Adafruit Qualia ESP32-S3 for RGB-666 Displays

Use the new Qualia ESP32-S3 to add a higher resolution Dot Clock RGB-666 Display to your next project

by M. LeBlanc-Williams and Jeff Epler

published October 06, 2023, last edited July 01, 2025
last major update December 13, 2023

posted in CircuitPython LCDs & Displays/ Graphic TFTs Programming/ MicroPython / CircuitPython

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Intermediate

Product guide

Qualia S3 RGB-666 with TL040WVS03 4" 480x480 Square Display

If you have issues running the example, you can always test your hardware by running a UF2 for your display from https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-qualia-esp32-s3-for-rgb666-displays/arduino-rainbow-demo

Initialization Codes

Here are the init codes for this display:

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init_sequence_tl040wvs03 = bytes((
    b'\xff\x05w\x01\x00\x00\x10'
    b'\xc0\x02;\x00'
    b'\xc1\x02\r\x02'
    b'\xc2\x021\x05'
    b'\xcd\x01\x08'
    b'\xb0\x10\x00\x11\x18\x0e\x11\x06\x07\x08\x07"\x04\x12\x0f\xaa1\x18'
    b'\xb1\x10\x00\x11\x19\x0e\x12\x07\x08\x08\x08"\x04\x11\x11\xa92\x18'
    b'\xff\x05w\x01\x00\x00\x11'
    b'\xb0\x01`'
    b'\xb1\x012'
    b'\xb2\x01\x07'
    b'\xb3\x01\x80'
    b'\xb5\x01I'
    b'\xb7\x01\x85'
    b'\xb8\x01!'
    b'\xc1\x01x'
    b'\xc2\x01x'
    b'\xe0\x03\x00\x1b\x02'
    b'\xe1\x0b\x08\xa0\x00\x00\x07\xa0\x00\x00\x00DD'
    b'\xe2\x0c\x11\x11DD\xed\xa0\x00\x00\xec\xa0\x00\x00'
    b'\xe3\x04\x00\x00\x11\x11'
    b'\xe4\x02DD'
    b'\xe5\x10\n\xe9\xd8\xa0\x0c\xeb\xd8\xa0\x0e\xed\xd8\xa0\x10\xef\xd8\xa0'
    b'\xe6\x04\x00\x00\x11\x11'
    b'\xe7\x02DD'
    b'\xe8\x10\t\xe8\xd8\xa0\x0b\xea\xd8\xa0\r\xec\xd8\xa0\x0f\xee\xd8\xa0'
    b'\xeb\x07\x02\x00\xe4\xe4\x88\x00@'
    b'\xec\x02<\x00'
    b'\xed\x10\xab\x89vT\x02\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff Eg\x98\xba'
    b'6\x01\x00'
    b'\xff\x05w\x01\x00\x00\x13'
    b'\xe5\x01\xe4'
    b'\xff\x05w\x01\x00\x00\x00'
    b':\x01f'
    b'!\x80\n'
    b'\x11\x80x'
    b')\x00'
))

init_sequence_tl040wvs03 = bytes((
    b'\xff\x05w\x01\x00\x00\x10'
    b'\xc0\x02;\x00'
    b'\xc1\x02\r\x02'
    b'\xc2\x021\x05'
    b'\xcd\x01\x08'
    b'\xb0\x10\x00\x11\x18\x0e\x11\x06\x07\x08\x07"\x04\x12\x0f\xaa1\x18'
    b'\xb1\x10\x00\x11\x19\x0e\x12\x07\x08\x08\x08"\x04\x11\x11\xa92\x18'
    b'\xff\x05w\x01\x00\x00\x11'
    b'\xb0\x01`'
    b'\xb1\x012'
    b'\xb2\x01\x07'
    b'\xb3\x01\x80'
    b'\xb5\x01I'
    b'\xb7\x01\x85'
    b'\xb8\x01!'
    b'\xc1\x01x'
    b'\xc2\x01x'
    b'\xe0\x03\x00\x1b\x02'
    b'\xe1\x0b\x08\xa0\x00\x00\x07\xa0\x00\x00\x00DD'
    b'\xe2\x0c\x11\x11DD\xed\xa0\x00\x00\xec\xa0\x00\x00'
    b'\xe3\x04\x00\x00\x11\x11'
    b'\xe4\x02DD'
    b'\xe5\x10\n\xe9\xd8\xa0\x0c\xeb\xd8\xa0\x0e\xed\xd8\xa0\x10\xef\xd8\xa0'
    b'\xe6\x04\x00\x00\x11\x11'
    b'\xe7\x02DD'
    b'\xe8\x10\t\xe8\xd8\xa0\x0b\xea\xd8\xa0\r\xec\xd8\xa0\x0f\xee\xd8\xa0'
    b'\xeb\x07\x02\x00\xe4\xe4\x88\x00@'
    b'\xec\x02<\x00'
    b'\xed\x10\xab\x89vT\x02\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff Eg\x98\xba'
    b'6\x01\x00'
    b'\xff\x05w\x01\x00\x00\x13'
    b'\xe5\x01\xe4'
    b'\xff\x05w\x01\x00\x00\x00'
    b':\x01f'
    b'!\x80\n'
    b'\x11\x80x'
    b')\x00'
))

Timings

Here are the timing settings for this display:

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tft_timings = {
    "frequency": 16000000,
    "width": 480,
    "height": 480,

    "hsync_pulse_width": 2,
    "hsync_back_porch": 44,
    "hsync_front_porch": 50,
    "hsync_idle_low": False,

    "vsync_pulse_width": 2,
    "vsync_back_porch": 18,
    "vsync_front_porch": 16,
    "vsync_idle_low": False,

    "pclk_active_high": True,
    "pclk_idle_high": False,
    "de_idle_high": False,
}

tft_timings = {
    "frequency": 16000000,
    "width": 480,
    "height": 480,

    "hsync_pulse_width": 2,
    "hsync_back_porch": 44,
    "hsync_front_porch": 50,
    "hsync_idle_low": False,

    "vsync_pulse_width": 2,
    "vsync_back_porch": 18,
    "vsync_front_porch": 16,
    "vsync_idle_low": False,

    "pclk_active_high": True,
    "pclk_idle_high": False,
    "de_idle_high": False,
}

Example

Here's an example using those settings:

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from displayio import release_displays
release_displays()

import displayio
import busio
import board
import dotclockframebuffer
from framebufferio import FramebufferDisplay

tft_pins = dict(board.TFT_PINS)
tft_timings = {
    "frequency": 16000000,
    "width": 480,
    "height": 480,

    "hsync_pulse_width": 2,
    "hsync_back_porch": 44,
    "hsync_front_porch": 50,
    "hsync_idle_low": False,

    "vsync_pulse_width": 2,
    "vsync_back_porch": 18,
    "vsync_front_porch": 16,
    "vsync_idle_low": False,

    "pclk_active_high": True,
    "pclk_idle_high": False,
    "de_idle_high": False,
}

init_sequence = bytes((
    b'\xff\x05w\x01\x00\x00\x10'
    b'\xc0\x02;\x00'
    b'\xc1\x02\r\x02'
    b'\xc2\x021\x05'
    b'\xcd\x01\x08'
    b'\xb0\x10\x00\x11\x18\x0e\x11\x06\x07\x08\x07"\x04\x12\x0f\xaa1\x18'
    b'\xb1\x10\x00\x11\x19\x0e\x12\x07\x08\x08\x08"\x04\x11\x11\xa92\x18'
    b'\xff\x05w\x01\x00\x00\x11'
    b'\xb0\x01`'
    b'\xb1\x012'
    b'\xb2\x01\x07'
    b'\xb3\x01\x80'
    b'\xb5\x01I'
    b'\xb7\x01\x85'
    b'\xb8\x01!'
    b'\xc1\x01x'
    b'\xc2\x01x'
    b'\xe0\x03\x00\x1b\x02'
    b'\xe1\x0b\x08\xa0\x00\x00\x07\xa0\x00\x00\x00DD'
    b'\xe2\x0c\x11\x11DD\xed\xa0\x00\x00\xec\xa0\x00\x00'
    b'\xe3\x04\x00\x00\x11\x11'
    b'\xe4\x02DD'
    b'\xe5\x10\n\xe9\xd8\xa0\x0c\xeb\xd8\xa0\x0e\xed\xd8\xa0\x10\xef\xd8\xa0'
    b'\xe6\x04\x00\x00\x11\x11'
    b'\xe7\x02DD'
    b'\xe8\x10\t\xe8\xd8\xa0\x0b\xea\xd8\xa0\r\xec\xd8\xa0\x0f\xee\xd8\xa0'
    b'\xeb\x07\x02\x00\xe4\xe4\x88\x00@'
    b'\xec\x02<\x00'
    b'\xed\x10\xab\x89vT\x02\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff Eg\x98\xba'
    b'6\x01\x00'
    b'\xff\x05w\x01\x00\x00\x13'
    b'\xe5\x01\xe4'
    b'\xff\x05w\x01\x00\x00\x00'
    b':\x01f'
    b'!\x80\n'
    b'\x11\x80x'
    b')\x00'
))

board.I2C().deinit()
i2c = busio.I2C(board.SCL, board.SDA)
tft_io_expander = dict(board.TFT_IO_EXPANDER)
#tft_io_expander['i2c_address'] = 0x38 # uncomment for rev B
dotclockframebuffer.ioexpander_send_init_sequence(i2c, init_sequence, **tft_io_expander)
i2c.deinit()

bitmap = displayio.OnDiskBitmap("/display-ruler-720p.bmp")

fb = dotclockframebuffer.DotClockFramebuffer(**tft_pins, **tft_timings)
display = FramebufferDisplay(fb, auto_refresh=False)

# Create a TileGrid to hold the bitmap
tile_grid = displayio.TileGrid(bitmap, pixel_shader=bitmap.pixel_shader)

# Create a Group to hold the TileGrid
group = displayio.Group()

# Add the TileGrid to the Group
group.append(tile_grid)

# Add the Group to the Display
display.root_group = group

display.auto_refresh = True

# Loop forever so you can enjoy your image
while True:
    pass

from displayio import release_displays
release_displays()

import displayio
import busio
import board
import dotclockframebuffer
from framebufferio import FramebufferDisplay

tft_pins = dict(board.TFT_PINS)
tft_timings = {
    "frequency": 16000000,
    "width": 480,
    "height": 480,

    "hsync_pulse_width": 2,
    "hsync_back_porch": 44,
    "hsync_front_porch": 50,
    "hsync_idle_low": False,

    "vsync_pulse_width": 2,
    "vsync_back_porch": 18,
    "vsync_front_porch": 16,
    "vsync_idle_low": False,

    "pclk_active_high": True,
    "pclk_idle_high": False,
    "de_idle_high": False,
}

init_sequence = bytes((
    b'\xff\x05w\x01\x00\x00\x10'
    b'\xc0\x02;\x00'
    b'\xc1\x02\r\x02'
    b'\xc2\x021\x05'
    b'\xcd\x01\x08'
    b'\xb0\x10\x00\x11\x18\x0e\x11\x06\x07\x08\x07"\x04\x12\x0f\xaa1\x18'
    b'\xb1\x10\x00\x11\x19\x0e\x12\x07\x08\x08\x08"\x04\x11\x11\xa92\x18'
    b'\xff\x05w\x01\x00\x00\x11'
    b'\xb0\x01`'
    b'\xb1\x012'
    b'\xb2\x01\x07'
    b'\xb3\x01\x80'
    b'\xb5\x01I'
    b'\xb7\x01\x85'
    b'\xb8\x01!'
    b'\xc1\x01x'
    b'\xc2\x01x'
    b'\xe0\x03\x00\x1b\x02'
    b'\xe1\x0b\x08\xa0\x00\x00\x07\xa0\x00\x00\x00DD'
    b'\xe2\x0c\x11\x11DD\xed\xa0\x00\x00\xec\xa0\x00\x00'
    b'\xe3\x04\x00\x00\x11\x11'
    b'\xe4\x02DD'
    b'\xe5\x10\n\xe9\xd8\xa0\x0c\xeb\xd8\xa0\x0e\xed\xd8\xa0\x10\xef\xd8\xa0'
    b'\xe6\x04\x00\x00\x11\x11'
    b'\xe7\x02DD'
    b'\xe8\x10\t\xe8\xd8\xa0\x0b\xea\xd8\xa0\r\xec\xd8\xa0\x0f\xee\xd8\xa0'
    b'\xeb\x07\x02\x00\xe4\xe4\x88\x00@'
    b'\xec\x02<\x00'
    b'\xed\x10\xab\x89vT\x02\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff Eg\x98\xba'
    b'6\x01\x00'
    b'\xff\x05w\x01\x00\x00\x13'
    b'\xe5\x01\xe4'
    b'\xff\x05w\x01\x00\x00\x00'
    b':\x01f'
    b'!\x80\n'
    b'\x11\x80x'
    b')\x00'
))

board.I2C().deinit()
i2c = busio.I2C(board.SCL, board.SDA)
tft_io_expander = dict(board.TFT_IO_EXPANDER)
#tft_io_expander['i2c_address'] = 0x38 # uncomment for rev B
dotclockframebuffer.ioexpander_send_init_sequence(i2c, init_sequence, **tft_io_expander)
i2c.deinit()

bitmap = displayio.OnDiskBitmap("/display-ruler-720p.bmp")

fb = dotclockframebuffer.DotClockFramebuffer(**tft_pins, **tft_timings)
display = FramebufferDisplay(fb, auto_refresh=False)

# Create a TileGrid to hold the bitmap
tile_grid = displayio.TileGrid(bitmap, pixel_shader=bitmap.pixel_shader)

# Create a Group to hold the TileGrid
group = displayio.Group()

# Add the TileGrid to the Group
group.append(tile_grid)

# Add the Group to the Display
display.root_group = group

display.auto_refresh = True

# Loop forever so you can enjoy your image
while True:
    pass

Download the following image into the root folder of of your CIRCUITPY drive: