hdmi output distorted after kernel upgrade (5.4.51)

LastNinja2

Hi,
first of all sorry for my english :-) and if my first post could be a silly list of questions.
I have the same configuration and the same issue after the upgrade to kernel 5.4.51 so I would like to ask @BuZz if to set the system to boot into emulationstation leads to a "supported config" and @jhenriquez how to boot into emulationstation (sad as I am is the only way to go right now :-)
Thanks!!!!

BuZz

@LastNinja2 yes. Or exiting the desktop and running it.

bluestang

@LastNinja2 said in hdmi output distorted after kernel upgrade (5.4.51):

Hi,
first of all sorry for my english :-) and if my first post could be a silly list of questions.
I have the same configuration and the same issue after the upgrade to kernel 5.4.51 so I would like to ask @BuZz if to set the system to boot into emulationstation leads to a "supported config" and @jhenriquez how to boot into emulationstation (sad as I am is the only way to go right now :-)
Thanks!!!!

@jhenriquez said in hdmi output distorted after kernel upgrade (5.4.51):

Hello,

I'm not really sure what changed with my setup, I believe I did and update from retropie-setup script and now emulationstation looks like this. It is important to notice that if I set the system to boot into emulationstation it works fine.

This only happens if I boot into the desktop and then run
$ emulationstation
from the console or use:
lxterminal -e /usr/bin/emulationstation
in the /etc/xdg/lxsession/LXDE-pi/autostart.

I tried searching this forum, but I'm not even sure what to look for. Originally I thought think this might have to do with hdmi, because I can see the emulationstation from vnc. Before I had some issues with screensaver, but since I was not sure what was going on I had set:
hdmi_safe:0=1
hdmi_safe:1=1
I don't see any logs in the terminal when I open emulationstation, any logs I could check to see what is going wrong?

I believe that raspbian buster comes with kernel 4.19, and now I have 5.4.51 . I am afraid this is the issue, if that is the case maybe it is not a problem for this forum, but are there any known issues with the latest kernel or info that could help address this?

Or is my only solution to downgrade or re-install to have stable version kernel?

Pi Model or other hardware: Raspberry Pi 4 4GB Model B with 1.5GHz 64-bit quad-core ARMv8 CPU

Power Supply used: CanaKit 3.5A USB-C Raspberry Pi 4 Power Supply with Noise Filter

RetroPie Version Used: RetroPie-Setup Version 4.6.4 (I'm sorry, I'm not sure if this is the actual retropie version installed or this version is from the setup script)

Built From: Installed on top of Raspbian (buster) GNU/Linux 10 (5.4.51-v7l+ #1326) using the retropie-setup script from github

USB Devices connected: Gamepad controller and mouse.

You can disable vsync in emulationstation by passing the cmdline option —vsync 0

This will fix the garbled display, but it is not a supported configuration.

The issue is in fact with the 5.4.51 kernel and the issue has been opened upstream.

GeekOB

@jhenriquez and @bluestang, have you tried enabling the composition manager from raspi-config?
That would solve the problem as well I guess, at least until the issue within the kernel is fixed

bluestang

@GeekOB said in hdmi output distorted after kernel upgrade (5.4.51):

@jhenriquez and @bluestang, have you tried enabling the composition manager from raspi-config?
That would solve the problem as well I guess, at least until the issue within the kernel is fixed

This is also correct, but also causes screen tearing. Either option fixes the kernel bug.

LastNinja2

Thank you all guys for your efforts, really appreciated ;-) As far as I can understand (and it's working fine to me) the right way to stay in supported configurations is is to exit from X (ctrl + alt + F6) and start emulationstation from CLI.

mitu

@LastNinja2 The correct way is to use RetroPie-Setup and configure the autostart process to boot to EmulationStation - https://retropie.org.uk/docs/FAQ/#how-do-i-boot-to-the-desktop-or-kodi.

LastNinja2

@mitu said in hdmi output distorted after kernel upgrade (5.4.51):

@LastNinja2 The correct way is to use RetroPie-Setup and configure the autostart process to boot to EmulationStation - https://retropie.org.uk/docs/FAQ/#how-do-i-boot-to-the-desktop-or-kodi.

Thanks for your advice but let me ask: in this way I will always boot to ES and then I can go to desktop, but even if I love Retropie I spent most of my time on X (Chromium/Gimp/McomiX/Calibre/Kodi etc) so I prefer to boot to Desktop and then go to ES: is this way allowing me to stay in a supported configuration?

mitu

@LastNinja2 As far as you're starting EmulationStation from the console, it's ok. I would still recommend starting the desktop from ES - Kodi can also be installed and started from RetroPie.

LastNinja2

Got it, thank you!!!
:-)