Microchip Technology AC164127-4 Data Sheet

Graphics Quick Reference Guide

As the color depth and display resolution increase, the 

frame buffer grows. Depending on the size, the frame 

buffer can be stored in the microcontroller RAM, in external 

SRAM or integrated into an external graphics controller.
The table below shows examples of the frame buffer sizes 

required for some popular resolution and color depths.

   

■

PIC24 DA family supports up to 96 KB on chip 

   

■

PIC32 MCUs support up to 128 KB on chip 

   

■

External SRAM can be used for larger frame buffers

   

■

For advanced graphics, external graphics controllers 

have additional frame buffer storage

Applications that benefit from attractive and easy to use 

graphical displays include:
Consumer: Thermostats,  

Cordless Phones, Remote Controls
Home Appliance: Coffee Makers,  

Washing Machines, Ovens
Industrial: Digital Instrument Gauges,  

Storage Controls, Remote Terminals
Portable Medical: Glucometers,  

Blood-Pressure Monitors, Portable ECGs

Microchip offers varying levels of solutions to drive 

everything from simple monochrome LCDs to full color 

WVGA user interfaces.
Graphics support includes the following approaches:

   

■

PIC24F DA integrated graphics controller

   

■

PIC32 controllerless graphics

   

■

Support for PIC® MCU with external graphics controllers

The silicon offering is complemented with powerful, free 

and easy to use graphics library, display designer GUI 

and hardware development kits with flexible interface to 

various glass sizes.

Microchip graphics solutions support various screen sizes 

and colors ranging from small monochrome OLED displays 

up to WVGA displays with vivid color. The table below 

shows the bits per pixel required to represent color.

Mono

Black and White

1

Grayscale

4 shades 

16 shades

2 

4

Color

256 color 

65K colors 

16 million colors

8 

16 

24

1 bpp 

(Mono)

4 bpp 

(16 shades)

8 bpp 

(256 colors)

16 bpp 

(65K colors)

WVGA

800 × 480

7"

48,000

192,000

384,000

768,000

VGA

640 × 480

5.7"

38,400

153,600

307,200

614,400

WQVGA

480 × 272

4.3"

16,320

65,280

130,560

261,120

QVGA

320 × 240

3.2"

9,600

38,400

76,800

153,600

Common for 

OLED

128 × 64

1"–2.7"

1,024

4,096

8,192

16,384

 Internal RAM on PIC24DA or PIC32 MCU   

 External SRAM/PSRAM

Display*

WQVGA 480 × 272

WQVGA 480 × 272

WQVGA 480 × 272

WVGA 800 × 480

Graphics

HW Acceleration: 

Rectangles, Characters, 

Images

DMA on PIC32 + <5 MIPS

HW Acceleration, SD card, 

I/F, JPEG engine

SDRAM, I/F, Alpha-

blending, Picture-in-picture

Frame Buffer

Color Lookup Table + 

96 KB on MCU + Ext 

SRAM/PSRAM

128 KB on MCU + 

Ext SRAM/PSRAM

256 KB on Solomon 

Systech Controller

Ext SDRAM

Core MIPS

16

80

–

–

Power

Better

Good

Good

Good

Cost

$

$

$$

$$$

*Max size at 16 bpp, 60 Hz