User manual

2 Graphics Quick Reference Guide
The table below shows examples of the frame buffer sizes
required for some popular resolution and color depths.
■
PIC24 DA family supports up to 96 KB on chip
■
PIC32 MCUs support up to 128 KB on chip
■
External SRAM can be used for larger frame buffers
■
For advanced graphics, external graphics controllers have
additional frame buffer storage
Display Resolution
Typical Sizes
Color Depth/
Memory Requirement in (bytes)
1 bpp
(Mono)
2 bpp
(4 shades)
8 bpp
(256 colors)
16 bpp
(65K colors)
WVGA 800x480 7˝ 48,000 96,000 384,000 768,000
VGA 640x480 5.7˝ 38,400 76,800 307,200 614,400
WQVGA 480x272 4.3˝ 16,320 32,640 130,560 261,120
QVGA 320x240 3.2˝ 9,600 19,200 76,800 153,600
Common
for
OLED
128x64 1˝-2.7˝ 1,024 2,048 8,192 16,384
Internal SRAM on PIC24DA or PIC32 MCU External SRAM
Target Applications
Applications that benefit from attractive and easy to use
graphical displays include:
Consumer: Thermostats, Cordless Phones, Remote Controls
Home Appliance: Coffee Makers, Washing Machines, Ovens
Industrial: Digital Instrument Gauges, Storage Controls,
Remote Terminals
Portable Medical: Glucometers, Blood-Pressure Monitors,
Portable ECGs
Microchip offers varying levels of solutions to drive everything
from simple monochrome LCDs to full color WVGA user
interfaces.
Graphics support includes the following approaches:
■
PIC24F DA integrated graphics controller
■
PIC32 controllerless graphics
■
Support for PIC MCU with external graphics controllers
The silicon offering is complemented with powerful, free
and easy to use graphics library, display designer GUI and
hardware development kits with flexible interface to various
glass sizes.
Supported Screen Sizes and Colors
Microchip graphics solutions support various screen sizes
and colors ranging from small monochrome OLED displays up
to WVGA displays with vivid color. The table below shows the
bits per pixel required to represent color.
Display
Representation
Color Examples
Color Depth
(bits per pixel)
Mono Black and White 1
Grayscale
4 shades
16 shades
2
4
Color
256 colors
65K colors
16 million colors
8
16
24
As the color depth and display resolution increase, the frame
buffer grows. Depending on the size, the frame buffer can
be stored in the microcontroller RAM, in external SRAM or
integrated into an external graphics controller.
Display Controller Solutions − Graphical Displays
PIC24 DA Integrated
Graphics Controller
PIC32
Controllerless Graphics
External Solomon Systech
Graphics Controller SSD1926
External Epson
Graphics Controller S1D13517
Display* WQVGA 480x272 WQVGA 480x272 WQVGA 480x272 WVGA 800x480
Graphics
HW Acceleration: Rectangles,
Characters, Images
DMA on PIC32 + <5 MIPS
HW Acceleration, SD card, I/F,
JPEG engine
SDRAM, I/F, Alpha-blending,
Picture-in-picture
Frame Buffer
Color Lookup Table +
96 KB on MCU + Ext SRAM
128 KB on MCU +
Ext SRAM
256 KB on Solomon Systech
Controller
Ext SDRAM
Core MIPS 16 80 – –
Power Better Good Good Good
Cost $ $ $$ $$$
*Max size at 16 bpp, 60 Hz