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FT800 (EVE) versus SSD1921? — Parallax Forums

FT800 (EVE) versus SSD1921?

RaymanRayman Posts: 14,658
edited 2014-07-08 08:13 in Propeller 1
Trying to decide which way to go for a new development board...

They both have some interesting features... EVE looks fairly simple and low cost and also includes resistive touchscreen controller.

SSD1921 has a camera interface though. I'm leaning this way because of that feature...

But, EVE is new and SSD1921 is old...

I think pairing one of these chips on the same board as a Propeller and including a 3.5" touchscreen could sell OK...

Any thoughts on this?

Comments

  • jmgjmg Posts: 15,173
    edited 2013-09-18 17:22
    EVE has quite a large FONT memory, does the SSD1921 do that ?

    There are also Board + Bezel kits for Eve, which are appealing.
    Perhaps FTDI will offer the Bezels as separate items ?
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,658
    edited 2013-09-18 17:46
    EVE does make fonts easy...

    They also make it trivial to create an on-screen keyboard.
    It's also a lot easier to source...

    One kinda unique thing about EVE is that it doesn't have a screen buffer. Instead, you make a list of things you want to have drawn and it does it, line by line, just in time.
  • OldFartRadiomanOldFartRadioman Posts: 30
    edited 2013-09-18 18:56
    Rayman do you know if any of the LCDs you sell will plug into a VM800 board?
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,658
    edited 2013-09-19 02:59
    Without checking in detail, I'd say probably not... While the actual TFT is about the same, there's a wide variety of connectors and connector pin arrangements and varying circuit requirements.
    This makes it unlikely to be interchangeable.
  • JRetSapDoogJRetSapDoog Posts: 954
    edited 2013-09-19 14:38
    I recall thinking that FTDI was being quite innovative when they announced EVE a few months back. Quite impressive! I just wonder if there will be an "EVE2" that does VGA or WVGA anytime in the near future. But not all applications require that many pixels or larger screen sizes, so it would seem EVE could be a perfect companion for 3" to 5.7" screens. Of course, it could be good to have a "use case" in mind if designing it in.
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,658
    edited 2014-06-17 12:29
    Finally got around to drawing up a circuit board for Prop + SSD1921...

    Switched from ExpressPCB to Eagle for this one, because it's a layout nightmare.
    Just ordered the test PCBs, should have them this weekend.
    Even with Eagle, it'll be a miracle if it works, first try:
    SSD1921_Test1.png

    If it does work though, I think it will be capable of HD video capture to SD with onscreen preview, which will be pretty neat.

    I think I'll also try a version with EVE. EVE doesn't have a video processor or SD interface. But, appears to make usage easy.
    Also, it includes touchscreen interface and some audio processing...
    SSD1921_Test1.png
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  • jmgjmg Posts: 15,173
    edited 2014-06-18 03:54
    Rayman wrote: »
    Finally got around to drawing up a circuit board for Prop + SSD1921...

    ..
    I think I'll also try a version with EVE. EVE doesn't have a video processor or SD interface. But, appears to make usage easy.

    What price is the SSD1921 ?

    I see ADi have just announced more BlackFin DSPs, from 128k/100MHz to 1024k/400MHz $3.99,~$8.23
    in 12x12 QFN88 in 14 price steps. - and also in 184 BGA with DDR2, LPDDR, up to$9.63/1k

    These have HS USB, SD hw, QuadSPI and CAN bus.

    http://www.analog.com/en/processors-dsp/blackfin/adsp-bf700/products/06_12_14_New_Generation_of_High_Performance/press.html
    http://www.analog.com/en/processors-dsp/blackfin/products/index.html

    Says this of the PPI
    ["The processor provides a parallel peripheral interface (PPI) that
    supports data widths up to 18 bits. The PPI supports direct connection
    to TFT LCD panels, parallel analog-to-digital and
    digital-to-analog converters, video encoders and decoders,
    image sensor modules and other general-purpose peripherals."]

    - and there is a 500K ROM mentioned - wonder what comes in there ?

    1024k sounds appealing :)
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,658
    edited 2014-06-18 06:02
    I don't have the price on me, but I think it was ~$5 each. They are very hard to source though. Got lucky because I didn't have to get the MOQ of 600 pcs.
    The SSD1928 is much easier to get and more popular, but can't drive the 3.5" TFT displays that I have a lot of...

    There's no question that there are more sophisticated solutions out there. I've got a camera for my Raspberry PI now.
    But, what I'm looking at here is the simplest solution that is as open as possible.
    You don't really program the SSD1921, you just write and read from registers.
    That BlackFin thing would probably take me a year to understand. Also, the software for it is $1000 per seat I noticed.

    Having a Propeller board that can take 2 MP photos and save as .jpg on SD card could be handy for some things...
    I'm thinking about a motion tripped security system.
    Or, time lapse photography..
    Or, maybe a robot with a camera that can sent images over wifi...

    BTW: In terms of simple+low cost, the FT800 looks pretty nice too (but no camera port).
    Also, looks like they'll have a capactive touch FT801 for sale soon...
  • jmgjmg Posts: 15,173
    edited 2014-06-18 15:36
    Rayman wrote: »
    I don't have the price on me, but I think it was ~$5 each. They are very hard to source though. Got lucky because I didn't have to get the MOQ of 600 pcs.
    The SSD1928 is much easier to get and more popular, but can't drive the 3.5" TFT displays that I have a lot of...
    What stops the SSD1928 handling the LCD ?

    Rayman wrote: »
    That BlackFin thing would probably take me a year to understand. Also, the software for it is $1000 per seat I noticed.
    Yes, it is a comprehensive looking device.

    I think they have a bundle offer of this, still not cheap, but $299 is ok for commercial targets.
    Begin developing today with the ADSP-BF707 EZ-KIT-Lite complete with an ICE-1000 emulator & CrossCore® Embedded Studio for $299.
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,658
    edited 2014-06-19 10:33
    SSD1928 cannot do 18-bit TFT like SSD1921. They are virtually identical otherwise. SSD1921 is bigger and has more pins to handle the wider output bus...
  • jmgjmg Posts: 15,173
    edited 2014-06-19 20:07
    Rayman wrote: »
    SSD1928 cannot do 18-bit TFT like SSD1921. They are virtually identical otherwise. SSD1921 is bigger and has more pins to handle the wider output bus...
    Shame the smaller part lacks that.

    I see the BF70x does mention 18 bits on the Parallel Peripheral Interface, but you may be right about the SW being a separate priced item, making it quite expensive.

    Pity, as hopefully ADi would provide enough sample code to generate LCD video over PPI, which would reduce the learning time significantly.
  • jmgjmg Posts: 15,173
    edited 2014-06-24 16:32
    Rayman wrote: »
    That BlackFin thing would probably take me a year to understand. Also, the software for it is $1000 per seat I noticed.

    I asked Analog Devices if their claims of you can start the evaluation immediately in the EZ-KIT Lite meant the SW was included in some workable form....

    Their reply was
    ["CrossCore Embedded Studio (CCES) comes with a free Evaluation license built in which, once activated, will allow you full access to the tools for a 90 day period. Once the Evaluation has finished, and if you decide to proceed with working with the BF707, you can purchase a Full license. "]

    So, that does make it $299 plus $1000 to work with this part.
  • Bill HenningBill Henning Posts: 6,445
    edited 2014-06-28 12:45
    Umm.. that sucks.

    I was getting ready to spring for the $299 dev kit - thanks for posting about this.
    jmg wrote: »
    I asked Analog Devices if their claims of you can start the evaluation immediately in the EZ-KIT Lite meant the SW was included in some workable form....

    Their reply was
    ["CrossCore Embedded Studio (CCES) comes with a free Evaluation license built in which, once activated, will allow you full access to the tools for a 90 day period. Once the Evaluation has finished, and if you decide to proceed with working with the BF707, you can purchase a Full license. "]

    So, that does make it $299 plus $1000 to work with this part.
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,658
    edited 2014-07-08 05:47
    Even though I made a few mistakes, I was actually able to talk to the SSD1921 and set pixels on the LCD screen :)
    It would have been very hard with ExpressPCB, so I'm glad to have spent the time to learn Eagle...

    Just ordered a revised version with some additions... Made the board smaller and added "wings" to either side.
    One side will have an analog joystick and the other a 7-function tactile switch with nav, jog and select.
    I guess I'm thinking that the wings could be cut off if not needed.
    Here's what it looks like:
    SSD1921_Test2.png


    I've also just started an EVE (FT800) version of the same thing. EVE has a lot of benefits, but no camera interface.
    SSD1921_Test2.png
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  • Bill HenningBill Henning Posts: 6,445
    edited 2014-07-08 08:13
    Looks great! Nice work.
    Rayman wrote: »
    Even though I made a few mistakes, I was actually able to talk to the SSD1921 and set pixels on the LCD screen :)
    It would have been very hard with ExpressPCB, so I'm glad to have spent the time to learn Eagle...

    Just ordered a revised version with some additions... Made the board smaller and added "wings" to either side.
    One side will have an analog joystick and the other a 7-function tactile switch with nav, jog and select.
    I guess I'm thinking that the wings could be cut off if not needed.
    Here's what it looks like:
    SSD1921_Test2.png


    I've also just started an EVE (FT800) version of the same thing. EVE has a lot of benefits, but no camera interface.
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