Re: xserver, video playback, direct rendering etc.

[Nicholas Syrotiuk <syrotiuk@manchester.ac.uk>]

Thanks for the suggestions, Kelly.

First I stuck with the fglrx driver and added the two options to the 
"Device" section of xorg.conf.  Unfortunately this didn't seem to make 
any difference to the video playback; i.e., it's still stuttering.

Then I tried both the RadeonHD and the Radeon drivers.  The xserver 
starts in each case (as expected) but direct rendering is disabled.  Is 
there anything I can do to enable direct rendering with either of these 
drivers?

Cheers,
Nick


Kelly Clowers wrote:
> On Fri, Sep 12, 2008 at 3:57 AM, Nicholas Syrotiuk
> <syrotiuk@manchester.ac.uk> wrote:
> > Dear Debian users,
> >
> > I installed lenny on a new system last week.  Without changing anything,
> > the xserver started successfully.  (Thanks!)  But direct rendering was
> > disabled.  (No surprise there.)  Regardless DVD/video playback was
> > satisfactory using totem-xine.  However it was desirable to try to get
> > direct rendering working for all sorts of reasons so I:
> >
> > 1. installed fglrx-driver and fglrx-kernel-src
> > 2. used module-assistant to build and install the fglrx module
> > 3. used aticonfig to update xorg.conf
> >
> > When I restarted the xserver, direct rendering was indeed enabled but
> > DVD/video playback now "stutters" every minute or so.  Also, when my kids
> > play "Extreme Tux Racer" the video stutters in a similar fashion.
> >
> > The other problem I have, regardless of the video driver, is that the
> > xserver crashes in certain situations:
> > 1. switching users via the User switcher applet; or
> > 2. if the screensaver puts the display to sleep
> >
> > By "crash" I mean no video and no keyboard so must reboot.
> >
> > My kernel is:
> > Linux mozart 2.6.26-1-686 #1 SMP Thu Aug 28 12:00:54 UTC 2008 i686
> >
> > and I have included my xorg.conf and lspci info below.
> >
> > I'd be grateful for any help or suggestions.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Nick
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> > 01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc Radeon HD 2400 XT
>
> That is an r600 series, if all else fails, you might get somewhere with the
> Radeon driver or the RadeonHD driver
>
> I don't think your problem has much to do with your xorg.conf, but it is
> really old and should be cleaned up anyway.
>
> The comment block at the  top is old and all wrong and could be removed to
> prevent confusion. The "Files" and "Modules" sections are no longer needed,
> and can be removed.
>
> This part *might* actually be relevant to your issue:
> In the "Device" section, try putting:
> Option          "RenderAccel"      "true"
> Option          "DRI"                   "true"
>
> I am not sure about this, as fglrx does things very differently from the OSS
> drivers.
>
> Sorry I can't offer more help.
>
>
> Cheers,
> Kelly Clowers

--
N Syrotiuk | Mimas | University of Manchester | Manchester  M13 9PL