Most touchscreen displays aimed to be connected to a development board work through a display interface such as MIPI DSI or LCD RGB (and USB or I2C for touch support), and come with somewhat low resolution such as 800×480 which can be suitable for HMI applications. They also often don’t work with all boards due to the different interfaces used, and there’s no way to easily connect such small display to your computer. Taking those limitations into account, and since most boards and computers come with HDMI and USB ports, Elias Bakken and his team have added HDMI and USB ports to two smartphone displays, and Manga Screen 2 was born.
The two displays – made by Sharp – have the following hardware specifications:
| Big (5.9”) | Small (4.8”) | |
| Resolution | 1920×1080 | 1280×720 |
| FPS (max) | 60 | 57 |
| Color mode | 24-bit | |
| PPI | 376.2 | 307.9 |
| Brightness | 400 cd/m2 | 500 cd/m2 |
| Contrast ratio | 1000:1 | 800:1 |
| Viewing angle | 80 degrees | |
| Power draw (max.) | 600 mA | 520 mA |
| Active area | 129.6 x 72.9 mm | 105.6 x 59.4 mm |
| Weight | ~95 grams | TBD |
| Outline size | 150 x 82 mm | TBD |
| Touch points | 10 | |
They added the electronics to convert HDMI signals to whatever interface the displays use, and a micro USB port for power and the touch screen interface. So those should pretty much be play and plug, and work with Raspberry Pi, ODROID, BeagleBone Black and other boards, as well as your computer, laptop, etc…
The project has launched on Kickstarter with the goal of raising 300,000 NOK (~$37,100 US). Rewards start at ~$83.5 US for the smaller 4.8″ screen, and ~$94 US for the 5.9″ screen. Those are early bird rewards, and retail price should be $99 for both displays? (Maybe a mistake on KS). Shipping adds 85 NOK ($10.5), and delivery is scheduled for October to the big screen, and December for the small one.
Potential projects include home automation interface, standalone Spotify player, pet food dispenser, 3D printer interface, and any project that may benefit from a ~5″ touchscreen display. The promo video demonstrates some of those applications.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1924187374/manga-screen-2/description
Thanks to Nanik for the tip.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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