
ASIA
Japan : Toshiba Corporation today announced the introduction of the
world's first MDDI-compliant LCD controller optimized for cell phones
equipped with high-resolution VGA LCD displays. Dubbed the MDDI LCD
Bridge and designated TC358720XBG, the highly integrated, single-chip
device is well suited for the new generation of advanced multimedia
cell phones with MDDI interfaces, including 3G cellular handsets.
It
has a high-speed serial digital packet host interface that supports
throughputs of up to 400Mbps by using two low-voltage differential
signal pairs. Toshiba will start sample shipments in April 2006. The
company will display the device at the 2006 3GSM World Congress being
held in Barcelona, Spain from February 13-16, 2006.
Toshiba's industry leading
development of the MDDI LCD Bridge demonstrates the company's commitment
to customers building the next generation of high-resolution, dual-LCD-panel
cell phones with MDDI interface requirements. It supports two color
LCD panels from a single controller, uses Toshiba's patented "magic
square algorithm" technology to achieve a 16-million color display,
and employs embedded DRAM to enable a low-power solution and mitigate
the load on the baseband.
The MDDI LCD Bridge takes
cell phone display resolution to the level of high-definition with
support for VGA and W-QVGA LCDs. It optimizes low-power data transfers
within cell phones, including video data transfers, through direct
connection to the MDDI interface of QUALCOMM's Mobile Station ModemTM
(MSMTM) baseband LSI. Its design also integrates 8-megabits of embedded
DRAM to improve color image quality.
Equipped with an RGB interface
plus an MPU interface, the device can control both a primary panel
and a secondary panel. The image data needed to display images on
two panels is stored in the embedded DRAM and only the updated parts
of the display data need to be transferred from the baseband. When
displaying still images, data need not be transferred from the baseband
and this advance reduces the power consumption of the entire cell
phone. The moving-image display function is supported on both the
primary and secondary panels, and provides a mechanism for transferring
image data to match the LCD display refresh timing. With the primary
panel, it is possible to display VGA-size moving images and update
only the locations displaying QVGA-size moving images, such as terrestrial
digital broadcasts. This simplifies and reduces power consumption
from baseband processing.
With the Toshiba "magic
square algorithm", an RGB666 18-bit LCD panel can produce a display
equivalent to that of an RGB888 24-bit LCD panel with up to 16-million
colors. In addition, the algorithm enables display of 8-bit gray scale
images even if the LCD panel only has a 6-bit gray scale capacity.
The chip has independent 8-bit lookup table format gamma correction
circuits for each color. The lookup table format converts 8-bit input
into 8-bit output. This function permits fine adjustments to the brightness,
even in LCD panels with a limited range of tones.
Main Features
- Compatible with the MDDI standard, supporting high-speed data transfer
rates up to 400Mbps, and directly connectible to the MDDI interface
of QUALCOMM's MSM baseband solutions.
- Integrates 8Mb embedded DRAM with a primary frame buffer for the
primary display and a secondary frame buffer for the secondary display
- Display interface supports two panels with a maximum VGA LCD size:
- Supports primary displays up to VGA size with a 60Hz refresh rate:
RGB565, RGB666 format and 16-/18-bit RGB interface displays
- Supports secondary display up to QCIF+ size: RGB565, RGB666 and
RGB888 format, 8-/16-/18-bit MPU interface.
- Has programmable gamma correction and RGB format conversion
- Supports 180-degree rotation and mirroring
- Uses Toshiba's patented "magic square algorithm" technology
to interpolate RGB666 to pseudo RGB888 image data with up to 16 million
colors
- Uses SPI and I2C to control LCD panels and peripheral circuits
- Has PWM control output for adjusting LCD backlight brightness with
two channels enabling independent brightness adjustments of the primary
panel and the secondary panel
- Has up to 10 GPIO ports; the additional pins at the upper clamshell
chassis allow I/O expansion for baseband processors.
About MDDI
The Mobile Display Digital Interface (MDDI) is a serial interface
standard approved by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA).
It provides an interconnect solution between the upper and lower clamshell
in a flip phone, decreasing the number of signals that connect the
digital base band controller with the LCD display and camera. MDDI
is a high-speed solution that supports variable data rates and low-power
consumption.
Pricing and Availability
Samples shipments are scheduled to begin in April 2006 with volume
production planned to start in June 2006. Pricing is 900 yen each
in 10,000-piece quantities.