Where to source LCD module

[Wilson__]

While the top 10 distributors can sell you practically any chip, some popular parts are stocked to million pieces, they seem not stocking LCD module.  Why?  Screen are practically on many/most end products.

Any good and reliable sources you know for small batch of color LCD module, 320x240 pixels, ST7789 chip, SPI 4 wires with proper documentation and factory data sheet?  ebay has many no-brand boards (meeting those specification) that are good for hobby but not for serious paid work.

EDIT: add photo

Many thanks

[wraper]

https://www.tme.eu/en/details/dem240320e1tth-pw/tft-displays/display-elektronik/dem-240320e1-tth-pw/
https://www.lcsc.com/search?q=st7789&s_z=n_st7789

[SMTech]

I think the simple answer is because there are too many, they change too often and in volume the manufacturers murder their margins they are super happy to work direct or have specialist distribution.

So you find Midas/Winstar/Raystar etc on Farnell/RS/Rapid

But if you want a good price, or more than 10 or an alphanumeric display with 6-o-clock viewing angle not 12 you have to go the the representative. Odds are high at this point you will get told 12-14 weeks... but that really depends on how common your requirement is and the price could easily be a 1/3 of the best Farnell would manage. These routes also open up new options, we wanted a high contrast low bleed alphanumeric display recently but didn't have the budget for OLED, by the agent talking to the factory we got an unlisted VATN display essentially custom for us

Plus opto for Winstar
Midas for midas (shock)
Solsta for Raystar
Easby for Raystar and some others not on the line card.

sadly plenty of others

[ajb]

I've bought lots of displays from here, they've been great for quantities from singles to thousands: https://www.buydisplay.com/

[SMTech]

I've bought lots of displays from here, they've been great for quantities from singles to thousands: https://www.buydisplay.com/

Us too, very efficient. Not to the extent we've tested how they sort something going wrong tho' and unlike choosing a UK distributor - no credit account.

[Wilson__]

Which factories are making TFT colour display in China?  I search Chinese web for "top starred supplier".  Web page blog was 10 years old and missing one word in the title bar of factory name.  Are sellers and mass-volume factory buyers all know each other and no web advertisement needed???

[Wilson__]

display with 6-o-clock viewing angle not 12 you have to go the the representative.

How viewing angle works for modern LCD graphical display (says 240x320 pixels)? 

I read some spec says same LCD and be software setup for landscape or portrait.   I looked at my phone and VA computer monitor. They are wide angle viewing. My old TV are a bit faded color when you are 30 degrees off centre.  My egg timer mono segment display are narrow angle viewing.

[langwadt]

I've bought lots of displays from here, they've been great for quantities from singles to thousands: https://www.buydisplay.com/

we used some 7" from then and we had to test run them all for a while to sort out those (quite a few of them) that quickly got burn in and fading colors

[Fire Doger]

The best place to find tft manufacturers from east is at embedded world in Germany.
Online search won't give you much results, even their printed catalogs doesn't have all their products.
You can find a list of exhibitors here: https://www.embedded-world.de/en/exhibitors-products/find-exhibitors

To choose LCD we send mass email to everyone, we collect datasheets and we get samples for a model that is available to most of them without customization.
If the quality is good on 2-3 manufacturers it's a pass.

*You should also ask if they are tier 1 manufacturer or they only do the assembly.
But 320x240 is jellybean, everyone will have a couple variants with that resolution.

[SMTech]

display with 6-o-clock viewing angle not 12 you have to go the the representative.

How viewing angle works for modern LCD graphical display (says 240x320 pixels)? 

I read some spec says same LCD and be software setup for landscape or portrait.   I looked at my phone and VA computer monitor. They are wide angle viewing. My old TV are a bit faded color when you are 30 degrees off centre.  My egg timer mono segment display are narrow angle viewing.

We buy more character LCDs than graphical TFT's of the type you are looking for which is where this applies* but you should find a significant suppplier/manufacturer overlap and other more applicable features come into play instead like colours, brightness, response, backlight leakage, burn in or ghosting. For Char displays the various types change the performance drastically, certain backlight, displaymode and polarisation combinations don't work. 

*A HiFi unit for example is probably  lower than the user, so 6-o-clock polarisation looks like hot garbage. An industrial control is probably right in front of you and it doesn't matter. An industrial end user, just wants a readable display.. a consumer has been spoilt by how good their phone is and wants a modern high contrast, high res, low leakage display even if they barely look at it.

[Wilson__]

even if they barely look at it.

Those are consumers.  They feel good when others look at it and admire the things cost like a very old car

[mariush]

I just linked to a display today ... 320x240 display with that controller, over 1000 pcs : https://www.lcsc.com/product-detail/LCD-Screen_HS-HS20HS072RX_C5329582.html

it's only i2c though.

You can go browse  https://www.lcsc.com/products/LCD-Screen_11142.html and see what other displays are available

[Wilson__]

I just linked to a display today ... 320x240 display with that controller, over 1000 pcs

The HS brand seems the 'only' brand in low (compare to chip in 10k, 100k and a few millions) stock in LCSC. May you share how is the 1000 pcs have been going?  Are you just received them for initial test  or they have been running fine on manufactured products and have been running in the field with low failure rate.

[Wilson__]

1.  Looking at data sheets for 320 x 240 "LCD, driver-chip and backlight assembly", seem ST7789xxx (xxx is about half dozen variants) is very common.  ILI9xxx is also popular and slightly more expensive. 

Any experience on difference of these two chips?

2. Any idea on the "LCD panel" manufacturer?  Who is good, fair and room-for-improvement? 

Is it true that there is no "really bad" LCD manufacturers due to mass-market force will drive them out?   

TFT https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TFT_LCD is making transistors on glass.  Does it meant there is a minimum technical threshold or else yield rate will be low and drive "really bad" manufacturers out of the market?

[Smokey]

https://www.buydisplay.com/

parts in stock, ebay store for 1 off, support, long term availability.
They made me a custom captouch glass front only $200 NRE.  This was a couple years ago.

[Wilson__]

For 2 to 2.4 inches 320 x 240 TFT LCD colour screen, are they all made in China nowadays?

Any idea on names of actual manufacturing companies?  Yes, there are a lot of distributor and reseller.

[thm_w]

You can find some manufacturers listed on LCSC, eg: https://www.lcsc.com/brand-detail/13150.html?s_z=n_lcd
Probably a ton of shops exist. For the small displays most is China, but Taiwan and Japan would still make some.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_flat_panel_display_manufacturers