BOB-4 is the 4th-generation low-cost video information overlay module. BOB-4 lets your microcontroller or PC display text and vector graphics on standard TV monitors. With huge user-definable character sets*, BOB-4 also supports bitmap graphics and multiple languages. BOB-4 generates background video on-board, or automatically genlocks to your video source and superimposes characters over the image. Printable characters and commands control BOB-4 through a fast RS-232 style data link, much like a serial printer. BOB-4 links directly to most microcontrollers. NTSC and PAL video standards are supported in a single hardware version. Field firmware upgrades are supported via PC connection.
Previous versions of the BOB family have relied on 3rd party OSD chips for part of their functionality. These chips were once common in the days of analog video systems (VCR) but have now become obsolete. BOB 4 is a complete custom design that does not rely on 3rd party technologies. This will ensure that the BOB 4 will be a stable platform for quite some time.
Features:
- Simple hookup; requires just 5VDC, serial data, video I/O
- Immediately prints plain ASCII text in default configuration
- High display density; up to 480x240 (NTSC) or 480x288 (PAL)
- Arbitrary custom font sizes and proportional font support
- Bitmap graphics and vector graphics capability
- Off-board memory expansion for huge fonts & bitmap graphics
- Industry-standard ANSI command protocol (ECMA-048)
- Automatic vertical scrolling
- Text crawl (single-line smooth horizontal scroll)
- Mirror-image reverse text display capability
- VBI (vertical blanking interval) data insertion
- Async (RS-232 style) and SPI control ports
- Automatic video mode control (local/genlock)
- Customer-configurable video standard (NTSC or PAL)
- Stand-alone operation for video source ID, target reticle, etc.
- Software-controlled digital logic outputs (5)
- Analog voltage inputs (two 10-bit ADC channels; BOB-4H only)
- Consumes only 1/2W at 5VDC
- Lead-free and nominally RoHS-compliant
- Designed for maximum production lifetime; no OSD chips!
- Industrial operating temperature range is standard; -40 to +85C
- Accurate 75-ohm video terminations and unity gain
- Handles S-Video (Y/C video) with simple external circuit
- Firmware can be upgraded in the field via PC connection
- Independent debug serial port assists in application development
The BOB-4 Conscriptor runs on Windows PCs and offers these conveniences:
- Font editing, importing, file management
- Bitmap graphics importing and editing
- Boot script editing and file management
- BOB-4 configuration memory management
- BOB-4 firmware upgrade utility
- One-click BOB-4 module configuration
