GATOS ATI Drivers
Forum: X and Fluxbox
Topic: GATOS ATI Drivers
started by: Max
Posted by Max on Feb. 01 2005,17:57
Has anyone managed to get the GATOS ATI.2 drivers to work is XFree86.dsl ??< Gatos ATI Page >
I've got an old-er notebook and trying to get mplayer to push full screen though the TV-out S-Video port. I've been able to turn on the S-Video port using Atitvout utility at the console and then use mplayer with the -vo VESA parameter, but it is slow (e.g. some video stuttering) and doesn't use the ATI's hardware scaling features.
I can also startx once the TV-out is on (LCD goes blank) and get the DSL standard screen displayed on the TV (Everything is very tiny though). And then I can start up gmplayer (using the menu), but I can't get it to play. I don't really think it is using the ATI.2 driver at this point.
I have the suspicion that 1) either the gatos driver didn't install correctly, or 2) my XFConfig-4 file doesn't properly reference the use of the driver.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. My ultimate goal is to use this notebook to stream Xvid/DivX or Nero Digital movies from another server on the local network. (And yes...I've tried some of the dedicated distro's that try to do this...GeexBox, MythTV(overkill), etc), but the problem always comes back to getting the ATI.2 driver installed correctly.
There are also some comments that XFree86 4.4.0 has the ATI drivers already ported in, but I don't know how to upgrade our 4.3.0 to 4.4.0
Posted by clivesay on Feb. 01 2005,18:08
Max -SaidinUnleashed has spent untold hours trying to get ATI going in DSL. I don't know if he has tried these drivers or not. I am hoping that he hasn't and that they give some hope. He has endured endless ribbing from us nvidia people over how great 3D is in DSL.
If he gets it, I image I'll hear a big TX "yeehaww" all the way up here in IN.
Chris
Posted by Max on Feb. 02 2005,00:50
Well, I live in Texas, and I guess if he works it out I'll have to think about buying a Hoosier t-shirt.
Posted by SaidinUnleashed on Feb. 02 2005,01:18
I'll take that as a promise.I'll see about working on this, after I get a few other things done first.
Like the new MyDSL menu system, but you didn't hear that from me.
-J.P.
Posted by SaidinUnleashed on Feb. 02 2005,01:21
Actually, these are not 3D drivers...They are for the TV features of All-in-wonder cards.
And I don't have an AIW.
But I haven't completely given up on the ati drivers.
-J.P.
Posted by Max on Feb. 02 2005,14:43
I know they are *mostly* geared toward AIW and TV capture, but they also turn on the TV out and enable DRI in hardware. And they support this old MACH64 (Mobility M1) card.I was actually pretty pumped when I got the TV-out to work at all using atitvout. And then when I got mplayer to push a full screen Nero Digital encoded movie via VESA from the console screen to the TV I thought I was pretty close (LOL - I had to touch type the mplayer command as I couldn't read the tiny letters on the screen).
But the CPU just isn't fast enough to display the movie without some jerkiness so I started trying to find a way to use more of the direct hardware features of the chip.
I have a lot of links to miscellaneous comments and code/patches on trying to get this working if those might help. I just didn't have enough knowledge on how to properly compile or install some of them.
When you're ready for a beta-tester...let me know.
Posted by clivesay on Feb. 02 2005,15:54
Max -I pm'd < THIS > link to SaidinUnleashed since he has been on an ATI mission and the person with the commands claims this will fix the mesa issues SU has been dealing with. Don't know if it will work but I am holding onto hope.
Chris
Posted by Max on Feb. 02 2005,18:52
Unfortunately, the fglrx drivers are only for the *newer* radeon ATI cards that ATI has decided to provide a modicum of support for under Linux. For older cards like mine, the GATOS ones still seem to be the best (and maybe only) option.I'm also going to try out the Movix distro tonight on my notebook to see if that works. It claims to support ATI cards.
While DSL is my favorite distro, I'm just wanting to set up a dedicated "set-top" box (read...old notebook) that will play streaming music and movies to my TV from a server out in my office. Once it's running, I don't want to have to touch it (except with an IR remote).
I'm also keeping my eye out on the new Apex DVD box that is suppose to be out in a couple of months. Supports streaming off the network and DivX/Xvid/Nero Digital/WMA codecs. Cost will probably be about $150.
And then there's the option of a used Xbox running linux XBMC. There's been some pretty sweet reviews of that system and the screenies look nice. It certainly helps the developers when the hardware platform is pretty much fixed.
Posted by cbagger01 on Feb. 03 2005,04:28
XBMC is a very cool program. I am familiarizing myself with it at the moment.In addition to streaming local audio & video and Shoutcast Internet radio stations, you can also stream live Internet TV stations from around the world on your television set if you have a high speed Internet connection.
My desired setup is as follows:
(1) Refurbished version1.0 XBOX $88 - Gift from brother
(1) XBOX DVD playback kit (IR remote control) $20
(1) XBOX controller extension cable $16
(1) USB extension cable (already own one)
(1) Sandisk Micro Cruzer 128MB flash drive $20
(1) James Bond 007 Agent Under Fire game rental from Blockbuster $5
Using published software mod methods and software hacks from the Internet, the xbox is modified to be able to run non-Microsoft signed code, like the Linux operating system or the XBMC media program(which is based on the mplayer project, by the way).
Next, need to wirelessly access the Internet and local media servers (both linux & MSWin) from the xbox in the living room.
(1) Linksys WRT54g (linux-based) wireless router in computer room next to Cable Modem $49
(1) Linksys WRT54g wireless router in living room $49
Replace original Linksys firmware with open-source alternative firmware from sveasoft (sartori version) and enable WDS wireless distribution system. Then convert the WRT54g in the living room into a wireless bridge/switch. This gives you the ability to connect up to (4) wired LAN devices in your living room and they will behave as if they were physically connected to your wired Home LAN back in the computer room.
Put it all together and spend several WEEKS of personal time getting things to work and you have a pretty nice media extender without spending a lot of money.
You can play media files directly from your local media fileserver, or you can set up a streaming system like edna for music. Also, if you have a capture card, you can use a program like VLC to stream the live captured video over to your XBOX / XBMC.
Of course, you can also do this with a nice Epia system + DSL + freevo or other media center program but the XBOX was a gift and I needed to put it to good use.
Posted by green on Feb. 03 2005,05:13
huh ?
Posted by cbagger01 on Feb. 03 2005,06:09
Sorry to go off topic. I'm just replying to Max's last post about streaming media devices.
Posted by Max on Feb. 03 2005,13:12
I hear you cbagger. That's almost my setup now...except for the XBox. I went through most of the XBMC site and really liked what I saw. I had decided to give this old notebook a try before I spent any $$$ on the XBox. Also, the Xbox will probably generate more noise than a notebook.I've also read up on the Sveasoft hack for the Linksys router. Another benefit is that with this software you can use QOS service for certian IP addresses. I use Packet8 VOIP at home and am just about to yank MaBell out totally, but my wife has complained about call quality every now and then (...just when I happen to be downloading a torrent
). So with QOS I can guarantee bandwidth to VOIP when its required. (Now we're double off topic!)Instead of using the two wireless routers with one as a bridge, I prefer Cat5 between the two because the second router still has to be within good range of the first to act as a decent repeater. I found a 200 ft patch cord for $20 and ran it up the wall and through the ceilling to connect my living room to my office/garage which is detached from house but connected by a little covered walkway. Works really good.
Posted by Max on Feb. 03 2005,13:19
And by the way... I couldn't get the MoviX distro to do TV-out on the notebook last night either...even though they said they supported ATI. I must of tried about 20 combinations of boot options. Must be for only the newer cards....It is a nice little 30MB Multimedia distro though. Based on Slackware. For someone with newer hardware I think it would be a great solution for a spare set-top box.
Posted by cbagger01 on Feb. 03 2005,17:18
Can you stream with MoviX or just play media files and DVD movies?FYI the older XBOX are quite noisy. Supposedly the newer ones are quieter but mine is anything but silent.
Posted by Max on Feb. 03 2005,17:57
Yes you can play streams of both music and movies with MoviX. And I can get the notebook to play the stream to the LCD, but without TV-out...why bother??They have a nice menu system and of course you'd want to get the LIRC working to use a remote. You can have a config file that auto loads boot params ,NFS and Samba shares, and custom mplayer parameters if you need them.
They've got a script to rebuild the ISO, so I might see if I can get atitvout to work in the distro myself. But I don't have any Slackware distros to compile on nor much time to fiddle with that.