank values, not just RB values for 60hz)



Spyros Kourias

Posts 21
15 Apr 2020 11:13


It seems I am still struggling with the correct ScreenMode. I'm stuck with 800x600 because while the only other screenMode that works is a "custom" 1240x767 however it seems to be unstable to put it this way. This means that when it works and gets stressed with more demanding processes (let's say stream music with AmigaAmp while surfing the net with iBrowse). Please take some time and see what I mean in the following video:

EXTERNAL LINK 
It is just unusable because sometimes it gets even worse. I could stay get away with 800x600 which doesn't have such problems but then what's the point? I tried installing the latest SAGAdriver (2.0) with coffin r54 but it still behaves the same. The same happens with a totally plain 3.9 installation with the newest SAGAdriver. No hope so far!

And I have to ask: is it a monitor problem/incimpatibility or just something that needs to be addressed with a newer core? It seems that I'm not alone in this, since Grzegorz Krzystek made a relevant video and shared his experience on FB (Vampire group). What he suggest is:

"if you are using picasse96 from aminet (2.0) just make sure you updated vampiregfx.card to 1.29 , and prior to enable layers v45 you need to do additional step which is name Libs/Picasso96/fastlayers.library to fastlayers.library.disabled"

The question is if this could fix the problem and where do I found vampiregfx.card 1.29?
 




Gunnar von Boehn
(Apollo Team Member)
Posts 6207
15 Apr 2020 12:49


Spyros Kourias wrote:

And I have to ask: is it a monitor problem/incimpatibility 

It looks like your monitor setting is on the "edge"
That you get a black screen should not happen.

Can you please give full detailed information about the monitor setting you use for WB?


Spyros Kourias

Posts 21
16 Apr 2020 15:10


Here you are Gunnar

EXTERNAL LINK 
I have tried a lot of times with various combination, P96 settings and screenmodes with no result so far. I also checked through UMC and copied exactly the settings as suggested but still no joy.


Gunnar von Boehn
(Apollo Team Member)
Posts 6207
16 Apr 2020 15:24


1280x767 is not an official DIGITAL-VIDEO screenmode
So that this is not working good is understandable.
An official mode like 1280x720 should usually run better.




Spyros Kourias

Posts 21
16 Apr 2020 15:46


Ι know that and that's why I wrote it is "custom" one, however it is the only one that worked so far. The one you have been suggesting since day one refuses to work even with the correct settings.

For instance, the settings in the attached photo lead to nothing

EXTERNAL LINK 


posts 15