HP PL4260N

From MythTV

Specifications

• Make: Hewlett-Packard
• Model: PL4260N
• Connection Type: VGA
• Graphics Card: nVidia GeForce 7300LE
• MythTV Version: 0.20.2
• nVidia Driver Version: 100.14.09
• Oddities: Non-square pixels (1024x768 native, 16:9 aspect)

Comments on setup

This setup is somewhat custom. Really, this TV has been a joy to work with. As long as you stick to standard near-XGA resolutions, this TV is mighty happy to display it. The only thing you'll need to edit is the Display_Size (as the current generation EDID spec doesn't contain aspect ratio information). If you're thinking of connecting a Myth box to this TV with a standard VGA cable, it requires no additional How-To.

However, I am extending my VGA connection approx 15' through walls using VGA over CAT5 wiring as described here. A side effect of this is that the pins required to retrieve proper EDID info from the monitor aren't available. This means we'd be on our own to create ModeLines. Ugh. There's a workaround, though...

Using captured EDID data

I initially hauled the Myth box upstairs to the TV and connected up using a standard 6' VGA cable. X displayed without any special measures. Using the "nvidia settings" tool, I saved the EDID data to a file I saved in /etc/X11. Then, after the machine was connected up using the VGA->CAT5 cabling and using the "UseCustomEDID" keyword, I was able to load the EDID data as if the pins were still there.

DisplaySize keyword

As hard as I fought to get the EDID data, due to some wierdness with the nVidia drivers, I had to disable the EDID DPI data. I'm still fiddling with this value to find the one that works best. Just in case you want to experiment, larger DisplaySize values make for smaller fonts.

xorg.conf

    Section "Monitor"

        Identifier    "HP"
        HorizSync     31.5 - 64.0
        VertRefresh   60 # capable of 75hz, but text is sharper @ 60hz
        DisplaySize   500 281 # this may need tweaking yet, but 
                              # the wife said the fonts were fine
    EndSecion

    Section "Device"

        Identifier    "7300LE"
        Driver        "nvidia"
        #VideoRam      131072 # it's happy with this commented, so I left it
        Option        "ConnectedMonitor"    "CRT"
        Option        "NoLogo"              "true"
        Option        "UseEvents"           "true"
        Option        "UseCustomEDID"       "CRT-0:/etc/X11/PL4260N.edid.bin"
        Option        "UseEdidDpi"          "FALSE" # must lie to nvidia drivers

    EndSection

    Section "Screen"

        Identifier    "Screen 1"
        Device        "7300LE"
        Monitor       "HP"
        DefaultDepth  24
        SubSection    "Display"
            Depth        24
            Modes        "1024x768"
            ViewPort     0 0
        EndSubSection

    EndSection

    Section "ServerLayout"

        Identifier    "Simple Layout"
        Screen        "Screen 1"
        InputDevice   "Mouse1"            "CorePointer"   # edit to match InputDevice sections
        InputDevice   "Keyboard1"         "CoreKeyboard"  # edit to match InputDevice sections

    EndSection

Unsolicited Rant

I also want to note that I refuse to get hung up on "perfect 1:1 pixel mappings". The Myth UI is already full of anti-aliased fonts, blurs and alphas and nowhere does my setup seem to be lacking for detail and resolution on my HD plaback. You can obsess if you want, but look elsewhere for that info. I'll be catching up on Heroes...

See also

Display_Size

Specifying_DPI_for_NVIDIA_Cards