- A Foreword		Some Things to Remember -

LCDs are rather sensitive little beasties. They are particularly sensitive to being connected backward to power supplies, being stepped on, and other assorted seemingly-obvious things. I mention them because, well, I've either done them or seen them happen. Letting out the magic smoke because you've plugged the power cable in backwards truly sucks, so I feel it's worth a mention.

Each display is different; make absolutely certain what every connection is and what (if anything) goes to it before you begin the installation process.

- Available drivers and supported displays -

The following table is sorted by driver name. No preference implied.

Legend: Type: T=Text, G=Graphical, G(T)=Graphical, text-mode used.

Status:

• broken = Doesn't work, but has been fixed in CVS.
• fully supported = This means that we have displays to test with and datasheets with full protocol description. It does NOT mean that every feature of the display is supported.
• tested = Reported to work

Driver	Supported devices	Type	Connection	Status (as of 0.5.6)
bayrad	BayRAD LCD modules by EMAC, Inc	T	serial
CFontz	CFA-632 and CFA-634 series by Crystalfontz, Inc.	T	serial/USB	Fully supported
CFontzPacket	CFA-533, CFA-631, CFA-633 and CFA-635 by Crystalfontz, Inc.	T	serial/USB	Fully supported
curses	Uses the curses library to draw on PC screen.	T	-	tested
CwLnx	CW12232, CW12832 and CW1602 by CwLinux	G	serial/USB
ea65	AOpen XC Cube-AV EA65	T	serial
EyeboxOne	Eyebox One server by Rightvision / Alcatel-Lucent	T	serial
g15	Logitech G15 keyboard. Requires g15daemon and g15tools.	-	-
glcdlib	Bridge driver for graphlcd graphical display library	-	-
glcd	Generic driver to support graphical displays. Support for LCDs is implemented in connection type (see below).	G	see below
-t6963	T6963 based displays in graphics mode.		parallel	Fully supported
-serdisp	Meta-driver using the serdisplib library. See their web page for a list of supported displays.		-	Tested
-lcdp2usb	Till Harbaum's GLCD2UDB device.		USB	Fully supported
-png	Writes frames to PNG images. Most usefull for testing.		-	Fully supported
glk	Matrix Orbital graphic displays using the GLK and GLC chipset. See User Guide for a list of supported models.	G	serial
hd44780	All displays using HD44780 and compatible controllers (like KS0066, KS0070, KS0076, LC7985, NT3881, SED1278, ST7066)	T	see below
-4bit	HD44780 in 4bit mode		parallel	Fully supported
-8bit	HD44780 in 8bit mode with output		parallel	tested
-winamp	HD44780 in 8bit mode (winamp wiring) with output		parallel	Fully supported
-serialLpt	HD44780 using serial protocol		parallel	tested
-picanlcd	PIC-an-LCD serial device		serial
-lcdserializer	LCD serializer		serial
-los-panel	LCD on Serial panel device		serial
-vdr-lcd	VDR LCD serial device		serial
-vdr-wakeup	VDR-Wakeup module		serial
-pertelian	Pertelian X2040 LCD display		serial
-lis2	VLSystem LIS2 device		USB
-mplay	VLSystem MPlay Blast device		USB
-usblcd	USBLCD device by Adams IT Service		USB
-bwctusb	Controller board by BWCT		USB
-usb4all	The PIC-based USB4all controller.		USB
-lcd2usb	Atmel-based lcd2usb controller board (and compatible) by Till Harbaum.		USB	Fully supported
-usbtiny	Atmel-based USBtiny controller board		USB	tested
-uss720	USS-720 USB-to-IEEE 1284 Bridge		USB
-ftdi	HD44780 connected to FTDI FT2232 or FT245 chips		USB	tested
-i2c	HD44780 connected to I2C bus (Linux only)		I2C	tested
-ethlcd	HD44780 connected to ethlcd device		LAN	(tested)
i2500vfd	Intra2net Intranator 2500 VFD	G	USB
icp_a106	ICP A106 alarm/LCD board	T	serial
imon	Soundgraph iMON VFD, requires Linux kernel module.	T	-
imonlcd	Soundgraph iMON LCD, requires Linux kernel module.	G	-
IOWarrior	HD44780 displays connected to a Code Mercenaries IOWarrior chip.	T	USB
irman	Input only: IrMan IR remote control	-	-
irtrans	IRTrans VFD (e.g. built-in Ahanix MCE303 case), requires IRTrans irserver package	T	-
joy	Input only: Use joystick for input (Linux only)	-	DB15
lb216	Devices using the LB216 chipset from R.T.N. Australia	T	serial
lcdm001	LCDM001 device from kernel concepts	T	serial
lcterm	LCTerm device from Neumark Elektronik	T	serial
lirc	Input only: Use remote controls supported by LIRC as input.	-	-
lis	VLSystem L.I.S MCE 2005 VFD	T	USB
MD8800	VFD in Medion MD8800 computers.	T	USB
mdm166a	Futaba / Targa USB VFD, requires libhid	G	USB	tested
ms6931	MSI-6931 display in MS-9202, MS-9205 and MS-9211 by MSI.	T	serial
mtc_s16209x	MTC_S16209x LCD display by Microtips Technology Inc	T	serial
MtxOrb	Character LCD / VFD series by Matrix Orbital	T	serial	tested
mx5000	Logitech MX5000 keyboards, requires mx5000tools.	-	-
NoritakeVFD	Character VFDs by Noritake itron.	T	-
picolcd	Mini-Box.com PicoLCD 4x20 and PicoLCD 20x2 (OEM)	T	USB
pyramid	Devices built into Pyramid Computer servers.	T	USB	Tested
sdeclcd	SDEC LCD devices in Watchguard FireBox firewall appliances.	T	Parallel
sed1330	Any device using EPSON/SMOS SED1330 or SED1335 LCD controllers	G(T)	Parallel
sed1520	Any device using EPSON/SMOS SED1520 controllers	G	Parallel	Fully supported
serialPOS	POS character-displays using AEDEX emulation protocol	T	serial
serialVFD	Several VFDs made by NEC, Futaba, Samsung, Noritake and IEE. See User Guide for a complete list.	T	serial/parallel
shuttleVFD	VFDs in Shuttle XPC cases.	T	USB
sli	SLI-OEM from Wirz Electronics	T	serial
stv5730	STV5730A on-screen display board by Adams IT Service	T	parallel
SureElec	LCD controller boards by Sure Electronics	T	USB	(tested)
svga	Bridge driver to use libsvga to draw on PC screen.	-	-
t6963	Any device using T6963 chipset.	G(T)	parallel	Fully supported
text	Output screen content as text to console	-	-	tested
tyan	Tyan GS10 and GS12 series barebones	T	serial
ula200	ULA200 controller board by ELV	T	USB
vlsys_m428	VLSystem VFD/IR combination in the "Moneual MonCaso 320" case.	T	USB	(tested)
xosd	Bridge driver to use libxosd to draw on X screen.	-	-

- Connecting displays -

Each display has two basic needs: power supply, and data supply. Both serial and USB displays can be connected to a PC with standard cables; the only real trick is making an in-PC installation look good.

Whether you are mounting the display with a manufacturer's mounting kit or installing it in your system's case yourself, the display needs to be physically mounted where it will not come in contact with stray power cables or other sources of unwanted electricity.

Connecting the power supply is usually straightforward, typically involving a modified PC power cable for 5V or 12V internally mounted displays, or by building (or buying) an external power brick for displays that sit outside the box.

Connecting displays to the parallel port usually requires that you build your own cabling. For those we provide information which pins to connect in the LCDproc User's Guide, see the documentation.

- Displays		Take your pick -

- CrystalFontz		http://www.crystalfontz.com -

CrystalFontz displays require 5V power. A standard PC power cable can be easily modified to power the display. Refer to this PDF file for a load of details.

Many thanks to Brent Crosby for this information..

CrystalFontz is now having USB version of CF632/4 LCD and those are supported by LCDproc starting from version 0.4.4. Wayne Wylupski made the necessary modification in the driver for this and also created a Howto CrystalFontz USB to give you more information.

- Matrix Orbital		http://www.matrixorbital.com/ -

WARNING!

We nor Matrix Orbital shall be held responsible for anything you manage to do to your system whilst following these instructions. Installing the LCD is very simple, but it is also very trivial to violently blow something up if you don't pay attention during the installation.

So don't sue us -- we warned you, and stuff.

The LCD requires a 5V power supply and a DB9 connection. I'll leave it up to you to figure out how to get one of your serial ports connected to the display, but I'll help you out in the power department.

Buy, borrow, or steal a 3.5" floppy drive power cable. You will need this for powering your display off of your computers power supply. Below is a diagram of what the floppy drive connector should look like, there are two ways to do it according to what model of display you bought. The first is the 5-volt model limited to just +5v so the power supply from your computer works really great for this. The second is the wide voltage models which take +6v - +15v. Again the computer power supply is great for this, but you have to use the +12v wires because +5v will not work with these displays. Check out the below diagram for a visual reference.

Once you've gotten this connector assembled, connect it to the display so that the red wire feeds the clearly marked +5V pin and the black wire feeds the also clearly marked GND (ground) pin. Turn on machine. Smile as you see the display tell you what BIOS version it has. Assuming you also connected the serial cable, you can now run LCDproc (see the README) on it.

- Cwlinux		from a linux embedded company -

Hey, does this thing look good or what ! Cwlinux produces this module.

- Pyramid LCD		Used in appliance-systems built by Pyramid -

This display is used in appliance-systems built by Pyramid. Get more information about this LCD. The LCD is 2x16 chars, includes a 4-key keypad and 3 or 9 LEDs: a power LED, one for HDD activity, the others (1 or 7) are controllable by software. It is connected to the system via USB (cable included) and can be built into the front of a case or mounted in 5.25" bays.

- BWCT USB converters		small and slim converters -

Bernd Walter Computer Technology sells converters from USB to HD44780-type LCD displays. The converters, which are really tiny and allow the display contrast to be controlled by software, are sold with LCD displays and without in case you want to use your own display.

- Code Mercenaries IOWarrior		LCDs and more on USB -

Code Mercenaries build a series of universal USB converter chips named IOWarrior. Besides being able to drive HD44780 compatible displays the chips in the IOWarrior family offer various other functions such as controlling a matrix of up to 8x32 LEDs, an interface to the I²C bus, a decoder for RC5 infrared signals ...
In order to get you started quickly they also offer starter kits with all necessary parts included for initial testing.

- Pertelian		USB LCDs -

ForeSight Systems produces the Pertelian LCD, a fully-enclosed USB connected display that can be driven by the Pertelian software or hooked up to LCDproc without the need of any modifications.