Ubuntu Manpage: videogen - generate Modelines for Xorg servers

NAME

       videogen - generate Modelines for Xorg servers

SYNOPSIS

       videogen  [-v|-q] [-fb|-nfb] [-nv|-nnv] [-f=<file|->] [-m=mode] [-mdc=n] [-mhf=n] [-mvf=n]
         [-dvf=n] [-hv=n] [-vv=n] [-hfp=n] [-hbp=n] [-hsp=n] [-vfp=n] [-vbp=n] [-vsp=n]

DESCRIPTION

videogen generates Modelines for Xorg servers (or XFree86 servers) to reach the highest
possible vertical refresh rate at all resolutions, or to match the refresh rate you
desire. As a new feature, it can obey the non-free NVidia driver's timing constraints. It
can print the calculated results in the Linux framebuffer device format as well.

ATTENTION! You only have to specify the maximum dot clock, the maximum horizontal
frequency, the maximum vertical refresh, and of course the modes (resolutions) to generate
the appropriate Modelines. The other options are only there for tweaking or solving
special problems, there are hardcoded defaults for them which are suitable for the vast
majority of cases.

CONFIGURATION FILE
A configuration file can be used to specify all or part of the parameters needed by
videogen to perform its calculations. This can be very comfortable in many cases. You can
also specify a configuration file path on the command line other than the default
(~/.videogen) or read from stdin which might be helpful if you want to call videogen from
another program or from a script.

The general syntax rules are the following: parameters are specified using name=value
pairs. The parameter names are matched in a case insensitive manner. Blanks are optional.
Multiple name=value pairs can be specified on a single line separated by ";" characters.
Any string after a "#" character is treated as a comment up to the end of the line.

COMMAND LINE
The command line options always override the parameters set in the configuration file.
This also applies to the mode list, so when one or more modes are specified on the command
line, the entire list of modes read from the configuration file is replaced by these.

OPTIONS
The command line options are described below together with their configuration file
variable counterparts (if present).

-v
-q
verbose=on|off
Turn on/off verbose output. FYI -q stands for quiet ;)
(default=on)

-fb
-nfb
fbset=on|off
Turn on/off fbset (Linux framebuffer timings) mode. In this mode fbset timings are
printed instead of Modelines.
(default=off)

-nv
-nnv
nvidia=on|off
Turn on/off non-free NVidia Linux driver compatibility mode.
(default=on)

-f=filespec
Use filespec as the configuration file. This accepts - to read the options from the
standard input. The "~" character gets expanded to the home directory of the user
running videogen.
(default=~/.videogen)

-m=modespec
mode=modespec
Adds modespec to the list of modes to calculate a Modeline for. This must be in the
form 800x600 (width x height) and it can be specified more than once to add several
modes.

-mdc=freq
Set freq to the maximum dot clock rate of your video card or the bandwidth of your
monitor, whichever is lower, in MHz.

-mhf=freq
Set freq to the maximum horizontal refresh frequency of your monitor in kHz.

-mvf=freq
Set freq to the maximum vertical refresh frequency of your monitor in Hz.

-dvf=freq
Set freq to the vertical refresh frequency which you think would be optimal for
you, in Hz. The program will try to match this frequency at all resolutions,
instead of the maximum frequency that would be technically possible. (optional)

-hv=percent
Set percent to the percentage of the horizontal frame length you want the visible
resolution to be. (optional)

-vv=percent
Set percent to the percentage of the vertical frame length you want the visible
resolution to be. (optional)

-hfp=duration
Set duration to the horizontal front porch duration of your monitor in clock ticks.
(optional)

-hbp=duration
Set duration to the horizontal back porch duration of your monitor in clock ticks.
(optional)

-hsp=duration
Set duration to the minimum horizontal sync pulse duration of your monitor.
(optional)

-vfp=duration
Set duration to the vertical front porch duration of your monitor in clock ticks.
(optional)

-vbp=duration
Set duration to the vertical back porch duration of your monitor in clock ticks.
(optional)

-vsp=duration
Set duration to the minimum vertical sync pulse duration of your monitor.
(optional)

ERRORS
You can expect the following error codes to be returned by videogen:

100 system error (memory allocation problems, or other)

101 command line option error

102 configuration file error

103 bad resolution error, currently returned when no (valid) modes have been specified
anywhere

104 bad maximum dot clock rate, currently returned when no proper value has been
specified anywhere

105 bad maximum horizontal refresh, currently returned when no proper value has been
specified anywhere

106 bad maximum vertical refresh, currently returned when no proper value has been
specified anywhere

FIXED DOT CLOCKS
If your display adapter does not have a programmable clockchip then you will need to get a
list of available clocks somehow and enter these as the maximum dot clock frequency. This
way videogen will have to adjust (decrease) the horizontal refresh frequency to get
exactly the given dot clock rate. A similar method can be used to match the proper
frequencies of a fixed frequency monitor.

FILES

       ~/.videogen
              The default location for the videogen configuration file.

       /etc/X11/xorg.conf
              The  Xserver  configuration  file  where  Modelines  generated with videogen can be
              inserted. Currently this must be done by hand.

       /etc/X11/XF86Config
       /etc/X11/XF86Config-4
              Names of the Xserver configuration file in older releases of X.

AUTHOR

       Szabolcs Rumi <rumi_at_rtfm_dot_hu>

COPYING