FLAT Sample Display Driver (Windows Embedded CE 6.0)
1/6/2010
The FLAT driver is a simple display driver that does not implement hardware acceleration; instead, it implements software acceleration features, supports color depths that are 8, 16, 24, and 32 bits, and supports any physical resolution supported by the BIOS.
The FLAT driver works with the ATI Rage, ATI Expert, Savage4, Savage2000, nVidia TNT2, Voodoo3 2000, Voodoo3 3000, Matrox G200, and Matrox G400 video chip sets.
Be sure to run Vesatest.exe to verify the hardware platform's VESA BIOS is 2.0 or later and that it supports the mode you want.
Because of its wide support for video chipsets and its overall flexibility, the FLAT driver is a good basis for implementing hardware-accelerated display drivers for your own hardware.
The FLAT driver is also a good driver to use when evaluating Windows Embedded CE because it is compatible with display hardware that is readily available in the marketplace. However, when a built-in display driver is available for a chipset, Microsoft recommends that developers use this driver.
In general, built-in display drivers offer better performance by using the hardware features that are often not exposed through the VESA BIOS.
The FLAT sample is the default display driver for most x86-based hardware platforms. It requires that the display card support VESA BIOS Extensions 2.0 or later.
At boot time, the boot loader must set the video mode because the FLAT driver cannot set it on its own.
On x86 hardware platforms, the video mode is set by the LoadCEPC.exe tool and the BIOS. Therefore, you must update your CEPC boot disks to have the correct boot loader for the FLAT display driver. For more information on LoadCEPC.exe options, run loadcepc /?. Use the /L option to set the display mode.
Note
If you use the /D switch to specify the display mode, you cannot use the DDI_FLAT driver.
To build and include the FLAT driver in an image, set BSP_DISPLAY_FLAT=1.
The FLAT sample display driver is in the %_WINCEROOT%\Public\Common\OAK\Drivers\Display\VGAFlat directory.
See Also
Concepts
Display Driver Samples
ATI Sample Display Driver
ATI Sample Display Driver Optimization
Sample DrvEscape Function
Sample Blit Acceleration
Display Driver Performance Profiling
Display Driver Registry Settings
Display Driver Development Concepts
Display Driver Extensions
Display Driver Recommendations