XTHD Partner's Cheatsheet

Last update 8/27/99
maintained by reed@sgi.com

Software

XTHD developer release version 1.1 ALPHA.

The alpha1 release of the 1.1 xthd code is online at: ftp://shell.sgi.com/collect/xthdAlpha . The file is: xthd1.1alpha.tar

NOTE

To use the new 24Hz timings supported in this release you'll need an updated vl.h file.
The vl.h will be standard in 6.5.6, but for now, rather than getting the 6.5.6 images,
just use the included vl.h in place of /usr/include/dmedia/vl.h (be careful to replace
the actual file and not just a symbolic link in one of the other include directories).

Differences from 1.0 MR are:

Support for 24P and 24PsF. Specifically, these new vl timings are now available:

VL_TIMING_1125_1920x1080_24p 
VL_TIMING_1125_1920x1080_2398p 
VL_TIMING_1125_1920x1080_24PsF 
VL_TIMING_1125_1920x1080_2398PsF 

Below are the supported genlock modes:

 23.98P Tri-level Sync Reference -> 23.98P and/or 23.98PsF output;
 23.98PsF Tri-level Sync Reference -> 23.98P and/or 23.98PsF output;
 24.00P Tri-level Sync Reference -> 24.00P and/or 24.00PsF output;
 24.00PsF Tri-level Sync Reference -> 24.00P and/or 24.00PsF output.

These are modes we plan to support in the future, but are not implemented yet:

 23.98P and 23.98PsF digital input -> 23.98P and/or 23.98PsF output;
 24.00P and 24.00PsF digital input -> 24.00P and/or 24.00PsF output;
 Color NTSC Bi-level Sync Reference -> 23.98P and/or 23.98PsF output;
 Color NTSC Bi-level Sync Reference -> 24.00P and/or 24.00PsF output;
 1080i59.94 Tri-level Sync Reference -> 23.98P and/or 23.98PsF output;
 1080i59.94 Tri-level Sync Reference -> 24.00P and/or 24.00PsF output;
 25P output stand-alone or genlocked.

Duallink support is still under development. It is not yet fully functional and we do not recommend using it at this time.

As always, please let us know if you find any problems. divohd_tech@sgi.com

How to tell if you have MR software and hardware

Use hinv -m to check the hardware:

burgers 1# hinv -m | grep HDTV
           HDTV1 Board: barcode DPD520     part 030-1282-002 rev  D
    HDTV_GENLOCK Board: barcode DPD462     part 030-1382-004 rev  B

The thing to pay attention to is the part number. MR hardware is 1282-002 rev D and above, and 1382-004 rev B and above.

Use showprods to see if you have the MR software:

ellesse 20# showprods xthd
I = Installed, R = Removed

   Name                 Date        Description

I  xthd                 07/09/1999  HD I/O Video Option Execution Environment,
                                    1.0 for IRIX 6.5
I  xthd.books           07/09/1999  HD I/O Video Option Option Books
I  xthd.books.DigMedCnex  07/09/1999  Digital Media Connections
I  xthd.books.owners_guide  07/09/1999  HD I/O Video Option Owner's Guide
I  xthd.man             07/09/1999  HD I/O Video Option Man Pages
I  xthd.man.pages       07/09/1999  HD I/O Video Option Man Pages
I  xthd.man.relnotes    07/09/1999  HD I/O Video Option Release Notes
I  xthd.sw              07/09/1999  HD I/O Video Option Software
I  xthd.sw.diags        07/09/1999  HD I/O Video Option Diagnostics
I  xthd.sw.eoe          07/09/1999  HD I/O Video Option Execution Environment
I  xthd.sw.gifts        07/09/1999  HD I/O Video Option Example Code

The thing to notice is that the MR software says "HD I/O" and previous software says "XT-HDIO". I know it would have made more sense to change the version number, but, the easiest way to tell is this little subtlety.

My system panics while booting with XTHD card installed.

You must have 6.5.4 installed BEFORE you plug in your XTHD board. If you cloned a 6.5.4 disk and tried to use it in a system that previously had 6.5.3 or earlier, the system will not boot with the XTHD installed. PROMS prior to 6.27 mistake XTHD for graphics and tries to initialize it.

Boot the system without the XTHD board installed and type 'flash -o' at the command prompt. If you use inst to upgrade to 6.5.4, this step happens automatically. But you still have to upgrade to 6.5.4 BEFORE you plug the board in.

Connectors

Here is the description of the four 50 pin connectors:

Here are the differences between the "Panasonic" and "Philips" pinouts:

Mechanical

Some of the XTHD boards have an unnecessary washer on the CPOP connector that makes it hard to install the board. It causes the screw to hang up on the slot outline. It is easy to remove this washer if it causes trouble. Its near the CPOP on the bottom side of the board. (The 'CPOP' is the high density 96 pin connector that brings the XTALK signals to the board.)

Test Image

Here is a 1920x1080 test image that we use.