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VIDEOGEN(1)		     General Commands Manual		     VIDEOGEN(1)

NAME
     videogen - generate Modelines for XFree86 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 can be used to generate Modelines for XFree86 servers to reach the
     highest possible vertical refresh (screen update) 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	comfort-
     able  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: the parameters can be specified
     using name=value pairs. The parameter names are matched in a case	insensi-
     tive manner. Blanks are optional. More 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 configu-
     ration  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 configura-
     tion 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 fb-
	    set 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 it would
	    be optimal for you, in Hz.	The program will try to match this  fre-
	    quency  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 a  proper  value
	    has not been specified anywhere

     105    bad  maximum  horizontal  refresh,	currently returned when a proper
	    value has not been specified anywhere

     106    bad maximum vertical refresh, currently returned when a proper value
	    has not 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  (de-
     crease) 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
	    This is the default location for the videogen configuration file.

     /usr/X11/lib/X11/XF86Config
	    This is the common Xserver configuration file  where  the  Modelines
	    generated  with videogen can be used. Currently this must be done by
	    hand.

SEE ALSO
     X(1), XF86Setup(1), xvidtune(1), kvideogen(1)

AUTHOR
     Szabolcs Rumi <rumi_at_rtfm_dot_hu>

COPYING
     GNU General Public License Version 2

Szabolcs Rumi			    videogen			     VIDEOGEN(1)

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