DLP5530PGUQ1EVM: The role of the firmware

Hello Yang -

Are you able to connect to the EVM with the DLPC230 Control Program GUI tool? It would be helpful to read the "Error History" information, so we can understand what caused the interrupt.

Regards,

Ross 

Hello Ross -

  I have noticed that I am using a new DLP5530PGUQ1EVM. But what I burned was the firmware you gave me based on another device.

  Error History： 894；DMD Device ID Error；DMD device ID does not match flash project setting.

Can you give me a new firmware corresponding to this ID? I need to project external video through HDMI.

The following is the readflash file of the current device.

existing_DLPC230_firmware_2022621.zip

Hope to get your help as soon as possible!

Regards,

yang

Hello Ross -

This is information about my current device.

Hope to get the new and correct firmware as soon as possible!

Regards,

yang

Hello Ross -

This is information about my current device.

Hope to get the new and correct firmware as soon as possible!

Regards,

yang

Hello Yang -

Do you have the readflash file from the device when you originally received it? The file you sent seems to match the one you downloaded from another thread on E2E.

Regards,

Ross

Hello Yang -

I understand your request is urgent. While I wait for your answer above about the original readflash file, here is some additional steps to try:

1) Program the following flash onto the system. It's similar to the file above, except it is compatible with the DMD Device ID that you have.

FlashImage_HUD_MultiRGB_MediumRed_DLPLogo_DMDID.binFlashImage_HUD_MultiRGB_MediumRed_DLPLogo_DMDID_exceptCalTables.bin (Note that the "exceptCalTables" can be used if you want to preserve the RGB calibration / dimming data that's already programmed onto the system)

Does it work? On my system, after programming, I toggle the "PROJ_ON" switch on the corner of the controller board, and the system turns on with the white DLP Logo splash screen displaying.

2) Then I connect the HDMI cable from PC to the EVM. Then in the "Source" page of the Control Program, I select the "Ext_Par_1152x576_60Hz" or "Ext_Par_1152x1152_60Hz" batch command set. The PGU then displays the PC content as a second monitor. 

Does it work the same for you? Please share where you have issues.

Regards,

Ross

Hello Ross -

First of all, thank you for your timely reply!

After I program the firmware you gave to the system:

1) It does display the DLP logo.

2) Then I connect the HDMI cable from PC to the EVM. Then in the "Source" page of the Control Program, I select the "Ext_Par_1152x576_60Hz" batch command set. 

However, EVM does not extend the PC, it does not display any light sources.

The output of the control program is as follows:

I'm sorry I didn't understand it. I did not modify any parameters. Why did this error occur?

Can the pixel clock frequency be modified in the control program? Or through other methods.

Please explain and provide solutions for me, thank you！

Regards,

yang

Hi Xia Yang,

Do you only have this one EVM or do you have a secondary EVM you can try to see if this works?

Also have you checked the HDMI cable. Does the HDMI cable you are using will that work normally with your monitor? Does the HDMI output of your laptop function normally when you connect your laptop to a monitor?

Do you have a secondary computer or laptop you can check to see if you can make a proper connection to the EVM through HDMI?

I also wanted to confirm are these the only settings you see in your advanced display settings for the EVM I noticed it looks a little different from what I see.

Additionally do you have access to the full DLP Control Program I noticed this was the DLP Control Program Lite Version. 

Thanks,

Alex Chan

Hello Alex Chan -

1)  I changed a new HDMI cable to this EVM, but it still reports an error:

error code 674 ：External source parallel port pixel clock frequency is not within the allowable range.

Therefore, there may be no problem with the HDMI cable.

2）I replaced a new dlp5530pguq1evm. It can expand my PC and project my desktop. But there is a new problem:

The projected image has obvious flicker and the overall image is green.It is too green to see the contents of the image. The image display status is as follows：

And both devices are new.

For the current test situation, I have the following questions:

1)How can I resolve the error code 674 of the first device；

2）How to solve the problem of image flicker of the second device and the problem that the image is too green to see clearly.

3）In addition, I don't have the complete DLP control program you mentioned. Can you provide a full version of the DLP control program and related user guides?

Hope to get your technical support as soon as possible!

Thanks,

yang

Hi Yang,

Sorry for all the issues with the EVMs but it is good to see the second EVM can display external hdmi. In terms of question 1 we are looking at the option of seeing if you can do an RMA return of the first EVM that could not display external hdmi content for TI to debug further but there may be one more debug step we can try I am trying to discuss the issue with another member on my team Ross who has also been in communication with you.

In terms of question 2 please see the following.

• Can you double check the cable connections, the LED cables should be as follows.
• 
• Can you go through the following display test patterns. Do you see a green discoloration in all of these single color test patterns? For example if you select the TPG_Solid_Blue test pattern you should only see blue. 
• 
• Are you seeing image flicker all the time in the display or only at certain brightness settings?
• Can you check the photodiode cable connections to make sure the cable is plugged in. Some older versions of the cable did not fit properly and could fall out and create issues with the displayed image.
• 

Thanks,

Alex Chan

Hello -

First of all, we checked our wiring in as much detail as possible. I can ensure that there is no problem with the equipment interface and cable.

Second, about question 2:
1）When I select the source as the test mode, it can correctly display the corresponding image.

When I select the TPG_Solid_Blue test pattern, it only displays blue.

But when I display the external video source, it still has the previous display problem.

The following images are normal images and corresponding images displayed by EVM:

2）Questions about image flicker:

Why do you say that the problem of image flicker is related to the adjustment of light? Can you explain it for me?

Thirdly, please send me the complete DLP control program you mentioned last time.

Since our conversation can only be exchanged once a day, the efficiency is not high. I hope you can send me the DLP composer for automotive and related application documentation! This may be very helpful for us to modify the firmware. At least we need the firmware of the extended external video as the default display source of the two EVMS.

In addition, can you provide technical support for modifying relevant firmware? For example, if we need to modify the firmware of the default display source, how do I operate and what operations do I need to modify?

In this way, I won't delay the project progress for several days because of such trivial matters as asking for firmware. I hope you can understand!

For the three sets of dlp5530pguq1evm purchased in your ti, they all have problems, which we can't accept!

At present, we have an EVM in the process of returning goods, which has just been sent out. These two new devices were received not long ago, but they still have problems.

Now I hope to solve the problem as soon as possible, not delay. Because our project progress is already very tight, and going through the return process will delay our project progress. I hope you can understand and give a solution as soon as possible.

Thank you again for your timely reply!

Regards,

yang

Since my English is not very good, please let me add some explanations to the above questions:

1、Wiring problems：

Only when there is no problem with the equipment interface and the cable itself can I ensure that there is no problem with our wiring.

2、In the test pattern, there is no problem with the display of the second EVM. Only when the extended HDMI content is displayed, the image turns green and the image content cannot be recognized.

3、Due to the time difference, our communication is inconvenient. I'm sure we don't want to see it.

If I didn't make it clear, please specify.

I hope our communication can become more effective and pleasant!

Thanks，

yang

Hi Yang,

Issue 1:

This issue may be hard to debug as the signals to check the external parallel hdmi are vsync, hsync, and Pclk but are not easily accessible on the EVM. Do you have access to an oscilloscope? We know that the RMA process is complicated right now and I am trying to talk with others on my team to see if we have inventory of replacement boards to see if that could fix the issue. Given the overall supply shortage we are very limited. 

Issue 2:

There have been some cases where if an EVM was not calibrated correctly, there may be some display performance issues at certain brightness's. For example the image may look fine at max brightness but then at another brightness setting there may be slight discoloration or brightness jumps causing some flickering.

Issue 3:

All new EVMs should already have the latest firmware installed and should have no issues connecting to hdmi under normal circumstances. The firmware should already normally support the external parallel hdmi but I know one of the EVM's is having issues. 

From my understanding you have one EVM that can work with hdmi but has green discoloration and another EVM that cannot work with hdmi correct?

You can try reading and saving the firmware of the EVM that can work with hdmi and then flash that firmware onto the EVM that is not working with hdmi and see if that may help in any way.

Please see the following video in this page and make sure to back up and save the current flash image on the EVM before overwriting it.

https://e2e.ti.com/support/dlp-products-group/dlp/f/dlp-products-forum/1077842/faq-dlpc230-q1-dlp-auto-hud-gen-2-resources-and-documentation

If you still would like access to the firmware tools and full control program please provide an email address I can use to grant you access to the programs. 

I apologize for the delay in responses but our team is located in the United States so there will be some time delay. Thank you for your patience with this issue. 

Thanks,

Alex Chan

Hello -

Issue 1:

Our lab has an oscilloscope, but I may not be very skilled.Can you provide a detailed operation process?

It may be difficult for us to accept a return. It's too time-consuming. We have an EVM on its way back. I hope you can debug the EVM as soon as possible.

Issue 3:

We are trying. But I didn't encounter a problem last time: the firmware is bound with an ID. are you sure there won't be the same problem?

About the firmware tools and the full version of the control program, I hope you can give me!

Here is my email address:

222107855036@zust.edu.cn

Thanks,

yang 

Sorry, I didn't make it clear just now.

About programming firmware, We had a problem last time:

The firmware is bound with the device ID. If the firmware of one EVM is programmed to another EVM, an error may occur.

Hi Yang, 

I am working with my team to get you new boards to try to replace the existing boards on the EVM.

I am going to send you a sample flash image and calibration project to try out this new firmware and see if it can resolve the issue. In this way you are not copying the whole firmware from one device to another.

Please follow these steps.

1. Please read the current flash image on the EVM and save it as a backup. 

2. First flash the flash image. Unzip the sample composer project.

3. Pick the following flash image to flash onto the EVM.

4. Next flash the calibration data unzip the sample cal project.

5. Pick the following flash image to flash onto the EVM.

Please note you may see some slight color discoloration as the calibration information should normally be specific to each unit but I am giving you one that I have flashed onto another system just to see if flashing the above firmware will fix the issue with the EVM unable to connect with hdmi. 

I have given you access to the software with the email you had sent me. 

Thanks,

Alex Chan

Hello Alex Chan -

I can't open the link to the compressed file you gave. Can you resend it?

I can't see the pictures in the operation steps you gave me.

New issues:

About the EVM that could not extend hmdi, it could not be connected to the control program after I rewired.

What do you think may be the cause of the communication error?

Please help me!

Thanks，

yang

Hi Yang,

Sorry here are the attachments again.

sample composer project.zip

sample cal project.zip

As for your second question check the SPI cable is correctly connected. Can you identify the cheetah device in your device manager?

Additionally what is a good shipping address for you?

Thanks,

Alex Chan

Hello Alex Chan -

The Cheetah device was identified in Device Manager.

Is it possible that the line marked in the following figure is not connected well？But I reconnected the cable several times and still made a miscommunication.

Address：No. 318 Liuhe Road, Xihu District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province

Hi Yang,

The white flex cable with the blue tips is purely an interface between the bottom board (controller board) which controls all the interfacing and has the processor to control the display contents and the top board (driver board) which controls the power and LEDs. If the EVM turns on and displays a correct image, that means you have a good connection of the flex cable with blue tips.

The main issue I am worried with is the SPI cable.

Since you have two of those you can try interchanging them to see if there is a connectivity issue. It is a fragile cable so please do not tug too hard on it and correctly use the latch to remove the cable.

I am working with my team to see the best way to ship either a new EVM to you directly or new controller/driver board to the address you had provided as long as you are able to return the problem controller/driver boards or the EVM entirely back to TI for debug. 

Thank you again for your patience with this issue.

Thanks,

Alex Chan