[English] README.TXT MATROX GRAPHICS INC. 2008.02.28 Matrox Parhelia & P-Series Linux Display Driver v1.4.6 Advanced User Notes Preface ======= This document and the associated software are currently available in English only. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. The terms "X Server config file", "XF86Config", "XF86Config-4" and "Xorg.conf" are used interchangeably. The file name to use varies depending on the X Server or distribution used. These files are located in the "/etc/X11" directory. The terms "X log file", "XFree86.0.log" and "X.org.0.log" are used interchangeably. The file name to use varies depending on the X Server or distribution used. These files are located in the "/var/log" directory. In example command sequences, the pound ('#') sign represents the command prompt and shouldn't be typed. Note that [ENTER] means pressing the 'Enter' key on your keyboard. The example command sequences in this readme refer to the 32-bit package named "mtxdriver-x86_32-1.4.6.run". If you're using the 64-bit package, use the name "mtxdriver-x86_64-1.4.6.run" Note: On some systems you may need to enter "su - root" instead of "su root" when changing to the root user account. Contents ======== Section 01 - Overview Section 02 - EpicA TC2 and TC4 Installation Notes Section 03 - XFree86 & X.org Driver Options 1 - Enabling DualHead, TripleHead, and QuadHead Hybrid Mode on EpicA TC4, QID, QID Pro, and HR256 graphics hardware 2 - Enabling QuadHead Merged Mode on EpicA TC4, QID, QID Pro, and HR256 graphics hardware 3 - QID TV-output 4 - Dual-link 5 - Display rotation 6 - TV-output 7 - GigaColor 8 - Off-screen memory Section 04 - Display Resolution Support 1 - Special resolutions support 2 - 1920 x 1200 digital display support Section 05 - Installation Requirements Appendix A - Known Issues Appendix B - Limitations Section 01 - Overview ===================== This readme-advanced.txt file provides additional information not found in the readme.txt file included with the display driver such as how to configure certain Matrox graphics hardware and how to enable advanced features. We recommend you read the readme.txt file before continuing with this file. Graphics hardware covered in this document: - Parhelia Dual-link - EpicA TC2, TC4 - QID, QID Pro - HR256 - Parhelia VPX and PPX Display configurations covered in this document: - Dual-link display - Only 1 dual link display through the main connector. - Single + TV display - Only 1 display through the main connector and cloned TV-output through the secondary connector. - Two displays - EpicA TC4, QID hybrid mode: 2 displays with the same display resolution. - Four displays - EpicA TC4, QID hybrid mode: 4 displays with the first two having the same display resolution and the last two having the same display resolution. - EpicA TC4, QID merged mode: 4 displays with the same display resolution. Driver features covered in this document: - Display rotation (supported on most Matrox graphics hardware) - TV-output - GigaColor - Off-screen memory customization Section 02 - EpicA TC2 and TC4 Installation Notes ================================================= EpicA products are used mostly with thin clients. In this environment, there is often no need or possibility to compile the kernel module and install the GL libraries. In that case, you can install the driver with the command line option "-- installxonly" to install only the X Server driver. For example: # su root [ENTER] # sh mtxdriver-x86_32-1.4.6.run --installxonly[ENTER] # exit [ENTER] For more information about driver installation, see section 03 of the readme.txt file. For EpicA TC2 graphics cards, no special configuration is needed. You can apply the DualHead Independent or DualHead Merged configurations as outlined in section 04 of the readme.txt file. For information on how to configure your EpicA TC4 product, see section 03 of this file. Section 03 - XFree86 & X.org Driver Options =========================================== 1 - Enabling DualHead, TripleHead & QuadHead Hybrid Mode on EpicA TC4, QID, QID Pro, and HR256 graphics cards ----------------------------------------------------------------- To enable DualHead or QuadHead support under XFree86 or X.org for EpicA TC4, QID, QID Pro, or HR256 products, add the following option to the "Device" section of your X Server config file: Option "QID" This option enables the use of displays 1 and 2 when set in the first "Device" section and displays 3 and 4 when set in the second "Device" section. By combining both sections with Xinerama, TripleHead or QuadHead is supported. In the following example, setting only one section enables DualHead support: Section "Monitor" Identifier "monitor1" HorizSync 31-90 VertRefresh 50-60 EndSection Section "Device" Identifier "device1" Driver "mtx" BusID "PCI:1:0:0" Option "QID" Screen 0 EndSection Section "Screen" Identifier "screen1" Monitor "monitor1" Device "device1" DefaultDepth 24 SubSection "Display" Depth 24 Modes "1600x1200" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480" EndSubSection EndSection Adding the next section to the same config file enables QuadHead: Section "Monitor" Identifier "monitor2" HorizSync 31-90 VertRefresh 50-60 EndSection Section "Device" Identifier "device2" Driver "mtx" BusID "PCI:1:0:0" Option "QID" #remove this option for TripleHead Screen 1 EndSection Section "Screen" Identifier "screen2" Monitor "monitor2" Device "device2" DefaultDepth 24 SubSection "Display" Depth 24 Modes "1600x1200" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480" EndSubSection EndSection To enable TripleHead instead of QuadHead, add the QID option only in the first "Device" Section. To combine all 3 or 4 displays as a single desktop, add the following section to the config file: Section "ServerFlags" Option "Xinerama" EndSection Using Xinerama introduces the limitation of having the same DefaultDepth for all "Screen" sections. 2 - Enabling QuadHead Merged Mode on EpicA TC4, QID, QID Pro and HR256 boards ---------------------------------------------------------------- To enable QuadHead Merged support under XFree86 or X.org for EpicA TC4, QID, QID Pro, or HR256 products, add the Option "QID" to the "device" section of your X Server config file and set the graphics hardware for merged mode. The following examples enables QuadHead Merge support: Section "Monitor" Identifier "monitor1" HorizSync 31-90 VertRefresh 50-60 EndSection Section "Device" Identifier "device1" Driver "mtx" BusID "PCI:1:0:0" Option "QID" Screen 0 EndSection Section "Screen" Identifier "screen1" Monitor "monitor1" Device "device1" DefaultDepth 24 Option "MergedFB" Option "Monitor2Position" "RightOf" Option "MetaModes" "1024x768-1024x768" Option "Monitor2HSync" "31-90" Option "Monitor2VRefresh" "50-60" SubSection "Display" Depth 24 Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480" EndSubSection EndSection Note: see Appendix B for frame buffer limitations with this mode. 3 - QID TV-output ----------------- To enable QID TV-output support, add the following option to the "Device" section of your X Server config file: Option "QIDTV" The following example enables DualHead TV-output support: Section "Monitor" Identifier "monitor1" HorizSync 31-90 VertRefresh 50-60 EndSection Section "Device" Identifier "device1" Driver "mtx" BusID "PCI:1:0:0" Option "QID" Option "QIDTV" Screen 0 EndSection Section "Screen" Identifier "screen1" Monitor "monitor1" Device "device1" DefaultDepth 24 SubSection "Display" Depth 24 Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480" EndSubSection EndSection 4 - Dual-link ------------- To enable dual-link support, add the following option to the "Device" section of your X Server config file: Option "DVIDL" The following example enables single-display dual-link support: Section "Monitor" Identifier "monitor1" HorizSync 31-90 VertRefresh 50-60 Option "ReducedBlanking" "on" EndSection Section "Device" Identifier "device1" Driver "mtx" BusID "PCI:1:0:0" Option "DigitalScreen1" "on" Option "DVIDL" "on" Screen 0 EndSection Section "Screen" Identifier "screen1" Monitor "monitor1" Device "device1" DefaultDepth 24 SubSection "Display" Depth 24 Modes "1600x1200" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480" EndSubSection EndSection Note: The option "ReducedBlanking" in the "Monitor" section is required for X.org 7.0 or later. 5 - Display rotation -------------------- To enable display rotation, add the following option to the "Screen" section of your X Server config file: Option "Rotate" ["CW"|"CCW"] where "CW" stands for clockwise rotation and "CCW" for counter- clockwise rotation. The following example sets the display to pivot clockwise: Section "Screen" Identifier "screen1" Monitor "monitor1" Device "device1" DefaultDepth 24 Option "Rotate" "CW" SubSection "Display" Depth 24 Modes "1600x1200" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480" EndSubSection EndSection See Appendix B for limitations associated with this option. 6 - TV-output ------------- With this option, you can clone your display onto a television while using a single display mode. The supported TV standards are NTSC and PAL. Add the following option to the "Screen" section of your X Server config file: Option "TvOut" Additional Option switches are available : Options Values Description ---------------- ----------------------- ----------------------- "TvOut" "on" or "off" Enables/Disables TV out. "TvStandard" "PAL" or "NTSC" Selects the TV standard. "OutputRegion" "Left Top Right Bottom" Selects usable TV area. "SelectedRegion" "Left Top Right Bottom" Selects desktop region to clone. "AntiFlickerLevel" "0" to "25" Sets the anti-flicker level. "Brightness" "0" to "10000" Sets the brightness level. "ColorEnable" "0" to "1" Select between color / monochrome. "Contrast" "0" to "20000" Sets the contrast level. "Gamma" "1" to "500" Sets the gamma level. "Hue" "-180" to "180" Sets the hue level. "Saturation" "0" to "20000" Sets the saturation level. For example, the resolution in NTSC is 720 x 484 but that doesn't take into account the bezel of most TVs that hides some pixels. The same applies for PAL with different values used. To be compatible with most TVs, we suggest an output region of 624 x 410 with the parameters specified below: Option "OutputRegion" "48 37 672 447" The following example sets the output to NTSC: Section "Screen" Identifier "Screen1" Device "Device1" Monitor "Monitor1" DefaultDepth 24 Option "TvOut" "on" Option "TvStandard" "NTSC" Option "AntiFlickerLevel" "10" Option "OutputRegion" "48 37 672 447" Option "SelectedRegion" "0 0 800 600" SubSection "Display" Depth 16 Modes "800x600" "640x480" EndSubSection SubSection "Display" Depth 24 Modes "800x600" "640x480" EndSubSection EndSection 7 - GigaColor ------------- To enable GigaColor, in the "Screen" section and in the "Display" subsection of your X Server config file, set the default color depth to 30. The following example enables GigaColor: Section "Screen" Identifier "Screen1" Device "Device1" Monitor "Monitor1" DefaultDepth 30 SubSection "Display" Depth 30 Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480" EndSubSection EndSection 8 - Off-screen memory --------------------- To change the off-screen memory allocation used by your X Server, add the following option to the "Device" section of your X Server config file. Option "OffScreen" N where N is an integer value between "0" and "5" for the "OffScreen" option as a multiplier against the memory used for onscreen memory. The following example enables off-screen memory and allocates twice the amount of RAM as the onscreen memory: Section "Device" Identifier "device1" Driver "mtx" BusID "PCI:1:0:0" Option "OffScreen" "2" Screen 0 EndSection Section 04 - Display Resolution support ======================================= 1 - Special resolutions support ------------------------------- For special resolutions, add a "Modeline" to the "Monitor" section in your X Server config file. For example: Section "Monitor" Identifier "monitor1" Modeline "1920x1200" 154.0 1920 1968 2000 2080 1200 1203 1209 1235 EndSection You can find modelines with the timing values from your manufacturer along with a How-to available at the following Web sites: http://www.linuxdoc.org or http://www.tldp.org Notes: - Not all resolutions are supported due to hardware or software limitations. - Exceeding your monitor's recommended settings may damage your monitor and/or void your manufacturer's warranty. For more information on the settings supported by your monitor, consult your monitor documentation. 2 - 1920 x 1200 digital display support ------------------------------------- The 1920 x 1200 resolution isn't supported by default by X Servers. It must be specified through a "Modeline" added to the "Monitor" section of the X Server config file. Here is a sample "Monitor" section using VESA 1920 x 1200 Reduced Timings supported by most 1920 x 1200 digital monitors: Section "Monitor" Identifier "monitor1" Modeline "1920x1200" 154.0 1920 1968 2000 2080 1200 1203 1209 1235 EndSection Notes: - The 1920 x 1200 resolution isn't supported by all graphics cards, See your product's documentation. - For analog monitors, a higher pixel clock is necessary to support 1920 x 1200. Section 05 - Installation requirements ====================================== This driver package was verified with the listed distributions. Other distributions should work as long as the following elements are installed and available: X Server - XFree86 (4.3.0) or X.org (6.7.0 up to 7.3.0) Libc - Glibc (2.3.2 or later). Compiler - GCC (from version 3.2 up to gcc 4.1.2). Tools - binutils (version 2.13 or later) and make (version 3.77 or later). Shell - bash (version 2.05 or later). Appendix A - Known Issues ========================= 1 - To allow v4l programs to use the hardware scaler (like watching TV with xawtv in full screen), make sure you have the 'load "v4l"' declaration in the "Module" section of your configuration file. - For example, this is what a "Module" section should look like in an X Server config file: Section "Modules" Load "dbe" Load "extmod" Load "glx" Load "type1" Load "freetype" Load "v4l" EndSection - You must also verify that your capture module is loaded before starting your X Server (for instance, as 'root' user, modprobe bttv for bttv based cards). - To reduce tearing, use a smaller resolution or lower the refresh rate. 2 - While using P750 or P650 graphics cards with a display resolution of 3200 x 1200 x24, OpenGL isn't supported. 3 - Windowed 3D programs may freeze or lockup your system when the window is dragged accross the screen. 4 - Some OpenGL-based game and applications (ie. UT2003, UT2004) may not work properly with this release and may crash or cause display corruption. Appendix B - Limitations ======================== The following limitation applies to all QID and QID Pro-based products: - In QID TV mode, QID and QID Pro are limited to maximum resolution of 1024 x 768. The following limitations apply to all Parhelia-based products: - In merged mode, the maximum horizontal frame buffer pitch size is 4096. - Xv supports a maximum size of 2048 x 2048 - Pivot supports a maximum resolution of 2048 x 2048.