diff mbox

[04/10] drm/sun4i: Explicitly list and check formats supported by the backend

Message ID 20180321152904.22411-5-paul.kocialkowski@bootlin.com (mailing list archive)
State New, archived
Headers show

Commit Message

Paul Kocialkowski March 21, 2018, 3:28 p.m. UTC
In order to check whether the backend supports a specific format, an
explicit list and a related helper are introduced.

They are then used to determine whether the frontend should be used for
a layer, when the format is not supported by the backend.

Signed-off-by: Paul Kocialkowski <paul.kocialkowski@bootlin.com>
---
 drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c | 48 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
 drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.h |  1 +
 2 files changed, 48 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

Comments

Maxime Ripard March 23, 2018, 10:03 a.m. UTC | #1
On Wed, Mar 21, 2018 at 04:28:58PM +0100, Paul Kocialkowski wrote:
> In order to check whether the backend supports a specific format, an
> explicit list and a related helper are introduced.
> 
> They are then used to determine whether the frontend should be used for
> a layer, when the format is not supported by the backend.
> 
> Signed-off-by: Paul Kocialkowski <paul.kocialkowski@bootlin.com>
> ---
>  drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c | 48 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
>  drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.h |  1 +
>  2 files changed, 48 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
> 
> diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c
> index 274a1db6fa8e..7703ba989743 100644
> --- a/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c
> +++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c
> @@ -172,6 +172,39 @@ static int sun4i_backend_drm_format_to_layer(u32 format, u32 *mode)
>  	return 0;
>  }
>  
> +static const uint32_t sun4i_backend_formats[] = {
> +	/* RGB */
> +	DRM_FORMAT_ARGB4444,
> +	DRM_FORMAT_RGBA4444,
> +	DRM_FORMAT_ARGB1555,
> +	DRM_FORMAT_RGBA5551,
> +	DRM_FORMAT_RGB565,
> +	DRM_FORMAT_RGB888,
> +	DRM_FORMAT_XRGB8888,
> +	DRM_FORMAT_BGRX8888,
> +	DRM_FORMAT_ARGB8888,
> +	/* YUV422 */
> +	DRM_FORMAT_YUYV,
> +	DRM_FORMAT_YVYU,
> +	DRM_FORMAT_UYVY,
> +	DRM_FORMAT_VYUY,

Ordering them by alphabetical order would be better.

> +};
> +
> +bool sun4i_backend_format_is_supported(uint32_t fmt)
> +{
> +	bool found = false;
> +	unsigned int i;
> +
> +	for (i = 0; i < ARRAY_SIZE(sun4i_backend_formats); i++) {
> +		if (sun4i_backend_formats[i] == fmt) {
> +			found = true;
> +			break;

return true?

> +		}
> +	}
> +
> +	return found;
> +}
> +
>  int sun4i_backend_update_layer_coord(struct sun4i_backend *backend,
>  				     int layer, struct drm_plane *plane)
>  {
> @@ -436,15 +469,28 @@ static bool sun4i_backend_plane_uses_frontend(struct drm_plane_state *state)
>  {
>  	struct sun4i_layer *layer = plane_to_sun4i_layer(state->plane);
>  	struct sun4i_backend *backend = layer->backend;
> +	struct drm_framebuffer *fb = state->fb;
>  
>  	if (IS_ERR(backend->frontend))
>  		return false;
>  
> +	/*
> +	 * Let's pretend that every format is either supported by the backend or
> +	 * the frontend. This is not true in practice, as some tiling modes are
> +	 * not supported by either. There is still room to check this later in
> +	 * the atomic check process.

Then I guess there these tiling modes will not be exposed and we won't
ever get that far, wouldn't we?

> +	 */
> +	if (!sun4i_backend_format_is_supported(fb->format->format))
> +		return true;

Even though there's a comment, this is not really natural. We are
checking whether the frontend supports the current plane_state, so it
just makes more sense to check whether the frontend supports the
format, rather than if the backend doesn't support them.

Maxime
Paul Kocialkowski March 27, 2018, 8:08 a.m. UTC | #2
Hi,

On Fri, 2018-03-23 at 11:03 +0100, Maxime Ripard wrote:
> On Wed, Mar 21, 2018 at 04:28:58PM +0100, Paul Kocialkowski wrote:
> > In order to check whether the backend supports a specific format, an
> > explicit list and a related helper are introduced.
> > 
> > They are then used to determine whether the frontend should be used
> > for
> > a layer, when the format is not supported by the backend.
> > 
> > Signed-off-by: Paul Kocialkowski <paul.kocialkowski@bootlin.com>
> > ---
> >  drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c | 48
> > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
> >  drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.h |  1 +
> >  2 files changed, 48 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
> > 
> > diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c
> > b/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c
> > index 274a1db6fa8e..7703ba989743 100644
> > --- a/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c
> > +++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c
> > @@ -172,6 +172,39 @@ static int
> > sun4i_backend_drm_format_to_layer(u32 format, u32 *mode)
> >  	return 0;
> >  }
> >  
> > +static const uint32_t sun4i_backend_formats[] = {
> > +	/* RGB */
> > +	DRM_FORMAT_ARGB4444,
> > +	DRM_FORMAT_RGBA4444,
> > +	DRM_FORMAT_ARGB1555,
> > +	DRM_FORMAT_RGBA5551,
> > +	DRM_FORMAT_RGB565,
> > +	DRM_FORMAT_RGB888,
> > +	DRM_FORMAT_XRGB8888,
> > +	DRM_FORMAT_BGRX8888,
> > +	DRM_FORMAT_ARGB8888,
> > +	/* YUV422 */
> > +	DRM_FORMAT_YUYV,
> > +	DRM_FORMAT_YVYU,
> > +	DRM_FORMAT_UYVY,
> > +	DRM_FORMAT_VYUY,
> 
> Ordering them by alphabetical order would be better.

Frankly I find it a lot harder to read when the formats are not grouped
by "family". This is the drm_fourcc enumeration order, which has some
kind of logic behind it. What is the advantage of alphabetical ordering
here?

> > +};
> > +
> > +bool sun4i_backend_format_is_supported(uint32_t fmt)
> > +{
> > +	bool found = false;
> > +	unsigned int i;
> > +
> > +	for (i = 0; i < ARRAY_SIZE(sun4i_backend_formats); i++) {
> > +		if (sun4i_backend_formats[i] == fmt) {
> > +			found = true;
> > +			break;
> 
> return true?

Definitely.

> > +		}
> > +	}
> > +
> > +	return found;
> > +}
> > +
> >  int sun4i_backend_update_layer_coord(struct sun4i_backend *backend,
> >  				     int layer, struct drm_plane
> > *plane)
> >  {
> > @@ -436,15 +469,28 @@ static bool
> > sun4i_backend_plane_uses_frontend(struct drm_plane_state *state)
> >  {
> >  	struct sun4i_layer *layer = plane_to_sun4i_layer(state-
> > >plane);
> >  	struct sun4i_backend *backend = layer->backend;
> > +	struct drm_framebuffer *fb = state->fb;
> >  
> >  	if (IS_ERR(backend->frontend))
> >  		return false;
> >  
> > +	/*
> > +	 * Let's pretend that every format is either supported by
> > the backend or
> > +	 * the frontend. This is not true in practice, as some
> > tiling modes are
> > +	 * not supported by either. There is still room to check
> > this later in
> > +	 * the atomic check process.
> 
> Then I guess there these tiling modes will not be exposed and we won't
> ever get that far, wouldn't we?

This comment is indeed a bit irrelevant at this stage given that the
tiling modifier was not introduced yet. So in practice, this never
happens with this patch. I should probably move it to a subsequent one.

> > +	 */
> > +	if (!sun4i_backend_format_is_supported(fb->format->format))
> > +		return true;
> 
> Even though there's a comment, this is not really natural. We are
> checking whether the frontend supports the current plane_state, so it
> just makes more sense to check whether the frontend supports the
> format, rather than if the backend doesn't support them.

The rationale behind this logic is that we should try to use the backend
first and only use the frontend as a last resort. Some formats are
supported by both and checking that the backend supports a format first
ensures that we don't bring up the frontend without need.

Cheers,
Maxime Ripard March 29, 2018, 7:56 a.m. UTC | #3
On Tue, Mar 27, 2018 at 10:08:48AM +0200, Paul Kocialkowski wrote:
> On Fri, 2018-03-23 at 11:03 +0100, Maxime Ripard wrote:
> > On Wed, Mar 21, 2018 at 04:28:58PM +0100, Paul Kocialkowski wrote:
> > > In order to check whether the backend supports a specific format, an
> > > explicit list and a related helper are introduced.
> > > 
> > > They are then used to determine whether the frontend should be used
> > > for
> > > a layer, when the format is not supported by the backend.
> > > 
> > > Signed-off-by: Paul Kocialkowski <paul.kocialkowski@bootlin.com>
> > > ---
> > >  drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c | 48
> > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
> > >  drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.h |  1 +
> > >  2 files changed, 48 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
> > > 
> > > diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c
> > > b/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c
> > > index 274a1db6fa8e..7703ba989743 100644
> > > --- a/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c
> > > +++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c
> > > @@ -172,6 +172,39 @@ static int
> > > sun4i_backend_drm_format_to_layer(u32 format, u32 *mode)
> > >  	return 0;
> > >  }
> > >  
> > > +static const uint32_t sun4i_backend_formats[] = {
> > > +	/* RGB */
> > > +	DRM_FORMAT_ARGB4444,
> > > +	DRM_FORMAT_RGBA4444,
> > > +	DRM_FORMAT_ARGB1555,
> > > +	DRM_FORMAT_RGBA5551,
> > > +	DRM_FORMAT_RGB565,
> > > +	DRM_FORMAT_RGB888,
> > > +	DRM_FORMAT_XRGB8888,
> > > +	DRM_FORMAT_BGRX8888,
> > > +	DRM_FORMAT_ARGB8888,
> > > +	/* YUV422 */
> > > +	DRM_FORMAT_YUYV,
> > > +	DRM_FORMAT_YVYU,
> > > +	DRM_FORMAT_UYVY,
> > > +	DRM_FORMAT_VYUY,
> > 
> > Ordering them by alphabetical order would be better.
> 
> Frankly I find it a lot harder to read when the formats are not grouped
> by "family". This is the drm_fourcc enumeration order, which has some
> kind of logic behind it. What is the advantage of alphabetical ordering
> here?

It's self-sufficient and self-explanatory. The sorting here, while it
would make sense lack both: you need to refer to the drm_fourcc.h file
to get the sorting right (which makes it harder to edit and review,
and thus more error prone), and it assumes that the editor knows about
that sorting in the first place.

And it's an assumption we can't really make, since some people will
edit that structure in the first place without any background at all
with DRM, or even graphics in general.

While the assumption you have to make for the alphabetical order is
that one knows the latin alphabet, which is a pretty obvious one when
you're doing C programming.

> > > +	 */
> > > +	if (!sun4i_backend_format_is_supported(fb->format->format))
> > > +		return true;
> > 
> > Even though there's a comment, this is not really natural. We are
> > checking whether the frontend supports the current plane_state, so it
> > just makes more sense to check whether the frontend supports the
> > format, rather than if the backend doesn't support them.
> 
> The rationale behind this logic is that we should try to use the backend
> first and only use the frontend as a last resort. Some formats are
> supported by both and checking that the backend supports a format first
> ensures that we don't bring up the frontend without need.

You can achieve pretty much the same thing by doing:

if (!sun4i_frontend_format_is_supported())
	return false;

if (!using_scaling)
	return false;

if (using_2x_or_4x_scaling)
	return false;

return true;

This is really about whitelisting vs blacklisting, so I'm not sure
what that would really change in the case you described above.

Maxime
Paul Kocialkowski Oct. 16, 2018, 1:55 p.m. UTC | #4
Hi,

Le jeudi 29 mars 2018 à 09:56 +0200, Maxime Ripard a écrit :
> On Tue, Mar 27, 2018 at 10:08:48AM +0200, Paul Kocialkowski wrote:
> > On Fri, 2018-03-23 at 11:03 +0100, Maxime Ripard wrote:
> > > On Wed, Mar 21, 2018 at 04:28:58PM +0100, Paul Kocialkowski wrote:
> > > > In order to check whether the backend supports a specific format, an
> > > > explicit list and a related helper are introduced.
> > > > 
> > > > They are then used to determine whether the frontend should be used
> > > > for
> > > > a layer, when the format is not supported by the backend.
> > > > 
> > > > Signed-off-by: Paul Kocialkowski <paul.kocialkowski@bootlin.com>
> > > > ---
> > > >  drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c | 48
> > > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
> > > >  drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.h |  1 +
> > > >  2 files changed, 48 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
> > > > 
> > > > diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c
> > > > b/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c
> > > > index 274a1db6fa8e..7703ba989743 100644
> > > > --- a/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c
> > > > +++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c
> > > > @@ -172,6 +172,39 @@ static int
> > > > sun4i_backend_drm_format_to_layer(u32 format, u32 *mode)
> > > >  	return 0;
> > > >  }
> > > >  
> > > > +static const uint32_t sun4i_backend_formats[] = {
> > > > +	/* RGB */
> > > > +	DRM_FORMAT_ARGB4444,
> > > > +	DRM_FORMAT_RGBA4444,
> > > > +	DRM_FORMAT_ARGB1555,
> > > > +	DRM_FORMAT_RGBA5551,
> > > > +	DRM_FORMAT_RGB565,
> > > > +	DRM_FORMAT_RGB888,
> > > > +	DRM_FORMAT_XRGB8888,
> > > > +	DRM_FORMAT_BGRX8888,
> > > > +	DRM_FORMAT_ARGB8888,
> > > > +	/* YUV422 */
> > > > +	DRM_FORMAT_YUYV,
> > > > +	DRM_FORMAT_YVYU,
> > > > +	DRM_FORMAT_UYVY,
> > > > +	DRM_FORMAT_VYUY,
> > > 
> > > Ordering them by alphabetical order would be better.
> > 
> > Frankly I find it a lot harder to read when the formats are not grouped
> > by "family". This is the drm_fourcc enumeration order, which has some
> > kind of logic behind it. What is the advantage of alphabetical ordering
> > here?
> 
> It's self-sufficient and self-explanatory. The sorting here, while it
> would make sense lack both: you need to refer to the drm_fourcc.h file
> to get the sorting right (which makes it harder to edit and review,
> and thus more error prone), and it assumes that the editor knows about
> that sorting in the first place.
> 
> And it's an assumption we can't really make, since some people will
> edit that structure in the first place without any background at all
> with DRM, or even graphics in general.
> 
> While the assumption you have to make for the alphabetical order is
> that one knows the latin alphabet, which is a pretty obvious one when
> you're doing C programming.
> 
> > > > +	 */
> > > > +	if (!sun4i_backend_format_is_supported(fb->format->format))
> > > > +		return true;
> > > 
> > > Even though there's a comment, this is not really natural. We are
> > > checking whether the frontend supports the current plane_state, so it
> > > just makes more sense to check whether the frontend supports the
> > > format, rather than if the backend doesn't support them.
> > 
> > The rationale behind this logic is that we should try to use the backend
> > first and only use the frontend as a last resort. Some formats are
> > supported by both and checking that the backend supports a format first
> > ensures that we don't bring up the frontend without need.
> 
> You can achieve pretty much the same thing by doing:
> 
> if (!sun4i_frontend_format_is_supported())
> 	return false;
> 
> if (!using_scaling)
> 	return false;
> 
> if (using_2x_or_4x_scaling)
> 	return false;
> 
> return true;
> 
> This is really about whitelisting vs blacklisting, so I'm not sure
> what that would really change in the case you described above.

These sequential tests for blacklisting don't fit the bill here. For
instance, it would always return false when not using scaling for a
format supported only by the frontend, while we'd need to use the
frontend for it.

We still need to know whether the format is supported or not for both
the frontend or the backend, because one is not sufficient to describe
the other and both are involved in the decision to use the frontend.

That is, the set of formats supported by the frontend is not the 
complementary of the sets of formats supported by the backend (some
formats are supported by both), so we can't exchange one with the
negation of the other in the initial statement.

I agree with the inital comment though, that it seems more natural to
check that the frontend supports a format first.

I think the following combination would be the most comprehensive:

if (!sun4i_frontend_format_is_supported())
	return false;

if (!sun4i_backend_format_is_supported())
	return true;

if (using_2x_or_4x_scaling)
	return false;

if (using_scaling)
	return true;

return false;

What do you think?

Cheers,

Paul
Maxime Ripard Oct. 17, 2018, 3:33 p.m. UTC | #5
On Tue, Oct 16, 2018 at 03:55:40PM +0200, Paul Kocialkowski wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> Le jeudi 29 mars 2018 à 09:56 +0200, Maxime Ripard a écrit :
> > On Tue, Mar 27, 2018 at 10:08:48AM +0200, Paul Kocialkowski wrote:
> > > On Fri, 2018-03-23 at 11:03 +0100, Maxime Ripard wrote:
> > > > On Wed, Mar 21, 2018 at 04:28:58PM +0100, Paul Kocialkowski wrote:
> > > > > In order to check whether the backend supports a specific format, an
> > > > > explicit list and a related helper are introduced.
> > > > > 
> > > > > They are then used to determine whether the frontend should be used
> > > > > for
> > > > > a layer, when the format is not supported by the backend.
> > > > > 
> > > > > Signed-off-by: Paul Kocialkowski <paul.kocialkowski@bootlin.com>
> > > > > ---
> > > > >  drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c | 48
> > > > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
> > > > >  drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.h |  1 +
> > > > >  2 files changed, 48 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
> > > > > 
> > > > > diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c
> > > > > b/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c
> > > > > index 274a1db6fa8e..7703ba989743 100644
> > > > > --- a/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c
> > > > > +++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c
> > > > > @@ -172,6 +172,39 @@ static int
> > > > > sun4i_backend_drm_format_to_layer(u32 format, u32 *mode)
> > > > >  	return 0;
> > > > >  }
> > > > >  
> > > > > +static const uint32_t sun4i_backend_formats[] = {
> > > > > +	/* RGB */
> > > > > +	DRM_FORMAT_ARGB4444,
> > > > > +	DRM_FORMAT_RGBA4444,
> > > > > +	DRM_FORMAT_ARGB1555,
> > > > > +	DRM_FORMAT_RGBA5551,
> > > > > +	DRM_FORMAT_RGB565,
> > > > > +	DRM_FORMAT_RGB888,
> > > > > +	DRM_FORMAT_XRGB8888,
> > > > > +	DRM_FORMAT_BGRX8888,
> > > > > +	DRM_FORMAT_ARGB8888,
> > > > > +	/* YUV422 */
> > > > > +	DRM_FORMAT_YUYV,
> > > > > +	DRM_FORMAT_YVYU,
> > > > > +	DRM_FORMAT_UYVY,
> > > > > +	DRM_FORMAT_VYUY,
> > > > 
> > > > Ordering them by alphabetical order would be better.
> > > 
> > > Frankly I find it a lot harder to read when the formats are not grouped
> > > by "family". This is the drm_fourcc enumeration order, which has some
> > > kind of logic behind it. What is the advantage of alphabetical ordering
> > > here?
> > 
> > It's self-sufficient and self-explanatory. The sorting here, while it
> > would make sense lack both: you need to refer to the drm_fourcc.h file
> > to get the sorting right (which makes it harder to edit and review,
> > and thus more error prone), and it assumes that the editor knows about
> > that sorting in the first place.
> > 
> > And it's an assumption we can't really make, since some people will
> > edit that structure in the first place without any background at all
> > with DRM, or even graphics in general.
> > 
> > While the assumption you have to make for the alphabetical order is
> > that one knows the latin alphabet, which is a pretty obvious one when
> > you're doing C programming.
> > 
> > > > > +	 */
> > > > > +	if (!sun4i_backend_format_is_supported(fb->format->format))
> > > > > +		return true;
> > > > 
> > > > Even though there's a comment, this is not really natural. We are
> > > > checking whether the frontend supports the current plane_state, so it
> > > > just makes more sense to check whether the frontend supports the
> > > > format, rather than if the backend doesn't support them.
> > > 
> > > The rationale behind this logic is that we should try to use the backend
> > > first and only use the frontend as a last resort. Some formats are
> > > supported by both and checking that the backend supports a format first
> > > ensures that we don't bring up the frontend without need.
> > 
> > You can achieve pretty much the same thing by doing:
> > 
> > if (!sun4i_frontend_format_is_supported())
> > 	return false;
> > 
> > if (!using_scaling)
> > 	return false;
> > 
> > if (using_2x_or_4x_scaling)
> > 	return false;
> > 
> > return true;
> > 
> > This is really about whitelisting vs blacklisting, so I'm not sure
> > what that would really change in the case you described above.
> 
> These sequential tests for blacklisting don't fit the bill here. For
> instance, it would always return false when not using scaling for a
> format supported only by the frontend, while we'd need to use the
> frontend for it.
> 
> We still need to know whether the format is supported or not for both
> the frontend or the backend, because one is not sufficient to describe
> the other and both are involved in the decision to use the frontend.
> 
> That is, the set of formats supported by the frontend is not the 
> complementary of the sets of formats supported by the backend (some
> formats are supported by both), so we can't exchange one with the
> negation of the other in the initial statement.
> 
> I agree with the inital comment though, that it seems more natural to
> check that the frontend supports a format first.
> 
> I think the following combination would be the most comprehensive:
> 
> if (!sun4i_frontend_format_is_supported())
> 	return false;
> 
> if (!sun4i_backend_format_is_supported())
> 	return true;
> 
> if (using_2x_or_4x_scaling)
> 	return false;
> 
> if (using_scaling)
> 	return true;
> 
> return false;
> 
> What do you think?

That works for me

Maxime
diff mbox

Patch

diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c
index 274a1db6fa8e..7703ba989743 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.c
@@ -172,6 +172,39 @@  static int sun4i_backend_drm_format_to_layer(u32 format, u32 *mode)
 	return 0;
 }
 
+static const uint32_t sun4i_backend_formats[] = {
+	/* RGB */
+	DRM_FORMAT_ARGB4444,
+	DRM_FORMAT_RGBA4444,
+	DRM_FORMAT_ARGB1555,
+	DRM_FORMAT_RGBA5551,
+	DRM_FORMAT_RGB565,
+	DRM_FORMAT_RGB888,
+	DRM_FORMAT_XRGB8888,
+	DRM_FORMAT_BGRX8888,
+	DRM_FORMAT_ARGB8888,
+	/* YUV422 */
+	DRM_FORMAT_YUYV,
+	DRM_FORMAT_YVYU,
+	DRM_FORMAT_UYVY,
+	DRM_FORMAT_VYUY,
+};
+
+bool sun4i_backend_format_is_supported(uint32_t fmt)
+{
+	bool found = false;
+	unsigned int i;
+
+	for (i = 0; i < ARRAY_SIZE(sun4i_backend_formats); i++) {
+		if (sun4i_backend_formats[i] == fmt) {
+			found = true;
+			break;
+		}
+	}
+
+	return found;
+}
+
 int sun4i_backend_update_layer_coord(struct sun4i_backend *backend,
 				     int layer, struct drm_plane *plane)
 {
@@ -436,15 +469,28 @@  static bool sun4i_backend_plane_uses_frontend(struct drm_plane_state *state)
 {
 	struct sun4i_layer *layer = plane_to_sun4i_layer(state->plane);
 	struct sun4i_backend *backend = layer->backend;
+	struct drm_framebuffer *fb = state->fb;
 
 	if (IS_ERR(backend->frontend))
 		return false;
 
+	/*
+	 * Let's pretend that every format is either supported by the backend or
+	 * the frontend. This is not true in practice, as some tiling modes are
+	 * not supported by either. There is still room to check this later in
+	 * the atomic check process.
+	 */
+	if (!sun4i_backend_format_is_supported(fb->format->format))
+		return true;
+
 	/*
 	 * TODO: Don't use the frontend for x2/x4 scaling and allow RGB formats
 	 * with an alpha component then.
 	 */
-	return sun4i_backend_plane_uses_scaler(state);
+	if (sun4i_backend_plane_uses_scaler(state))
+		return true;
+
+	return false;
 }
 
 static void sun4i_backend_atomic_begin(struct sunxi_engine *engine,
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.h b/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.h
index cb6df2b690c0..a7bfc38f12bd 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.h
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/sun4i/sun4i_backend.h
@@ -207,5 +207,6 @@  int sun4i_backend_update_layer_zpos(struct sun4i_backend *backend,
 				    int layer, struct drm_plane *plane);
 void sun4i_backend_disable_layer_frontend(struct sun4i_backend *backend,
 					  int layer);
+bool sun4i_backend_format_is_supported(uint32_t fmt);
 
 #endif /* _SUN4I_BACKEND_H_ */