dual monitor screen resolutions

[ovidiugr]

I have Kubuntu 13.10 on my laptop which has the resolution of 1366x768 and a 1080p TV monitor. for some reason, when I select the duplicate mode it doesn't stretch the space on both screens like I'd like to.(like it does on windows 8 for example)

How can I fix this issue? Will it get fixed in the next version of Kubuntu?

[Simon]

I am running 12.04 and use a 22" LCD TV which has a resolution of 1360x768 you will need to get your hand a bit dirty messing with the xorg.conf settings and maybe xrandr a bit. I don't know how familiar you are with the "behind the screen" workings of Linux. Start by opening a terminal window and type a the prompt "xrandr" you should get something akin to this;

Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 1360 x 768, maximum 2720 x 1536
DFP1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DFP2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
CRT1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
CRT2 connected 1360x768+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 16mm x 9mm
   1360x768       60.0*+
   1280x768       60.0  
   1280x720       60.0  
   1024x768       60.0  
   800x600        60.3  
   640x480        59.9

This should show all the possible display modes currently supported.

Then you need to edit the xorg.conf but copy and paste it here so others can look at it and give you advice. It is located in the /etc/X11 directory. If one doesn't exist you will need to create one using; sudo X -configure

Since you are talking about dual displays both the laptop's and TV you will need a tutorial like --> http://www.instructables.com/id/How-...inux/?ALLSTEPS

[ovidiugr]

xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 1024 x 768, maximum 32767 x 32767
LVDS1 connected primary 1024x768+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 344mm x 194mm
1366x768 60.0 +
1360x768 59.8 60.0
1024x768 60.0*
800x600 60.3 56.2
640x480 59.9
VGA1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI1 connected 1024x768+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 16mm x 9mm
1920x1080i 60.1 + 50.0 60.0
1920x1080 24.0 24.0
1280x720 60.0 50.0 59.9
1440x576i 50.1
1024x768 75.1* 70.1 60.0
1440x480i 60.1 60.1 60.1
832x624 74.6
800x600 72.2 75.0 60.3 56.2
720x576 50.0
720x480 60.0 59.9
640x480 75.0 72.8 66.7 60.0 59.9
DP1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
VIRTUAL1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

[ovidiugr]

my xorg.conf seems to be empty, plus the instructions there are way too geeky. isn't there a graphical interface to solve this without doing hackerish stuff?

[ovidiugr]

as you could see from the xrandr above, when in duplicate mode, both screens go to 1024x768 which is not even a wide screen resolution, and both my monitors are wide... weird. plus they don't even look the same, the laptop screen shows dark bars sideways and the TV monitor stretches the image to cover everything

[Simon]

my xorg.conf seems to be empty, plus the instructions there are way too geeky. isn't there a graphical interface to solve this without doing hackerish stuff?

Sometimes there is a GUI... depends on the drivers used. For example; I used to have Nvidia and upgraded to a newer ATI Radeon (I know you are on a laptop) when this occurred some features from the old driver vanished and the new features appeared. Some of my high end games get a bit wonky but they do run. If you haven't already, a system program called "Additional Drivers" looks for the best guess at graphics drivers and sets them up on your system. It might give you a list, unless you know better go with the recommended. It will most likely add either a Nvidia or ATI console panel to the system settings. If that doesn't work for you, just run "Additional Drivers" again and tell it to disable the driver it added. If your internal drivers are not something mainstream then you might still be looking at some real geeky instructions.

If you want to try some geek stuff open that terminal window and try this line:
xrandr --output HDMI1 --mode 1920x1080i

That should tell your card to switch to the HD mode on the TV. The LDVS1 is your laptop's display. If that line works, let us know and you can easily add it to the start up config real easy.

[oshunluvr]

I have Kubuntu 13.10 on my laptop which has the resolution of 1366x768 and a 1080p TV monitor. for some reason, when I select the duplicate mode it doesn't stretch the space on both screens like I'd like to.(like it does on windows 8 for example)

How can I fix this issue? Will it get fixed in the next version of Kubuntu?

A couple of comments:

#1 TV's are notoriously poor at providing properly EDID data so xorg often has difficulty with them if left to it's own devices.
#2 You can fix this "issue" several ways, but the presumption that the Kubuntu developers will somehow fix it for you is an exercise in futility. Remember how much you paid for this OS. Unless some developer had exactly your setup and desired outcome I wouldn't expect to fall into a solution. On the bright side since this is Linux - you're allowed to fix things yourself.
#3 xorg.conf has been removed from default use for a while now, but there's nothing preventing you from creating one yourself or even using and old one - I do.
#4 I'm totally unclear on what exactly you are looking to do. In your first post you say "stretch the space" and in the later post you mention "duplicate mode." The path to a solution starts with clearly stating what you want. I'm not trying to sound like a jerk, but before a solution can be had you need to fill us in on what is happening, what you want to happen, what hardware/software you're using, what you've tried, and what your results were - and this needs to be done completely and clearly.

[ovidiugr]

"but the presumption that the Kubuntu developers will somehow fix it for you is an exercise in futility."

first of all, I think there's something wrong at the core level, not only with my monitor but probably with many monitors, I don't see the option in the settings to switch to clone or extend like I see in Windows 8. Kubuntu should automatically know what to do when resolutions of screen differ. I appreciate Kubuntu for being free and that's why I'm using it in the first place. All I'm saying is that it really is room for improvement in this area. Thank you guys for trying to help, I'll try the xrandr --output HDMI1 --mode 1920x1080i line and see how it works.

edit:
xrandr --output HDMI1 --mode 1920x1080i
xrandr --output LVDS1 --mode 1366x768
after having done this, both monitors were filled completely, TV monitor showed whole content while laptop monitor showed only partial content. any way I can make them both show same content? i'll try 1366x768 on TV and see if that works.

edit 2:

xrandr: cannot find mode 1366x768

the mode 1280x720 worked but still it didn't display the whole content. any way I can make the content stretch on the whole screen even though it's a different resolution than my laptops?

[Simon]

If you look at the xrandr output you can see there is no 1366x768 mode listed for the TV and I doubt it supports the resolution. That is why my TV runs 1360x768 it means 3 pixels on each side no big deal. I can spoof a display of 2720x1536 but mainly use that for taking detailed screen shots. If the line works for your TV, all you need to do is, add it in a small text file to the autostart directory.

• You can do this by going to your home in the file manager /home/<user id>/.config/autostart Notice the dot before a folder or file is hidden .config is there just invisible.
• Once there create a new text file using any text editor. The file name can be called anything but must end with .sh (example; tvsetup.sh)
• The file then contains these two lines;
  

  #!/bin/bash 
  xrandr --output HDMI1 --mode 1920x1080i

• Finally you need to right click on the saved file choose Properties and then the Permissions Tab and check the box "Is Executable"

Every time you login or turn on the PC (assuming the TV is active) that line will run to adjust the TV display. If you are not using the TV, it will just go on ignored. I know xrandr can be a real friend to anyone who needs to size a monitor but I have no experience in using 2 monitors as multiple desktops or the like. I have read about many users that talk about Xinerama, if you are heading in that direction.

[ovidiugr]

I'm not sure if I have that Xinerama. I looked at additional drivers like you suggested me above but no drivers came up in that list.
http://www.msi.com/product/nb/CR620.html - this is the laptop I have. It has an Intel processor and I think it also does the graphical processes.

[Simon]

Yes that laptop has the Intel HD Internal; https://01.org/linuxgraphics/downloa...er-1.0.2-linux

You will want the first link in black "Graphics Installer for Ubuntu* 13.04, 64-bit" click that and install.

Hope that helps.

[ovidiugr]

Yes that laptop has the Intel HD Internal; https://01.org/linuxgraphics/downloa...er-1.0.2-linux

You will want the first link in black "Graphics Installer for Ubuntu* 13.04, 64-bit" click that and install.

Hope that helps.

is it also available for Kubuntu 13.10? ( Error: Cannot satisfy dependencies.)

[Simon]

OUCH! I wasn't even taking notice of the 13.10 version that number system means you have the 2013 October release. This is one reason why I remain semi-safe behind the pack in 12.04 (2012 April) release. It will be some time before Intel gets around to making a driver for that version especially since it came out last month. 13.04 came out last April and their release date on that driver is June 31st. You could be waiting until January for the update.

Now the good news... the Error you have, just means there could be files you don't have installed and you need to first update some libraries. So once again you are looking at some tweaking on the next level. If you are up to the challenge, go back to terminal and type;

intel-linux-graphics-installer

You should get a lot more than just an error code, but copy that information and paste it here.

[ovidiugr]

OUCH! I wasn't even taking notice of the 13.10 version that number system means you have the 2013 October release. This is one reason why I remain semi-safe behind the pack in 12.04 (2012 April) release. It will be some time before Intel gets around to making a driver for that version especially since it came out last month. 13.04 came out last April and their release date on that driver is June 31st. You could be waiting until January for the update.

Now the good news... the Error you have, just means there could be files you don't have installed and you need to first update some libraries. So once again you are looking at some tweaking on the next level. If you are up to the challenge, go back to terminal and type;

intel-linux-graphics-installer

You should get a lot more than just an error code, but copy that information and paste it here.

intel-linux-graphics-installer: error while loading shared libraries: libpackagekit-glib2.so.14: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

then I looked on muon packages and searched for libpackagekit and noticed i have "libpackagekit-glib2-16" installed, but I've seen no package with no. 14

[Simon]

https://01.org/linuxgraphics/node/238

According to that link they are working on it. But now this is back to wait and see.

In the meantime...
You said the laptop display is not working but the TV is working correct? Can you upload a screen capture to show the issues you are looking at on your end. I don't know 13.10 or 13.04 versions but you should have Ksnapshot or some kind of screen capture. If that doesn't show the exact problem you could use a digital camera and upload that image.