First full automotive LCD video controller with MIPI-CSI2 input

The controller also supports a 150MHz single-channel OpenLDI interface, and a variety of video interfaces and LCD panel sizes with resolutions up to 1920 x 1080. The RAA278842 is suitable for automotive Central Infotainment Displays (CIDs) and head units, instrument clusters, Head-Up Displays (HUDs), and mirror replacement display applications that are essential for the growing needs of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).

“The RAA278842 LCD video controller helps automotive system manufacturers develop versatile and reliable display systems that provide superior HMI graphics for analogue and digital video content,” said Niall Lyne, Senior Director, Automotive Mixed-Signal/Power and Video, Renesas Electronics. “Our strong heritage in video signal processing for backup cameras along with highly differentiated new technology is valued by automakers and Tier-1 suppliers worldwide.”

The RAA278842 LCD video controller has 10-bit per colour processing built into the image enhancement engine to provide near-zero latency, high quality video. Its integrated video diagnostics detects if the incoming video is frozen or corrupted and can provide a direct path for the rear camera video to be displayed on the LCD.

This significantly improves rear camera display reliability, virtually eliminating the possibility of a software related problem causing the rear camera video to be displayed incorrectly or not at all. And because some application processors take several seconds to boot up (depending on the OS), the RAA278842 can display the camera image on an LCD in less than 500 milliseconds, thereby addressing the fast boot requirement of many OEMs.

The RAA278842 with MIPI-CSI2 output and RAA278843 with traditional BT.656 output work with the system’s main processor to monitor the camera and the video data coming from the SoC or GPU. After vehicle ignition, while the instrument cluster boots up, the RAA27884x controller can display the carmaker’s logo or live camera video.

The controller’s on-screen display feature can also simulate traditional tell-tale warning lamp checks in an instrument cluster application. Both controllers enable compliance with the FMVSS-111 safety law requiring the blind spot area behind the vehicle is displayed in less than two seconds after the driver places the vehicle in reverse gear.