dmds:

Config file section

Valid in machine config files YES
Valid in mode config files NO

The dmds: section of your config is where you configure the settings for physical DMDs (dot matrix displays). You only need this section if you have a physical monochrome DMD connected to a 14-pin header on a hardware controller. If you have an RGB DMD, configure that in the rgb_dmds: section.

If you want to show a virtual DMD in an on-screen window, you configure that as a display widget with a dot filter. That does not involve this dmds: section.

Note that there are no height and width settings here. The pixel size of your DMD is determined by the size of the source: display which drives the content for this DMD.

displays:
  dmd:
    width: 128
    height: 32
dmds:
  my_dmd:  # name of this DMD which can be whatever you want
    brightness: .5
    fps: 25
    gamma: 2.5
This example is tested to be valid MPF config. However, it is not integration tested.
displays:
  dmd:
    width: 128
    height: 32
dmds:
  my_dmd:  # name of this DMD which can be whatever you want
    brightness: .5
    fps: 25
    gamma: 2.5

Note that this section is called dmds: (plural). Just like “switches” and “coils” and most everything else in MPF, this is a section that contains all your DMDs. Now since this is a DMD, you probably only have one, (though MPF can support as many as you want), but it’s important to note that you add a dmds: section to your config, then under that you add an entry for a specific DMD (which can be whatever you want), and then you enter one or more of the following settings:

(If you don’t include any of the settings below, the default will be used).

Optional settings

The following sections are optional in the dmds: section of your config. (If you don’t include them, the default will be used).

brightness:

Single value, type: number (will be converted to floating point). Default: 1.0

A brightness multiplier for the DMD. Default is 1.0 which is full brightness, but if you want to dim the DMD, you can set this to some value lower than 1.0. (e.g. a value of 0.9 will be 90% brightness, etc.)

fps:

Single value, type: integer. Default: 30

How many frames per second this DMD will be updated. A value of 30 should be fine and smooth. Some people claim that higher values look better, but as far as we can tell, that just makes your CPU work harder. But feel free to experiment.

gamma:

Single value, type: number (will be converted to floating point). Default: 1.0

Sets the gamma of the DMD. See Gamma correction in MPF for details.

Note that the default setting of 1.0 means that no gamma correction is used. Some physical DMDs do their own internal gamma correction, so this setting is fine. Others require pre-corrected gamma, so you can set that value here.

You might try a value of 2.2 first and adjust up or down until it looks right.

Important

Gamma setting is important!

We can’t stress enough that setting the gamma for your DMD is important for making it look right. So click the link above and make the adjustment. It’s a one-time thing.

luminosity:

List of one (or more) values, each is a type: number (will be converted to floating point). Default: .299, .587, .114

A list of three values (from 0.0 to 1.0) that represent the percentage of red, green, and blue that will be used to produce the monochrome colors from the source display. All three of these values should add up to 1.0.

only_send_changes:

Single value, type: boolean (true/false). Default: false

Specifies whether every frame is sent to the DMD, or only changed frames.

platform:

Single value, type: string. Defaults to empty.

Name of the platform this DMD is connected to. The default value of None means the default hardware platform will be used. You only need to change this if you have multiple different hardware platforms in use and this coil is not connected to the default platform.

See the Mixing-and-Matching hardware platforms guide for details.

shades:

Single value, type: integer (must be a power of 2). Default: 16

How many shades the physical DMD can show. Modern pinball controllers support 16 shades.

source_display:

Single value, type: string. Default: dmd

The name of the display (from the displays: section of your machine config) that is the source for this physical DMD. Whatever’s on the source display will be displayed on the DMD. If you don’t specify a source, MPF will automatically use a source display called “dmd”.

console_log:

Single value, type: one of the following options: none, basic, full. Default: basic

Log level for the console log for this device.

debug:

Single value, type: boolean (true/false). Default: false

Set this to true to see additional debug output. This might impact the performance of MPF.

file_log:

Single value, type: one of the following options: none, basic, full. Default: basic

Log level for the file log for this device.

label:

Single value, type: string. Default: %

Name of this device in service mode.

tags:

List of one (or more) values, each is a type: string. Defaults to empty.

Not used.