Octane2 DCD and 1600sw vfo file?

[3dchris]

Hello all,

I broke down and bought a DCD (dual channel display) card for my Octane 2 in the hopes that the DVI connection to my SGI Multilink Adapter will allow my SGI 1600sw Flat Panel display to work at the intended 1600x1024_60 resolution. What I'm now seeing is a total absence of this resolution in the list of resolutions to choose from. I now see a whole bunch of 2@...... types of resolutions. I'm assuming it knows that I have a DCD and these are presets for dual monitor configurations.
Is there any way that a vfo file from a Tezro or a Fuel system would work with this setup to allow the proper resolution to be displayed to the 1600sw? I know that Recondas was helping me with the custom resolution vfo file for the analogue connection, but I pretty much gave up on that. The DCD displays a nicer image, so the upgrade wasn't a total waste... I just want this think to work like it's supposed to.

Thanks in advance

[recondas]

Have you tried the one you made with the block sync template (during the previous thread)?

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# /usr/sbin/vfc -p "-DACTIVE_LINES=1024" -p "-DACTIVE_PIXELS=1600" -p "-DFPS=60" -c chip=VPro_Chip.def,board=VPro_Board.def -o 1600x1024_60-1600SW.vfo /usr/gfx/ucode/vfc/vfs/BlockSync.vfs

.

[3dchris]

The problem is that I don't see any of them in the list of resolutions. Is there a way to force them to show up?

[recondas]

The problem is that I don't see any of them in the list of resolutions. Is there a way to force them to show up?

You could probably force the issue by using setmon at the command line, but that might not be a good idea. The list of valid formats that appear in xsetmon is based on the graphics hardware installed. The 2@ formats were always there, but didn't appear until you added the DCD. Likewise those that now don't appear may not because whatever method IRIX uses to compare the graphics hardware and vfo files no longer sees them as a suitable match.

I used CVT to generate a 1600x1024_60 modeline and created a format from that.

Code: Select all

Modeline "1600x1024_60.00_rb"  111.25  1600 1648 1680 1760  1024 1027 1037 1054  +HSync -Vsync

The resulting vfo file is attached. The vfo does appear in the list of valid formats with the V12/DCD in my Tezro, hopefully it will do the same with your Octane2's similar hardware.

[3dchris]

It doesn't seem to be showing up either. When I try to set it via setmon, I get:

/usr/gfx/setmon VPro-DVI_1600x1024_60rb
Make new format the power-on default? <n> y
No available formats match requested format 'VPro-DVI_1600x1024_60rb'.

the same thing happens with:

/usr/gfx/setmon 1600x1024_60
Make new format the power-on default? <n> y
No available formats match requested format '1600x1024_60'.

Maybe I'm not doing it properly, but I placed the vfo file in with all the rest of them in the /usr/gfx/ucode/ODSY/vof directory.
Any ideas? Do I have to try compiling it locally?

Thanks again for your help with this.

[recondas]

I copied VPro-DVI_1600x1024_60rb.vfo into usr/gfx/ucode/ODSY/vof on my DCD equipped V12 Octane, it appeared in the "valid formats" list in xsetmon, and would even allow me to load it (though I changed back to my previous resolution before restarting the xserver be cause I have a max res 1280x1024 monitor attached).

As you can see in the screenshot, "VPro-DVI_1600x1024_60rb can't be loaded dynamically (without stopping and restarting the xserver), so including a "-x" in the command string will tell setmon to load the new format when the xserver restarts (a log out-n-in will do the trick). If you include "-v" in those same setmon commands, setmon will spit out a list of valid available formats if it thinks the one you're trying to load is invalid.

[3dchris]

That's very puzzling. What version of IRIX are you running? I'm running 6.5.30. I'm wondering if there was something changed. Also, I wonder if there's some firmware or patch that was installed on either yours or my system that's different and maybe causing this issue. I'll give the command line a shot and see if it works.

[recondas]

That's very puzzling. What version of IRIX are you running? I'm running 6.5.30. I'm wondering if there was something changed. Also, I wonder if there's some firmware or patch that was installed on either yours or my system that's different and maybe causing this issue. I'll give the command line a shot and see if it works.

Didn't you start out with SSE graphics? If this is the same Octane did you reinstall IRIX or just add the VPro stuff to the existing install? In any case I'm also at 6.5.30. Octane firmware (PROM) updates are added automatically with IRIX installs/updates, and none of the few patches I have make mention of anything even remotely graphics related. After all you've been through trying to get your Octane and 1600SW to display at 1600x1024 I'm sure I'm being overly pedantic, but on the remote chance you haven't already done so, it probably wouldn't hurt to double check the settings in the both the MLA and 1600SW.

It's also possible that the reason why xstmon/setmon allow me to view and load the 1600x1024 formats but doesn't allow your very similar Octane to do the same is because of the monitors we have connected. IRIX may be including the connected monitor in the process of determining 'valid' display formats in xsetmon/setmon.

You could test my theory by restarting with a different monitor connected and trying to load the 1600x1024 format. If you can load the VPro-DVI_1600x1024_60 format while the other monitor is connected but the second monitor can't display 1600x1024, just power down immediately after loading the new format, reconnect the 1600SW, and power back up. Then we'll find out if IRIX knows something we don't when it comes to the Octane and valid display formats for the 1600SW.

[3dchris]

SUCCESS!!!

After fiddling around with a second monitor, I finally solved the problem. I tried to set the resolution without first setting up the "new" monitor (a BenQ display 23") with it's native resolution. That does NOT work. What I found is that you MUST first set your alternate monitor with it's native resolution, then RESTART the computer. This way, IRIX detects the capabilities of the monitor and allows the resolutions to be in DX mode so that you don't need to log out to see the results of the change. This is important!! I first tried without following this step and it didn't work.
Once you have the system rebooted and running at full native resolution, try loading the various 1600x1024 resolutions that come with IRIX. They should work with the DCD and the 1600sw, but what I found is that there was an issue with noise in the picture. Also there was an issue with the screen going black as if it lost the signal then redisplaying the image. This happened multiple times, so I figured that there must be a problem with that mode. I tried the reduced blanking mode that Recondas posted, but it also exhibited the same issues.
The mode that WORKS is the custom resolution that Recondas posted called 1600x1024_60-1704TPPL-1056TLPF.vfo. I don't know if this was made for an analogue connection, but as far as I can tell, there are no display issues at all. One important note is that the Multilink Adapter MUST be set to "Alternate Mode" in order for the display to show up. The "Zoom" setting doesn't seem to make a difference whether it's on "Wide" or "Standard".
I have the .vfo file attached here so that you may also have your 1600sw running on your octane
One other thing to try out is if this vfo file will work on an analogue 13W3 connection as well. I have a DCD installed now and I'm not about to rip it out after all that I've been through trying to get this to work in analogue mode. Sorry. But if you have a setup like that, or are able to get one plugged in, then I think this technique of live monitor swapping might just do the trick.

[recondas]

If anyone happens to have a DCD equipped Octane and a pair of MLA/1600SWs, here's a dual-channel 2@ version of the format that worked for 3Dchris:

[3dchris]

I just found out something regarding this setup. When the system is restarted, disconnect the DVI cable from the MLA (or pull the power out) so that IRIX doesn't "detect" the monitor. This way it will boot up using the proper widescreen file and not the 2@1280x1024 default file. If you leave the DVI connected while the system restarts, you will see an image on the monitor, but it will be running at the default 2@1280x1024 resolution.