Quote:
Originally Posted by Aye-eight
Yes, of course, it’s just a bright display. But unless you format the information and tell the screen where you want it to go, all you get is a bunch of pixelated numbers, like on an old DOS machine. So, if you want shiftpoints and RPMs and tire pressures and weather data on there, other stuff needs to get removed, made smaller, pushed aside, whatever. If that’s not already configured somewhere in the system, then either you have to do it yourself or you can’t have it. Just because there’s data on one end and a display on the other, doesn’t mean the car is prepared to show it all. Ever tried to configure a smart watch to show exactly what you want to see during your favorite workout? There are things it will do, and things it won’t - whether the data is somewhere in there or not. You’d have to hack the firmware to change that.
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No, that's not exactly correct...
You are confusing two different types of LED/LCD displays. There is a common format which has a FIXED segmented display where individual pixels are either being illuminated or not. This is a very old (and cheap) technology. It is NOT flexible and it is also NOT what BMW is using in their HUDs. This type of display ONLY shows one single array of data as the pixels are either illuminated or not (and the colors are fixed).
You can clearly see that BMW's use a more flexible modern display when they switch from "Normal" to "M" mode (for instance) and the contents of the display are COMPLETELY different. You can even select which data is displayed via the HUD via iDrive on many models. This is not simply turning pixels on or off, it is completely rewriting the contents of this display, on demand. (I've even coded (enabled) the radio stations display in the HUD of my M6). The ability to display graphic mapping info in the HUD also confirms this.
There is no reason to use the very old fixed pixel technology when a simple modern backlit LED graphics panel provides much more flexibility. The complete change of data and available layout in many BMW's clearly demonstrates that these panels are NOT using a fixed pixel segment display.
Its actually MORE complicated and restrictive to use fixed segment displays when a simple backlit RGB panel can perform the same function with much more flexibility. BMW can write one generic display function API and use one common RGB HUD panel design to meet the basic need of all their vehicles. If BMW were to use a fixed segment pixel display, then each car could need a different HUD and programming (Different RPM ranges etc). Its simply NOT the way modern programming and manufacturing is done...