[MPlayer-users] VESA stopped working with Radeon.

[Dan]

TJ wrote:

<snipped>

> I'm becoming desperate, having lost TV-out totally on Linux :( It's so 
> frustrating to boot to Windows, and I have only about 10% of the HDD 
> dedicated to Win so I can't even keep a lot of video files there, either.

<snipped>

There are a number of alternatives for getting tv-out working still.
While some of them bite, here they are anyway:

1) Use the DirectFB driver.
Pros:
 - Accelerated.
 - Very easy to set up.
Cons:
- You have to pick the right versions of mplayer & directfb. For example 
the latest version of each don't seem to work together. But the latest 
mplayer with the previous directfb seem to work.
- The directfb driver is a little more flakey than the vesa driver - 
audio sync doesn't seem to be as good, and it sometimes screws up the 
terminal I'm using.

2) Use the XDirectFB server.
Pros:
 - You get a GUI! Not such a big deal for me, but my girlfriend 
appreciates it.
 - Relatively easy to set up.
 Cons:
 - No acceleration. You need a VERY fast computer, and even then, it 
isn't so good.

3) Use the atitvout utility under X.
Pros:
 - You get a GUI.
 - Accelerated.
Cons:
 - Only works with XFree86-4.2.x, and then under _very_ special 
circumstances. See the Gatos mailing list for details ...

4) Use the 'devel' branch of the ati.2 driver to provide tv-out support.
 Pros:
 - Accelerated.
 - GUI.
 Cons:
 - A complete bitch to set up. Probably won't compile with any recent 
version of X.
 - Against the law in the US and other countries with idiotic legal systems.

5) Trick your Radeon into leaving tv-out activated when entering X.
Pros:
 - Accelerated.
 - GUI
Cons:
 - Very time consuming and annoying to set up. See the Gatos mailing 
list for details. Others swear it works. I haven't tested, but believe 
them ...


In conclusion, there are plently of alternatives for when the vesa 
driver doesn't work.
Personally I use the DirectFB driver. It _seems_ to be faster than the 
vesa driver to me. And it 'just works' - as long as you don't use a 
version of DirectFB which is incompatible.

Hope this helps someone!

Dan