FTDI EVE Video Controller

[westfw]

Has anyone experiemented with the FTDI "EVE" (Embedded Video Engine) chips?  These are small chips with internal memory that implement a fancy object/sprite oriented GUI display, designed to be driven by smallish systems over SPI, and to drive modern AM LCD displays of appropriate resolution.  (nbits RGB + Sync + Clocking output)

I'm particularly curious about driving more legacy displays: if you only care about B&W, can you set up a simple resistor or two from one of the color bits and get NTSC video?
What about those B&W LCD displays that show up on the surplus market so often?

Are there any forums where the FTDI chips in general get substantial discussion (TECHNICAL discussion!)?   Their documentation in general is a bit weak, especially when it comes to their newer and more programmable chips.

[bktemp]

You can't drive passive LCDs, it only supports TFT LCDs, but you should be able to get B&W PAL/NTSC video signals or VGA output using a DAC if the resolution is supported.

I tried the FT800, but the object list is quite different from the traditional framebuffer approach. That makes it difficult to understand how everything works, because you can't change a single pixel or simply add a letter to a text string, instead you have to modify the list. It takes some time to get used to it, but it is quite powerful for a single chip graphics controller/video processor.

[obiwanjacobi]

I came across this chip when researching my Z80 retro project (video memory discussion). I think the Gameduino also uses it. Perhaps just experiment?

I seriously consider it for my retro project so let  us/me know what you discover 

[igendel]

I had a short encounter once* with EVE (more accurately, with an integrated "Arduino"/TFT-LCD/EVE module). The Arduino-like library FTDI provided was a mess. Unfortunately I have no information about compatibility to other displays.

* http://www.idogendel.com/en/archives/122