linux-drivers/
drivers/gpu/drm/bridge/synopsys

Synopsys DesignWare HDMI and MIPI DSI display bridge IP

A family of licensable display-output controller blocks from Synopsys (HDMI transmitters, HDMI QP, MIPI DSI and DSI-2 host controllers, and DisplayPort) that SoC vendors integrate into their chips to drive monitors, TVs, and embedded panels. The same IP appears across phone, tablet, set-top, automotive, and embedded silicon shipping today.

keep conf=0.89 deploy=high replacement=none subsystem=gpu category=graphics-display
89%

recommendation

It should stay in the kernel because Synopsys still actively sells these HDMI, HDMI QP, MIPI DSI, DSI-2, and DisplayPort controller blocks, and they are embedded in a wide range of current application processors, automotive SoCs, and display bridge chips. Upstream history through 2025 and 2026 shows ongoing fixes, API modernization, and new DisplayPort support landing here, with no removal series in flight.

repository signals

15 files
13,076 source lines
108 commits, 5y
+6,474 / −513 lines added / removed, 5y
47 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 108 total · active in 46/61 months
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sources

  1. github.com

    Canonical upstream history page for this directory; local git inspection shows multiple non-removal fixes and feature additions in 2025-2026, consistent with an actively maintained driver family rather than a deprecation target.

  2. cateee.net

    LKDDb shows CONFIG_DRM_DW_MIPI_DSI2 is present in Linux 6.14-6.19 and 7.0-rc+HEAD, indicating this directory is still gaining or carrying current upstream functionality.

  3. synopsys.com

    Synopsys still markets MIPI DSI/DSI-2 Host Controller IP for current application-processor, display-bridge, multimedia, and automotive use cases.

  4. synopsys.com

    Synopsys still markets HDMI 2.0 TX IP and describes it as shipping in volume, supporting continued new silicon adoption of this IP family.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Real driver directory: Kconfig/Makefile and module_driver markers in local shell inspection. I attempted lore-first checks via MCP and `lei`; no lore MCP resources were exposed and `lei` was unavailable, so I fell back to local `git log` plus web lookups. Local shell `git -c safe.directory=... log` showed substantial 2025-2026 activity (fixes, API conversions, new DW DP support) and no explicit removal/deprecation series. Source URLs were obtained via web search (`cateee.net`, Synopsys product pages) or canonical recall of the stable upstream history page (`github.com/torvalds/linux/commits/...`). Because this code drives still-marketed Synopsys DesignWare display IP embedded in current SoCs, there is no natural upstream replacement and the right recommendation is to keep it.