MIPI DSI-2™

MIPI DSI-2℠, initially published in January 2016, specifies the high-bandwidth link between host processors and displays. It helps systems designers deliver the ultra-high-definition (UHD) video experience that their customers seek, while minimizing power consumption, cost and complexity across far-reaching application spaces such as mobile, automotive and gaming. DSI-2 is highly scalable and flexible—capable of supporting any resolution and configurable with one or multiple data lanes, ultimately reducing design costs and time to market.

Designers can use MIPI DSI-2 on three different physical layers: MIPI C-PHY, MIPI D-PHY and (for automotive or other longer-reach applications) MIPI A-PHY℠. The MIPI Display Command Set (DCS℠) specification offers a standardized command set for control functions and supply of data to DSI-2 displays.

Latest Release

MIPI DSI-2 v2.2 introduces a new Video Hybrid Mode that further optimizes switching for 5G use cases where the mobile screen is used as a primary video consumption device. Several features augment the video hybrid mode including but not limited to: explicit variable refresh rate (VRR) support relying on an extended vertical front porch; improved adaptive refresh panel support; an optional HSYNC; and enhanced tearing-effect signaling. Further, DSI-2 adds a mobile industry first: support for 48-bit RGB and equivalent YCbCr sub-sampled data formats.

Version 2.1 adds support for MIPI D-PHY v3.5 embedded clocking mode, updates several references to reflect current revisions and makes some editorial corrections. DSI-2 v2.1 is backward compatible with all previous versions of the specification.

Capabilities 

MIPI DSI-2 supports rich visual experiences at the lowest power consumption across the gamut of display applications, from high-resolution (8K and beyond), high-frame-rate (up to 120 fps) video modes, to graphical user interface “command” modes and static modes.

DSI-2 v2.0 introduced the ability to support more than 6 gigapixels per second of uncompressed image content, based on coupling with the MIPI C-PHYSM v2.0/ v2.1 and MIPI D-PHYSM v3.0 physical layer interfaces.

A host of features in DSI-2 v2.0 work together to dramatically improve display bandwidth, power savings and user experience. These include:

• Video-to-command mode, which enables displays to seamlessly transition from highly immersive video modes of operation to less-intensive command modes for low-frame-rate GUI images, for better user experience, as well as system efficiency and reliability

• Adaptive refresh panel, which enables a device display to retain images for variable, extended durations without fixed refreshes from the host processor, saving power without requiring a peripheral frame buffer

• Latest VESA Display Stream Compression (VESA DSC) and VESA Display Compression-M (VDC-M) codecs, which provide between three to six times data compression while maintaining visually lossless viewing, to address numerous different display  bandwidth and power requirements