Yes, finally, and after years of work and countless people complaining on forums, there is a proper, official display for the Raspberry Pi.
It’s a 7-inch display, 800 x 480 pixel resolution, 24-bit color, and has 10-point multitouch. Drivers for the display are already available with a simple call of sudo apt-get update, and the display itself is available at Newark, the Pi Store (sold out) and Element14. There’s even a case available, and a stand ready to be sent off to a 3D printer.
As for why it took so long for the Raspberry Pi foundation to introduce an official display for the Pi, the answer should not be surprising for any engineer. It’s EMC, or electromagnetic compliance. The DPI (Display Parallel Interface) for the Pi, presented on the expansion header and used by the GertVGA adapter allows any Pi to drive two displays at 1920 x 1024, 60FPS. This DPI interface is an electrical nightmare that spews RF interference everywhere it goes.
The new display could have used the DSI (Display Serial Interface) adapter, or the small connector on the Pi that is not the camera connector. DSI displays are purpose-built for specific devices, though, and aren’t something that would or should be used in a device that will be manufactured for years to come. The best solution, and the design the Raspberry Pi foundation chose to go with, is a DPI display and an adapter that converts the Pi’s DSI output to something the display can understand.
The Raspberry Pi Foundation has given its seal of approval to a 7-inch touchscreen for its flagship microcomputer.
The makers of the hobbyist quad-core ARM-powered system said the $60 screen will allow display and touch functions to be accessed from software. Drivers for the screen are included with the latest version of Raspbian.
It effectively means the end of hunting for a spare HDMI monitor to plug into the single-board computer – now a small handy display can be whacked on it, which for many applications is much more practical.
The display sports an 800×400 resolution and connects to the Pi via an adapter board and DSI cable. The screen draws its power from the Pi’s power supply. Models supported include the Raspberry Pi Model A+, B+, and Pi 2 Revision B.
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3 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Finally, an Official Display for the Raspberry Pi
http://hackaday.com/2015/09/08/finally-an-official-display-for-the-raspberry-pi/
Yes, finally, and after years of work and countless people complaining on forums, there is a proper, official display for the Raspberry Pi.
It’s a 7-inch display, 800 x 480 pixel resolution, 24-bit color, and has 10-point multitouch. Drivers for the display are already available with a simple call of sudo apt-get update, and the display itself is available at Newark, the Pi Store (sold out) and Element14. There’s even a case available, and a stand ready to be sent off to a 3D printer.
As for why it took so long for the Raspberry Pi foundation to introduce an official display for the Pi, the answer should not be surprising for any engineer. It’s EMC, or electromagnetic compliance. The DPI (Display Parallel Interface) for the Pi, presented on the expansion header and used by the GertVGA adapter allows any Pi to drive two displays at 1920 x 1024, 60FPS. This DPI interface is an electrical nightmare that spews RF interference everywhere it goes.
The new display could have used the DSI (Display Serial Interface) adapter, or the small connector on the Pi that is not the camera connector. DSI displays are purpose-built for specific devices, though, and aren’t something that would or should be used in a device that will be manufactured for years to come. The best solution, and the design the Raspberry Pi foundation chose to go with, is a DPI display and an adapter that converts the Pi’s DSI output to something the display can understand.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Official Raspberry Pi DSI Display launch video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqdz66Y-H7M
Tomi Engdahl says:
Stick your finger in another Pi: Titchy-puter now has touchscreen
Credit-card PC can hook up with 7-inch pokeable display
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/09/08/raspberry_pi_touchscreen/
The Raspberry Pi Foundation has given its seal of approval to a 7-inch touchscreen for its flagship microcomputer.
The makers of the hobbyist quad-core ARM-powered system said the $60 screen will allow display and touch functions to be accessed from software. Drivers for the screen are included with the latest version of Raspbian.
It effectively means the end of hunting for a spare HDMI monitor to plug into the single-board computer – now a small handy display can be whacked on it, which for many applications is much more practical.
The display sports an 800×400 resolution and connects to the Pi via an adapter board and DSI cable. The screen draws its power from the Pi’s power supply. Models supported include the Raspberry Pi Model A+, B+, and Pi 2 Revision B.