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diff --git a/doc/faq/faq.docbook b/doc/faq/faq.docbook new file mode 100644 index 000000000..bffd955e3 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/faq/faq.docbook @@ -0,0 +1,2332 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?> +<!DOCTYPE book PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.4//EN" + "/usr/share/sgml/docbook/xml-dtd-4.4/docbookx.dtd" > + +<book> + + <bookinfo> + <title>The xine engine FAQ</title> + <titleabbrev>xine FAQ</titleabbrev> + <copyright> + <year>2001-2008</year> + <holder>the xine project team</holder> + </copyright> + </bookinfo> + + <article> + <sect1 id="general"> + <title>General questions about xine and this document</title> + + <sect2 id="about"> + <title>What is the xine engine?</title> + <para> + The xine engine is a free media player engine. It comes in the form of + a shared libarary and is typically used by media player frontends + and other multimedia applications for playback of multimedia streams + such as movies, radio/tv network streams, DVDs, VCDs. + </para> + <para> + Since there are several frontends for the xine library available, + this document has a problem when it comes to examples. + The two most common frontends xine-ui and gxine are mixed in command + line examples throughout this FAQ. When you use a different + frontend, some of these will not work for you. The filename of + the config file also varies amongst frontends. If you get confused, + I recommend you try with one of xine-ui or gxine. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="scope"> + <title>What's the aim and scope of this text?</title> + <para> + The primary goal of this FAQ is to cover all recurring questions related + to the xine engine. Frontend specific questions are usually not covered here. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="wheretogethelp"> + <title>My question is not yet covered here – where can I ask for help?</title> + <para> + First of all be sure that your question is really not covered here and + that you haven't just been a bit too lazy to read through all of this + text. ;-). Also check out the documentation specific to + the frontend (e.g. <command>xine-ui</command> or <command>gxine</command> or + <command>totem</command>). + </para> + <para> + That said – you are welcome to mail to our user mailing list: + <email>xine-user@lists.sourceforge.net</email> + Please provide some info about your setup so people have a chance to + help you, e.g. include information about your audio/video hardware + and drivers you use, operating system, cpu type and some console + output/any error messages. Also include command line parameters you + have specified and information about the type of stream you're + trying to play back. Also very important is the version of xine + you're using and information about any additional plugins you + may have installed on your system. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="pronounce"> + <title>How do I pronounce "xine"?</title> + <para> + As long as people know what you are talking about, you are free to + pronounce it the way you like, but the official pronounciation is + [ksi:n], like the name "Maxine" with the "Ma" removed. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="modules"> + <title>What are those xine-lib, xine-ui, gnome-xine, … modules in cvs for?</title> + <para> + Some time ago xine just became too complex to be just one big program. + Therefore it was split into two major parts. + </para> + <para> + xine-lib is simply speaking the engine of xine. It contains all basic plugins + and is necessary to run anything that relies on xine. (This is the part that + is covered in this FAQ.) + </para> + <para> + Then there are frontends – applications that use xine. The most + common frontend is that of a media player. There are currently + two frontends being developed in the xine project, xine-ui (skinned + dvd-player style frontend directly based on xlib) and gxine, + a desktop media-player style frontend using the standard gtk widget set + and comes with a mozilla browser plugin. + External projects like kaffeine, sinek and totem develop additional frontends. + In the future you will likely see more and different types of applications + being developed which will use the xine engine for video processing + and other multimedia purposes. + </para> + <para> + If you simply want a media/dvd player, you'll need to install xine-lib + first and then choose and install a player frontend like xine-ui or gxine. + </para> + <para> + Other modules in CVS are: <filename>xine-plugin</filename> a mozilla browser plugin + for streaming media playback using xine, + <filename>xine_www</filename> the + xine project website sources. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="cvs"> + <title>Where and how do I get the latest development version?</title> + <para> + Be advised that end-users should stick to the official xine releases. + The CVS and Mercurial repositories are only intended for developers and for others who know why they use it. + </para> + <sect3> + <title>Checking out xine modules from Mercurial</title> + <para> + The repositories are listed at <ulink url="http://hg.debian.org/hg/">http://hg.debian.org/hg/</ulink>; + however, this is a list of all repositories which are kept there, not just the + xine project's (which are the ones which begin with <filename>xine-lib/</filename>). To check one out: + <screen> <command>hg clone http://hg.debian.org/hg/<filename>repository</filename> <filename>local_copy</filename></command></screen> + e.g. + <screen> <command>hg clone http://hg.debian.org/hg/xine-lib/xine-lib xine-lib</command></screen> + </para> + <para> + Currently, only xine-lib and gxine are present here. + </para> + </sect3> + <sect3> + <title>Checking out xine modules from CVS</title> + <para> + To check out xine modules from CVS, first do this: + <screen> <command>cvs -d :pserver:anonymous@xine.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/xine login</command></screen> + The password is empty, just press Enter. + </para> + <para> + Then, to check out individual modules (e.g. <filename>xine-lib</filename> or <filename>xine-ui</filename>): + <screen> <command>cvs -d :pserver:anonymous@xine.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/xine co <modulename></command></screen> + </para> + <para> + If you want xine-lib or gxine, you should use Mercurial instead. + The CVS repositories for these are not maintained. + </para> + </sect3> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="patch"> + <title>How do I submit patches?</title> + <para> + First, make sure that you're using a current development version + (see above) or at least the current release version. Then, once you're + ready to send the patch… + </para> + <para> + Generate your patch using either <command>cvs diff -u > + my.patch</command> or <command>hg diff > my.patch</command> (as + appropriate). Make sure that your message subject briefly describes the + patch; your message body should contain a longer description of the + patch. Your patch should be applicable using <command>patch -p0 -i + my.patch</command> or, preferably, <command>patch -p1 -i + my.patch</command> from the top-level directory in the source tree + (i.e. where configure.ac is) – this is fairly important for our + Mercurial-based repositories since it makes importing your patch that + much easier (hg import defaults to -p1). + </para> + <para> + Alternatively, if you've been hacking away at a module which is + maintained using mercurial, you can make them available as diffs – use + <command>hg export</command> or, if you have several patches, you could + use <command>hg bundle</command> instead (both require extra + parameters; <command>hg help export</command> and <command>hg help + bundle</command> for more details) – or via HTTP by using <command>hg + serve</command>. In the latter case, you'll need to post a URL from + which a developer can pull the changes. + </para> + <para> + Patches should normally be sent to the xine-devel mailing list, + <email>xine-devel@lists.sourceforge.net</email>. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="gnome-xine"> + <title>Why is gxine's CVS module named "gnome-xine"?</title> + <para> + Historical reasons: gxine was originally named gnome-xine. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="binaries"> + <title>Where can I find pre-compiled binaries, e.g. RPMs?</title> + <para> + The xine project does not provide pre-compiled binaries for legal + reasons (some parts of xine may be covered by patents in some countries). + Some OS projects/vendors (e.g. Debian, FreeBSD, …) offer binaries + for their distributions – please contact them or use their package search + tools for further info. + You can also find links to third parties providing xine RPMs on + the xine homepage at + <ulink url="http://www.xine-project.org/releases">http://www.xine-project.org/releases</ulink>. + </para> + <para> + See the next section of this FAQ for instructions on how to build xine + from source. + </para> + </sect2> + + </sect1> + + <sect1 id="building"> + <title>Building and installing xine from source</title> + + <sect2 id="buildrequirements"> + <title>What do I need to compile everything properly?</title> + <para> + First of all an official and stable release of gcc. Also be aware + that patched gcc versions may break parts of xine and are therefore + not supported by the xine project. + </para> + <para> + Furthermore you'll have to use GNU make to compile xine. On most GNU/Linux + systems "make" is GNU make – on other platforms use "gmake" instead. + Also, zlib is required (including the appropriate header files, which are + often found in a package called zlib-devel or similar.) + </para> + <para> + If you want to compile xine from CVS, you'll need to have the autobuild tools + installed (automake, autoconf and libtool – in recent versions). + </para> + <para> + Frontends might need additional libraries, e.g. for gxine you'll need to have + GTK2 installed. Make sure you have not only the shared libraries themselves + but also the header files (often packaged seperately as so-called -dev packages) + on your system. + </para> + <para> + Some plugins that come with the xine engine need additional libraries (otherwise + they will not be built). For example, libogg and libvorbis (plus their include files) + are needed for ogg/vorbis support. Most notably, if you want to see any video + on your X11 desktop (and that's what you're here for, isn't it?), you need the + X developer packages as well. + </para> + <para> + Don't worry about this too much right now, xine's <command>configure</command> + (see below) will check for all the stuff needed and will tell you what's missing + (which means that you should check the output it produces carefully ;) ). + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2> + <title>How do I compile xine?</title> + <sect3 id="simplebuildinstr"> + <title> Simple build instructions for beginners </title> + <para> + Download the latest xine-lib and gxine/xine-ui tarballs, then follow + these instruction. To unpack a tarball, use: + <screen> <command>tar xfvz tarballname.tar.gz</command></screen> + </para> + <para> + The following instructions will install xine in <filename>/usr/local</filename> + where it will be visible for all users. You need root privileges to do this on most systems. + </para> + <para> + After unpacking xine-lib, issue: + <screen> + <command>./configure</command> + <command>make install</command></screen> + </para> + <para> + Make sure your <filename>/etc/ld.so.conf</filename> contains + <filename>/usr/local/lib</filename> and continue with: + <screen> <command>ldconfig</command></screen> + </para> + <para> + Now unpack your frontend (gxine or xine-ui or …), then: + <screen> + <command>./configure</command> + <command>make install</command></screen> + </para> + </sect3> + <sect3 id="completebuildinstr"> + <title>Complete build instructions</title> + <para> + The build process is the same for all of the xine modules. + </para> + <para> + You have to start with xine-lib. If built and installed successfully, you + can continue with the frontend(s). + </para> + <para> + If you have installed xine-lib to a non-standard prefix, make sure + that you have <filename>$prefix/bin</filename> in your PATH and that your linker finds + libs in <filename>$prefix/lib</filename> – otherwise trying to build modules that + rely on xine-lib will fail with configure complaining about not + finding certain parts of libxine. Using bash you can do something like: + <screen> + <command>export PATH="$prefix/bin:$PATH"</command> + <command>export LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$prefix/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH"</command></screen> + to make sure libxine can be found by the frontend(s). + </para> + <para> + Last but not least. Here the build instructions. As stated earlier, + those are the same for every xine module. + <screen> + <command>./autogen.sh</command> [→ <emphasis>only</emphasis> if you checked your sources out of CVS] + <command>./configure</command> + <command>make</command> + <command>make install</command></screen> + </para> + </sect3> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="rpmbuild"> + <title>Making your own RPM packages (xine-lib, xine-ui, gxine)</title> + <para> + Basically you will only have to issue one command, if you have just + downloaded a source tarball from our web site: + <screen> <command>rpmbuild -ta <THE_NAME_OF_YOUR_SOURCE_TAR_BALL></command></screen> + (Older versions of RPM use <command>rpm</command> instead of <command>rpmbuild</command>.) + </para> + <para> + This will start the binary and source RPM building. After compiling is + finished, a binary rpm is placed in your rpm binary directory which is + something like <filename>/usr/src/RPM/RPMS/<YOUR_ARCHITECTURE></filename> + and a source RPM is written to your rpm source dir + (e.g. <filename>/usr/src/RPM/SRPMS</filename>). + </para> + <para> + In case that you have a fresh CVS checkout, you will need to do the + following first in order to get a tarball release out of it which you + can later use with the <command>rpmbuild -ta</command> command above: + <screen> <command>./autogen.sh && make clean && make dist</command></screen> + </para> + <para> + In any case, please keep in mind that you have to build and install + xine-lib first before you can proceed with xine-ui. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="debbuild"> + <title>Making your own .deb packages (xine-lib, xine-ui, gxine)</title> + <para> + You'll need a CVS or HG snapshot tarball or source checked out from the repository. + </para> + <para> + First, make sure that the "devscripts" package is installed. You'll + then need the following commands (the first one isn't needed unless you're using a snapshot tarball): + <screen> + <command>tar xzf <PACKAGE-VER.tar.gz></command> + <command>cd <PACKAGE-VER></command> + <command>./autogen.sh noconfig</command> + <command>debuild binary</command> + </screen> + (If <command>debuild</command> complains about unmet dependencies, then + install them using <command>aptitude install <PACKAGES></command> (as root) then re-run + <command>debuild binary</command>. + </para> + <para> + Once the build has been successfully completed, you'll have some new .debs. + <screen> + <command>cd ..</command> + <command>ls *.deb</command> + <command>su - -c 'cd '"`pwd`"' && dpkg -i <DEB_PACKAGES>'</command> + </screen> + Ubuntu users will probably want to use this instead of that <command>su</command>: + <screen> + <command>sudo dpkg -i <DEB_PACKAGES></command> + </screen> + </para> + <para> + In any case, please keep in mind that you have to build and install + xine-lib first before you can proceed with xine-ui or gxine. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="cflags"> + <title>Can I provide additional CFLAGS for compilation?</title> + <para> + Yes, you can do so by setting the CFLAGS variable and then running + <command>configure</command> again. You can even pass them to + <command>configure</command> directly. Example: + <screen> <command>./configure CFLAGS="-march=i686"</command></screen> + </para> + <para> + Other user variables <command>configure</command> respects are: + <itemizedlist> + <listitem> + <para> + <command>CC</command> to specify the compiler executable + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + <command>CPP</command> to specify the C preprocessor executable + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + <command>LD</command> to specify the linker executable + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + <command>CPPFLAGS</command> to pass additional include paths or other + preprocessor options + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + <command>LDFLAGS</command> to pass additional library paths or other + linker options + </para> + </listitem> + </itemizedlist> + </para> + <para> + An example combining some of these would look like: + <screen> <command>./configure CC="/opt/intel/bin/icc" LD="/opt/intel/bin/xild" \ + CPPFLAGS="-I/usr/local/include/dvdnav" LDFLAGS="-L/home/guenter/xine_libs"</command></screen> + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="athlonflags"> + <title>Are there binaries for my AMD K7 (Athlon™) available? Can I build them?</title> + <para> + If you have a recent gcc you can try to compile "more" k7 support in (esp. + better instruction scheduling). If the configure script should fail to + detect your processor/gcc correctly, try passing the canonical system name for + your machine to configure with the <command>--host</command> option, e.g. + <screen> <command>./configure --host=k7-pc-linux-gnu</command></screen> + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2> + <title>Build problems: xine engine (xine-lib)</title> + <sect3 id="doesntcompile"> + <title>The package doesn't compile at all!</title> + <para> + In order to be able to compile xine-lib, you need (amongst other things) + the zlib compression library plus the appropriate headers, which are + often found in a package called zlib-devel or similar. + </para> + <para> + Read again carefully the output <command>./configure</command> + produced and/or compiler warnings and error reports, they often contain + helpful information to find out what's going on. If you're stuck here + and decide to post your problem on the xine-user mailing list, + make sure you include these outputs. + </para> + </sect3> + <sect3 id="xvpluginfailstobuild"> + <title>The Xv video-out plugin fails to compile!</title> + <para> + If you want to have Xv support compiled in, make sure you either have + a shared Xv library on your system, e.g. + <command>ls /usr/X11R6/lib/libXv*</command> + should give you some .so libs, like this: + <screen> + /usr/X11R6/lib/libXv.a + /usr/X11R6/lib/libXv.so + /usr/X11R6/lib/libXv.so.1</screen> + </para> + <para> + Alternatively you need to have libtool 1.4 or newer installed, then + libXv.a is sufficient. Otherwise you can create the shared versions yourself: + <screen> + <command>ld --whole-archive -shared -o libXv.so.1 libXv.a</command> + <command>ln -s libXv.so.1 libXv.so</command> + <command>ldconfig</command></screen> + </para> + <para> + Now you should be ready to build the Xv video-out plugin on your system. + </para> + </sect3> + </sect2> + + <sect2> + <title>Build problems in frontends (gxine/xine-ui/…)</title> + <sect3 id="xinelibnotfound"> + <title>I have installed xine-lib but the frontend complains about not finding it!</title> + <para> + First of all take a closer look at the compilation instructions above again. + You will probably find your answer there right away. + </para> + <para> + As stated there (there again that hint *grin*), make sure that you + have <filename>$prefix/bin</filename> in your path and that your + linker is able to find libraries installed in <filename>$prefix/lib</filename> + By the way, $prefix is where you installed your xine-lib to earlier + (yes, installing xine-lib with <command>make install</command> or + installing the corresponding distribution-provided -dev or -devel + package would be a good idea before trying to compile the frontend ;) + ). + </para> + </sect3> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="nonrootbuild"> + <title>Can I install xine in my home directory (without being root)?</title> + <para> + Sure. First set up a subdir where you install your private software, eg. + <screen> <command>mkdir ~/xine</command></screen> + </para> + <para> + Then you have to set a few environment variables – it's probably a good + idea to add this to your <filename>~/.bashrc</filename> (or somewhere similar): + <screen> + <command>export PATH="$HOME/xine/bin:$PATH"</command> + <command>export LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$HOME/xine/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH"</command></screen> + </para> + <para> + Now you can unpack tarballs e.g. in <filename>~/xine/src</filename> + (<command>mkdir ~/xine/src</command> if necessary) and do a + <screen> + <command>./configure --prefix=$HOME/xine</command> + <command>make install</command></screen> + </para> + <para> + You also need to tell frontends using xine-lib, where to find it: + <screen> <command>./configure --prefix=$HOME/xine --with-xine-prefix=$HOME/xine</command></screen> + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="win32build"> + <title>How to compile xine for Windows?</title> + <para> + For compiling xine under Windows with MinGW, CygWin or MS Visual C see <ulink url="http://hg.debian.org/hg/xine-lib/xine-lib?cmd=file;file=doc/README.WIN32;filenode=-1;style=raw"><filename>README.WIN32</filename></ulink>. + </para> + <para> + For cross-compiling xine under comfortable unix-like environment with MinGW see <ulink url="http://hg.debian.org/hg/xine-lib/xine-lib?cmd=file;file=doc/README.MINGWCROSS;filenode=-1;style=raw"><filename>README.MINGWCROSS</filename></ulink>. + </para> + </sect2> + + </sect1> + + <sect1 id="playback"> + <title>Playback of various stream types</title> + + <sect2> + <title>DVD Playback with xine</title> + <sect3 id="dvdplayback"> + <title>How do I play back DVDs with xine?</title> + <para> + Newer xine (1.0.x) releases come with a full-featured + DVD plugin that should be able to handle any unencrypted, + non-locked DVD with full menu navigation support. No external + plugins are required anymore here. + </para> + <para> + To get DVD playback working, first make sure you have + a symlink <filename>/dev/dvd</filename> pointing to your + DVD device on your system. For example, if your DVD drive + is the master ide drive on the second IDE channel, + <filename>/dev/dvd</filename> should point to + <filename>/dev/hdc</filename>. Please note that if you + are using the ide-scsi emulation on your system, it is + likely that your DVD drive got mapped to a scsi device + node even though it is an ide drive. In that case first + check out you boot/kernel logs (or run <command>cdrecord -scanbus</command>) + to find out which device it got mapped to and set the + symlink accordingly (should be something like <filename>/dev/scd0</filename>, + <filename>/dev/scd1</filename>, … in that case). + Also make sure you (as a user) have sufficient (read and write) permissions + on your DVD drive. This could mean you either have to change the device + permissions or add your user to a special group + (e.g. <command>addgroup cdrom username</command>), + depending on your setup and/or distribution. + </para> + <para> + It is highly recommended to switch DMA mode on for your DVD drive + (without it even very recent machines will have trouble producing + smooth video output). Use a command like + <command>hdparm -d 1 <device></command> + on your DVD device. Please note that even if you're using ide-scsi + you will have to set the dma flag on the ide device node (e.g. + <filename>/dev/hdc</filename>), not the mapped <filename>/dev/scd</filename> + scsi device. + </para> + <para> + To be able to play back encrypted DVDs you need to have + libdvdcss installed on your system (please check if this is legal where + you live). If you do not understand what the term "encrypted DVD" means + here: As a rule of thumb, every DVD you have to pay money for is most + likely encrypted. + </para> + <para> + To make matters worse, apart from encryption, there is another obstacle + to take: the region code. The DVD authorities decided to divide the world + into eight geographical regions. Have a look at + <ulink url="http://www.dvdforum.gr.jp/RegionMap.pdf">http://www.dvdforum.gr.jp/RegionMap.pdf</ulink> + if you want to know which number has been assigned to your country. It is + now their idea, that you shall only play DVDs, which have been produced + for your region. If you take a DVD off the shelf in your local store, + you should find a little globe-like icon which shows the region code the + disc is for. + </para> + <para> + Newer (post-2000) DVD drives (so-called RPC-2 drives) check the DVD + region, which means they'll prevent you from playing back DVDs that have + a different region code from what the drive is set up for. Some drives + come with a factory setting of region 0 so they can play back + any DVD until a region code is set. Others refuse to play any DVD at all + until they are told a region. The easiest way to handle this is to use + the regionset utility from + <ulink url="http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=31346&release_id=168415"> + http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=31346&release_id=168415 + </ulink>. + </para> + <para> + Once you have everything set up, try something like + <command>gxine dvd:/</command> or <command>xine -p dvd:/</command> + to start dvd playback. Some frontend also offer so-called autoplay + buttons or menu entries that start dvd playback immediately. + </para> + <para> + Important: do not try to mount the DVD. Just insert it and hit the DVD autoplay + button or start xine from the command line. + </para> + <para> + If things do not work as expected, try running the <command>xine-check</command> + shellscript that comes with xine to see if this gives you further hints on + what could be wrong. + </para> + </sect3> + <sect3 id="dvdlongwait"> + <title>DVD playback works, but it takes a long time until playback starts</title> + <para> + This points to a region code problem. Some versions of libdvdcss can play + back DVDs from other regions than the RPC-2 DVD drive is set up for, + but this usually means a cryptographic attack (which takes time) has + to be used to access the DVD. + </para> + <para> + You can download a tool to set the region code of RPC-Drives here: + <ulink url="http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=31346&release_id=168415"> + http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=31346&release_id=168415 + </ulink>. + </para> + <para> + Warning: Please be aware that the number of region code changes in RPC-2 + drives is limited (usually about 5 times), after that your drive will + stay locked to the region you last set it up for. + </para> + </sect3> + <sect3 id="regionset"> + <title>I have problems setting up my RPC-2 drive for the right region!</title> + <para> + You can download a tool to set the region code of RPC-Drives here: + <ulink url="http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=31346&release_id=168415"> + http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=31346&release_id=168415 + </ulink>. + </para> + <para> + Warning: Please be aware that the number of region code changes in RPC-2 + drives is limited (usually about 5 times), after that your drive will + stay locked to the region you last set it up for. + </para> + </sect3> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="vcdsupport"> + <title>Can I watch Video CDs (VCDs)? SVCDS ? CD-i?</title> + <para> + xine supports VCD and SVCD playback out-of-the box. Similar to DVDs, + make sure you have a <filename>/dev/cdrom</filename> alias pointing + to your CDROM drive which you will use to play back the (S)VCD. + </para> + <para> + At the moment, CD-i formats are not supported by xine. + </para> + <para> + Do not try to mount the (S)VCD. Simply insert it into your CDROM drive + and hit the VCD autoplay button or start something like + <command>gxine vcd:/</command> or <command>xine vcd:/</command> + from the command line. + </para> + <sect3 id="vcdtroubleshooting"> + <title>VideoCD troubleshooting guide</title> + <para> + This gives higher-level troubleshooting. More lower-level information is + given in <link linkend="vcddebug">the next section</link>. + </para> + <itemizedlist> + <listitem> + <para> + When you open the configuration dialog of your frontend, you should + see a <parameter>vcd</parameter> config section. An important setting is + <parameter>default_device</parameter>. If this is set to the empty string, + the VCD plugin will try to scan your drives for a suitable device if the + driver has the capability to scan for drives. However you can set + the device to something of your choosing. On GNU/Linux, this may be + <filename>/dev/cdrom</filename> and on Solaris it may be + <filename>/vol/dev/aliases/cdrom0</filename>. + </para> + <para> + If you set this field, make sure these are correct for your + particular setup. For example, I generally play out of the DVD + device and this is called <filename>/dev/dvd</filename> rather than <filename>/dev/cdrom</filename>. + </para> + <para></para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + Your frontend should offer a VCD autoscan button or menu item. + If you select this, you should see your CD disk light go on if you have one. + And the CD should be read. You should get a playlist of what's on the VideoCD. + </para> + <para> + If not something's wrong, possibly you configured the wrong drive. + You might try to read a disk image of a VideoCD and thus elimate any problems + with hardware. You can get a test VideoCD disk image to test here: + <ulink url="http://www.vcdimager.org/pub/vcdimager/examples/test_svcd/test_svcd_pal.zip"> + http://www.vcdimager.org/pub/vcdimager/examples/test_svcd/test_svcd_pal.zip + </ulink>. + After unzipping this there should be files <filename>test_svcd_pal.cue</filename> and + <filename>test_svcd_pal.bin</filename>. Run xine with the MRL +<!-- FIXME: This MRL needs to be changed --> + <filename>vcd:/test_svcd_pal.cue:E0</filename>. + If you see something playing then this is a hardware problem. + You might also want to try starting playback-control with +<!-- FIXME: This MRL needs to be changed --> + <filename>vcd:/test_svcd_pal.cue:P1</filename>. + </para> + <para></para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + There should be at least one "track", and one "entry" listed for + the VideoCD and the names of these in the MRL list will end with + "T1" and "E0" respectively. Often there are other playlist items, + and if you have menus or still frames there will be + "segments" as well. The simplest things to check are probably + "entries" and "tracks". If there are no entries listed or none of + the tracks or entries play, then there may be a problem with + that particular medium. So as in the step above, you can try a known good + sample and perhaps burn a CD from that. More likely if you get this + far, some of the items listed work and some do not. There are a + number of debugging switches that you can dynamically turn on and + off that may be able to help in isolating more specific problems. + See the <link linkend="vcddebug">section below</link>. + </para> + <para></para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + Something plays now, but you do not get any menus? Well, first is there + supposed to be a menu? In the last step you should have seen what is on + the VideoCD. Still frames are always "segments" so see if you can find one in the MRL + list and select that. + </para> + <para> + If there are no segments listed, there aren't any still-frame + menus. It's also possible to have menus in looping MPEG's. Use the + <command>vcddump</command> tool to find loops. <command>vcddump</command> is + also part of VCDImager. Another program that can help you examine the contents + of a VideoCD is <command>vcdxrip</command>. + </para> + <para> + To troubleshoot, start out with the known SVCD example that has a + still-frame menu at the beginning: + <ulink url="http://www.vcdimager.org/pub/vcdimager/examples/test_svcd/test_svcd_pal.zip"> + http://www.vcdimager.org/pub/vcdimager/examples/test_svcd/test_svcd_pal.zip + </ulink> + Inside this is a largish file called <filename>test_svcd_pal.bin</filename> and another + short text file called <filename>test_svcd_ntsc.cue</filename>. These are CD disk + images; that is, something that could be burned to a CD drive such + as with <command>cdrdao</command>. However you don't have to create a CD to view these + with the xine VCD plugin. You should be able to play the VideoCD by running the MRL +<!-- FIXME: This MRL needs to be changed --> + <filename>vcd:/test_svcd_pal.cue</filename>. + If you see a still frame on startup. Great! If instead you see what + looks like the beginning of a movie (Blue Streak with Martin Lawrence) + then go to the next step. + </para> + <para></para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + You have a VideoCD with menu and can see it, but there is no menu on startup? + If you have the VideoCD from the last step, then run the MRL +<!-- FIXME: This MRL needs to be changed --> + <filename>vcd:/test_svcd_pal.cue:P1</filename> + If this shows a still frame, but it just does not show when you + hit either the "VCD" autoscan button or give a MRL without the P1 at + the end then go to the next step. + </para> + <para> + If you have another VideoCD, from the MRL list, you should also see "playlist" + entries. Try selecting the one that ends "P1". If you don't see an entry with P1, + then your VideoCD does not have playback control (PBC) and although there may + be a still frame on the VideoCD it may have been authored so it is not easily + accessed. Again <command>vcddump</command> or <command>vcdxrip</command> can help here. + </para> + <para></para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + You have a VideoCD with menu at beginning and can see it using an MRL + with P1 at the end, but you want to see it by hitting the "VCD" autoscan button + as well? Check to see that you have the configuration entry + <parameter>media.vcd.autoplay</parameter> set to <parameter>playlist</parameter>. + </para> + </listitem> + </itemizedlist> + </sect3> + <sect3 id="vcddebug"> + <title>VideoCD debugging</title> + <para> + To facilitate tracking down problems we let you see what's going on dynamically. + Various debugging settings will cause output to appear on xine's plugin log + and/or on standard error output. See the config entry <parameter>media.vcd.debug</parameter> + for details. + </para> + <para> + The tool <command>vcd-info</command> from the cdio branch of vcdimager can be used to + show the entire contents of a VideoCD or selected portions of that. Until the cdio + branch of vcdimager is completely merged with vcdimager, the cd-info branch version + has a few more features. (However consult vcdimager for complete version of the program.) + </para> + <para> + <command>vcdxrip</command> can be used to extract portions of a VideoCD and or create an + XML description file of the VideoCD. This XML file and the extracted + files can be used by <command>vcdxbuild</command> to recreate another VideoCD. + </para> + <para> + And finally see also tools <command>cd-info</command> and <command>cd-read</command> from libcdio. + </para> + </sect3> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="quicktime"> + <title>Can I watch Quicktime (.mov, .mp4) files using xine?</title> + <para> + Quicktime is just a system layer (container format) which can contain various + different audio and video formats. The system layer itself is fully supported + in xine. However, some quicktime audio/video codecs are not natively supported yet. + Luckily, if you are using a x86 compatible machine (any recent PC hardware should do) + you can install and use the original Quicktime DLLs and watch most streams + (trailers) that can be downloaded from the net. + </para> + <para> + Possibly the most convenient way to get the Quicktime DLLs is to download + them from the MPlayer website + <ulink url="http://www.mplayerhq.hu/design7/dload.html"> + http://www.mplayerhq.hu/design7/dload.html + </ulink>. + The package is called "essential". Unpack it and move everything you find + inside to <filename>/usr/lib/codecs</filename> (actually you can place them + anywhere you want, e.g. someplace in your home directory, but then you'll + have to set <parameter>decoder.external.win32_codecs_path</parameter> in your + xine config file accordingly). Restart xine then and you should be + able to watch Quicktime trailers. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2> + <title>Real Network files/streams</title> + <sect3 id="realfileplayback"> + <title>Can I watch Real (.rm, .ram) files using xine?</title> + <para> + The situation with real files and streams is pretty similar to the situation + with Quicktime Streams (see above). The newer real audio and video formats + are only supported by using binary-only codecs which are not included in + xine. + </para> + <para> + Possibly the most convenient way to get the Real codecs is to install + RealPlayer 9 or RealPlayer 10 and set the + <parameter>decoder.external.real_codecs_path</parameter> in your xine + config file to the name of the directory which contains the codecs + (look for drvc.so); it's probably something like + <filename>/opt/real/RealPlayer/codecs/</filename>. Restart xine then + and you should be able to watch Real files/streams. + </para> + <para> + Another way to get the Real codecs is to download them from the MPlayer website + <ulink url="http://www.mplayerhq.hu/design7/dload.html"> + http://www.mplayerhq.hu/design7/dload.html + </ulink>. + The package is called "essential". Unpack it and move everything you + find inside to <filename>/usr/lib/codecs</filename> and set the + <parameter>decoder.external.real_codecs_path</parameter> in your xine config file + to <filename>/usr/lib/codecs</filename> (actually you can place them + anywhere you want, e.g. someplace in your home directory, but then you'll + have to set <parameter>decoder.external.real_codecs_path</parameter> accordingly). + Restart xine then and you should be able to watch Real files/streams. + </para> + </sect3> + <sect3 id="realnetworkstreams"> + <title>What about (live) network streams (pnm://, rtsp:// style urls)?</title> + <para> + xine supports both pnm and rtsp streaming. However, digging out the actual + pnm/rtsp url can be tricky as they're often packed into heavy JavaScript and + HTML code on most websites. You can either use a combination of your + browser's "save source" function and wget or use a xine browser plugin + (currently the gxine frontend comes with a simple mozilla plugin, + for example). When you decided to dig out the url by hand don't get fooled + by the many redirectors that are often placed around the actual url. + Use wget to download any http://-style urls and use less to look inside + the downloaded .ra/.ram files where you will find the actual pnm/rtsp + url which can be opened using xine. + </para> + </sect3> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="wmv"> + <title>Can I watch Windows Media (.asf/.wmv/.wma) files using xine?</title> + <para> + While the container format (system layer) ASF (wmv is just an alias) + is fully supported in xine, for newer windows media 9 based streams + you'll need to install windows binary codecs (.DLLs). + </para> + <para> + Possibly the most convenient way to get the Windows DLLs is to download + them from the MPlayer website + <ulink url="http://www.mplayerhq.hu/design7/dload.html"> + http://www.mplayerhq.hu/design7/dload.html + </ulink>. + The package is called "essential". Unpack it and move everything you find + inside to <filename>/usr/lib/codecs</filename> (actually you can place them + anywhere you want, e.g. someplace in your home directory, but then you'll + have to set <parameter>decoder.external.win32_codecs_path</parameter> in your + xine config file accordingly). Restart xine then and you should be + able to watch windows media streams. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="dvb"> + <title>Can I watch Digital TV (Digital Video Broadcast) using xine?</title> + <para> + At the time of this writing DVB support is a very new and experimental + feature in xine. The number of supported cards is pretty limited at the moment. + See <filename>doc/README.dvb</filename> (in the xine-lib tarball) for details. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="stdin"> + <title>How do I play streams from STDIN?</title> + <para> + Use something like: + <screen> <command>cat stream.mpg | gxine stdin:/</command></screen> + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="avisubtitles"> + <title>How can I watch files with external AVI subtitles?</title> + <para> + In xine 0.9.13 this used to be: + <screen> <command>xine foo.avi%bar.sub</command></screen> + </para> + <para> + Latest xine-lib modules (1-beta3 or newer) support external subtitles + for any media file, not only AVI. In order to use it you can pass a + special MRL construction like: + <screen> <command>xine file://path/to/test.mpg#subtitle:/path/to/file.sub</command></screen> + The external subtitles support can also be used by any xine frontend. + Currently xine-ui and kaffeine implement this feature with a subtitle + selection dialog. + </para> + </sect2> + + </sect1> + + <sect1 id="running"> + <title>Running xine</title> + + <sect2 id="speedup"> + <title>I have a lot of dropped frames – what can I do?</title> + <para> + Your hardware might be too slow for xine. Make sure you turn on all + speed optimizing options. A few things you should check (in order of + importance): + <itemizedlist> + <listitem> + <para> + First of all, run the <command>xine-check</command> script included in xine + package (probably already installed in your system). + <command>xine-check</command> will report several of the most common problems + listed here. Sample output from xine-check: + <screen> + <command>xine-check</command> + Please be patient, this script may take a while to run... + [ good ] you're using Linux, doing specific tests + [ good ] looks like you have a /proc filesystem mounted. + [ good ] You seem to have a reasonable kernel version (2.4.18) + [ good ] intel compatible processor, checking MTRR support + [ good ] you have MTRR support and there are some ranges set. + [ good ] found the player at /usr/local/bin/xine + [ good ] /usr/local/bin/xine is in your PATH + [ good ] found /usr/local/bin/xine-config in your PATH + [ good ] plugin directory /usr/local/lib/xine/plugins exists. + [ good ] found input plugins + [ good ] found demux plugins + [ good ] found decoder plugins + [ good ] found video_out plugins + [ good ] found audio_out plugins + [ good ] skin directory /usr/local/share/xine/skins exists. + [ good ] found logo in /usr/local/share/xine/skins + [ good ] I even found some skins. + [ good ] /dev/cdrom points to /dev/hdc + [ good ] /dev/dvd points to /dev/hdc + [ good ] DMA is enabled for your DVD drive + [ good ] found xvinfo: X-Video Extension version 2.2 + [ good ] your Xv extension supports YUV overlays (improves MPEG performance) + [ good ] your Xv extension supports packed YUV overlays + [ good ] Xv ports: YUY2 YV12 I420 UYVY</screen> + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + Try to use the Xv driver, it greatly improves performance and quality + because your graphics card does image scaling and colourspace conversion. The + <link linkend="video">video section</link> contains important information + about several Xv drivers. + </para> + <para> + If Xv cannot be used for some reason, make sure your display is set up + to 16bpp, not 24 or higher (reduces memory bandwith). Some Xv drivers + may also have better performance with 16bpp. + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + Make sure the hard drive (or cdrom/dvd drive) which supplies the + video data is in DMA mode (if supported). + </para> + <para> + On most linux-based systems, you can use hdparm to check this: + <screen> + <command>hdparm /dev/hda</command> + [...] + using_dma = 1 (on) + [...]</screen> + </para> + <para> + You can enable DMA mode with the following command: + <screen> <command>hdparm -d1 device_of_your_drive_that_supplies_video_data</command></screen> + In some cases where this fails it helps to specify the dma mode + to use, for example: + <screen> <command>hdparm -d1 -X 66 device_of_your_drive_that_supplies_video_data</command></screen> + In RedHat 8.0 an additional entry in /etc/modules.conf + <screen> options ide-cd dma=1</screen> + should help (reboot for this change to take effect). + </para> + <para> + More information about this may be found here: + <ulink url="http://oreilly.linux.com/pub/a/linux/2000/06/29/hdparm.html"> + http://oreilly.linux.com/pub/a/linux/2000/06/29/hdparm.html + </ulink>. + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + Use a recent kernel which is optimized for your hardware. Old kernels + may lack support for accelerated instructions like SSE, for example. + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + Close other applications (use a tool like "top" to find out + what applications are using up CPU power). Programs that update the + system clock like ntp should also be disabled. + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + Enable MTRR support in your kernel. If you are still using XFree 3.x, + you'll have to tell the kernel yourself where the graphics memory is. + You'll find details about that in the linux dvd howto. + </para> + <para> + If you're using X.org or XFree 4.x, enabling MTRR support in your kernel should + be enough (use a recent kernel!). + </para> + <para> + Try a <command>cat /proc/mtrr</command> – if the file exists and you find an entry + corresponding to the amount of graphics memory you have, everything + should be fine. + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + Have your X-server (usually X.org or XFree86) running with higher priority. + Most recent linux distributions (like RedHat 8.0 or Mandrake 9.0) should + do that for you, improving not only xine but desktop responsiveness + in general. + </para> + <para> + Use the "top" utility and verify under the "NI" column if + the X process has a negative value, this indicates a higher priority. + See "The X Window User HOWTO – Performance considerations" for + further instructions + <ulink url="http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/XWindow-User-HOWTO/performance.html"> + http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/XWindow-User-HOWTO/performance.html + </ulink>. + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + Use the latest or a known-good gcc version and build an optimized xine-lib for + your architecture. + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + Besides boosting X-server priority, sometimes it's possible to avoid + discarding frames by making xine itself higher priority. This is not + a recommended pratice since it will require to run xine as root, + but you may give it a try if you want: + <screen> <command>nice --5 xine</command></screen> + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + xine needs high speed memory access which depends on your chip set. + Make sure you enable all speed-improving options. + </para> + <para> + Especially the via apollo pro chipset is known to be quite weird, + (most of all on my gigabyte board). If you can't configure the ram + access thoroughly using the bios you might want to try some really + nasty tricks, as explained on (for example): + <ulink url="http://www.overclockers.com/tips105/index03.asp"> + http://www.overclockers.com/tips105/index03.asp + </ulink> + </para> + <para> + This website centers around a windows-tool to tweak the chipset, you + can do the same on FreeBSD with <command>pciconf</command>. + On some linux distributions there are similar tools. + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + a nice performance tuning tool can be found here: + <ulink url="http://powertweak.sourceforge.net">http://powertweak.sourceforge.net</ulink> + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + Set up and use raw devices for DVD access. Please note that the + actual performance gain during playback is very small if any, but + since raw devices are bypassing the kernel's buffer cache, Linux + will not try to cache the DVDs you play. This would not be useful, + because xine does its own caching and you usually play DVDs + sequentially, which means you won't reuse anything from the cache. + But the problem would be that Linux throws everything out of the + cache that might be in there. + </para> + <para> + Raw devices should be available in linux kernel 2.4.x and there are + patches for older kernels available from: + <ulink url="ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/people/sct/raw-io/"> + ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/people/sct/raw-io/ + </ulink> + </para> + <para> + For recent kernels (2.6.x series) the raw devices are neither + needed nor supported anymore, so don't bother. + </para> + <para> + To use raw devices, first connect a free raw device to your dvd + device, use something like: + <screen> <command>raw /dev/raw1 /dev/dvd</command></screen> + </para> + <para> + Then create a link named "rdvd" pointing to that raw device: + <screen> <command>ln -s raw1 /dev/rdvd</command></screen> + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + For slow / high-latency dvd drives it might help to increase + the number of video buffers xine allocates. Try setting + <parameter>engine.buffers.video_num_buffers:500</parameter> + to a higher value (e.g. 1000 or 2500). + </para> + </listitem> + </itemizedlist> + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="smoothness"> + <title>Oki, xine doesn't drop frames now but video output still is not really smooth!</title> + <para> + Video output can be further improved by tuning your linux kernel: + <itemizedlist> + <listitem> + <para> + Set HZ to 1000 in + <filename>/usr/src/linux/include/asm-i386/param.h</filename> + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + Try applying scheduler patches, especially the O(1) and the preemptive + patches have proven useful at the time of this writing (spring 2003). + </para> + </listitem> + </itemizedlist> + Linux 2.5/2.6 will probably have these improvements out of the box. + </para> + <para> + Miguel Freitas has written a nice + <ulink url="http://cambuca.ldhs.cetuc.puc-rio.br/~miguel/multimedia_sim/"> + article about his kernel multimedia experiments + </ulink>. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="ports"> + <title>I have problems when using xine on FreeBSD, Solaris, … !</title> + <para> + Check out the the corresponding README files in the directory <filename>xine-lib/doc</filename>. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="aaxine"> + <title>What is aalib? How do I use it in xine?</title> + <para> + aalib is an ascii art library. xine comes with an aalib video output + plugin so you can watch movies in your xterm, on the console or on your + old vt100 – very cool ;> … another nice option is to preview movies + on a remote server in your shell over ssh. + </para> + <para> + To use it make sure you have aalib installed correctly before you + configure/build xine-lib and xine-ui. In addition to the <command>xine</command> binary a + binary named <command>aaxine</command> should get built and installed. You can then use + something like: + <screen> <command>aaxine foo.mpg</command></screen> + to use aalib video output. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="dxr3"> + <title>Does xine support my dxr3 / hollywood+ card?</title> + <para> + While xine's focus is clearly on software decoding, the dxr3 is supported. + </para> + <para> + You can find more information about using xine with the dxr3 + <ulink url="http://www.amalthea.de/xine/">here</ulink> + (also covers how to do tv output using the dxr3). + </para> + </sect2> + + </sect1> + + <sect1 id="audio"> + <title>Audio related questions</title> + + <sect2 id="audiodrivers"> + <title>What audio drivers does xine support? OSS? Alsa? Arts? Esd?</title> + <para> + Currently xine support audio output via OSS (Linux 2.4 and most + *BSD audio drivers), + ALSA 0.9 and 1.0 (ALSA 0.5.x is no longer supported), aRTs (KDE + 3's sound daemon), ESounD (esd, gnome's sound daemon not + recommended because it has serious issues with a/v sync), JACK, + PulseAudio, plus platform-specific output through Sun devices for + Solaris and NetBSD and Irix output. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="compressor"> + <title>When I'm watching a movie, the sound effects are much higher in volume than the voices!</title> + <para> + Congratulations, you seem to have an original movie audio track there. + </para> + <para> + Uhm. So you don't like it. Well, there are two things you can do: + <itemizedlist> + <listitem> + <para> + You can enable xine's audio compressor. Most frontends have + a settings window and in that you'll find a slider for the + compressor setting. The values are percent values, so a + slider setting of 200 means that xine will double the volume + of silent parts of the movie (loud parts stay the same). + </para> + <para> + If your frontend does not have such a compression slider, + you can pass the value with the MRL: + <screen> <command>xine dvd:/#compression:150</command></screen> + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + If you have a dolby digital (AC3) soundtrack, you can try + to enable liba52's dynamic range compression setting + <parameter>audio.a52.dynamic_range:1</parameter> + in your xine config file (or use some gui config dialog). + </para> + </listitem> + </itemizedlist> + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="noaudio"> + <title>When I play this stream, xine shows video but there's no audio!</title> + <para> + If this happens with any video, first try a different audio driver + (<command>gxine -A oss</command>, <command>gxine -A arts</command>, + <command>xine -A alsa</command> …). + </para> + <para> + If this problem only occurs with one specific stream, maybe switching to + a different audio channel (using the gui) helps. Some DVD streams have + audio on strange channels. + </para> + <para> + If all this doesn't help, maybe you're missing an audio codec or you found + a bug. If you decide to post your problem on the xine-user mailing list, + make sure to include all console output xine produced and also clearly + state what type of stream you tried to play back or, even better, make + a test stream available somewhere for developers to download and try. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="surroundsound"> + <title>Can xine produce 4-/5-channel surround audio output?</title> + <para> + Yep, it can do that using OSS or ALSA drivers, provided that the driver + supports it. However, since xine cannot detect if there are actually speakers + connected to the additional channels, you'll have to activate that feature manually. + </para> + <para> + You can do this either in the config dialog while xine is running (press + the config button on the xine panel and go to the AUDIO tab) or have it + the complicated way by editing the config file yourself which is located + in your home directory in <filename>.config/gxine</filename> or + <filename>.xine</filename>: + <programlisting> + audio.output.speaker_arrangement:Surround 4.0 + audio.output.speaker_arrangement:Surround 4.1 + audio.output.speaker_arrangement:Surround 5.1</programlisting> + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="spdif"> + <title>What about ac3 output via spdif to an external ac3 decoder?</title> + <para> + xine can do that too. Pretty much the same story as for 4-/5-channel + surround (see above). You can either use the config dialog or edit + the config file (<filename>~/.xine/config</filename> or + <filename>~/.config/gxine/config</filename>) yourself: + <programlisting> audio.output.speaker_arrangement:Pass Through</programlisting> + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="sblivespdif"> + <title>Getting SPDIF output from a SBLive 5.1 using OSS drivers</title> + <para> + The following explains how to get the above configuration + going with xine. Some parts of it may applicable to other + configurations (cards that use the EMU10k1 chip) as well. + </para> + <sect3> + <title>Requirements</title> + <orderedlist> + <listitem> + <para>xine-lib >= 1.x.x</para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para>OSS driver</para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para>an external decoder</para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para>a cable to connect the SBLive to the external decoder</para> + </listitem> + </orderedlist> + <para> + The configuration described was tested using a Soundblaster live 5.1 (rev 7) + with a Yamaha DSP-AX620 external decoder. + </para> + </sect3> + <sect3> + <title>Retrieving the driver</title> + <para> + The OSS driver is maintained by creative and can be downloaded at + <ulink url="http://opensource.creative.com/">http://opensource.creative.com/</ulink>. + The driver package contains documentation on how to install it. + Besides that I'd like to add the following notes. + </para> + <para> + In order to compile and install these drivers, you need a valid kernel + configuration file. For RedHat Linux's pre-compiled kernels these + configuration files can be found in + <filename>/usr/src/linux/configs</filename>. + After you've located the correct config file for your kernel, + you need to copy it to <filename>/usr/src/linux/.config</filename> + For example, when you run the 2.4.18-i686 kernel do : + <screen> <command>cp /usr/src/linux/configs/kernel-2.4.18-i686.config /usr/src/linux/.config</command></screen> + Make sure that the emu10k1 module that is currently installed is + not loaded. To unload the modules: + <screen> <command>/sbin/modprobe -rv emu10k1.o ac97_codec.o</command></screen> + If this mentions that the device is busy, some program is + using the driver. Some example could be a mixer application + or sound daemon like artsd. You'll need to close down the + applications before continuing. + At success it should print something like: + <screen> + # delete emu10k1 + # delete ac97_codec + # delete soundcore</screen> + Run make in the directory where you unpacked the driver and follow the + instructions printed at the end of each step. + The last step should be: + <screen> <command>make install-tools</command></screen> + As the README of the driver package mentions the SPDIF AC3 + output doesn't work by default. In the directory + <filename>utils/scripts</filename> an <filename>emu10k1.conf</filename> + file can be found which need to be placed in the default + installation directory (<filename>/usr/local/etc</filename>). + After this the <filename>emu10k1.conf</filename> needs to be modified. + The following settings worked fine for me (I don't use the analog + outputs of the card): + <programlisting> + CARD_IS_5_1=yes + USE_DIGITAL_OUTPUT=yes + ENABLE_TONE_CONTROL=yes + AC3PASSTHROUGH=yes + ENABLE_LIVEDRIVE_IR=no + INVERT_REAR=no + MULTICHANNEL=yes + ROUTE_ALL_TO_SUB=no + ANALOG_FRONT_BOOST=no + SURROUND=no + PROLOGIC=no + ENABLE_CD_Spdif=yes + ENABLE_OPTICAL_SPDIF=no + ENABLE_LINE2_MIC2=no + ENABLE_RCA_SPDIF=no + ENABLE_RCA_AUX=no</programlisting> + After modifying the <filename>emu10k1.conf</filename>, + you need to modify your <filename>/etc/modules.conf</filename> and + make sure the following lines are in there. + <programlisting> + alias sound-slot-0 emu10k1 + post-install emu10k1 /usr/local/etc/emu-script</programlisting> + After saving the changes to <filename>modules.conf</filename>, run + <screen> <command>/sbin/depmod -a</command></screen> + Now, you're ready to load the new modules and set the correct + options for it. To load the modules run: + <screen> <command>/sbin/modprobe emu10k1</command></screen> + </para> + </sect3> + <sect3> + <title>Setting up xine for SPDIF (AC3 passthrough) output</title> + <para> + You can either use the config dialog of your frontend or edit + the config file (<filename>~/.xine/config</filename>) yourself: + <programlisting> audio.output.speaker_arrangement:Pass Through</programlisting> + In case the setting is not in the file you can add it. + </para> + </sect3> + <sect3> + <title> + The cable used for the SBLive can easily be self-made + or buy a stereo 3.5mm jack to dual RCA cable. + </title> + <para> + What you need to make the cable yourself: + <itemizedlist> + <listitem><para>stereo 3.5mm jack plug</para></listitem> + <listitem><para>RCA plug</para></listitem> + <listitem><para>shielded cable (video coax 75 Ohm will do)</para></listitem> + </itemizedlist> + Connect them as follows : + <programlisting> + center pin jackplug ------|----- center pin RCA plug + GND __|__ GND</programlisting> + </para> + <para> + In order to test it use a DVD with AC3 or DTS track + start xine and select the right audio track + from user interface or start xine as: + <screen> <command>xine dvd:/1 -a 0</command></screen> + The external decoder should display something like + "Dolby Digital" in case the selected audio track contains + AC3 data or "DTS" in case the selected audio track + contains DTS data. Of course stereo audio also goes + through the SPDIF output, so the analog outputs of the + SBLive 5.1 are not needed anymore. + </para> + </sect3> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="volumecontrol"> + <title>Changing the volume with the GUI control has no effect! What's up!?</title> + <para> + Some xine drivers do not support volume changing although the GUI + will show the volume bar. Usually this is not xine's fault: aRts C + API, for example, doesn't offer any volume property to applications. + Similarly, with ac3 pass through it is not possible to set the volume. + </para> + <para> + Note that recently we added support to "simulate" volume in aRts by + changing sample values on-the-fly before delivering them to the driver. + Not as good as having access to sound card's mixer but at least users + will not complain about lacking of volume bar anymore! :) + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="stuttering"> + <title>Audio is stuttering and i see a lot of "metronom: fixing sound card drift by -2115 pts" on the console output</title> + <para> + Might be a soundcard problem, if it only comes in longer intervals. + Your soundcard does not keep it's sampling frequency accurately + enough, which results in audio and video + getting out of sync and xine has to compensate. If you see the message + only from time to time, you might remedy it by using the resampling sync + method. You can do this by setting the configuration entry + <parameter>audio.synchronization.av_sync_method</parameter> to <parameter>resample</parameter>. + </para> + <para> + If you receive the metronom message more often, + maybe switching to different drivers (alsa to oss or vise-versa) + can help here. It has also been reported that setting the configuration + entry <parameter>audio.synchronization.force_rate</parameter> to the native sampling + rate of your soundcard (try 44100 and 48000) helps sometimes. + </para> + <para> + Another, whole different possibility is that you have some background + process running which is messing with the clock (like some ntp client – + chrony, ntpd, …). + </para> + <para> + Occasional messages of "fixing sound card drift" may happen on start and + when playing a long stream (like a movie). This is normal behaviour, + nothing to worry about. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="soundloss"> + <title>xine seems to lose sound arbitrarily during playback, especially with DVDs</title> + <para> + You are using the OSS audio output plugin, right? In order to keep video and audio + in sync, xine regularly queries the audio driver for the amount of delay induced by + the current length of the driver's audio buffer. Unfortunately some OSS drivers seem + to be broken because the can return strange values here. This confuses the xine audio + subsystem and makes it drop audio. + </para> + <para> + You should try the various settings of the + configuration entry <parameter>audio.oss_sync_method</parameter>. The options + <parameter>getodelay</parameter> and <parameter>getoptr</parameter> ask the driver and + might therefore show the problem. But chances are that only one is broken and the other + works, so you should try them both first, since they are the most accurate. + The option <parameter>probebuffer</parameter> does not ask the driver directly but + tries to determine the buffer length from outside. This should work with any driver + and is the way to go, of the driver dependent methods fail. + <parameter>softsync</parameter> is the least accurate and should be used only in + emergency situations. + </para> + </sect2> + + </sect1> + + <sect1 id="video"> + <title>Video related questions</title> + + <sect2 id="novideo"> + <title>I can hear the audio – but I don't see a picture!</title> + <para> + Probably your hardware is simply too slow – see above for some + hints on how to speed things up. + </para> + <para> + Another possibility is that you using a buggy Xv driver, see the next + questions. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="bluescreen"> + <title>I only see a blue (or green or black) video image most of the time.</title> + <para> + You are either watching a very boring video (just kidding) or you are + suffering from a bug in the Xorg 6.7 implementation of X11. + </para> + <para> + The workaround is to add the line + <programlisting> Option "XaaNoOffscreenPixmaps"</programlisting> + in the <varname>Device</varname> section of your X server configuration (usually + <filename>/etc/X11/xorg.conf</filename> or <filename>/etc/X11/XF86Config</filename>). + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="buggyxv"> + <title>The image looks strange, it is shifted, cropped or shows weird lines!</title> + <para> + This points to a problem with the Xv extension, which is used by xine + to display the video image. To verify this, try running xine with the XShm + video output plugin: + <screen> <command>xine -V XShm</command></screen> + </para> + <para> + If that works fine, you just proved, that the Xv extension is buggy. xine will + remember the last used video output plugin, so the setting will stay at XShm. + You could simply continue using this, but XShm is a lot slower than Xv, so + read on and see if you can get it working. Usually you should look for + updated versions of the X driver module that belongs to your graphics card. + </para> + <para> + Other possibilites are limitations in either your X driver module or your + graphics hardware. If your card could somehow be running out of ressources (graphics + RAM perhaps) and displays an incorrect Xv overlay because of that, try reducing + the display resolution and/or colour depth. + </para> + <para> + Consult the next question for more details on Xv. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="xvextension"> + <title>How can I make xine use the Xv extension and what drivers do I need?</title> + <para> + xine will normally use Xv by default if it is available. In some cases + you might need to choose Xv playback manually (when the <filename>~/.xine/config</filename> + file for some reason says that you want to use XShm): + <screen> <command>xine -V Xv</command></screen> + </para> + <para> + If this doesn't work for you, it may be possible that Xv is not present + on your system. + </para> + <para> + First you need to install/use X.org or XFree 4.x. Once you got that you have to + make sure the X drivers you're using are supporting Xv on your + hardware. Here are some hints for individual gfx chips: + <itemizedlist> + <listitem> + <para> + 3Dfx: if all you get is a solid black window, upgrade to X.org or XFree 4.1.0 or later. + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + ATI: if you only get "half a picture", try lowering your resolution + or bit depth, disable DRI (looks like you ran out of video RAM) + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + Trident card: If you see vertical bands jumbled, upgrade to the latest + xfree/experimental trident drivers (for the CyberBlade XP + a driver exists here: + <ulink url="http://www.xfree86.org/~alanh/">http://www.xfree86.org/~alanh/ </ulink>) + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + nVidia: With newer GeForce cards, Xv should work with XFree 4.2.0 or + newer, for older RivaTNT cards use the binary drivers from nvidia + (of course the binary drivers work as well for GeForce cards) + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + Mach64/Rage3D (not Rage128/Radeon) cards/chips get no XVideo with + standard drivers, try + <ulink url="http://gatos.sourceforge.net/">GATOS drivers + </ulink> instead + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + intel: i815 has Xv support in XFree 4.x, others unknown + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + Permedia 2/3 has Xv support in XFree 4.x + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + Savage: at least some older drivers tend to lock up the whole machine, + try the drivers available from + <ulink url="http://www.probo.com/timr/savage40.html"> + http://www.probo.com/timr/savage40.html + </ulink>. + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + SIS: certain controllers (more info needed!) have Xv support in XFree 4.x + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + Chips and Tech 6555x, 68554, 69000, 69030 have Xv support in XFree 4.x + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + NeoMagic: certain controllers (more info needed!) have Xv support in Xfree 4.x + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + SiliconMotion: certain controllers (more info needed!) have Xv support in Xfree 4.x + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + Matrox: G200 or newer (but not Parhelia) have Xv support in XFree 4.x. + For Parhelia, use the binary only drivers available from matrox' website. + </para> + </listitem> + </itemizedlist> + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="colorkey"> + <title>Some parts of my X Desktop get transparent when xine plays the video!</title> + <para> + Looks like some colours on your GUI match the colour key which Xv uses. You can + change the colour key value to avoid this. There should be a line like: + <programlisting> video.device.xv_colorkey:2110</programlisting> + in your <filename>~/.xine/config</filename> file where you can change the colour that's used + by xine for the video overlay. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="texturedvideo"> + <title>How do I get Xv working with compiz?</title> + <para> + Tell xine to prefer textured video. There should be a line like: + <programlisting> video.device.xv_preferred_method:Any</programlisting> + in your <filename>~/.xine/config</filename> file where you can change the preferred method + used by xine for the video overlay. + </para> + <para> + It may be that your graphics card or driver doesn't have the necessary + support for textured video, or the video is rendered too slowly. + </para> + <itemizedlist> + <listitem><para> + ATI: you are likely to need xf86-video-ati later than 6.8.0; 6.9.0.91 + or newer is recommended for slower/older hardware (< X1300) because + the rendering speed has been improved a lot. + </para></listitem> + <listitem><para> + Intel: 945 and later, at least, should be fine with xf86-video-intel + 2.0 or later. Certainly with 2.2 or later. + </para></listitem> + <listitem><para> + nVidia: will probably be fine. (FIXME) + </para></listitem> + </itemizedlist> + <para> + If you find that textured video is significantly slower or isn't + supported, you should either not use compiz or tell xine to use the + xshm video output driver. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="aspectratio"> + <title>The aspect ratio of the video is wrong!</title> + <para> + Usually xine discovers the screen aspect ratio by + querying the X-server and then adjusts the video automatically + to make it look right. However, if that doesn't work try + pressing "a" to manually change the aspect ratio. + </para> + <para> + If you have a wide screen monitor, make sure the X-server + is correctly configured. The X-server must know the physical + size of the screen, which is independent of the resolution + being used. + </para> + <para> + For X.org, the screen size should be set in the <parameter>"Monitor"</parameter> + section in the file <filename>/etc/X11/xorg.conf</filename>, as in the example below: + <programlisting> + Section "Monitor" + Identifier "Monitor0" + VendorName "Monitor Vendor" + ModelName "DDC Probed Monitor - ViewSonic G773-2" + DisplaySize 320 240 + HorizSync 30.0 - 70.0 + VertRefresh 50.0 - 180.0 + EndSection</programlisting> + For XFree86, the filename is normally <filename>/etc/X11/XF86Config</filename>. + </para> + <para> + Where <parameter>DisplaySize</parameter> specifies, + in millimeters, the physical size of the monitor's picture area. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="discardedskipped"> + <title>What is the difference between discarded and skipped frames?</title> + <para> + Sometimes xine will output a message like that: + <programlisting> 200 frames delivered, XX frames skipped, YY frames discarded</programlisting> + </para> + <para> + The difference between these counters is a little subtle for the non + developer. There are two threads running in order to display video: + the decoder thread will deliver frames to the video output thread. + The latter is responsible for scheduling the frames to be displayed at + the right time. + </para> + <para> + If your system can't keep up with decoding requirements, decoder will + deliver overdue frames. Imagine if it finished decoding the frame + tagged for displaying at 11:30 but xine clock marks 11:31. When this + situation is detected, xine will try to skip decoding a few frames + to recover. Not every decoder may support this feature. + </para> + <para> + When the frame is decoded to be shown somewhere in future but the + output thread doesn't get scheduled in time by the operating system + to complete the operation, the frame is discarded. One cause might + be the disk access operation, which may halt the system for a few + miliseconds without DMA. See performance section tips above. + </para> + <para> + Note that if a decoder can't skip frames for some reason, you would + never see frames skipped (they would be all discarded). + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="contrastbrightnesssaturation"> + <title>My xine is runing in black and white! / I only get a grey video output!</title> + <para> + This frequently happens with new Xv drivers or when switching to a + different video card. Background is that different Xv drivers often + use different ranges for the contrast/brightness/saturation settings. + </para> + <para> + To fix this, try opening the xine settings window and try adjusting + the sliders for contrast, brightness and saturation. + </para> + <para> + Please note that some frontends save these settings in their config file + so when you have found a working combination, make sure you exit + xine cleanly so the values are saved. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="videodriver"> + <title>Which is the best video driver to use?</title> + <para> + xine supports several video drivers for outputing the image. These will + differ on how the frames are copied to the video card memory, whether + colourspace conversion and scaling is done in software or hardware, among + other things. They may also differ on ease of use and stability. + </para> + <para> + Most of the time, Xv should give the users a good trade-off between + quality, compatibility and ease of use. This is why xine tries to use + Xv by default. + </para> + <para> + However some users may want to explore better the available hardware + capabilities (eg. syncing frame drawing with monitor refresh). + Also some Xv drivers contain slow copies and accessing the video card + directly may yield performance gains. + </para> + <para> + Drivers that access hardware directly includes VIDIX (warning: requires + root priviledges or kernel helper). + User may try one of those, but should be warned that with root access + they can cause the system to crash hard. The support is also limited to + a couple of graphics cards only. + </para> + <para> + Graphic workstations like SGI have usually a good support for OpenGL. + In that case, using OpenGL may be a better choice than XShm. However for + most desktop systems the performance of OpenGL will be quite bad. + </para> + </sect2> + + </sect1> + + <sect1 id="overlay"> + <title>OSD and overlay related questions</title> + + <sect2 id="unscaledosd"> + <title>What is this "unscaled" OSD about?</title> + <para> + Since version 1-rc3 of xine-lib supports a new method for rendering OSD + (On Screen Display) and subtitles. This method uses a X11 extension + called XShape that allows using screen resolution instead of + stream resolution. It is called "unscaled" OSD because it does not + scales with the video being played. + </para> + <para> + Suppose you are watching a 320x200 video in full screen. Normal OSD + would be blended at 320x200 and then scaled to full screen (lets say, + 1024x768), resulting in big and ugly fonts. The unscaled overlay is + drawn directly to screen, creating a sharper and better looking OSD. + </para> + <para> + There are side effects too. Sometimes the unscaled overlay show some + glitch just before disappearing. Some people may be annoyed enough + by that and might want to disable the usage of unscaled overlay + altogether. + </para> + <para> + Unscaled OSD usage by subtitles and xine-ui is controlled by + the following settings (<filename>~/.xine/config</filename> or + <filename>~/.config/gxine/config</filename>): + <programlisting> gui.osd_use_unscaled:0</programlisting> + <programlisting> subtitles.separate.use_unscaled_osd:0</programlisting> + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="noosd"> + <title>I can't see the OSD or it leaves a black box over the image!</title> + <para> + If you are using xine-lib version 1-rc3 or newer, this is probably + due buggy XV drivers that do not support + <link linkend="unscaledosd">unscaled OSD</link> (the XShape + extension) properly. + </para> + <para> + There have being reports of some ATI drivers that don't allow + displaying anything over the video. The VIA Epia binary drivers + is reported to leave a black box where the OSD was displayed. + </para> + <para> + The problem may be fixed by either updating the video driver, + or disabling xine unscaled OSD support. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="overlaycolorleak"> + <title>Why colours of overlays/subtitles seem to be "leaking"?</title> + <para> + xine blends most overlays, specially the ones from DVD discs, + directly over the image (scaled OSD). Unfortunately most codecs + (like MPEG2) use a subsampled image format (YV12) that makes + properly blending an interesting challenge. + </para> + <para> + In short, this is a known xine bug. There have being discussions + on improving the blending quality but, so far, nobody implemented + a better (scaled) overlay renderer. Contact developers if you want + to try doing something about it. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="uglysubtitles"> + <title>Why external subtitles look so ugly?</title> + <para> + You are probably using a xine-lib version older than 1-rc3. + Try upgrading your copy and read the + <link linkend="unscaledosd">section about unscaled osd</link>. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="subtitlesoutsidevideo"> + <title>Why subtitles can't be displayed outside the video?</title> + <para> + It is possible, but older xine versions may not support it. There are two + alternatives for rendering the subtitles outside the video image: + </para> + <para> + <itemizedlist> + <listitem> + <para> + Use the "expand" post plugin to increase frame height adding + black bars to it. This will allow blending the subtitles + over the black bars, since they will be part of the video now. + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + Use <link linkend="unscaledosd">unscaled OSD</link>, as it + does not requires any video to render the subtitles on. + </para> + </listitem> + </itemizedlist> + </para> + <para> + Also notice that DVD overlays (including subtitles) are meant to + be displayed in a fixed position, this is how the DVD menu + highlighting works. xine does not support moving them. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="supportedfonts"> + <title>What kinds of subtitle fonts does xine use?</title> + <para> + xine can use two kinds of fonts: + <itemizedlist> + <listitem> + <para> + TTF fonts + </para> + <para> + If xine is compiled with freetype library xine recognizes and uses TTF + fonts directly. + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + xine fonts + </para> + <para> + This is xine's native format. It's better because the font + generator utility implements more features than the "on the fly" TTF renderer. + </para> + </listitem> + </itemizedlist> + </para> + <para> + The font for text subtitles is selected via config option + <parameter>subtitles.separate.font</parameter>. You can specify xine font name + (<parameter>sans</parameter>, <parameter>serif</parameter>, …) + or file name of the TTF font. The directories + <filename>$prefix/share/xine/libxine1/fonts</filename> and + <filename>~/.xine/fonts</filename> are searched for the fonts, with + <filename>$prefix</filename> being the place xine-lib was installed to. + Usually this is <filename>/usr/local</filename> or <filename>/usr</filename>. + TTF fonts are also searched for in the current directory. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="generatefonts"> + <title>How to create own xine subtitle fonts?</title> + <para> + xine's native subtitle fonts can be generated from TTF fonts with the + utility <command>xine-fontconv</command>. It isn't compiled and installed by default but + you can make it manually. You'll need freetype and zlib packages together with + their versions for development plus a compiler, of course ;) + Here's how you build <command>xine-fontconv</command>: + <itemizedlist> + <listitem> + <para> + Get the source of xine-fontconv utility from the <filename>misc</filename> + directory within the xine-lib sources. + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + Compile it: + <screen> <command>gcc xine-fontconv.c -o xine-fontconv `freetype-config --cflags --libs` -lz</command></screen> + </para> + </listitem> + </itemizedlist> + You'll need some TTF font for generating. Characters in this font should + cover all codepages you want supported, otherwise you'll have missing characters. + </para> + <para> + Syntax is: + <screen> <command>./xine-fontconf font.ttf font_name [encoding1 [encoding2 […]]]</command></screen> + </para> + <para> + For example default font <filename>sans</filename> was generated with + following command: + <screen> + <command>./xine-fontconv Aril_Bold.ttf sans iso-8859-1 iso-8859-2 iso-8859-5 \ + iso-8859-9 iso-8859-15 cp1250 cp1251</command></screen> + </para> + <para> + There are displayed messages about missing characters on the screen + during generating. It's OK if the missing characters are U+007f..U+009F. + These characters come from iso-8859-1 and they aren't displayable. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="subencoding"> + <title>Encoding of external subtitles is bad. What is wrong?</title> + <para> + The encoding of the external subtitles is expected to be iso-8859-1 by + default. You need to set an appropriate encoding in the config option + <parameter>subtitles.separate.src_encoding</parameter>. Note that you also need + a font which contains all characters from the given encoding. + </para> + <para> + The default font <filename>sans</filename> and fonts + <filename>serif</filename> and <filename>mono</filename> cover these + encodings: + <itemizedlist> + <listitem><para>iso-8859-1</para></listitem> + <listitem><para>iso-8859-2</para></listitem> + <listitem><para>iso-8859-5</para></listitem> + <listitem><para>iso-8859-9</para></listitem> + <listitem><para>iso-8859-15</para></listitem> + <listitem><para>windows-1250</para></listitem> + <listitem><para>windows-1251</para></listitem> + </itemizedlist> + </para> + </sect2> + + </sect1> + + <sect1 id="errors"> + <title>Error Messages: What they mean and what you can do</title> + + <sect2 id="xfreecrash"> + <title>Starting xine crashes X, I am logged out of my desktop!</title> + <para> + xine itself is unable to crash X, so when your X server just shuts down or + restarts with the login screen, there is something wrong with your X setup. + Most common are problems with the Xv extension. Try running xine with the XShm + video output plugin: + <screen> <command>xine -V XShm</command></screen> + </para> + <para> + If that works fine, you just proved, that the Xv extension is buggy. xine will + remember the last used video output plugin, so the setting will stay at XShm. + You could simply continue using this, but XShm is a lot slower than Xv, so + consult the <link linkend="xvextension">section on Xv</link> and see if you can + get it working. Usually you should look for updated versions of the X driver + module that belongs to your graphics card. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="audiodrivererr"> + <title>Starting xine fails with complains about audio drivers/devices!</title> + <para> + You can select the audio driver using the -A option. So try: + <screen> <command>xine -A null</command></screen> + If you have ALSA drivers installed, try: + <screen> <command>xine -A alsa</command></screen> + If you run ESD (not recommended), try: + <screen> <command>xine -A esd</command></screen> + If you run artsd, try: + <screen> <command>xine -A arts</command></screen> + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="novideoportfound"> + <title>"no video port found"</title> + <para> + You got the Xv extension, but your video card driver doesn't support it. + First try to find a driver that does support Xv on your hardware (check + your graphics card vendor). If your driver has Xv support but you can't + get it working, try at a lower resolution (1024x768 is enough even for + anamorphic DVDs). + </para> + <para> + If all that fails, you can still use plain X11/XShm: + <screen> <command>gxine -V XShm foo.vob</command></screen> + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="unabletoopendvddrive"> + <title>"Unable to open dvd drive (/dev/dvd)"</title> + <para> + You probably don't have /dev/dvd (check that). If so, simply create a + link /dev/dvd that points to your DVD device. Something like… + <screen> <command>ln -s hdc /dev/dvd</command></screen> + … should do the job. Also make sure you have read and write access on + the device the symlink points to. + See the <link linkend="dvdplayback">dvd playback section</link> + for more information. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="status0x51"> + <title>My drive doesn't work and the kernel says "status=0x51 { DriveReady SeekComplete Error }"</title> + <para> + This error can be fixed by recompiling your kernel with the option + "Use multi-mode by default" enabled in the IDE settings. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="demuxerror0000"> + <title>"demux error! 00 00 00 (should be 0x000001)"</title> + <para> + Probably xine can't access your input source. Most commonly this happens + when you're trying to play locked/encrypted DVDs. Remember that xine + can't play such DVDs out-of-the box for legal reasons (see above). + </para> + <para> + If it is legal where you live, you can try to install libdvdcss. Once + you have done that and re-start xine, it should automatically detect + and use it to play back encrypted DVDs. + </para> + <para> + Another reason could be that your (RPC-2) DVD drive isn't set up + for the right region (see above). + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="ossfailed"> + <title>"audio driver 'oss' failed, using null driver instead"</title> + <para> + First of all, make sure that your OSS Audio drivers are working (i.e. + you can play music with other software). Maybe you're using alsa? + If so, try <command>gxine -A alsa</command> to see if this helps. + </para> + <para> + The most common reason for oss not working is that some other program is accesing + your audio device. If you're using linux, the command <command>fuser /dev/dsp</command> + should give you the PID of the process. + </para> + <para> + If you are using GNOME, chances are that this is caused by ESD. Now you + have two possibilities. Either deactivate ESD (temporarily) by right + clicking on the sound monitor applet and selecting "Place Esound in + standby" or just kill it. Then xine will use OSS audio output. The other + method is to make xine use ESD for audio output with: + <screen> <command>gxine -A esd</command></screen> + This may result in worse playback – exact syncronization is not possible + with esd, so using oss should be preferred. + </para> + <para> + If you are using KDE, there is the possibility that the aRts sound + daemon is currently running and thus blocking your sound device. You + can check that by starting the aRts control (in your KDE menu it should + be under Multimedia). If it is running, you can either use the aRts + audio output plugin: + <screen> <command>gxine -A arts</command></screen> + Or you suspend the aRts daemon by checking the appropriate option in + your aRts control. (recommended) + </para> + <para> + Newer versions of arts have an auto-suspend mode – this can lead to + some nondeterministic behaviour of xine if it is set up to use + the audio device directly. Using arts is recommended in that case; + however, you will lose the ability to do four/five channel audio output. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="throwingawayimage"> + <title>"video_out: throwing away image with pts xxx because it's too old"</title> + <para> + This is a performance related problem. + If you have a fast computer and this message is shown from time to + time when playing a DVD or CD, it's very likely that DMA is not enabled + for your drive. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="novideopluginavailable"> + <title>"No video plugin available to decode 'xxxxxx'."</title> + <para> + You have tried to play a stream using a unknown or unhandled codec. + Possibly the file uses some obscure proprietary format and no + information is available on how to decode it. + </para> + <para> + If you're on an x86 platform (e.g. PC hardware) you might want to + try installing binary-only windows medial, real networks and + quicktime codecs (see above). + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="decoderfailedtostart"> + <title>"w32codec: decoder failed to start. Is 'xxxxxx' installed?"</title> + <para> + You probably don't have the win32 dll needed to decode this file. + </para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="xinecrashed"> + <title>xine just crashed on me – i didn't get any error message</title> + <para> + OK, yes, that shouldn't happen and you're upset. We can understand that. + But, to help you and of course to fix this, we need some information. + So, let's go through the checklist and maybe prepare a nice bug report + for the <ulink url="http://bugs.xine-project.org/">xine bug tracker</ulink>: + <itemizedlist> + <listitem> + <para> + Did xine really crash (segfault) or did it hang (deadlock)? + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + Can you reproduce the bug? (e.g. do you remember what you + did and when you do it again it crashes again?) + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + Is that a specific media file or format which crashes xine? (Have you + tried other files types?) + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + Check the console output (and include it in a bug report), maybe earlier + there is some output that points to the problem. + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + Your X server just froze on you? unfortunately that's a known problem + with some chipsets and drivers (most commonly Savage chipsets) when + using Xv. You might want to try running <command>gxine -V XShm</command> + to see if the problem is related to the Xv driver. This will unfortunately + be much slower, as lots of things are now done in software instead of + hardware scaling/colour space conversion. + </para> + <para> + Maybe at the time you read this, there's an X upgrade which fixes + this for the Savage driver. If that works for you, please notify the xine crew at + <email>xine-user@lists.sourceforge.net</email>, so they can update this FAQ! + </para> + </listitem> + <listitem> + <para> + Even though we try to make each release as bug free as possible, xine is + still under heavy development (nice excuse, isn't it? *grin*). + </para> + <para> + If you write to the <ulink url="http://bugs.xine-project.org/">xine bug tracker</ulink> + make sure you include a the above information (when applicable) + and also some information about your machine (operating system, cpu type and + speed, gfx card, sound card, …) and please use a meaningfull subject + line ("xine bug" is bad, "xine fails to play this quicktime trailer in fullscreen mode" + ist much better). + </para> + <para> + Thanks for taking the time to help improve xine. + </para> + </listitem> + </itemizedlist> + </para> + </sect2> + + </sect1> + + </article> + +</book> |