DLPC350 Programming

Hello dc,

Welcome to the LightCrafter 4500 development area.  I am going to answer your questions the way they were received to give you as much clarity for each question that I can.

1) The DLPC350 Controller requires firmware to operate and initialize the USB port.  If the flash memory has never been programmed with the DLPR350 firmware found here: http://www.ti.com/tool/dlpr350 then you have 2 methods to get the firmware onto the memory: JTAG boundary scan port or an EEPROM programmer of your choice.  The JTAG flash programming utility found on the DLPC350 page is not used through the USB port.  The fastest method to program the firmware is with an EEPROM programmer, but this can't be done with the memory module inserted.

2) Yes you can store up to 64 24-bit images in the flash memory and retrieve them.  Keep in mind that each bitplane can be retrieved and displayed individually from the 24-bit images.  This means you get to upload and utilize 1536 (64x24) 1140x912 1-bit patterns.  No host processor is necessary to control the DLPC350 once it is programmed through your PC.

3) The DLPC350 is capable of displaying a sequence of patterns of your choosing on boot up.  In order to do this, the patterns should be loaded into flash memory along with a solution file that can be created through the LightCrafter 4500 GUI found on this page: http://www.ti.com/tool/dlplcr4500evm

It sounds like your solution will use the Pattern Sequence mode of operation to control the DMD.  The GUI will allow you to create 24-bit images out of 1-bit images and solution files that contain your desired settings and pattern sequences.  You can then insert those images and solution file into your own firmware file, program it to the flash memory, and let the DLPC350 run without a host processor.  The only time a host PC would be necessary is to modify your sequence in any way.

Threads on the creation of images from patterns, and the creation of solution files, can be found in this forum.  Good luck.

dc,

The EEPROM programmer is much faster for the first load by far.  Keep the JTAG flash programmer in mind though if your flash memory is on the board but your firmware becomes corrupted.  This could happen during programming via the GUI if there is a power interruption or the USB is disconnected during the process.

1) There are 2 memory modules supported by the LightCrafter 4500 GUI: M29W128GL70N6E, and S29GL032A.  You can see these two modules in the "FlashDeviceParameters.txt" file in the GUI installation path.

With a little work, you could insert your own device parameters for flash memory you wish to try out.  From the file you can see that you'd need to identify the device manufacturer ID and the device ID, your EEPROM programmer should be able to read this for you.  You'd also need to determine the start addresses for each sector.

There are 3 constraints on your flash memory selection: minimum size, maximum addressable size, and timing.  The DLPR350 firmware is about 6 MB when bundled with 14 24-bit images containing 336 patterns.  I would not recommend selecting a flash memory unit below 10 MB so that the distributed firmware can be loaded to verify your DLPC350 functions properly.  The maximum addressable size of a single flash memory unit attached to the DLPC350 is 128 Mb.  There are 2 chip select lines and this yields a total permissible size of 512 Mb or 64 MB on 4 discrete memory pieces.  The last constraint is timing.  As it is programmed, the DLPC350 can interact with flash memory with access times of 100 ns or less.  Memory selection is up to you if you meet these 3 criteria and modify the parameter file accordingly.

2) You should be fine with any EEPROM programmer that can handle the memory module of your choice.  You'll have to look through your list of supported memory.

3) Yes, the pattern sequence can be repeated indefinitely.  On boot up, it will take a moment to initialize the DLPC350 and during that time the image loaded in index 0 will display.  You can choose to advance the patterns via internal clock or external trigger.  Read about that in the DLPC350 Programmer's Guide here: http://www.ti.com/lit/pdf/dlpu010

4) At this time it is not possible to set up PWM in the solution file in order to automatically configure the GPIO pins to PWM mode on boot up.  Some of the GPIO pins can be configured to output a PWM signal.  You can read about setting them up in section 2.3.8 GPIO Control in the DLPC350 Programmer's Guide. 

Hi again dc,

Yes, the JTAG Flash Programming tool has been released and you can use it to program the parallel flash on your board.  It requires flash memory module identification in the same way that the LightCrafter 4500 GUI does.  Look in the install path for the "FlashDeviceParameters.txt" file to see what devices already exist in there.

To answer your question simply about the pull down resistor tied to ICTSEN and TRSTZ, yes.  These two lines should be tied together and pulled down using a resistor.

The reason you don't see the pull down on TRSTZ in the reference design schematic is that TRSTZ is pulled down using another IC.  ICTSEN isn't connected to TRSTZ because no other devices exist with the DLPC350 and the tri-state for the other lines isn't necessary.  For a generic design, something other than the specific LCr 4500, ICTSEN and TRSTZ should be tied together.

Hi dc,

1)  No, the interface between the DLPC350 and the DMDs it controls is not released.  This is to make sure that the DMDs operate efficiently and provide the best performance possible, while staying within operating conditions.

2) No again, the DLPC350 firmware source is not open source.  There is an API for interfacing with DLPC350 through USB.  You can find that API in the LightCrafter 4500 GUI install directory in a .zip file called "DLPLCR4500_v***_SourceFiles.zip".

Really the combination of DMD and Controller should be seen as a complete chipset/sub-system that can't be separated but can be interfaced with.