The Intel® Embedded Graphics Drivers (IEGD) are developed specifically for embedded Intel® Architecture-based platforms, offering a flexible alternative to drivers designed for the desktop, mobile and MID market segments. IEGD offers Intel's embedded customers extended life support that correlates with the extended life support of embedded silicon products. IEGD differentiates itself through its configuration and support of unique embedded market segment requirements, including an unprecedented support of advanced display combinations and non-standard display dimensions (Intel® Dynamic Display Configuration Technology) and embedded operating systems such as Microsoft XP Embedded* and Windows Embedded CE*, while delivering comparable 3D performance to that of the Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) graphics solution, and performance advantages to open source graphics solutions. Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers have also been validated on specific Linux* distributions and Microsoft Windows* operating systems.

Intel’s plan of record (POR) and the Intel® Embedded Graphics Drivers, EDI Video Driver, and Video BIOS User’s Guide lists which Linux distributions are proactively validated for a given chipset. If your “favorite Linux” distribution is listed in the POR and/or user’s guide then the IEGD driver should work. However, in the event the driver does not work perfectly on that distribution you should work with the “favorite Linux” distribution company or your own in-house Linux experts to determine root causes and debug any issues.

If your “favorite Linux” distribution is not listed in the POR and/or user’s guide then the chance of the driver working is lower. You can consider trying to install IEGD on a system with the help of your “favorite Linux” Linux distributor. However, a technical solution may not be possible.

To better understand how the IEGD Linux driver works (and how different kernel versions will affect the driver), you need to know how the IEGD Kernel Module (IKM) module is built. Currently, the install.sh script detects a limited set of known or validated Linux distributions and makes a copy of the relevant kernel headers for AGPGART and DRM. Stay tuned for a future white paper discussing the drivers’ Linux integration methods.

No, only the following chipsets are supported with IEGD:

• Intel® System Controller Hub US15W/US15WP/WPT chipset
• Intel® Q45/G41/G45 Express chipset
• Intel® GM45/GL40/GS45 Express chipset
• Intel® Q35 Express chipset
• Intel® GME965 Express chipset
• Mobile Intel® GLE960/GME965 Express chipset
• Mobile Intel® 945GME/945GSE/945G chipset
• Intel® Q965 Express chipset
• Mobile Intel® 915GME/915GV Express chipset
• Mobile Intel® 910GMLE Express chipset

Further details on chipsets supported by IEGD can be found in the Intel® Embedded Graphic Drivers’ Product Brief found here: http://edc.intel.com/Software/Downloads/IEGD/.

If the chipset or operating system is an older one, there may be an older IEGD version that supports it. If the chipset is in the same family as one currently listed in the IEGD user’s guide as being supported, please contact an Intel representative to discuss your requirements for a different operating system to be supported.

The Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers offer Intel's embedded customers multi-year extended life support that correlates with the extended life support of on-roadmap Embedded and Communications Group silicon products. This roadmap is available by contacting your Intel representative. Technical, production status, and other relevant information on Intel's embedded products can be found on Intel's Embedded Design Center (edc.intel.com) or on Intel’s product information page (ark.intel.com).

No, the Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers were designed so that Intel graphics chipset customers would not need access to the source code.

Roadmaps and future releases are forward looking plans subject to adjustments for new technologies and customer/market requests. Contact your Intel representative for this information.

The Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers were designed to enable the customer to configure the driver to support the platform. The Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers can support many flat panel configurations with custom timings through the Detailed Timing Descriptor (DTD) page of the configuration editor (CED) without driver changes.

The Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers achieve EDID-like support for EDID-less panels via configuration (using CED), custom-created Detailed Timing Descriptor (DTD) timings and configuration files. More information on how to generate correct IEGD drivers for LVDS panels is available in the Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers User's Guide.

The Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers support multiple generations of Intel chipsets over the extended support span of Embedded Intel Architecture-based platforms, from the Mobile Intel® 910GMLE Express chipset forward to the Intel® System Controller Hub US15W chipset, based on the Embedded Intel® Architecture roadmap. However, you must build a driver for each specific chipset you are using and you may need to update to a later version of IEGD to be able to build a driver for a newer chipset.

The earliest chipset with integrated graphics that is supported by the Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers is the Intel® 815 chipset. The last release that supports the Intel 815 chipset was the Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers release 5.1, which remains available for download. The last release that supports the Intel® 845 chipset was the Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers release 6.1, which remains available for download. The last release that supports the Intel® 852/855 chipset was the Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers release 8.1, which also remains available for download. Please use the most recent release (as of October 2009, the most recent release of IEGD is 10.2) of the Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers for these Embedded Intel chipsets with integrated graphics:

• Intel® System Controller Hub US15W/US15WP/WPT chipset
• Intel® Q45/G41/G45 Express chipset
• Intel® GM45/GL40/GS45 Express chipset
• Intel® Q35 Express chipset
• Mobile Intel® GME965 Express chipset
• Mobile Intel® GLE960/GME965 Express chipset
• Intel® 945GME/945GSE/945G Express chipset
• Intel® Q965 Express chipset
• Mobile Intel® 915GME/915GV Express chipset
• Mobile Intel® 910GMLE Express chipset

Yes, this is possible. The Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers provide the capability using the Configuration Editor to configure both the OS level driver and the Video BIOS with the same settings. Although the Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers will utilize settings of the embedded Video BIOS, the OS-level drivers are not dependent on the Video BIOS settings. This allows users who may not have the ability to update their system firmware/system BIOS to install and use the Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers with their operating system. Note that the Configuration Editor will not create settings for the standard desktop Video BIOS.

If you require specific capability in the standard desktop Video BIOS in conjunction with the Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers, use Intel's BIOS Modification Program (BMP) tool to configure the standard desktop Video BIOS and CED (Configuration EDitor) to configure the IEGD driver. Contact your Intel representative for more details.

Although not always required, it is generally recommended to upgrade both the VBIOS and driver when an update occurs. Intel tests using only the latest of both VBIOS and driver so there may be unexpected results. Often there are code changes that you will want. Sometimes there are new features that require both to be updated. If after updating only the driver you see a negative change in operation, it is recommended that you then update the platform to the newer VBIOS as well. This will allow you to verify that the negative operation of the driver was or was not related to some interaction with the older VBIOS.

No. IEGD operates with the IEGD VBIOS but the standard GMA desktop drivers are dependent on the settings in the GMA Video BIOS and must use the associated GMA Video BIOS. The Intel Embedded VBIOS will work only with the Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers.

Yes, Intel provides Linux and Windows CE codecs for evaluation purposes only with IEGD.

No. There is no plan currently for IEGD to support Linux UNR Ubuntu.

Detailed information on supported graphics features, display outputs and panels is available in the Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers User's Guide. For an overview, please reference the Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers Technical Product Specification for Software (TPS). The Product Specifications include a complete listing of supported features, and can be found on the Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers website. Additional detailed information is available from your Intel representative.

Go to: www.intel.com/go/iegd and you will find links there to download the latest software product feature matrix, user’s guide, and product brief.

The Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers have run-time APIs that allow for configuration changes in both Windows and Linux versions of the driver. Intel can also provide on request an IEGD API Reference Manual or sample code that utilizes these APIs. Contact your Intel representative to request details.

The IEGDGUI requires a particular font, Sans Serif(8) (sanserife.fon). The San Serif fonts need to be copied to the font folder in Control Panel. These fonts can be copied from a Windows XP system or obtained from MicroSoft*. The required fonts are:

• serife_fon
• seriff_fon
• sserife_fon
• sseriff_fon

Please make sure that the fonts listed above are in the fonts folder of Control Panel on the Windows XP Embedded* system.

For the Intel® System Controller Hub US15W chipset, an EPOG driver (Embedded Pre-OS Graphics driver) has been included along with Moblin-In-Vehicle Infotainment (8/19/09) support. The Moblin IVI improvements include repackaging IEGD Kernel Module (IKM) to support ease of installation with this Moblin 2 distribution:

• Aug. 19, 2009 (Kernel 2.6.31, X-Server 1.6.3)

Version 10.2 of the Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers also updates support for Windows CE 6.0 to the QFE update (June 2009) as released by Microsoft. Additional Windows CE 6.0 capability (DDSCAPS_OWNDC) has been added in conjunction with support for the Windows CE DXTransform functions as described in these Microsoft Knowledge Base entries: #KB948128 and #KB946657.

For all chipsets, the following capabilities have been added:

• Support June 2009 Windows CE 6.0 QFE update
• Support additional Windows CE 6.0 capability (DDSCAPS_OWNDC)

For the Intel® System Controller Hub US15W chipset, the following capabilities were added to IEGD version 10.1:

• Firmware Update specifically focused on
  • Increasing stability and performance
  • Supporting playback of simultaneous multiple H.264 streams
  • Enhanced power management by ensuring the decode engine is powered off when system is in idle state.
• Improved Video Decode playback performance
• Windows CE CPU utilization improvement > 25% with MPEG2
• Moblin 2.0 “lite” support with Compositing*
• Transparent Overlay for Linux/Windows CE
• Performance improvements in 2D and 3D applications

For all chipsets, the following capabilities were added to IEGD version 10.1:

• IKM improvements to be more kernel agnostic
• Linux Installer for Fedora 7 (excluding US15W)
• Screen Rotation enhancement without inversion (Windows CE)
• Additional Operating Systems:
  • XP SP3 replaces SP2
  • XP Embedded Standard replaces XPe SP2
  • Fedora 10 driver support

Multiple locations are available to obtain this technical information:

• www.intel.com/go/iegd – Contains links to download the latest software, Intel® Embedded Graphics Drivers Feature Matrix, EFI Video Driver, and Video BIOS User's Guide, and Product Brief for the Intel® Embedded Graphic Drivers.
• http://edc.intel.com/Software/Downloads/IEGD/ – Contains links for IEGD Drivers, an electronic FAQ, a downloadable FAQ document. Additional information can be found on the Download Now, Frequently Asked Questions, and Overview tabs.
• edc.intel.com – Search on the keyword “graphics” (in field in upper-right corner)
• Premier.intel.com (QuAD) – Contains a link for the IEGD 10.x Specification Update (Errata), however the site requires a login and password.
• Premier.intel.com – Contains links for the latest software Product Feature Matrix, Intel® Embedded Graphics Drivers, EFI Video Driver, and Video BIOS User’s Guide, and Product Brief for customers who have a QuAD account.

Intel supports our customers through the traditional Intel® Premier Support mechanism via the QuAD application (requires Login and password) along with a network of distributors and direct sales staff and field applications engineers.

Questions may also be directed to forums on edc.intel.com.

UEFI stands for Unified Extensible Firmware Interface. UEFI is a replacement for Legacy System BIOS and is flexible, fast, and efficient and has no driver size constraints. The UEFI Pre-boot Firmware architecture can either be 32-bit/64-bit/IA64. There is no binary compatibility. CSM (Compatibility Support Module) is used to boot legacy operating systems and operate with legacy Option ROMs.

IEGD supports the EFI driver, which gets merged into the UEFI system Pre-boot Firmware. The EFI driver supports fast boot capability.

No. The GOP driver is a replacement for legacy video BIOS and enables the use of UEFI Pre-boot Firmware without Compatibility Support Module (CSM). GOP driver can be 32 bit/64-bit/IA64 with no binary compatibility. UEFI Pre-boot Firmware architecture (32-/64-bit) must match the GOP driver architecture (32-/64-bit). IEGD GOP driver can either be Fast Boot (speed optimized and platform specific) or generic (platform agnostic for selective platforms).

Here is a quick comparison between GOP and video BIOS:

• GOP - No 64 KByte limit, 32-bit protected mode, No need for CSM, Speed optimized (Fast Boot) The UEFI Pre-boot Firmware architecture (32-/64-bit) must match the GOP driver.
• Video BIOS – 64 KByte limit, 16-bit execution, CSM is needed with UEFI system Firmware, performance inferior to GOP CSM, The vBIOS works with both 32- and 64-bit architectures.

CED is a Windows XP-compatible Graphical User Interface “point and click” application configuration editor for the Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers. It replaces the more cumbersome and manual PCF configuration method of configuring and building IEGD. It helps make setting up and building the various driver elements including VBIOS much easier. It replaces the PCF/PCF2IEGD configuration process. Online help and logically grouped features, plus error checking assure your configuration is right the first time built.

The Configuration EDitor (CED) allows easier pre-installation configuration and generation of the drivers and VBIOS.

Note: Although CED can be used to build IEGD drivers for any target operating systems listed below, the CED application runs only under Windows XP on the host platform.

• Windows XP* (SP3), Windows XP Embedded* (SP3), WEPOS
• Windows CE* 5.0, Windows Embedded CE* 6.0 R3
• Moblin 2.1 Linux*, Wind River Linux*, Red Hat Linux*
• Fedora 7, Fedora 10

This condition can occur if CED is not properly shut down. It will leave a semaphore lock file that is designed to prevent multiple copies running. Go to the folder of IEGD that you are running and go into the \workspace folder and delete the “.lock” file you will find there. CED will run properly after you remove that lock file.

You probably have a virus scanner set to operate at run time. CED has many files involved in loading and the virus scan will greatly slow down the launch of CED. You can either live with the delays (safest), or instruct your virus scan program to ignore everything in the IEGD directory; that should be done only at your own risk.

The software does not impose any limits; however, developers need to be sure the chipset’s design specs are not violated. The minimum pixel clock frequency supported and validated on the Intel® System Controller Hub US15W chipset is 20 MHz. The minimum standard active resolution is therefore 640x480 @ 50 Hz vertical refresh which equates to ~20 MHz pixel clock. It may be possible to pad the horizontal and vertical blanking and adjust the refresh rate higher to get a lower resolution at the minimum 20 MHz pixel clock, but that is something that needs to be explored with the LCD panel manufacturer.

Theoretically, any timing mode that yields a pixel clock frequency between 20 MHz. and 112 MHz. (maximum allowable pixel clock frequency for US15W internal LVDS controller) can be supported by IEGD and US15W. To determine if a particular timing mode can be supported, use the following formula to determine the pixel clock frequency and then determine if it is between 20 MHz and 112 MHz:

Using 720 x 480 @ 60 Hz as an example:
pixel clock frequency = HTOTAL * VTOTAL * Vertical Refresh Rate / 1000000
HACTIVE = 720 pixels / line
HBLANK_BACK PORCH = 10 pixels / line
HBLANK_FRONT PORCH = 128 pixels / line
HTOTAL = HACTIVE + HBLANK_BACK PORCH + HBLANK_FRONT PORCH
HTOTAL = 720 + 10 + 128 = 858 pixels / line
VACTIVE = 480 lines / frame
VBLANK_BACK PORCH = 19 lines / frame
VBLANK_FRONT PORCH =26 lines / frame
VTOTAL = VACTIVE + VBLANK_BACK PORCH + VBLANK_FRONT PORCH
VTOTAL = 480 + 19 + 26 = 525 lines / frame
pixel clock frequency = HTOTAL * VTOTAL * Vertical Refresh Rate / 1000000
pixel clock frequency = 858 pixels / line * 525 lines / frame * 60 Hz / 1000000
pixel clock frequency = 27.027 MHz
pixel clock frequency > 20 MHz so 720 x 480 @ 60 Hz can be supported by IEGD via the CED application.

The minimum pixel clock frequency supported by the US15W SDVO interface is 20 MHz. The minimum standard active resolution is therefore 640x480 @ 50 Hz vertical refresh which equates to ~20 MHz.

The maximum pixel clock frequency supported by the US15W SDVO interface is 160 MHz. The maximum standard active resolution is therefore 1920x1080 @ 60 Hz vertical refresh which equates to ~148.5 MHz. pixel clock. Common high resolutions such as 1600x1200 and 1280x1024 are also supported since they possess pixel clock rates less than 160 MHz.

Any timing mode that yields a pixel clock frequency that is between 20 MHz. and 160 MHz. can be supported by IEGD and US15W via SDVO. Check your chosen SDVO device vendor’s data sheet for limitations of the display output. Most VGA and TV encoders cannot support analog CRT, HDTV, and SDTV outputs whose pixel clock rates exceed 80 MHz.

Additional details on the graphics capabilities of the Intel® System Controller Hub US15W chipset can be found here:

http://www.intel.com/design/chipsets/embedded/SCHUS15W/techdocs.htm

No, because a SDVO DisplayPort transmitter does not exist yet, a system containing the US15W cannot provide DisplayPort.

First, choose an embedded Intel chipset with an integrated LVDS controller. Integrated LVDS ports are available on the following Mobile Intel® chipsets:

• Intel® System Controller Hub US15W/US15WP/WPT chipset
• Intel® Q45/G41/G45 Express chipset
• Intel® GM45/GL40/GS45 Express chipset
• Intel® Q35 Express chipset
• Intel® GME965 Express chipset
• Mobile Intel® GLE960/GME965 Express chipset
• Mobile Intel® 945GME/945GSE/945G Express chipset
• Mobile Intel® Q965 Express chipset
• Mobile Intel® 915GME/915GV Express chipset
• Mobile Intel® 910GMLE Express chipset
• Mobile Intel® 852GM chipset
• Mobile Intel® 852GME chipset
• Mobile Intel® 855GME chipset

Second, follow the instructions in the Intel® Embedded Graphics Drivers, EFI Video Driver, and Video BIOS User’s Guide to enable this display by properly setting the “PortOrder” to include the value for LVDS port. Based on your settings, LVDS display can be either primary display or secondary.

The Configuration Editor (CED) also allows you to easily select and configure the integrated LVDS ports on the Intel Mobile chipsets. Refer to the help in CED for details.

This is typically a configuration or port driver issue. The SDVO port must be properly configured prior to installation of the driver. It is most important that the address of the SDVO device is set correctly if it is different from the default of 0x70. There also are settings that allow you to specify certain attributes, depending on what SDVO device you are using. For example, for VGA operation, it is important to set the “VGA Bypass” or “VGA Output” attribute on some VGA SDVO devices to get VGA output. See the Intel® Embedded Graphics Drivers, EFI Video Driver, and Video BIOS User’s Guide for more information.

eDP is defined as Embedded DisplayPort.

The differences between eDP and DP are as follows:

• DP has an external connector and cable where eDP does not
• There are some requirements for DP that do not apply to eDP, such as number of lanes supported, minimum resolution support, etc. Also, the Embedded DisplayPort (eDP) 1.1a standard applies to eDP, but not to DP.

eDP extends the capabilities of LVDS, yet with reduced power, cost, and cable length requirements. eDP is a completely different specification with major differences listed below.

“Switchable” allows seamless transition between the integrated graphics in the chipset and a higher power “external” graphics engine for best battery power capability. This is a feature you would expect to find in a battery operated device such as a notebook.

“Additive” is a technique where the integrated graphics GPU is tapped by the “external” graphics driver to supplement the external graphics GPU processing power. This feature is of limited value as the overhead on managing the data and transferring the graphics data between the integrated graphics memory and the external graphics tends to override any performance benefits.

“Multi-Monitor” is the ability for the integrated graphics to co-exist with the external graphics engine(s) allowing for more unique displays. For example, in Windows you could extend your desktop between the integrated graphics’ two displays plus one, two, or more external graphics displays. This requires a chipset tested to support this mode, and possibly a BIOS modification to leave the integrated graphics on when external graphics are present, especially in the X16 PCIe (PEG) slot.

IEGD has always supported Multi-Monitor mode which, in the past, was primarily tested with integrated graphics plus PCI-based external graphics. With the new ability to use the integrated plus PCIe plus PCI, the combinations are endless.

No. IEGD does not support Windows Vista* nor Windows 7*, which PAVP requires as the operating system.

Yes, US15W supports HDCP copy protection assuming these two conditions are met:

1. The SDVO HDMI or DVI transmitter can enable HDCP, and
2. The transmitter vendor provides a suitable port driver for IEGD for HDCP support

The functions for controlling this are proprietary information and cannot be released to customers through the API documentation.

When installing or re-installing the graphics driver, switch off the extended display mode.

Four display configurations are currently supported by IEGD and US15W.

• Single
• Clone
• Extended
• Dual Independent Head (DIH)

Single; only 1 display active, supported by any operating system supported by IEGD. Single display’s hardware configuration is comprised of 1 frame buffer, 1 pipe, and 1 port.

Regarding dual display configurations:

• Twin configuration/mode is not supported by the US15 series chipset. Twin configuration is supported by GenX chipsets and GMA drivers where content is driven to two display devices, each of which has the same content, resolution, and timings. From a hardware perspective, Twin is comprised of 1 frame buffer, 1 pipe, and 2 ports.
• Clone configuration is supported by US15 series chipsets. From a hardware perspective, Clone is comprised of 1 frame buffer, 2 pipes, and 2 ports.
• Extended configuration is supported by US15 series chipsets. From a hardware perspective, Extended is comprised of 2 frame buffers, 2 pipes, and 2 ports. Windows XP uses the term “Extended” to describe how the OS presents the multiple independent displays to the user. The primary feature of Extended mode is that it allows a second display to become an additional part of the desktop area. If the operating system is Windows XP*/XPe*, the user must use Extended (not DIH) configuration. More specifically, Extended configuration creates a single, large virtual frame buffer that is used by the applications. Separate areas of the virtual frame buffer map to each of the independent display frame buffers. Intel developed Display Manager software integrated into IEGD that is enabled when a system is running in Extended configuration.
• Dual Independent Head (DIH) is supported by US15 series chipsets. From a hardware perspective, DIH is comprised of 2 frame buffers, 2 pipes, and 2 ports. DIH is the Linux equivalent of Extended configuration for multiple display support.

From a hardware perspective DIH, Linux Xinerama, and Windows Extended configurations are all the same.

Extended Mode in Windows drives two displays simultaneously with continuous widescreen-like content each with independent resolutions. Linux’s DIH (Dual Independent Head) drives two displays simultaneously with distinct, independent, non-continuous content, each with independent resolutions.

A single widescreen image cannot straddle two monitors in DIH but can do so in Windows Extended configuration and in Linux Xinerama configuration (with limitations).

DIH at a hardware level has independent resolutions, refresh rates, and content, the same as Extended. In DIH, the two monitors are active and they are logically distinct.

In addition, in DIH, each image is locked to a single monitor. In Extended configuration, two monitors are also active but they form one large virtual desktop (i.e., not logically distinct).

Vertical Extended is a Windows term and Xinerama is a Linux feature/application/tool. The Intel® System Controller Hub US15W and other Embedded chipsets (Intel Q45/G41/G45, GM45/GL40/GS45, Q35, GME965, GLE960/GME965, 945GME /945GSE/945G, Q965, 915GME /915GV, 910GMLE, 852GM, 852GME, 855GME) support both dual display configurations to the limits of the application and operating system. Xinerama has more limits than the Windows XP/XPE/CE built-in operating system feature called Extended or Vertical Extended. See also the Glossary term Xinerama.

Yes, IEGD and US15W support Vertical Extended Configuration under Windows CE. CED needs to be configured appropriately per the instructions in the Intel® Embedded Graphics Drivers, EFI Video Driver, and Video BIOS User’s Guide to enable Vertical Extended Configuration (VExt). VExt is a dual display configuration under Windows CE only.

Go to “Display properties” and select the “Settings” tab. There you should see two displays. Select the second display and enable it for extended desktop by checking the box for “Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor,” and then click Apply.

Yes. GMCH drives SDVO-output via SDVO-ports. Based on the chipset type, the numbers of available SDVO-ports are different. If your GenX chipset has multiple SDVO ports, these SDVO ports can drive multiple SDVO devices (for example VGA encoder, DVI encoder, LVDS controller, etc.). For dual SDVO, it is necessary to specify the addresses of the two devices in your configuration.

Note: The Intel® System Controller Hub US15W/US15WP/WPT chipset cannot enable a dual-SDVO system because it has only a single SDVO port supporting pixel clock speeds from 20 MHz to 160 MHz.

Yes, this is the Clone dual display configuration. The Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers support this configuration if the GMCH has two pipes. Each pipe drives out different timings and eventually outputs to a display device. Check the Clone Configuration sections in the Intel® Embedded Graphics Drivers, EFI Video Driver, and Video BIOS User’s Guide for specific implementation instructions.

Twin display is a display configuration in which two displays are driven by the same set of timings. Both display devices should support those timings (resolution, refresh, etc), where Clone display is a display configuration in which two displays can each have an independent set of timings. The Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers support both Twin and Clone configurations. See the Intel® Embedded Graphics Drivers, EFI Video Driver, and Video BIOS User’s Guide for more information.

Note: The Intel® System Controller Hub US15W chipset does not support Twin configuration because the US15W hardware requires that the integrated LVDS controller must be on its own pipe; therefore Twin cannot be supported. Twin configuration is possible with most GenX Intel chipsets however.

Yes, starting with IEGD 7.0 on certain chipsets, a second overlay is available as a driver feature. Note: GMCH has only one dedicated hardware overlay surface. This overlay can be attached to either one of the displays but not to both. The one exception is if you are running in Twin configuration, you can see the overlay image on both displays. This is because the Twin displays share the same timings and a single pipe is driving both displays. The latest IEGD drivers simulate the hardware overlay capability on a second independent or clone display.

The configuration file needs to be configured to select which display to use as the primary display. Refer to the Intel® Embedded Graphics Drivers, EFI Video Driver, and Video BIOS User’s Guide for configuration instructions.

This hardware limitation was eliminated starting with the IEGD7.0 release. This used to occur because Intel chipsets have only one overlay surface to be able to display the XVideo overlay on one graphics pipe at a time. The XOrg driver allocates the XVideo overlay to the primary display when operating with a cloned display enabled. With 7.0 driver and up, a second overlay capability has been added such that XVideo should be able to display on multiple displays. Another solution is that the XVideoBlend overlay does support multiple graphics pipes and will work when in a cloned display. In your XF86Config file, you can disable XVideo with the line 'Option “XVideo” “No”' in the driver device section. Enable XVideoBlend with the line 'Option “XVideoBlend” “Yes”'. The same restrictions apply when using a Dual-Independent Head configuration. XVideoBlend can be enabled and display an overlay on both displays.

The Intel® Embedded Graphics Drivers, EFI Video Driver, and Video BIOS User’s Guide receives regular updates and lists all SDVO devices currently supported by IEGD via port drivers. The SDVO devices listed in the table below are supported by IEGD currently for second display outputs.

IEGD supports desktop rotation through the “Rotation” function using the IEGD Graphical User Interface (GUI) tool in Single, Clone, and Extended mode configurations. Consult the Intel® Embedded Graphics Drivers, EFI Video Driver, and Video BIOS User’s Guide for a list of rotation instructions and operating system limitations.

Yes.

The Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers:

• Have Dual Independent Display capability on supported chipsets
• Have Render extension acceleration
• Have Xinerama* support on supported chipsets
• Support image rotation
• Support advanced 3D performance
• Are supported over an extended life cycle

No, internal LVDS in all current mobile chipsets only supports SPWG data formats. Other transmitters that support LVDS can support both via port driver attribute 49.

Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers support a variety of SDVO devices from Chrontel* and Silicon Image* for HDMI, DVI, TVOut, VGA/CRT, and LVDS via the chipset’s internal SDVO port. Refer to the Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers User's Guide, POR update, and IEGD Product Brief for an up-to-date list of supported devices.

Yes, but the “Data Address Byte” of the SDVO devices should be different. Check the Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers User's Guide for more information on how to configure them. Please note that for two-transmitter support it is critical to specify the I2CDAB hardware address option in the configuration for each one. Typically SDVO devices will be found on port 70h and 72h but your hardware may vary. In CED, the configuration option will be found on the SDVO Configuration page under the “I2C Settings” button in the I2C Bus Configuration section. Specify your addresses in each device's “Device Address Byte” box.

See the Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers User's Guide for more information.

On a Microsoft Windows XP/eXP* system, this can be done from SysBIOS. For X Server* this should be done from xorg.conf. See the Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers User's Guide for more information.

The US15W supports Shader Model level 2.0 with some minor restrictions.

Yes, most if not all chipsets are supported on Linux 2.6 kernel Linux distributions, and in Windows on the US15W chipset as detailed in the IEGD v10.2 User's Guide, POR Update and Product Brief.

EDID stands for Extended Display Information Data, one of the VESA body of standards that allow for a display or monitor to provide information back to the driver for proper display resolution, mode setup, and configuration.

CRT/VGA monitors exchange EDID information over the I2C bus with IEGD so the driver generates only display modes and timings that are compatible with the monitor to which it is connected.

Some LVDS panels do not allow for exchange of EDID information hence these displays are called “EDID-less” and require custom Detailed Timing Descriptor (DTD) timings to be generated via CED.

See the Intel® Embedded Graphics Drivers, EFI Video Driver, and Video BIOS User’s Guide, Appendix D for information on support for OpenGL and OpenGL ES.

Two of the more significant differences between OpenGL ES and OpenGL are the removal of the glBegin–glEnd calling semantics for primitive rendering (in favor of vertex arrays) and the introduction of fixed-point data types for vertex coordinates and attributes to better support the computational abilities of embedded processors, which often lack a Floating Point Unit (FPU).

The current chipset designs do not support rotation in hardware. To rotate a display, the driver must re-render the frame buffer to display rotated which requires use of the 2D and 3D engine for EVERY frame displayed. This causes the overhead and limitations associated with rotation. For best performance, use the display in its native orientation.

Yes, VC-1 Motion Compensation (MC) hardware acceleration is currently supported in IEGD with Windows Media Player running with Microsoft Windows XP. Note that VC1 is not supported with Windows CE*.

The profile defines functionality such as compression algorithm and chroma format whereas the level defines quantitative capabilities such as maximum and typical bit rates and maximum frame size.

Use commercially available media analyzers to get the bit rate and codec information. Most have this capability. The media player provides information on whether hardware acceleration is on or not.

CyberLink’s PowerDVD8* is a media player that typically uses hardware acceleration on the Intel System Controller Hub US15W chipset to decode high-definition video content.

Both formats have 1080 lines per frame. 1080p yields a higher quality image than 1080i due to the fact that 1080i content has been captured with interlacing (“i”) and 1080p has been captured with a progressive (“p”) scan. IEGD can video decode content of either type.

No, not at this time. Support for hardware accelerated Adobe Flash is planned for H.264 video content in Q1/Q2 of 2010.

MC (Motion Compensation) and VLD (Variable Length Decoding)

VLD (Variable Length Decoding) results in the lowest CPU Utilization. Motion Compensation requires more processing to be done in software, thus increasing the CPU utilization rate.

Two overlay layers are supported by IEGD.

In Windows, the Microsoft DirectDraw* interface provides improved video playback performance and primary overlay support. Secondary overlay support via any interface is also supported for Clone or Dual Independent Display (Extended) mode configurations.

Two overlay layers are supported by IEGD.

In Moblin, the X11 Xv interface provides improved video playback performance and primary overlay support. Secondary overlay support via any interface is also supported for Clone or Dual Independent Display (Extended) mode configurations.

Video filters are an aspect of video codecs and players. Regarding codecs and players, customers need to contact their chosen codec and media player vendor to obtain production licenses.

The following media players are known to support hardware acceleration for MPEG2, MPEG4, H.264, VC-1 and WMVHD based HD content: CyberLink* PowerDVD*, Corel* WinDVD and Arcsoft* TotalMedia Theatre. The table below contains a list of supported media players organized by operating system and video codecs hardware accelerated by the GenX and the Intel® System Controller Hub US15W chipset.

IEGD does not support Windows 7, however IEGD does support the following operating systems:

• Windows XP* (SP3), Windows XP Embedded* (SP3), Windows Embedded for Point of Service* (WePOS)
• Linux Moblin 2.1 Linux* (kernel 2.6.31, X-Server 1.6.3), Wind River Linux* (kernel 2.6.21, X.org 7.2, X-Server 1.3), Red Hat Linux* (kernel 2.6.23, X.org 7.2, X Server 1.3), Fedora* 7 (kernel 2.6.21 – 1.3194 and X.org 7.2), Fedora 10 (kernel 2.6.27, X.org 1.5), Ubuntu* MID 8.04
• DOS Support (IBM PC 2000,* MS 6.22)

Windows 7 is supported by non-IEGD Intel graphics drivers for the Intel® 3 Series, 965 Series, and 945 Series chipsets.

This is an older configuration capability that was available for configuring the Linux version of the Intel Embedded Graphics Drivers. Although this is compatible with the newer releases, it is recommended that you use more current configuration mechanisms. See the Intel® Embedded Graphics Drivers, EFI Video Driver, and Video BIOS User’s Guide for more information on the most current ways to configure the Linux version of the driver.

IEGD 10.2 drivers support the Fedora 10 operating system. Successful manual driver installation can be completed using instructions found in the latest Intel® Embedded Graphics Drivers, EFI Video Driver, and Video BIOS User’s Guide.

A Linux Installer for Fedora 10 does not yet exist.

VAInfo and MediaInfo applications are recommended for this purpose.

Note: US15W is the only chipset that currently supports Video Decode Hardware Acceleration; however, future Embedded chipsets will have this capability as well.

Yes, this is the Moblin image.

During the driver release development process (for example IEGD v10.2) a specific distribution must be selected to develop and validate with. The Moblin 2 Aug. 19, 2009 (Kernel 2.6.31, X-Server 1.6.3) distribution was the most recent available during IEGD v10.2 development.