So I want to use a TFT LCD (I'm a hobbyist btw not working anywhere.) and I'm confused about my options.
So so far I think i know what's up. You either need an LCD controller that uses either SPI or parallel interface (16bit-8 bit). But I'm not sure if they're fast enough for SPI. plus the biggest screen size I usually see is 3.5 and I'd like a 5"-4.7" display at least.
So it's either that or using a MCU with something like an LPC1788 or an STM32F746ZG. they both include an LCD controller (The stm32 has chrom-art accelerator?!) but the issue is those boards usually cost anywhere from 70-300$ which is insane.... does it just not make sense to use an LCD with a microcontroller? because a raspberry pi 3 b+ is 1.4ghz and costs 35$. you can have a fluid UI made with relatively super easy to use software and libraries in linux just like you would with any computer!
are there any sane cheap options? maybe for LCDs up to 7"? not to mention the UI would need 27-30fps. otherwise it'd look very clunky.
my actual questions are: what options do I have that aren't ridicilously expensive?
how does this make sense for companies when they can use a much cheaper SoC and just run full linux?
can I get a nice UI on something like this? i have both an LPC1768 dev(120mhz) board and a bluepill (stm32f103c8, 75mhz). i guess I could save for something as long as it's not stupidly expensive!
Hi there,
With SPI it is unlikely to get to the type of performance you wanted.
It is true that Raspberry PI is cheaper, but that doesn't include a LCD module. When you include a 4.3 inch LCD module the price is likely to be higher than STM32F746ZG (with 4.3 inch LCD, it is 42 pounds in UK, and a Raspberry PI is 30 pounds in UK)
https://uk.farnell.com/stmicroelectronics/stm32f746g-disco/dev-board-cortex-m7-discovery/dp/2480961
If you let us know which country you are in, readers here might be able to point you to vendors that sell the STM32 board at reasonable prices.
regards,
Joseph
i just realized the actual IC is only 5$. and considering making a board for one is WAY WAY less complicated and need far fewer components. I realized it must end up cheaper right? Is it purely the boards that are so highely priced?!
also I actually ended up buying a 16-BIT parallel tft display to use with my LPC1768 (tho i wired it up with my STM32F103C8 because it has arduino support so I can learn it easier)
I have no idea where to start. I cna't find a traditional "tutorial" for it!
Check out mbed.org, there are a lot boards "compatible" with it and also with display. I guess there are also examples.
The only libraries i found (just one) asked for a portname, no way to set offset or have half the pins in one GPIO then the other 8 in another. which sucks. I managed to get their example working. but their displayChar function does nothing.