I2C-attached HDMI CEC controllers (Chrontel CH7322 and NXP TDA9950)
A small collection of HDMI CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) companion chips that sit on an I2C bus next to an HDMI transmitter and handle the remote-control and power signalling defined by the HDMI spec. It covers Chrontel's CH7322 controller and NXP's TDA9950/TDA998x family, parts found in TVs, set-top boxes, and embedded boards such as the BeagleBone Black from the mid-2010s onward.
recommendation
Worth keeping but documenting as a niche, low-volume corner of the HDMI stack. Chrontel still markets the CH7322B as a current product and the TDA9950 saw upstream restructuring as recently as January 2025, so the code is maintained and at least one chip is still sold new. However, the NXP side is clearly aging out: the TDA19988 hit last-time-buy in mid-2022 and boards like the BeagleBone Black Rev D have already moved to ITE replacements, so deployment volumes are small and shrinking.
repository signals
sources
- lore.kernel.org
TDA9950 support saw upstream work in January 2025; the change moved the driver into media/cec rather than proposing removal.
- lore.kernel.org
CH7322 support saw upstream maintenance in 2023, indicating the driver was still being kept buildable and integrated.
- cateee.net
CONFIG_CEC_NXP_TDA9950 is still present in current kernel series and covers the TDA9950/TDA998x CEC hardware.
- cateee.net
CONFIG_CEC_CH7322 remains present in current kernel series, indicating ongoing upstream exposure rather than retirement.
- chrontel.com
Chrontel still lists CH7322B as a current CEC controller product, so at least part of this driver family was still sold new after 2025.
- forum.digikey.com
A 2025 BeagleBone Black Rev D note says boards ran out of NXP TDA19988 after a July 30, 2022 last-time-buy and switched to an ITE HDMI part, showing the NXP side is aging out of new designs.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
Local exec_command inspection of Kconfig and source files showed this directory contains two real I2C CEC drivers: CH7322 and TDA9950/TDA998x. lore_file_timeline on both .c files produced the cited lore URLs; activity is sparse but recent and maintenance-oriented, with no removal discussion surfaced. web search produced LKDDb pages confirming both configs remain in current kernels, a Chrontel catalog page showing CH7322B still marketed, and a 2025 BeagleBone FAQ showing NXP TDA19988-family parts have aged out of at least one shipping board revision. Net: niche, mixed-age hardware with low current deployment, but still enough upstream and market evidence to keep the directory and annotate it as low-volume/legacy-leaning rather than deprecate.