Display selection for embedded NUC 12 pro board (Integration)

[SC5]

I'm having trouble finding an appropriate display for a unit design which will have embedded 1) NUC 12, 2) instrumentation electronics, and 3) display + touchscreen.

I'd like to share my thoughts below and as we do not like the options as I see them, I'd like to request guidance. FYI we're considering WXGA and WUXGA displays.

Since the display is embedded, it would be preferred to connect to headers or otherwise internal connections to the NUC board versus external ports on the sides of the board.

For displays, the board offers the following external ports:

2x HDMI 2.0b ports

2x Thunderbolt ports

It also offers 3x USB 3.2gen2 ports (A-style plug) which may be useable but no better of a choice

For internal ports, the NUC 12 board only seems to offer 2x USB 2.0 ports, which don't really support displays. Technically there would be enough bandwidth on the two ports to handle a WXGA display but that would be a hell of a driver

Some embedded computers boards offer eDP (embedded DisplayPort) outputs, and I'm someone surprised not to see it here. Even converting an LVDS or eDP display to HDMI or DP seems to require us to plug into the external ports, which will be facing outside of the enclosure.

Our production department may be able to desolder and remove the HDMI, Thunderbolt, or USB 3.2gen2 ports, but it seems silly to buy a component and start taking it apart.

That all said, most of the displays available to us are LVDS in which case we'd use a MCU to convert either HDMI or DP to LVDS. If we don't desolder connectors and run a cable through the outside of the unit, DP would likely be preferred as the USB-C thunderbolt connector is smaller and the connector would stick out of the unit less. We'd really prefer not to do this!

Even so with eDP, we'd likely have to use an MCU still to convert HDMI or DP to that standard.

So, we'd prefer not to run a cable to the outside of the unit, but it seems only USB 2.0 ports are available inside the unit. In which case we could look into desoldering ports which introduces risk and consumes time and labor. Can you think of other options I'm not seeing?

Thank you.

[Steven_Intel]

Hello SC5,

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.

I am going to review your concern. As soon as I have an update, I will let you know.

Best regards,

Steven G.

Intel Customer Support Technician.

[SC5]

Thank you Steven, I look forward to hearing what you find. On further digging into this, it seems like the Core 12th gen processor specifically support eDP (see below). It would be great to access that output somehow.

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/platforms/details/alder-lake-ps.html

[Steven_Intel]

Hello SC5,

This board only has HDMI and DP graphics output, and there is not an internal connector as eDP (even though the processor i7-1270P supports eDP), so the configuration you are trying to set is not supported.

Could you please confirm how many units you are planning to use to look for additional details?

Best regards,

Steven G.

Intel Customer Support Technician.

[SC5]

Thanks for the response, Steven. It seems like an odd design choice not to include headers on the PCB for display when common form factors larger than this include them such as 3.5 in. subcompact SBCs, and makes me think we're not using the appropriate product for embedded computer. We'd prefer to use the NUC 4x4 style as it is a smaller form than the 3.5 but connecting the display to the external ports will eat into the space savings.

If this effort had a longer development schedule and additional funding, we'd look into SOM / COM approaches but integrating an SBC requires a more appropriate level of design resources (less) for this effort.

We're building 3 prototypes then 15-25 per year for the first couple years.

We did find some support for connecting moderate resolution displays (including our top contender, WXGA) via USB 2.0 by DisplayLink, but they only go through VAR distributors and we haven't heard responses yet.

[Steven_Intel]

Thank you for your response.

We are going to research about this. As soon as I have an update, I will let you know.

Best regards,

Steven G.

Intel Customer Support Technician.

[Steven_Intel]

Hello SC5,

Upon deeply investigating and testing, we can confirm the configuration you are trying to use is not supported. Our best recommendation, is to wait for the VAR distributor's response.

If you need any additional information, please submit a new question, as this thread will no longer be monitored.

Best regards,

Steven G.

Intel Customer Support Technician.

[SC5]

Thanks for looking