Before starting, ensure that all of the following hardware materials are available:

• DLPDLCR230NPEVM (1 ×)
• DLPDLCR230NPEVM Ribbon Cable (1 ×, included with system)
• Raspberry Pi 4B (or compatible)
• microSD card (16GB, or any size compatible with Raspberry Pi 4B)
• microSD card Adapter (for use with PC)
• PC with SD card slot (for writing operating system image)

To begin, the microSD card should be programmed with an installation of Raspbian. An image can be downloaded from the Raspberry Pi website (https://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads/raspberry-pi-os/).

Please consult the Raspberry Pi documentation for information on how to install an operating system image (https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/installation/installing-images/README.md) ⁽¹⁾

Once Raspbian is installed to your SD card, you can log into the device over SSH (https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/remote-access/ssh/). TI recommends updating the internal software of Raspberry PI to the latest version before proceeding.

The software support package is provided on TI.com (https://www.ti.com/product/DLP230NP), and contains a number of important components which are used to configure and operate the Raspberry Pi. These components are as follows:

• Python 3 API Library (containing EVM compatible host I2C commands, as well as Python-compatible I2C drivers)
• Python 3 Example Scripts (implements above API library in example applications such as test pattern cycle, LED test, and more)
• "config.txt" Example File (provides TI-tested video timing configurations for use with the DLPDLCR230NPEVM)

TI recommends configuring the "config.txt" file used by the Raspberry Pi to define video timings first, before proceeding. This file can either be accessed within the Raspberry Pi terminal (with root level access at /boot/config.txt), or by shutting down the Raspberry Pi, removing the SD card, and accessing the SD card contents from a PC. For a quick setup, the "config.txt" provided can be used to overwrite the existing configuration. The elements of the "config.txt" file modified are as follows:

• Initialization of Raspberry Pi 4B GPIO pins (BCM 0-27). These pins are configured to function as inputs on boot, and are reconfigured as outputs once the Python initialization script is executed.
• Initialization of supported function overlays. Functions supported include 18-bit DPI (RGB666), I2C (software-based), SPI (to write to EVM flash device). DPI (video output) must be disabled while using the SPI function, as they share access to common GPIO lines (BCM 8-11).
• Configuration of 1920 × 1080, 60-Hz video output via 18-bit DPI lines (RGB666). This configuration can be modified to tune the input resolution and framerate, within acceptable limits (defined in Section 9.2).

The Raspberry Pi configuration file (located at /boot/config.txt) can be modified either directly with root access, or via the raspi-config utility. Because the configuration settings used by the DLPDLCR230NPEVM do not fit within the typical use-case settings offered by this graphical user interface, it is recommended that the configuration be manually edited for this system. A copy of the example configuration information from "config.txt" is located in the following script. Only the sections of the configuration which are relevant to the DLPDLCR230NPEVM are shown:

####################################################################

# Initialization of supported function overlays.

# Functions supported include 18-bit DPI (RGB666), I2C (software-based), SPI.

# Uncomment some or all of these to enable the optional hardware interfaces

#dtparam=i2c_arm=on

#dtparam=i2s=on dtparam=spi=on

# Configure Raspberry PI for SSH over USB

dtoverlay=dwc2

# Configure I2C on GPIO Pins #22 and #23

dtoverlay=i2c-gpio,i2c-gpio_sda=23,i2c_gpio_scl=22,i2c_gpio_delay_us=2

####################################################################

# Initialization of Raspberry Pi 4B GPIO pins (BCM 0-27).

# Configure DPI on GPIO Pins #0 through #21

gpio=0=op

gpio=0=pn

gpio=1-27=ip

gpio=1-27=pn

# Enable DPI18 Overlay

enable_dpi_lcd=1

display_default_lcd=1

dpi_group=2

dpi_mode=87

####################################################################

# Configuration of 1920 x 1080, 58-60 Hz video output via 18-bit DPI lines (RGB666).

# RGB 666 CFG 1 (MODE 5)

dpi_output_format=458773

# 58 Hz Timings, Works at GPIO Drive Strength 5 to 7

hdmi_timings=1920 0 20 10 10 1080 0 10 10 10 0 0 0 58 0 125000000 3

####################################################################

The full "config.txt" file can be accessed from the SD card using a Microsoft® Windows® or OS X computer. See https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/configuration/config-txt/ for more information on the configuration file /boot/config.txt (and other Raspberry Pi configuration information). For starters, it is recommended to copy from the provided example "config.txt" file provided in the software support package on TI.com as an initial configuration. Modifications to this configuration can be made to support a particular hardware setup of Raspberry Pi.