[i.MX Yocto] Virtual Display X11 RDP for i.MX91

[Zk47T]

Hi all,

I’d like to double-check my understanding about display support on i.MX91 (FRDM board).

• From what I can tell, the i.MX91 FRDM has no HDMI or MIPI-DSI (or other display) outputs on the board, and I’m not seeing a display controller exposed by the SoC in the BSP.

• My goal was to run a lightweight GUI remotely just for testing Yocto apps.

What I tried

• Built core-image-sato (X11) and set up xrdp. The RDP session connects, but I only get a terminal session (no Sato desktop).

63eaadc99173192d4062.jpg

• Doing the same workflow on STM32MP157 produces a proper remote GUI, so I’m trying to understand what’s different/unsupported on i.MX91.

image (3).png

Questions

1. Can someone please confirm whether i.MX91 (SoC + FRDM board) has no hardware display controller / no supported display outputs (HDMI/MIPI/LVDS/RGB) in the current BSP?

2. If there is truly no display pipeline, what is the recommended approach for a headless GUI on i.MX91? For example:

   • Weston headless backend + RDP/VNC backend,

   • Xorg with Xvfb/Xdummy + xrdp,

   • or any NXP-recommended method that works with the i.MX91 graphics stack (e.g., software rendering via llvmpipe).

3. Are there any reference designs or add-on boards for i.MX91 that provide a supported display interface? Or is display only available on other i.MX9 variants (e.g., i.MX93)?

Environment (for context)

• Board: FRDM-i.MX91

• Yocto: scarthgap follow guide in https://www.nxp.com/document/guide/getting-started-with-frdm-imx91-development-board:GS-FRDM-IMX91?s...

• Image: core-image-sato (X11)

• Remote: xrdp (RDP) → terminal only, no desktop

If anyone’s interested in the exact steps I used for the RDP setup on i.MX91, I’m happy to share.

Thanks!

[AldoG]

Hello,

i.MX91 FRDM only support 5-inch Tianma LCD display by default on our BSP.
Please refer to the Board User's Guide:
https://www.nxp.com/webapp/Download?colCode=UM12262&isHTMLorPDF=HTML

Chapter 3.1 5-inch Tianma LCD

Best regards/Saludos,
Aldo.

[Zk47T]

Hi @AldoG 

Thank you for your reply

Actually i know about this screen, but it so expensive, the screen price is triple the board price.

So i think i will stick with virtual display solution. Do you think it possible to some kind of port forwarding or screencast framebuffer to output GUI to xfreerdp from PC.

Also can i ask currently frdm-i.mx93 is out of stock, we need to wait at least November right ? 

[AldoG]

Hello,

Yes, for stock on the freedom board please check the webpage or if urgently please contact your local NXP office or your assigned NXP sales person for any availability.

Best regards/Saludos,
Aldo.

[Zk47T]

Hi, anyone has any idea ?