NVIDIA GPU-based video cards with a TV-Out (S-video) connector can use a television as another display device, just like a CRT or digital flat panel. The TV can be used by itself, or (on appropriate video cards) in conjunction with another display device in a TwinView configuration. If a TV is the only display device connected to your video card, it will be used as the primary display when you boot your system (i.e. the console will come up on the TV just as if it were a CRT). To use your TV with X, there are a few parameters that you should pay special attention to in your X config file:
The VertRefresh and HorizSync values in your monitor section; please make sure these are appropriate for your television. Values are generally:
HorizSync 30-50
VertRefresh 60
The Modes in your screen section; the valid modes for your TV encoder will be reported in a X log file when X is run on a TV and verbose logging is enabled (see FAQ section on increasing the amount of data printed in the X log file). Some modes may be limited to certain TV Standards; if that is the case, it will be noted in the X log file. Generally, at least 800x600 and 640x480 are supported.
The "TVStandard" option should be added to your screen section; valid values are:
| TVStandard | Description |
|---|---|
| "PAL-B" | used in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Guinea, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland |
| "PAL-D" | used in China and North Korea |
| "PAL-G" | used in Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland |
| "PAL-H" | used in Belgium |
| "PAL-I" | used in Hong Kong and The United Kingdom |
| "PAL-K1" | used in Guinea |
| "PAL-M" | used in Brazil |
| "PAL-N" | used in France, Paraguay, and Uruguay |
| "PAL-NC" | used in Argentina |
| "NTSC-J" | used in Japan |
| "NTSC-M" | used in Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, South Korea, Taiwan, United States of America, and Venezuela |
| "HD480i" | 480 line interlaced |
| "HD480p" | 480 line progressive |
| "HD720p" | 720 line progressive |
| "HD1080i" | 1080 line interlaced |
| "HD1080p" | 1080 line progressive |
| "HD576i" | 576 line interlace |
| "HD576p" | 576 line progressive |
The line in your X config file should be something like:
Option "TVStandard" "NTSC-M"
If you do not specify a TVStandard, or you specify an invalid value, the default "NTSC-M" will be used. Note: if your country is not in the above list, select the country closest to your location.
The "ConnectedMonitor" option can be used to tell X to use the TV for display. This should only be needed if your TV is not detected by the video card, or you use a CRT (or digital flat panel) as your boot display, but want to redirect X to use the TV. The line in your config file should be:
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "TV"
The "TVOutFormat" option can be used to force the output format. Without this option the driver autodetects the output format. Unfortunately, it does not always do this correctly. The output format can be forced with the "TVOutFormat" option; valid values are:
| TVOutFormat | Description | Supported TV standards |
|---|---|---|
| "AUTOSELECT" | The driver autodetects the output format (default value). | PAL, NTSC, HD |
| "COMPOSITE" | Force Composite output format | PAL, NTSC |
| "SVIDEO" | Force S-Video output format | PAL, NTSC |
| "COMPONENT" | Force Component output format, also called YPrPp | HD |
| "SCART" | Force Scart output format, also called Peritel | PAL, NTSC |
The line in your X config file should be something like:
Option "TVOutFormat" "SVIDEO"
The "TVOverScan" option can be used to enable Overscan where supported. Valid values are decimal values in the range 1.0 (which means overscan as much as possible: make the image as large as possible) and 0.0 (which means disable overscanning: make the image as small as possible). Overscanning is disabled (0.0) by default.
Overscan is currently only available on GeForce4 or newer GPUs with either NVIDIA or Conexant TV encoders.
The NVIDIA X driver may not restore the console correctly with XFree86 versions older than 4.3 when the console is a TV. This is due to binary incompatibilities between XFree86 int10 modules. If you use a TV as your console it is recommended that you upgrade to XFree86 4.3 or later.