Greenspring P2 Video Graphics Controller

Storage temperature: -40 ° C to+85 ° C

Humidity: 5% to 95%, non condensing

This temperature range covers most commercial and industrial environments, but if it needs to be extended to military grade applications below -40 ° C, additional evaluation is required.

Compatibility and Carrier Slot Strategy

P2 Video, as a Type II module, can be inserted into any Type II module site. But if using the bus master control function of the graphics controller (such as DMA transfer, hardware cursor, video acceleration, etc.), it must be installed in a slot that supports bus master control. The following is the compatibility table of the carrier board and slot provided in the document:

Carrier board model type supports bus master control slots

MC-101 Short PCI (all PCI slots)

MC-303 3U CompactPCI 4, 5

MC-606 6U CompactPCI 4, 5, 6, 7

MC-607 6U CompactPCI 4, 5, 6, 7

MIC-804 Long PCI 4, 5, 6, 7

In addition, the document specifically states that Type II modules can only be accepted in slots 5, 6, and 7 of the MC-804 carrier board when additional height is available. This indicates that there may be mechanical height limitations in these slots, which need to be confirmed in advance when designing integration.

Supporting products and engineering kits

1. Engineering kit (EK-P-VIDEO)

For the convenience of engineers to quickly integrate, the manufacturer provides the P2 Video engineering kit, which includes the following contents:

Printed Hardware User Manual

Bill of Materials (BOM)

assembly drawing

Floppy disk, containing:

Windows NT 4.0 Drivers

Control panel mini program

In addition, a Silicon Motion Lynx EM710 user manual can be provided according to demand.

2. Related products

PMC-VIDEOPLUS: Another PMC standard module that supports SVGA/CRT display, with a maximum resolution of 1280 × 1024 and higher performance.

B-004: Front panel baffle, suitable for single width Type II 10H modules, supports DB9 or HD15 connectors.

Application scenarios and continued use value

Although P2 Video has been discontinued, independent suppliers such as Artisan Technology Group are still providing "second-hand and in good condition" inventory equipment, and supporting services such as emergency procurement, repair, and surplus equipment recycling. This provides valuable lifecycle extension tools for organizations that are still using outdated systems.

Typical application scenarios include:

Industrial control systems: such as old CNC machine tools, PLC human-machine interfaces, HMI workstations.

Communication equipment: such as local display output of microwave stations and base station consoles.

Medical imaging terminals: Some early ultrasound and endoscopic systems still rely on such standard graphics modules.

Military display and control systems, such as radar terminals and command consoles, require long-term stability, low power consumption, and wide temperature adaptability.

Technical limitations and development suggestions

P2 Video represented a high level of embedded graphics when it was released, but by modern standards, its limitations are evident, such as small memory capacity (4MB), lack of support for high-definition resolutions (1080p or higher), and absence of digital video interfaces (such as DVI, HDMI). It is recommended to continue using it in the following situations:

The system cannot change the structure of the carrier board or backplane

Software drivers depend on Windows NT 4.0 or specific graphics APIs

Due to limited project budget, it is not possible to fully upgrade to PCIe or VPX architecture

If an upgrade is needed, PMC-VIDEOPLUS or other modern PC-MIP modules that support higher resolution, larger VRAM, and multiple display outputs can be considered.