Copyright © 2000 Eric S. Raymond
Copyright
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, version 2.0.
| Revision History | ||
|---|---|---|
| Revision 6.6 | 2013-09-22 | esr |
| Ten years after: minor updates for X.org. kvideogen and xf86setup are dead, read-edid has a new home page. | ||
| Revision 6.5 | 2003-09-28 | esr |
| License changed to Creative Commons. | ||
| Revision 6.4 | 2004-10-14 | esr |
| URL fixes. | ||
| Revision 6.3 | 2003-02-22 | esr |
| URL fixes. | ||
| Revision 6.2 | 2002-02-03 | esr |
| Minor corrections about mode line autogeneration. | ||
| Revision 6.1 | 2001-10-29 | esr |
| Note that VESA modes top out at 1920x1440. | ||
| Revision 6.0 | 2001-08-09 | esr |
| Clearer explanation of DDC and EDID. This HOWTO is now basically obsolete. | ||
| Revision 5.0 | 2000-08-22 | esr |
| First DocBook version. | ||
Abstract
This HOWTO is effectively obsolete, and has been so since 2003. Current versions of X compute optimal modelines from EDID information returned by your monitor. In addition, many of the constraints and caveats in this document applied to CRTs but no longer apply to digital flatscreens.
How to compose a mode line for your card/monitor combination under X.org (originally written for its ancestor XFree86). X distributions now include good facilities for configuring most standard combinations; this document is mainly useful if you are tuning a custom mode line for an ultra-high-performance monitor or very unusual hardware. It may also help you in using xvidtune to tweak a standard mode that is not quite right for your monitor.
Table of Contents
- 1. Disclaimer
- 2. Why This HOWTO Is Obsolete
- 3. Introduction
- 4. Tools for Automatic Computation
- 5. How Video Displays Work
- 6. Basic Things to Know about your Display and Adapter
- 7. Interpreting the Basic Specifications
- 8. Tradeoffs in Configuring your System
- 9. Memory Requirements
- 10. Computing Frame Sizes
- 11. Black Magic and Sync Pulses
- 12. Putting it All Together
- 13. Overdriving Your Monitor
- 14. Using Interlaced Modes
- 15. Questions and Answers
- 16. Fixing Problems with the Image.
- 17. Plotting Monitor Capabilities
- 18. Credits