<SOLVED> HDMI in LM 14

[jadek]

Just recently went from LM 12 to 14 (new hard drive, fresh install). I was dismayed to see that 14 (running Cinnamon) did not work with the HDMI out to our flat screen TV, whereas 12 (running Cinnamon) had zero problems with it. Anyone with thoughts? (Hope that gets fixed soon!)

[dizmoduck]

I make this little script for my Zenbook ux31a so it will use the miniHDMI output to my 2nd screen

I'm running LM 14 Cinnamon out of the box

don't now it it's help

------------- start cut ----------------
#!/usr/bin/env sh
#
# you need to logon before running the script
# remember to change the value so they mash you 2nd monitor
#
xrandr --newmode "1680x1050_60.00" 147.14 1680 1784 1968 2256 1050 1051 1054 1087 -HSync +Vsync
xrandr --addmode VGA1 "1680x1050_60.00"
xrandr --output VGA1 --mode "1680x1050_60.00"
------------ stop cut -------------------

[catweazel]

(Hope that gets fixed soon!)

It isn't broken. Mint installs open source drivers by default. If your HDMI audio is provided by an nVidia or AMD card then you'll need the proprietary driver.

For nVidia, you do this:

Code: Select all

$ sudo apt-get install nvidia-current-updates

For AMD, you do this:

Code: Select all

$ sudo apt-get remove --purge xserver-xorg-video-ati xserver-xorg-video-radeon
$ sudo apt-get autoclean
$ sudo reboot
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install fglrx-amdcccle-updates
$ sudo aticonfig --initial

The latter instructions for AMD assume you don't need the legacy drivers. AMD have stopped supporting cards prefixed with 4, 3, 2 and 1. If your card is one of the older ones then you needthese instructions here. However if you need those ubuntu instructions then I recommend that before you take theb steps described there, that you do the first three steps I described above first:

Code: Select all

$ sudo apt-get remove --purge xserver-xorg-video-ati xserver-xorg-video-radeon
$ sudo apt-get autoclean
$ sudo reboot

[jadek]

@dizmoduck: Thanks for the reply. I know nothing about running a script, but if it's just a matter of copying and pasting into Terminal I could give it a go.

@Catweazel: I might have miscommunicated. What I am saying is that with LM 12 the video came right up on our flat screen TV before, as soon as the HDMI was plugged in. It no longer does that. Besides the new hard drive that I installed, all the hardware in the laptop is the same as it was when the HDMI worked. BTW, HDMI works fine at the office with a ViewSonic monitor, it just doesn't with the TV. I would think the same open source drivers that seemed to work fine in LM 12 with the TV would work with LM 14, i.e., they would still be present and they would still be working, but perhaps those are wrong assumptions on my part? In any case, going to System Information I see no reference to either nVidia or AMD. I believe the video is just Intel, built in.

Any other thoughts? I appreciate the interaction!

[jadek]

After a long hiatus in trying to solve this problem, today it is solved.

I knew it had to eventually work, because even back in Apr. I could see that Mint was recognizing the TV by its abbreviation (as seen in Display Settings), it just wasn't accessing it for some reason. I'm not sure what exactly worked, but if the same happens with you, here's what I did.

First, with the TV connected via the HDMI cable, I tried turning off the laptop screen in the Display Settings. Next I tried accessing the TV icon, which it allowed, so I choose a very low resolution to start with. After hitting Apply, it took, only the TV showed the computer display! After that I tried all sorts of wide screen options (either 16:9 or 16:10) to see what worked. If one didn't work (the TV indicated, after hitting Apply), I just waited 30 seconds for the black screen to change back to its previous resolution. Eventually, I saw that two worked for the 32" TV: 1360 x 768 and 1280 x 768. Then I tried "Mirror" in Display Settings (where the two screens are set at the same rez) and saw that only one was compatible with both for me: 1360 x 768. I disconnected the TV and re-booted Mint. In so doing I could see that my laptop screen was normally set at 1366 x 768, one of the resolutions that the TV rejected. So, with just the laptop on, I set the laptop rez to 1360 x 768.

Once I did that, as soon as I plugged the HDMI cable in, the image on both the laptop and TV was immediate! It just adjusted itself automatically from that time on! Now we're back to watching streaming video on the TV via my laptop.

[nomko]

Thanks for solving this and sharing it with us! I have the same problem with HDMI and Mint15. I'll give it a shot myself!

[andymaxwell]

Fantastic, thanks for the fix. My AMD A10 sound works excellently!

One thing though. The display is no longer filling the whole screen and the fonts look a little squashed. The display settings think that it is 1920x1080 but it doesnt look like it.

Would be grateful for your thoughts.

Regards
Andrew Maxwell

[jadek]

Fantastic, thanks for the fix. My AMD A10 sound works excellently!

One thing though. The display is no longer filling the whole screen and the fonts look a little squashed. The display settings think that it is 1920x1080 but it doesnt look like it.

Would be grateful for your thoughts.

Regards
Andrew Maxwell

-------------------
Andrew,

You can tell I don't take the time to visit the forum that often. I'm now on to LM 16 and the process I described above works just as well for me. When you say "display settings," are you saying as indicated by your computer? The one thing that comes to mind is that even when I have my computer properly displayed on my TV, I can still fool with the TV picture's "aspect" separately, with the TV's remote. Any chance that would make a difference in its appearance, once you have your computer's image on the TV screen?

[andymaxwell]

Hi jadek,

Thanks for your reply. I forgot to post a 'solved' on this one. It was a while ago now but I managed to fix it and it was pretty similar to your sugestion.
When new drivers are installed it seemed to set the 'scaling' (use the AMD display settings (in Catalyst Control Center?)) as smaller than your screen size. Perhaps a very good reason but anywho, changing in in the AMD display drivers program sorted it!

Andrew