DLPC3479 Firmware v8.1.1 Release Notes

March 14, 2022

Table of Contents

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• Overview
• Supported Features
• Updates in this release
• Known Limitation
• Technical Support and Product Updates

Overview

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These are the release notes for the following firmware image file:

• Firmware Version: 8.1.1
• Embedded Software Version: 4.4.0
• Generated from DLP Composer Version: 13.13
• DMD: DLP4710LC
• Controller: DLPC3479
• PMIC: DLPA3005

Configuration Settings

• I²C Address: 0x36
• DMD Pin Mapping: 2
• Rlim value: 9mΩ
• Light Control Sequence Database Version: 0.1.10

Supported Features

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• Light Control
• Internal Pattern Streaming Mode: - Trigger-In/Free-running modes (Mono 1 Bit/8 Bit, RGB 1 Bit/8 Bit, Vertical + Horizontal Pattern Generation, Pattern Invert)
• External Pattern Streaming Mode (Mono 1 Bit/8Bit, RGB 1 Bit/8Bit)
• Zero dark time external pattern display for illumination time less than 400 uSec
• Splash Patterns (Mono 1 Bit/ 8 Bit)


• Display
• External video input
• IntelliBright™ video processing algorithms
• Splash Screens
• Source frame rates supported - 0 to 123 HZ
• Four 2D looks (cool, medium, warm, and other) and one 3D look


• Supported pattern timings in Sequence Database v0.1.10:


• Internal Pattern Mode Timings:
  
  

  Pattern Type	Sequence Index	Exposure Time Range (us)	Sequence Min Pre-Exposure Dark Time (us)	Sequence Min Post-Exposure Dark Time (us)
  1-bit Monochrome	18	200 - 399	171	31
  	17	400 - 799	171	31
  	16	800 - 799	171	31
  	15	1800 - 3799	171	31
  	14	3800 - 7600	171	31
  1-bit RGB	25	600 - 1799	171	31
  	24	1800 - 3799	171	31
  	23	3800 - 7600	171	31
  8-bit Monochrome	20	2084 - 4168	171	31
  	21*	1677 - 2083	171	31
  8-bit RGB	22	6512 - 13024	171	31

  
  

  *Sequence 21 is a special sequence that displays 7-bit patterns. The least significant bit of the 8-bit pattern data will be ignored.

  Notes:

  • For internal patterns, there will be an additional variable delay of ~3000 us at the beginning of every pattern set.
  • Exposure times shorter than the above values are not possible. Longer exposure times will operate with decreased timing accuracy and behavior is not guaranteed.
  • Shorter dark times are not possible. Longer dark times can be used. The maximum possible dark times for a desired exposure time are:
    • T_{max pre-exposure dark time}  = ( 27306us + t_{sequence min pre-exposure dark time} ) * (T_{desired exposure} / t_{sequence minimum exposure})
    • T_{max post-exposure dark time} = ( 27306us + t_{sequence min post-exposure dark time} ) * (T_{desired exposure} / t_{sequence minimum exposure})
  
  
• External Pattern Streaming Timings:
  
  

  Pattern Type	Sequence Index	Exposure Time Range (us)	Sequence Min Pre-Exposure Dark Time (us)	Sequence Min Post-Exposure Dark Time (us)
  1-bit Monochrome	6	200 - 400	0*	0*
  	5	200 - 399	171	31
  	4	400 - 799	171	31
  	3	800 - 1799	171	31
  	2	1800 - 3799	171	31
  	1	3800 - 7600	171	31
  1-bit RGB	11	451 - 799	171	31
  	10	800 - 1799	171	31
  	9	1800 - 3799	171	31
  	8	3800 - 7600	171	31
  8-bit Monochrome	7	2555 - 5110	171	31
  8-bit RGB	0	10912 - 21824	171	31

  
  

  *Sequence 6 is a special sequence with zero pre-exposure and post-exposure dark times, but there will be a dark time equivalent to the exposure time of one pattern at the beginning of every frame.

  Notes:

  • Exposure times shorter than the above values are not possible. Longer exposure times will operate with decreased timing accuracy and behavior is not guaranteed.
  • Shorter dark times are not possible. Longer dark times can be used. The maximum possible dark times for a desired exposure time are:
    • T_{max pre-exposure dark time}  = ( 6553us + t_{sequence min pre-exposure dark time} ) * (T_{desired exposure} / t_{sequence minimum exposure})
    • T_{max post-exposure dark time} = ( 6553us + t_{sequence min post-exposure dark time} ) * (T_{desired exposure} / t_{sequence minimum exposure})
  
  
• Splash Pattern Mode Timings:
  
  

  Pattern Type	Sequence Index	Exposure Time Range (us)	Sequence Min Pre-Exposure Dark Time (us)	Sequence Min Post-Exposure Dark Time (us)
  1 -bit Monochrome	13	793 - 1744	171	31
  8-bit Monochrome	12	7737 - 17034	171	31

  
  

  Notes:

  • The maximum pattern period (pre-exposure + exposure + post-exposure) cannot exceed 2184us for 1-bit splash patterns and 17476us for 8-bit splash patterns.
  
  
• The listed minimum dark times are applicable for the minimum exposure time of each sequence. The dark times scale along with the exposure time as per the following equation:
  • T_{min required pre-exposure dark time}  = t_{sequence min pre-exposure dark time} * (T_{desired exposure} / t_{sequence minimum exposure})
  • T_{min required post-exposure dark time} = t_{sequence min post-exposure dark time} * (T_{desired exposure} / t_{sequence minimum exposure})


• I²C command 0x9D (Read Validate Exposure Time) returns the minimum required pre-exposure and post-exposure dark times for a specific pattern type and given exposure time.



Updates in this release

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• Firmware will support the systems with the Light Control DMDs (DLP4710LC) only



Known Limitations

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• Power Down Risk during Power Up - User need to wait until after HOST_IRQ has been de-asserted to power down the system.
• External Streaming - Signals/Patterns Incorrect in case of VSYNC jitter.
• Cycling between Pause and Resume for the pattern streaming leads to artifacts.
• Unable to operate DLPC3479 projector after sending wrong splash input image size.
• When switching from internal pattern mode to splash pattern mode make sure that the internal pattern display is stopped.
• While using the update firmware feature of GUI, make sure that size of splash image are as small as possible and prefer selecting RGB color space if the images are of PNG format.
• LC splash pattern dispaly is only supported in RGB format.
• Only RGB888 input source format supported in External Pattern Streaming Mode.
• Unsupported Features:
  • Keystone
  • Sub-image position
  • Image rotation
  • Image Freeze on Splash Screen
  • DSI/BT656 Input
  • CPU Interface
  • LABB with Ambient Light Sensor support
  • Shallow Gradient
  • White Point Correction
  • I²C at 400KHz
  • Flashless configuration
  • Idle mode
  • Power management, clock gating and scaling
  • CAIC is not supported in LC, system will not boot up in LC mode with CAIC enabled



Technical Support and Product Updates

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• Thermistor Processing Documentation

• Using System Temperature via I2C commands:
• Read System Temperature (0xd6)
• Output: 2 Bytes
• Byte 1: LSB
• Byte 2: MSB
• Note: The temperature of the thermistor is read in degrees Celsius in a magnitude of 10 times the reading of thermistor. Bit 11 (the most significant bit) denotes the sign temperature. A '0' means a positive temperature, while '1' denotes a negative temperature.
• Example #1: b(11:0) = 000110101010; 426d / 10d = 42.6degC
• Example #2: b(11:0) = 100110101010; 426d / 10d = -42.6degC
• Note: This temperature reading will need to be calibrated per the design and specific thermsitor chosen of custom boards. Offset to determine the true temperature of the thermistor reading. Texas Instruments DLP hardware uses Murata's NCP15WF104F03RC.

• Additional Links

• DLPC3479 Software Programmer's Guide
• DLP Products® E2E Forums
• DLP Products® - Getting Started
• DLP Pico Products overview
• DLPC3479 Controller
• DLP4710LC DMD