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rodh
Journeyman III

Can I run two different sync signals through one FirePro S400?

Hello,

as a follow-up to this question I asked a while ago: http://devgurus.amd.com/message/1278253, I am currently attempting to delay a secondary display by 1/4 of a frame with respect to my primary display (each display is connected to a seperate V7900 card).

To do so, I have done the following through the catalyst control panel, in linux.

  1. Set the primary display as the timing server.
  2. Set RJ45(1) to output a sync signal from timing server.
  3. Pass the signal to a seperate microcontroller.
  4. Generate a new (delayed) sync signal.
  5. Pass the delayed sync into RJ45(2) - detected correctly.
  6. Set the secondary display to synchronise to RJ45(2).

According to the catalyst control panel, this process has been effected correctly. However, upon measurement of the output of the projectors, using a photodiode, I notice that this process sometimes works, and sometimes doesn't (they are both perfectly in sync with the timing server). I find myself having to try syncing the second display over and over again until it suddenly works.

Is this not a supported configuration mode for the FirePro S400? Would I have better luck if I generated 2 sync signals externally, and set each card to sync to a seperate RJ45 port, without use of a timing server?

Many thanks.

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3 Replies
rodh
Journeyman III

Update

I have now tried feeding the sync card a seperate black & burst genlock (house sync), synchronising the primary display off that (which works), feeding the signal back out RJ45(1), delaying it and feeding it back in through RJ45(2).

I now find the green LED on RJ45(2) is flashing at about 1Hz, and the catalyst interface switches between showing RJ45(2) as receiving a signal, and it being listed as idle, every few seconds.

If I time it right, I can still enable locking the secondary display on to RJ45(2). This seems to work at first, but after a few seconds, the second display flickers and seems to go a full frame out of sync with respect to the primary display. Then it flickers and comes back again after a few seconds. This seemingly continues indefinitely.

What does a flashing led mean on one of the RJ45 ports?

Do I need two S400 module if I want to use two genlock signals?

Thanks again for any help you can provide in answering these questions.

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Hi,

please find below the meanings of the LEDs for the RJ45 and the BNC port. Actually the LED of the RJ45 should never flash.

The following is a description of RJ45 LEDs:

·         Green (left LED)—An input signal is detected.

·         Yellow (right LED)—The input signal is being forwarded from another RJ-45 connection or the local signal is being sent over the current RJ-45 connection as an output signal.

·         Unlit (left and right LEDs)—Neither an input signal is detected nor an output signal is being sent.

The following is a description of the BNC LED:

·         Green—The signal is detected, recognized, and synchronized.

·         Flashing green—The signal is detected and recognized, but no display is synchronized to this signal.

·         Red—The signal is detected but is not recognized.

·         Unlit—Neither a signal is detected nor a cable is attached to the connection.

The setup you described in your first post should actually work. Delaying the VSync signal on the RJ45 (and probably the Swap Req as well for framelock) would be a good approach to achieve the 1/4 frame delay.

Using 2 x S400 in one system might get problematic since the Catalyst Control Center is not ready to support 2 S400. In this case it would be better to use two systems.

rodh
Journeyman III

Thank you very much for your help.

Based on your reply I kept trying this setup. I found that I was 1. Not supplying enough current in my secondary sync signal, and 2. There was a ~200μs jitter in my secondary vsync.

Fixing these enabled me to correctly lock the secondary display with a delay with respect to the first.

Thanks again.

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