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TFT Screen — Parallax Forums

TFT Screen

c.asmithc.asmith Posts: 15
edited 2014-03-11 17:57 in Propeller 1
Hi, I am coming from an Arduino area, and moving into using the Propeller because I'm starting to have limits with the Arduino.

I want to have a display that is around 7inches something like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/7-TFT-LCD-Module-Display-800X480-Touch-Panel-Screen-/190367645601?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c52cbbfa1

But I have some questions:

1. Is the Propeller fast enougth to draw GUI displays or would you see the Processor draw the contents on the screen?

2. How would you interface with something like a TFT screen? I have never done that before.

Thank you for everyones help,

Cameron.

Comments

  • Bill HenningBill Henning Posts: 6,445
    edited 2014-03-11 14:00
    The Propeller has 32KB of memory, which is not enough for bitmapped graphics at 800x480 (the resolution of that TFT panel)

    Personally, I've been using 7" displays like the one you linked to, with an external VGA controller board; and then generating VGA from the prop.

    There is still not enough memory for a bitmapped GUI, but you can do a lot with tiled drivers.

    For any resolution you want to drive with a bitmap, you need (horizontal_pixels)*(vertical_pixels)*(bits_per_pixel)/8 bytes of memory. 800x480x24 bit color is 1,152,000 bytes (far more than using every available hub memory byte (32768 bytes))

    Directly interfacing with such a TFT display requires more than 27 I/O's if you want 24 bit pixels. You are far better off using VGA, or an SSD1963 or similar external controller.
    c.asmith wrote: »
    Hi, I am coming from an Arduino area, and moving into using the Propeller because I'm starting to have limits with the Arduino.

    I want to have a display that is around 7inches something like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/7-TFT-LCD-Module-Display-800X480-Touch-Panel-Screen-/190367645601?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c52cbbfa1

    But I have some questions:

    1. Is the Propeller fast enougth to draw GUI displays or would you see the Processor draw the contents on the screen?

    2. How would you interface with something like a TFT screen? I have never done that before.

    Thank you for everyones help,

    Cameron.
  • rjo__rjo__ Posts: 2,114
    edited 2014-03-11 14:56
    Cameron,

    Have a gander at rayslogic.com http://www.rayslogic.com, a fabulous
    site with lots of easy to access info.

    http://www.rayslogic.com/Propeller/Products/VgaGraphics/VgaGraphics.htm
    This link takes you to a true 24bit graphics display option.

    Rich
  • c.asmithc.asmith Posts: 15
    edited 2014-03-11 17:12
    Hi, Guys,

    Thank you for your response. I'm really looking at using the display directly and getting the data from a SSD card, but controlled by the micro-controller.

    Do you have any code to control a display like this using an SSD or point me in another direction.

    Thank you again for your help.

    Cameron.
  • Bill HenningBill Henning Posts: 6,445
    edited 2014-03-11 17:57
    Cameron,

    What do you mean by an SSD card?

    rjo_ sent you some good links, I have one of Ray's cards, they work well.
    c.asmith wrote: »
    Hi, Guys,

    Thank you for your response. I'm really looking at using the display directly and getting the data from a SSD card, but controlled by the micro-controller.

    Do you have any code to control a display like this using an SSD or point me in another direction.

    Thank you again for your help.

    Cameron.
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