Pi4 unable to display >640x480 on Sony Bravia KDL-26ex550

mmajd80

I know there are a lot of threads on this topic, but I have gone through them and tried adjusting a bunch of stuff in /boot/config, including setting display_overscan = 1, setting the resolution within raspi-config to a known supported value (1280x768, which corresponds to mode 85), adjusting the border values with negative numbers in the config, etc. No matter what I do, it always loads at 640x480.

What troubles me is that it might be happening at the TV level. I am on a Sony Bravia KDL-26ex550 (Spain/EU version) and when I boot up the Pi, before it starts the loading process, it displays a rainbow-colored area and says 640x480, 60 Hz. But when I look up the specs online, I see that it either supports up to 1280x768 or 1920x1080; not sure which is correct, but both are larger than 640x480. That rainbow colored area does not cover the whole screen, but rather is a 640x480 area in the exact center of the screen with an ocean of black around it (see attached photos). Both EmulationStation and Pixel are confined to this area, though when I load a game (like Final Fight 2 for SNES), the box actually grows and the game takes more of the screen real estate (not sure if the resolution changes, though, or just bigger pixels). And again, adjusting the overscan numbers in the config has absolutely no effect on this area.

I'm running a Pi4 w/ 8GB memory and 32GB microSD. I have troubleshot for hours and am at wit's end. I read the intro guide and would love to post my specs, but I have absolutely no idea how to do so, as this is the first command-line based work I have done since MSDOS. The image was from the Pi site about a week ago and updated since, the peripherals are joystick, keyboard, and mouse (no issues there). Any suggestions I haven't tried would be appreciated, thank you!

dankcushions

@mmajd80 said in Pi4 unable to display >640x480 on Sony Bravia KDL-26ex550:

Both EmulationStation and Pixel are confined to this area

you've installed pixel separately?

please post your /boot/config.txt and the output of command line input:

tvservice -m CEA
tvservice -m DMT
tvservice -s

mmajd80

@dankcushions

That is correct, I followed the instructions I found at https://retropie.org.uk/docs/FAQ/#where-did-the-desktop-go

I am getting the information you asked for prepared right now, thank you!

mmajd80

@dankcushions

config.txt



# uncomment if you get no picture on HDMI for a default "safe" mode
hdmi_safe=1

# uncomment this if your display has a black border of unused pixels visible
# and your display can output without overscan
disable_overscan=1

# uncomment the following to adjust overscan. Use positive numbers if console
# goes off screen, and negative if there is too much border
#overscan_left=-160
#overscan_right=-160
#overscan_top=-160
#overscan_bottom=-160

 uncomment to force a console size. By default it will be display's size mi$
# overscan.
# framebuffer_width=1920
# framebuffer_height=1080

# uncomment if hdmi display is not detected and composite is being output
hdmi_force_hotplug=1

# uncomment to force a specific HDMI mode (this will force VGA)
hdmi_group=2
hdmi_mode=85

# uncomment to force a HDMI mode rather than DVI. This can make audio work in
# DMT (computer monitor) modes
hdmi_drive=2

# uncomment to increase signal to HDMI, if you have interference, blanking, $
# no display
config_hdmi_boost=4

# uncomment for composite PAL
#sdtv_mode=2

#uncomment to overclock the arm. 700 MHz is the default.
#arm_freq=800

# Uncomment some or all of these to enable the optional hardware interfaces
#dtparam=i2c_arm=on
#dtparam=i2s=on
#dtparam=spi=on

# Uncomment this to enable infrared communication.
#dtoverlay=gpio-ir,gpio_pin=17
#dtoverlay=gpio-ir-tx,gpio_pin=18

# Additional overlays and parameters are documented /boot/overlays/README

# Enable audio (loads snd_bcm2835)
dtparam=audio=on

[pi4]
# Enable DRM VC4 V3D driver on top of the dispmanx display stack
dtoverlay=vc4-fkms-v3d
max_framebuffers=2

[all]
#dtoverlay=vc4-fkms-v3d
#overscan_scale=1
gpu_mem=256

mmajd80

@dankcushions

tvservices:

Group CEA has 4 modes:
mode 4: 1280x720 @ 60Hz 16:9, clock:74MHz progressive
mode 16: 1920x1080 @ 60Hz 16:9, clock:148MHz progressive
mode 95: 3840x2160 @ 30Hz 16:9, clock:297MHz progressive
mode 97: 3840x2160 @ 60Hz 16:9, clock:594MHz progressive

Group DMT has 1 modes:
(prefer) mode 4: 640x480 @ 60Hz 4:3, clock:25MHz progressive

state 0xa [HDMI CUSTOM RGB full 4:3], 640x480 @ 60.00Hz, progressive

dankcushions

@mmajd80 please format logs/configs correctly as per https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first - i've fixed for now :)

mmajd80

@dankcushions

understood, thanks!

I should also mention that I am a total noob, had no clue what Markdown was, and have no ability to ssh into anything.

dankcushions

so, number of issues here.

hdmi_safe=1

this will force to 640x480. so... you don't want that. comment it out:

# hdmi_safe=1

# uncomment this if your display has a black border of unused pixels visible
# and your display can output without overscan
disable_overscan=1

# uncomment the following to adjust overscan. Use positive numbers if console
# goes off screen, and negative if there is too much border
#overscan_left=-160
#overscan_right=-160
#overscan_top=-160
#overscan_bottom=-160

all your overscan settings are commented out, and your overscan is disabled anyway, so it wouldn't matter. however, don't change this for now - overscan is not the solution your problems described so far.

 uncomment to force a console size. By default it will be display's size mi$
# overscan.
# framebuffer_width=1920
# framebuffer_height=1080

you've removed the comment (#) from the first line of this. this may cause problems with your config file - add it back. however it's difficult to confirm as you've sent the console output of this file, not the file itself, so it may be a copy/paste error. you should upload the actual file to pastebin or whatever.

# uncomment to force a specific HDMI mode (this will force VGA)
hdmi_group=2
hdmi_mode=85

this is currently overridden by hdmi_safe, but when you comment that it will take effect and force 1280x720 60Hz - do you really want that, if your TV is 1080p?

# uncomment to increase signal to HDMI, if you have interference, blanking, $
# no display
config_hdmi_boost=4

no effect on rpi4.

i think make the above corrections, reboot, and then upload config.txt again and also the output of the tvservice commands.

mmajd80

@dankcushions

Ok, so this went both great and terribly.

I made the change to comment out the hdmi_safe line, but decided to leave the inputted resolution at 1280x768, as going back and changing that if this worked would be very easy. Then I rebooted (the missing # was a copy/paste error; the config file works fine).

So it started up well. The rainbow box that was in the middle of the screen now looks like this:

You'll notice that it fills top to bottom (the text that is cut off in the top left now says "720p", rather than "640x480, 60 Hz". That's the great part.

The problem now is that the loading cycle is unable to complete before going to an error message (which is coming from the TV, not the Pi):

After that line in the load screen, it goes to the following:
which reads "Signal not accepted. Check device output" and freezes. Now the only way to shut down the Pi safely is with Alt-PrintScreen, which are like a million miles apart on my keyboard lol.

And that brings us to present day.

YFZdude

@mmajd80 said in Pi4 unable to display >640x480 on Sony Bravia KDL-26ex550:

tvservices:

Group CEA has 4 modes:
mode 4: 1280x720 @ 60Hz 16:9, clock:74MHz progressive
mode 16: 1920x1080 @ 60Hz 16:9, clock:148MHz progressive
mode 95: 3840x2160 @ 30Hz 16:9, clock:297MHz progressive
mode 97: 3840x2160 @ 60Hz 16:9, clock:594MHz progressive

Group DMT has 1 modes:
(prefer) mode 4: 640x480 @ 60Hz 4:3, clock:25MHz progressive

state 0xa [HDMI CUSTOM RGB full 4:3], 640x480 @ 60.00Hz, progressive

Call me crazy, but doesn't the above indicate that your TV won't fully support the "mode 85" (1280x768) settings you are trying to force it to use?

Also, it is worth mentioning that since you have a Pi4 and the settings in the config file don't specify a port number, it will probably apply by default to the primary HDMI port. (Closest to the USB-C power connector.)

mmajd80

@YFZdude

Well, fudge.

Is there a way to load the config at startup, prior to it failing? As mentioned above, I have no ability to SSH into the Pi and REALLY do not want to go through yet another full formatting and installation cycle.

YFZdude

@mmajd80 If you have a SD card reader you should be able to edit the config.txt from another computer. If I'm not mistaken the config.txt should be in the /boot partition that is formatted as FAT32 so even Windows can read it.

mmajd80

@YFZdude

Dude, I think I love you?

That was genius, the fix did work, though not quite as I expected. These are the new results from tvservice:

Group CEA has 4 modes:
mode 4: 1280x720 @ 60Hz 16:9, clock:74MHz progressive
mode 16: 1920x1080 @ 60Hz 16:9, clock:148MHz progressive
mode 95: 3840x2160 @ 30Hz 16:9, clock:297MHz progressive
mode 97: 3840x2160 @ 60Hz 16:9, clock:594MHz progressive

Group DMT has 2 modes:
mode 4: 640x480 @ 60Hz 4:3, clock:25MHz progressive
(prefer) mode 16: 1024x768 @ 60Hz 4:3, clock:65MHz progressive

state 0xa [HDMI CUSTOM RGB full 4:3], 1024x768 @ 60.00Hz, progressive

Notice that the DMT group has a new mode (and is also the one that is used). I changed the config.txt file to read "hdmi_mode = 16", thinking that it would use the mode 16 from Group CEA, but it created that new one instead.

I feel like this is the very last thing to be done. How do I either switch to Group CEA or add another (functional) mode to DMT?

mmajd80

I don't know if this helps, but for reference, under raspi-config, it shows me the following modes:

4, 9, 16, 85, 35, 51, 82

but I don't trust it, since 82 damn near gave me a heart attack.

mitu

See this page for a list of supported video modes, there's no 1024x768 mode for CEA.

Why are you forcing a 4:3 video mode when your display is 16:9 ? You can 'create' a new mode - see here, but if you already have it working, that would be redundant.

dankcushions

@YFZdude said in Pi4 unable to display >640x480 on Sony Bravia KDL-26ex550:

@mmajd80 said in Pi4 unable to display >640x480 on Sony Bravia KDL-26ex550:

tvservices:

Group CEA has 4 modes:
mode 4: 1280x720 @ 60Hz 16:9, clock:74MHz progressive
mode 16: 1920x1080 @ 60Hz 16:9, clock:148MHz progressive
mode 95: 3840x2160 @ 30Hz 16:9, clock:297MHz progressive
mode 97: 3840x2160 @ 60Hz 16:9, clock:594MHz progressive

Group DMT has 1 modes:
(prefer) mode 4: 640x480 @ 60Hz 4:3, clock:25MHz progressive

state 0xa [HDMI CUSTOM RGB full 4:3], 640x480 @ 60.00Hz, progressive

Call me crazy, but doesn't the above indicate that your TV won't fully support the "mode 85" (1280x768) settings you are trying to force it to use?

i am not sure. if you set hdmi_safe it may list differently, hence i asked @mmajd80 to repost both the config.txt and output of that command again, after making suggested changes...

mmajd80

@mitu

As you can see from above, the "prefer" is pointing to a DVT setting, so while the CEA setting exists for 1920x1080, I cannt use it. In the DVT list, there are only two options (640x480 and my current 1028x768). I am not trying to force anything, but rather figure out how to get hdmi_mode = [SOME VALUE THAT RUNS AND IS BIG].

mitu

@mmajd80 said in Pi4 unable to display >640x480 on Sony Bravia KDL-26ex550:

As you can see from above, the "prefer" is pointing to a DVT setting

This may be because you've manually added the mode to the config.txt.

so while the CEA setting exists for 1920x1080, I cannt use it

Why ?

mmajd80

@mitu

Group CEA has 4 modes:
mode 4: 1280x720 @ 60Hz 16:9, clock:74MHz progressive
mode 16: 1920x1080 @ 60Hz 16:9, clock:148MHz progressive
mode 95: 3840x2160 @ 30Hz 16:9, clock:297MHz progressive
mode 97: 3840x2160 @ 60Hz 16:9, clock:594MHz progressive

Group DMT has 2 modes:
mode 4: 640x480 @ 60Hz 4:3, clock:25MHz progressive
(prefer) mode 16: 1024x768 @ 60Hz 4:3, clock:65MHz progressive

state 0xa [HDMI CUSTOM RGB full 4:3], 1024x768 @ 60.00Hz, progressive

I don't know why, but you'll notice above that there are 2 modes with value = 16. If you look at the config.txt embed in the link, you'll see that I have set hdmi_mode = 16, hoping it was 1920x1080, but it is outputting 1024x768. I don't know why.

mitu

@dankcushions said in Pi4 unable to display >640x480 on Sony Bravia KDL-26ex550:

hdmi_group=2

If you take a look at the video configuration page I posted earlier, you'd see that 1080p (CEA) is:

hdmi_group=1
hdmi_mode=16

you have

hdmi_group=2
hdmi_mode=16

which forces the DMT-16 mode - 1024x768