Trouble with DVI output on M2NPV-VM motherboard.

[slapshot]

Greetings all,

   I have been lurking on this site for a while now and I have been playing around with LinuxMCE for the past three months in VmWare. I finally built a core/hybrid with the following specs:

Asus M2NPV-VM motherboard with 2 GB of RAM, using the onboard audio and video
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ Processor
40 GB Quantum Fireball Hard Disk Drive
WinTV PVR-150 MCE TV Tuner
Ancient DVD Drive
Phillips 42" plasma television
Wiimote and Bluetooth dongle

   I basically went out and found most of the same components used in the demo video to avoid any major problems. For some reason, I was not able to install the 64 bit version (but that is for another thread). I have installed LinuxMCE 710 and it has been running fine on my desktop, connected to a 19" monitor. This afternoon, my DVI to HDMI cable arrived and I moved the core/hybrid to the living room and onto my entertainment stand. I plugged everything in and the final connection was for the video output. This is where everything just came to a screeching halt. I am getting nothing on the screen, it almost seems like there is no video out signal. I have done the following to try to correct this problem:
          Google search - found nothing that was specific to this problem
          Asus Forums - recommend updating BIOS to the version that I already have
          Searched LMCE Wiki - nothing that was specific to my problem
          There was nothing in the BIOS that I could change that was specific to the DVI-D output on the motherboard other than to choose the primary video out,
               which I set to "onboard" (as opposed to PCI or PCIe).
          I installed an old MSI PCIe video card (with ATI chipset) that also has an DVI-D output and S-video output and neither of those worked, I did change the
               BIOS to use PCIe for the primary.
   The only thing I can think of is that I either have a bad DVI to HDMI cable (and I have no idea as to how to test this) or the onboard DVI output is bad on my motherboard. I know the HDMI port works on the television because my DVD player plugs into it and it works fine. If anyone has any suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated. My plan now is the next time I have a chance, bring the DVI to HDMI cable to Best Buy to see if they have a way of testing it. Other than that, I might just have to buy another nVidia graphics card.

Again, any suggestions or help is greatly appreciated!

~John

[alx9r]

Hi slapshot,
I'm using the M2NPV-VM too.  There should be a link to my sample setup at the bottom of this post.  There might be some stuff in there that might help you.

Based on your post, I assume the following:
 - you were using the VGA output for the 19" monitor
 - your first attempt at using the DVI output on the M2NPV-VM was connecting it to your TV

If that's the case, here's what I recommend:
1. Simultaneously connect your monitor to the VGA port and your TV to the DVI port.  During setup, LinuxMCE seems to output on different ports at different times.  With this setup, I suspect you'll see boot details and then the LinuxMCE UI displayed on the monitor connected to your VGA port. 
2. Launch the AV Wizard from the on-screen orbiter by going to Advanced=>Advanced Options=>Video Res and Audio Setup.
3. Make your way through the wizard and select DVI/HDMI on the Video Settings step.

FWIW, you can find the settings that worked for me here:
http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Alx9r%27s_Hybrid_Core_Install#AV_Wizard

Hope that helps,

Alex

[slapshot]

I was hoping to have this issue resolved by now. Best Buy was of little help (other than wanting to sell me another HDMI cable... go figure). I have moved my monitor out to my living room to boot up with both the DVI to HDMI and the VGA cables both plugged in, but still am getting nothing on the HDMI output. I did get a new DVI to HDMI cable and also got a DVI to HDMI adapter for another HDMI cable too, and neither worked either.

I am thinking that my next steps are to find out if there needs to be a further upgrade in the BIOS or try to load additional drivers for the onboard nVidia card. Any help or a direction in which to go would be appreciated. I have already followed the wiki for the a/v wizard and I also followed the steps outlined by Alx9r (thank you for the help), still with no luck.

~John

UPDATE: This is the first time I noticed this, when I changed my input on my television, I see "HDMI 1 : HD : 480p /VGA" on the screen, but still no picture. This seems like the television is getting some sort of signal, but not enough to display anything. This is only in the A/V wizard when I select DVI/HDMI and 480p for the resolution settings. This does not work if I select 720p or 1080p.

[colinjones]

Rather than going through the wizard, just when it starts try using the number keys on your keyboard - 1-5 to choose the output (1 is DVI) 6-0 are resolutions... See if it is responding to any of them.

Give at least 15 seconds between key presses to allow X to restart properly

[slapshot]

OKAY, here is something new... I tried another television that has an HDMI input. I had a little Insignia 19" LCD television / DVD player in my home gym that has an HDMI input and this worked as soon as I ran the A/V Wizard. I works flawlessly with 480p and 720p video format, but not 1080p. So this now focuses my attention on my television.

The television in my living room is a Phillips 42" Plasma, model #42PF9630A/37. The manual does not specify which HDMI input to use. I only have HDMI 1 & 2 and I have tried this plugged into both. I also have 4 other inputs for the television, but they are the component, RCA or coax inputs, not HDMI.

I have "updated" my television with the latest firmware from Philips (actually pretty neat, you boot the TV from a USB drive and it updates the television). I have also checked the FAQ on the Philips website on how to connect a PC to this television, they say that the only video formats 720p or 1080i will work or the resolutions of 640x480, 800x600 or 1024x768 all at 60 Hz.

I wonder if the HDCP Copy protection has anything to do with it? I am glad I have the day off from work today so I can call Philips technical support and hopefully get this to work as it is suppose to!

A huge thank you to all of you who have help me out so far! Also, if anyone has experience with this television model, please let me know what you have done to get this to work!

~John

[slapshot]

Dave,
   Thank you for your suggestion, unfortunately neither idea worked. I am at about 98% certain that there maybe something wrong with the HDMI inputs into my television. Now my DVD player does not work on either HDMI input. When I tried to edit the xorg.conf file, I was unable to get a screen when I hit ctrl-alt-F2, the 19" LCD went blank and nothing came up on the VGA monitor. So, I ended up editing the xorg.conf in a konsole. Nano is a lot easier for me to use than vi, I can never remember the commands I need for vi. Regardless, when I switched after setting things up on the 19", I just got a blank screen on the plasma.
   I think that my next step is going to be using the composite inputs,  I had to order the composite / HD output module for the M2NPV-VM motherboard because when I got mine, that module was missing. When the module comes in, I will give that a shot. My television is way out of warranty and I am not sure that I can afford what the bill would be to repair it.
   Just a side note about Philips technical support... they basically said that the television is just a giant monitor, and if it is not receiving a signal, then the inputs are bad. They were unable to provide any further assistance except for to call a tv repairman. 

Again, thank you to all who have tried to help, it is greatly appreciated!

~John

[Zaerc]

...
A huge thank you to all of you who have help me out so far! Also, if anyone has experience with this television model, please let me know what you have done to get this to work!
...

Why not just add a page to the wiki for it?

[slapshot]

Zaerc,

   I did not solve any problems in this thread, once I do, then I would gladly create a wiki page for "things to try if your HDMI input is not working". One thing to consider though is by going on what Philips customer service said and the fact that my box works on another television with an HDMI input, the problem is with the television and not LinuxMCE. Further, after reading a lot of reviews of Philips televisions (and my own experience) I would not recommend buying one.

~John

[slapshot]

Dave,

   Glad to see I am not alone. I was actually looking at the Insignia televisions at Best Buy. They are, more or less a "store brand" television, but are made by LG. I already have one (the 19" that I had been using). The reviews say the picture is really good for the price and they have a 47" for roughly $1200 US. I don't know which one I will end up getting, I will stick with the Philips until it gives out on me.

~John

[colinjones]

your right dave - edid has no meaning in the TV context, there is no way of probing. the later nvidia drivers ignore modelines and edid stuff for TVs - the timings are already well defined for all those modes and it has them defined internally. just make sure you set 1) the connectedmonitor setting  and 2) the tvstandard settings