Currently DVI video in CircuitPython is limited to only a few Adafruit products using Raspberry Pi RP2040 and RP2350 chips. These chips have the speed and resources to output the large amount of data required in a DVI video stream.

Adafruit Metro RP2350

The Adafruit Metro RP2350 has an HSTX connector which connects via a ribbon cable to an Adafruit RP2350 22-pin HSTX to DVI Out breakout. Both have 16MB of QSPI flash memory for a great deal of static storage.

The Metro RP2350 comes in two PSRAM variants:

• Without PSRAM (shown above)
• With 8MB (64 Mbit) PSRAM (same as above but with a chip on the PSRAM footprint)

The version with the PSRAM chip can provide additional RAM space which may be needed for higher video resolutions.

Adafruit Fruit Jam

The Adafruit Fruit Jam is an upcoming product based on the Raspberry Pi RP2350B microcontroller. It has a DVI connector on the top so no adapter from HSTX is needed. The Fruit Jam comes with the same 16 MB Flash and 8 MB external PSRAM as the augmented Metro RP2350 for more flexible storage.

Adafruit Feather RP2350

The Feather RP2350 comes in two PSRAM variants:

• Without PSRAM (shown in picture)
• With 8MB (64 Mbit) PSRAM (chip goes on PSRAM footprint)

The version with the PSRAM chip can provide additional RAM space which may be needed for higher video resolutions.

Adafruit Feather RP2040 with DVI Output Port

The Feather RP2040 with DVI uses the older RP2040 and has the DVI/HDMI connector on-board. Due to memory limitations on the RP2040, only lower video resolutions like 320x240 should be used.

Boards for use with the Raspberry Pi Pico, Pico 2 and other Pi microcontroller boards

The Adafruit PiCowBell HSTX DVI Output for Pico connects, via header pins, to a Raspberry Pi Pico 2 / 2W (using the RP2350 microcontroller). It connects the RP2350 HSTX pins to the HDMI connector for DVI video. It also has USB Host pins broken out in the center. If you have a Pico 2 or Pico 2W, this is the board you want to add video capabilities.

There are a couple more ways you can add DVI output:

These boards can be soldered to a Pico or wired to a Pico or Pico 2 board to provide the same DVI capabilities as the Adafruit Feather RP2040 with DVI.

Note: these are not for the Raspberry Pi single board computers (Raspberry Pi 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5) as the Raspberry Pi single board computers already have HDMI video on-board.

Other Parts

For DVI out on the Metro RP2350 and the Feather RP2350, you'll need one of the cables below and the HSTX to DVI adapter board.