Compaq Armada M700 tv-out

[anopoli]

Hello to everyone!!!
This is not a Salix problem, but a problem with every Linux distro i have tested so far.
I recently tested Salix and i liked the speed of it. So i decided to go Salix with my old
Compaq Armada M700 laptop. I also liked the speed of Zenwalk but i couldnt register
to their forum board due to an database or something similar error...
So i want to have Salix on my old laptop, but i also need tv-out.
The tv-out stuff doesn't seem to work out of the box, so i need your guidance here...
The laptop:
Compaq Armada M700
320mb ram @ 100MHz
Pentium III 750MHz
Ati rage mobility M2
The tv-out comes in plain composite connector (RCA cable, not VGA,SVHS or other fancy interface...)
The audio comes out of headphones and working properly on my tv with Jack to RCA ("front RGB" channel in my Philips TV).
I have not a single sign of video with function keys.
Any suggestions appreciated.
I speak Hellenic better than any other languange in the world, so if there are any users from Hellas,
παρακαλώ μη διστάσετε να μου απαντήστετε στα Ελληνικά.
Thanks in advance.
Respect.

[Shador]

Install an application like lxrand or use xrandr directly.

[gapan]

arandr from sourcery/slapt-src might be a better choice.

You could also give use the output of xrandr from a terminal (no options at all).

[anopoli]

First of all thanks for the replies...
I'll post the output of xrandr when i connect via my laptop.
But from what i can recall from memory i'm getting an error about gamma or something.
I'm not a xrandr, randr, arandr expert, so any specific help about it will be much appreciated.
As a general question:
Do i have to create a 2048x768 virtual desktop with *randr
and then allocate half to laptop LCD and half to TV?
Do i have to lower the default color depth for TV to work?
Do i have to create an /etc/X11/xorg.conf for persistence?
It seems i can't figure it out how these works and how to make it happen.
Thanks again for your time.
Respect

[anopoli]

I'm back again from the laptop this time...
xrandr gives out:

Code: Select all

root[~]# xrandr
xrandr: Failed to get size of gamma for output default
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 175, current 1024 x 768, maximum 1024 x 768
default connected 1024x768+0+0 0mm x 0mm
   1024x768       87.0     85.0     75.0     70.0     60.0*    81.0  
   832x624        75.0  
   800x600        85.0     75.0     72.0     60.0     56.0  
   640x480        85.0     75.0     73.0     60.0  
   720x400        85.0  
   640x400        85.0  
   640x350        85.0  
   512x384        87.0     85.0     75.0     70.0     60.0  
   416x312        75.0  
   400x300        85.0     75.0     72.0     60.0     56.0  
   320x240        85.0     75.0     73.0     60.0  
   360x200        85.0  
   320x200        85.0  
   320x175        85.0 

lspci -k gives:

Code: Select all

root[~]# lspci -k
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 440BX/ZX/DX - 82443BX/ZX/DX Host bridge (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Compaq Computer Corporation Armada M700/E500
	Kernel driver in use: agpgart-intel
	Kernel modules: intel-agp
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 440BX/ZX/DX - 82443BX/ZX/DX AGP bridge (rev 03)
	Kernel modules: shpchp
00:04.0 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCI1450 (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Compaq Computer Corporation Armada M700
	Kernel driver in use: yenta_cardbus
	Kernel modules: yenta_socket
00:04.1 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCI1450 (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Compaq Computer Corporation Armada M700
	Kernel driver in use: yenta_cardbus
	Kernel modules: yenta_socket
00:07.0 Bridge: Intel Corporation 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 ISA (rev 02)
00:07.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 IDE (rev 01)
	Kernel driver in use: ata_piix
00:07.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 USB (rev 01)
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd
	Kernel modules: uhci-hcd
00:07.3 Bridge: Intel Corporation 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 ACPI (rev 03)
	Kernel driver in use: piix4_smbus
	Kernel modules: i2c-piix4
00:08.0 Multimedia audio controller: ESS Technology ES1978 Maestro 2E (rev 10)
	Subsystem: Compaq Computer Corporation Armada M700/E500
	Kernel driver in use: ES1968 (ESS Maestro)
	Kernel modules: snd-es1968, radio-maestro
00:09.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82557/8/9/0/1 Ethernet Pro 100 (rev 09)
	Subsystem: Intel Corporation EtherExpress PRO/100+ MiniPCI
	Kernel driver in use: e100
	Kernel modules: e100
00:09.1 Serial controller: Agere Systems LT WinModem
	Subsystem: Intel Corporation PRO/100+ MiniPCI (probably an Ambit U98.003.C.00 combo card)
	Kernel driver in use: serial
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc Rage Mobility P/M AGP 2x (rev 64)
	Subsystem: Compaq Computer Corporation Armada M700
	Kernel modules: atyfb

Many thanks
Respect

[gapan]

That doesn't look too good. It seems that your tv-out is not recognized by the xorg driver that is being used. I have no experience at all with ati cards or drivers. Maybe if you tried the proprietary ati driver, you would get a working tv-out. I don't really know.

[Shador]

Maybe attaching something to the tv-out leads to a change. Or you cropped some part? Otherwise other than gapan's advice just some research could help.

[anopoli]

No, the output is not cropped, and with an RCA cable attached to my TV, the output of xrandr is exactly the same.
TV-OUT with Linux in general, seems a very difficult task with that laptop (according to my experiences with other distros).
I' ll try to install win98 to it, just to make sure i' m not dealing with a hardware failure.
I really like Linux, and i wish i could go Salix with that old piece of hardware.
I need desperately the tv-out functionality, because the plan for that laptop is to be a media player and a picture slide-shower.
In fact the only distros that played out a movie flawlessly was Salix and Zenwalk (Zenwalk with gnome in fact!!!).
So...
a) Are you aware of any ATI drivers for that GPU (so i can stay with Salix)?
b) Are you aware of any distro that comes with proprietary drivers for that GPU?
No matter how old a distro it could be, i only need a movie player and a picture slide-shower.
ATI is well known for quickly dropping support for older products, so the idea is that maybe i could find an older distro that
has proprietary drivers that support that GPU of mine.
Any ideas, suggestions, directions will be appreciated.
Thanks again Shador and gapan for your answers.
Respect.

[Shador]

http://salixos.org/wiki/index.php/Speci ... i&go=Seite

[anopoli]

http://salixos.org/wiki/index.php/Speci ... i&go=Seite

I think that ati does not support the GPU on my laptop with the drivers listed there.
My laptop is from 2000 and uses ati rage mobility version 5.00.2195.5026 drivers for Win98.
Do you really think that these could work?
If yes, i can give it a try...
Respect