Generic LCD display - suggestions - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: Ice-Tea
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 18, 2019, 08:26:13 pm
content: Hey folks,I'm contemplating a project for which I would need a range of displays. Preferably, I'd like to make the infterface so that it would work with the same interface/connectors/power for anything from, say, 5" to about 10-11".I was thinking about single channel LVDS because it's easy and I know it well. I'll be interfacing with an FPGA and I don't want any higher level stuff that needs or likes a uC (like MIPI or whatever). KISS, you know. I'd rather have an RGB interface than MIPI or whatever.I don't need Retina-like resolutions, but I wouldn't mind if the same display size would have different resolutions available (say a 7" screen with 800x600 and 640*480 or something) so scaling might be a bit more straighforward depending on the application. Doesn't have to be super bright, doesnt have to be super fast, doesn't have to be super-awesome viewing angles, insanely low power requirements,.. "Good" is good enough for me.I'd rather not go through far-east vendors or channels (Ali, DX, ...), I'd prefer direct sales through a manufucaturer or a decent distributor in the EU. In other words: I want to be able to order the exact same display next year and not receive whatever they have on tap at that moment. Batch sizes would be small (5-10 pieces at time, with 2-3 proto batches).Soo.. I was hoping some of you could offer some experiences, suggestions, do's, don'ts, pointers,... No need to repeat your mistakes

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 18, 2019, 08:31:07 pm
content: If the batches are that small you may want to consider buying a large supply up front. Reputable manufacturers may not be able to supply the same model down the line either.

author: Ice-Tea
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 18, 2019, 08:43:05 pm
content: The same model would be nice, but in the end interface is the most importan, with mechanics second and specifications a distant third..

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 18, 2019, 08:57:24 pm
content: While not as common as it used to be, the good old digital RGB/dotclock interface is still fairly common, that's about as generic as you're going to find I think and it's trivial to interface to an FPGA.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 18, 2019, 09:21:50 pm
content: Just from my experience - you will relatively easily find LCD panels 5" to 7" with RGB interfaces.Above 7", you're getting into tablet/laptop panels territory, and unless you want to pay A LOT, those panels will more often have an eDP interface and higher resolution than you'd expect. Finding panels with RGB interface and lower resolution for 8"+ panels will be kind of hard these days (often old stock OR industrial stuff, which means very expensive for what it is).Just my 2 cents.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2019, 05:48:34 am
content: That said, you can get SERDES chips to convert digital RGB to LVDS, or with some FPGAs you can drive the LVDS interface directly. If you get a panel that has a resolution that is a multiple of what you want, it's quite easy to scale.

author: Ice-Tea
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2019, 12:51:50 pm
content: Quote from: james_s on August 18, 2019, 08:57:24 pmSeems the conscensus amongst you guys? Bit surprised by that, TBH, figured LVDS would be more common. But that's why I'm asking the questionQuote from: SiliconWizard on August 18, 2019, 09:21:50 pmSee aboveQuote from: james_s on August 19, 2019, 05:48:34 amI know. First did that with a Stratix I Engineering sample over 15 years ago. That was kinda the plan, but I don't mind wasting a few more pins if RGB is more common.Vendor suggestions? Distributor suggestions?