fpga4fun.com

I'm really excited about using FPGA's and want to get started as soon as I can.

I have several really nice LCD panels from AllElectronics that seem to be nothing more than a controller-less display.

So the first project I would like to build is a LCD graphics/charater controler for them. And later move on to some really nice Laptop LCDs that I have (old and new, if I can figure out their connections!)

So I'm wondering, A) is the Plutto II board a good choice for getting started AND the LCD controller??

And B) the Getting Started project LCD Controller, is that ALL of that is needed to get "a" controller going or do those f pages show only parts of what you need to get going??

To me it looks pretty sparse, like something is being left out. Seems to be "too" simple if you know what I mean.

And would it be a good idea to interface video RAM to a FPGA to interface into a LCD (1024x768 color) or find one that has enough RAM in it, or use a dedicated video controler for that??

The AllElectronics are small black and white, 256x128 or 648x480, that range, but very nice displays)

After that, I'm really looking at interfacing that scope project with LabView, and building a decent logic analyzer (again with LabView). And after that, the world is mine!!!

Thanks a lot for your help.

Pluto-II is fine although you should also consider a board that has some kind of external memory (SRAM, SDRAM...) to hold a bitmap that you send to the LCD, like Xylo-EM. No need for a dedicated controller with an FPGA (since the FPGA can be used as such). A controller would only be needed with a microcontroller. No need for special video RAM either.

Some LCD requires some weird voltages, so you might have to design a special controller for your LCDs.