New Raspberry Pi Offical 7" LCD display
#1
So the Pi Foundation have launched their 7" 800x480 LCD (with capacitive touch) which connects to the DSI port on the Pi / Pi 2 (and converts to DPI to connect to a display). It appears, if I read the releases correctly, that this screen can be run in dual-display mode along with the HDMI output.

https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/the-eag...i-display/
http://swag.raspberrypi.org/collections/...en-display

Whilst 800x480 and 60Hz mean its probably a non-starter as a main display for a lot of us, does it potentially offer a neat second display option for status, time remaining/elapsed, channel and programme name in PVR, even artwork, and also running music playback etc. without the main display powered? I guess it would require some quite radical development in Kodi to support this concept - or you could make it into a "Super LCDProc" kind of thing? VDR supports a similar concept I believe.

I guess 7" might be a bit big - but the price point is pretty good, and not having to have your TV powered to navigate music would be a plus for many (and I know you can use a Smartphone - but that doesn't 'work' for some).
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#2
I don't know about OE, but I believe that OSMC may be now configured to use one of these as the GUI - but only as a single mode (no dual screen option)
Derek
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#3
I've just had a test. Currently kodi doesn't know about the LCD screen dimensions.
It checks if hdmi or composite is active, and queries the resolution and uses that to size the GUI.
This size won't match the LCD size, so you'll get an image, but it will just be of a corner of the GUI.

You can work around this in config.txt:
Code:
hdmi_force_hotplug=1
hdmi_cvt=800 480 60
hdmi_group=2
hdmi_mode=87

So, kodi sizes the framebuffer to 800x480 and it fits nicely.

The touchscreen currently acts as a mouse, and is almost of usable.
A screen touch registers as a mouse move. You need to double tap to register a click.
However no way to get a context menu or back press from the touchscreen.

It should be possible to register as a touchscreen interface rather than a mouse, where presses will be clicks,
and tap and hold is context menu, but I'll have to work out how to make that happen.
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#4
Does it have integrated speakers?
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#5
(2015-09-09, 20:41)the_bo Wrote: Does it have integrated speakers?

No
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#6
(2015-09-08, 23:51)noggin Wrote: I guess 7" might be a bit big - but the price point is pretty good, and not having to have your TV powered to navigate music would be a plus for many (and I know you can use a Smartphone - but that doesn't 'work' for some).

I've been envisioning something like this for a long time. And for the reasons you suggested. I hope a developer sees value in it.
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#7
(2015-09-09, 17:53)popcornmix Wrote: I've just had a test. Currently kodi doesn't know about the LCD screen dimensions.
It checks if hdmi or composite is active, and queries the resolution and uses that to size the GUI.
This size won't match the LCD size, so you'll get an image, but it will just be of a corner of the GUI.

You can work around this in config.txt:
Code:
hdmi_force_hotplug=1
hdmi_cvt=800 480 60
hdmi_group=2
hdmi_mode=87

So, kodi sizes the framebuffer to 800x480 and it fits nicely.

The touchscreen currently acts as a mouse, and is almost of usable.
A screen touch registers as a mouse move. You need to double tap to register a click.
However no way to get a context menu or back press from the touchscreen.

It should be possible to register as a touchscreen interface rather than a mouse, where presses will be clicks,
and tap and hold is context menu, but I'll have to work out how to make that happen.

Does that also force the HDMI output to 800x480 - and are they then cloned?

(My display and case should arrive today or tomorrow and I hope to have a play over the weekend. Be great if it could be used as a secondary status display for Kodi, or if one of the music distros like Volumio/RuneAudio/Moode etc. supported it as a status display. Would be a great little solution for an internet radio and music player with an IQ Audo DAC or DigiAmp or similar (and looks like you could do a triple stack as the DSI to DPI board appears to be mounted under the Pi not above it, leaving space for a HAT or similar - and the IQ Audio stuff passes through I2C )
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#8
(2015-09-10, 10:56)noggin Wrote: Does that also force the HDMI output to 800x480 - and are they then cloned?

It does force hdmi to 800x480 (although that is an unusual hdmi resolution and is probably not supported by most displays).
No cloning is done. Kodi only drives a single display.
Tonight's Milhouse build won't need any config.txt patches. It detects when LCD is primary display.
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#9
(2015-09-09, 17:53)popcornmix Wrote: The touchscreen currently acts as a mouse, and is almost of usable.
A screen touch registers as a mouse move. You need to double tap to register a click.
However no way to get a context menu or back press from the touchscreen.

It should be possible to register as a touchscreen interface rather than a mouse, where presses will be clicks,
and tap and hold is context menu, but I'll have to work out how to make that happen.

Hi popcormix, have you make some progress in registering inputs as touchscreen interfaces rather mouse?

thanks, have a nice day
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#10
(2015-09-10, 15:09)popcornmix Wrote:
(2015-09-10, 10:56)noggin Wrote: Does that also force the HDMI output to 800x480 - and are they then cloned?

It does force hdmi to 800x480 (although that is an unusual hdmi resolution and is probably not supported by most displays).
No cloning is done. Kodi only drives a single display.
Tonight's Milhouse build won't need any config.txt patches. It detects when LCD is primary display.

I wonder if LCDproc with the svga plugin could be persuaded to display information on a second display? May have a bit of a play.
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#11
(2015-09-12, 19:32)noggin Wrote: I wonder if LCDproc with the svga plugin could be persuaded to display information on a second display? May have a bit of a play.

Currently the firmware identifies one display as primary and one as secondary.
The primary display is where /dev/fb0 appears and the usual dispmanx/openmax/mmal libraries will output when display=0 is requested.

Currently the only way to drive the secondary display is though dispmanx/openmax/mmal libraries with display=6 (see here)

Might be worth playing with hello_dispmanx, changing the screen number here as a way to drive the LCD (when it's secondary).

I suspect at some point in the future there will be a /dev/fb1 that can drive the secondary display which will make this a little easier.
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#12
so is the screen supported in the latest build as on raspbian i loose touch controls as soon as kodi opens
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#13
Build #0911 used with the Raspberry Pi 7" Display defaults to the display being upside down and needs a
Code:
display_rotate=2
in config.txt to make it the right way up. I don't think I've built my Pimoroni case the wrong way up - Raspbian displays correctly.

I also don't have touch controls in this build.
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#14
(2015-09-13, 12:06)popcornmix Wrote:
(2015-09-12, 19:32)noggin Wrote: I wonder if LCDproc with the svga plugin could be persuaded to display information on a second display? May have a bit of a play.

Currently the firmware identifies one display as primary and one as secondary.
The primary display is where /dev/fb0 appears and the usual dispmanx/openmax/mmal libraries will output when display=0 is requested.

Currently the only way to drive the secondary display is though dispmanx/openmax/mmal libraries with display=6 (see here)

Might be worth playing with hello_dispmanx, changing the screen number here as a way to drive the LCD (when it's secondary).

I suspect at some point in the future there will be a /dev/fb1 that can drive the secondary display which will make this a little easier.

Great - thanks for this. Not sure I'll get time to play for a while :-(
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#15
(2015-09-13, 13:13)noggin Wrote: Build #0911 used with the Raspberry Pi 7" Display defaults to the display being upside down and needs a
Code:
display_rotate=2
in config.txt to make it the right way up. I don't think I've built my Pimoroni case the wrong way up - Raspbian displays correctly.

You're holding it wrong. Wink
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