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I've been trying to hook up a Ubuntu computer with my Panasonic TH-42PA60A Plasma television for weeks now. My original question was asked here, which includes all the specifications about the Television in detail and how I've connected the computer to the televsion.

So far, I've tried hooking up three other computers; 2 Ubuntu computers with fairly new graphic cards, and a Windows XP computer. None of them have been able to display an image on the television.

The closest I've come to getting a picture up is with my small laptop running Ubuntu, however the image came out all purple and distorted. I had gotten the image by adding extra modes via the xrandr command, using a process similar to described here.

I realize it might be possible to get this working if I had the correct modeline. I've checked the Modeline database, but the Panasonic TH-42PA60A is not listed.

How can I find the correct modeline for my television. What commands can I use?

I've read that there may be a danger of damaging my TV when doing things like this. What things should I avoid to prevent damaging my television?

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Mikelane
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1 Answers1

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You might try the cvt program. It's preinstalled in your Ubuntu system.

You should first determine the resolution and refresh rate your TV uses. Then use:

cvt <horizontal-resolution> <vertical-resolution> <refresh>

For example for my wide screen laptop:

cvt 1440 900 60

Output: 

\# 1440x900 59.89 Hz (CVT 1.30MA) hsync: 55.93 kHz; pclk: 106.50 MHz    
Modeline "1440x900_60.00"  106.50  1440 1528 1672 1904  900 903 909 934 -hsync +vsync

I can't give you any assurances about compatibility with your equipment.

I did try this one on mine.

xrandr --newmode "1440x900_60.00" 106.50 1440 1528 1672 1904 900 903 909 934 -hsync +vsync
xrandr --addmode LVDS 1440x900_60.00
xrandr --output LVDS --mode 1440x900_60.00

Output from xrandr

Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 1440 x 900, maximum 8192 x 8192
VGA-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
LVDS connected 1440x900+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 367mm x 230mm
   1440x900       60.0 +
   1280x854       59.9  
   1280x800       59.8  
   1280x720       59.9  
   1152x768       59.8  
   1024x768       59.9  
   800x600        59.9  
   848x480        59.7  
   720x480        59.7  
   640x480        59.4  
   1440x900_60.00   59.9*

Another option is videogen which you can install with sudo apt install videogen

Zanna
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John S Gruber
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