Adafruit’s New Solution for HUB75 RGB LED Matrices on Raspberry Pi 5

The Raspberry Pi 5 introduced significant upgrades, including a more powerful CPU, GPU, and faster I/O performance compared to its predecessor, the Raspberry Pi 4. While most applications transition smoothly between the two models, some compatibility issues have emerged. One notable limitation is the inability to drive HUB75 RGB LED matrices using traditional methods, as GPIO control has shifted from the Broadcom processor to the RP1 peripheral controller.

To overcome this, Adafruit has leveraged the Programmable I/O (PIO) block within the RP1 chip—the same technology found in the RP2040 and RP2350 microcontrollers. By utilizing PIO, they have successfully restored HUB75 RGB LED matrix support on the Raspberry Pi 5. Their implementation is available in the Adafruit-Blinka-Raspberry-Pi5-Piomatter repository on GitHub.

You can find detailed instructions for installing the Adafruit Blinka Raspberry Pi 5 PioMatter library (commonly referred to as PioMatter) on Adafruit Learn

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python -m venv ~/venvs/blinka_venv source ~/venvs/blinka_venv/bin/activate pip install adafruit-blinka pip install pillow pip install numpy pip install Adafruit-Blinka-Raspberry-Pi5-Piomatter

Once you have set up the RGB Matrix Bonnet or RGB Matrix HAT on your Raspberry Pi 5 and connected a HUB75 RGB matrix, you can proceed with the installation. To do this, follow the steps below on Raspberry Pi OS:

1	SUBSYSTEM=="*-pio", GROUP="gpio", MODE="0660"

cThe PioMatter library is still in its alpha stage, so occasional bugs may occur. However, a Linux-capable SBC is not always required to drive HUB75 RGB matrices.

1	python single_panel_simpletest.py

Adafruit Learn has more examples explaining how to play a GIF, run scrolling text, mirror the serial console, and even play MP4 videos like Big Buck Bunny as shown in the video below.

https://youtu.be/Qb7yY5xZX2E

For an alternative solution, the Pimoroni Interstate 75 W (RP2350) board is specifically designed for HUB75 LED matrix panels. While playing MP4 videos on an RP2350-based board can be more challenging compared to a Raspberry Pi 5, it is still achievable with the right approach.