TVout on Adafruit TTL Serial Camera

[TECH GEEK]

Hi fellow robots!

I'm thinking of getting a camera with TVout for use with my hobby other than being a maker. (Remote Control vehicles) I also need a camera that is capable of sending out a signal that can be read by a Arduino UNO, Arduino MEGA, or chipKIT MAX32. I would be using it with a uC to identify the location of basic shapes as well as determining what color is in a designated area. Sometimes both at the same time & sometime just one at a time.

My questions are about the NTSC TVout function of the camera.

• What is the resolution of the video?
• Is it in color?
• FPS?
  

[adafruit_support_bill]

Check the "Technical Details" tab under the photo: https://www.adafruit.com/products/397
Keep in mind that the NTSC output is in real-time, but the serial connection takes several seconds to transmit a single frame. You probably want to choose a uC with video input capabilities - or a camera with some on-board smarts like the CMU-Cam.

[TECH GEEK]

Check the "Technical Details" tab under the photo: https://www.adafruit.com/products/397
Keep in mind that the NTSC output is in real-time, but the serial connection takes several seconds to transmit a single frame. You probably want to choose a uC with video input capabilities - or a camera with some on-board smarts like the CMU-Cam.

I checked it earlier but saw no mention of whether the video is transmitted in color. Based on the link in the tutorial tab it look like black and white.

As far as resolution goes, I thought NTSC video was measured in TV lines, so I didn't think the 640x480 30fps was referring to the video out but instead the ttl serial interface.

[adafruit_support_bill]

The NTSC is NTSC standard 525 lines. The sensor is 640x480 with a 30 fps rolling shutter. The onboard video chip converts that to NTSC in real-time. The TTL serial interface is limited to serial communication speeds.

The camera does output color. Out of the box the color intensity tends to be on the low side, but this can be adjusted with the manufacturer's software tool.

[TECH GEEK]

Adafruit_support, I posted earlier that my camera was having trouble outputting color correctly. I showed you my pics here. we talked about what might be causing this to happen. and you thought it was that something was wrong with the camera. You sent me a new one very kindly but now I feel it does not output color through the NTSC to begin with. I am only getting black and white videos out of both of the cameras you sent me, and its not something wrong with the TV as I played games on the same TV with my Wii. Can you verify that the cameras you sent me output color via the video out? If you can get one of my cameras to output color I'll send a payment to you guys of 39.99 + next day shippng to compensate having to send a second TLL camera for free when you didn't need to.

[adafruit]

Adafruit_support, I posted earlier that my camera was having trouble outputting color correctly. I showed you my pics here. we talked about what might be causing this to happen. and you thought it was that something was wrong with the camera. You sent me a new one very kindly but now I feel it does not output color through the NTSC to begin with. I am only getting black and white videos out of both of the cameras you sent me, and its not something wrong with the TV as I played games on the same TV with my Wii. Can you verify that the cameras you sent me output color via the video out? If you can get one of my cameras to output color I'll send a payment to you guys of 39.99 + next day shippng to compensate having to send a second TLL camera for free when you didn't need to.

these cameras all output color, we'll pull some units to check - but they're all color, we've never seen one that only does black and white.

thanks,
adafruit support, phil

[TECH GEEK]

When you say color do you mean the NTSC video out?

[TECH GEEK]

Its definitely not he TV as I just hooked up my cable box via the same jack that i used the cameras on and got full color

[TECH GEEK]

Any progress phil?

[adafruit_support_bill]

When you say color do you mean the NTSC video out?

Yes. The NTSC video out signal is in color. The color saturation tends to be a little on the low-side by default. Have you tried adjusting the color settings on your TV?

[TECH GEEK]

it is not the TV settings. I think it is the camera settings

[adafruit_support_bill]

it is not the TV settings. I think it is the camera settings

Have you tried adjusting the camera settings? http://learn.adafruit.com/ttl-serial-ca ... g-commtool

NTSC is an analog signal and varies somewhat between sources. That is why TVs have those settings.

[TECH GEEK]

I have tried adjusting most of the settings on the cameras but no with no luck. You said you were going to pull a few cameras for testing, did you find out anything with the cameras set to default settings?

[adafruit]

I have tried adjusting most of the settings on the cameras but no with no luck. You said you were going to pull a few cameras for testing, did you find out anything with the cameras set to default settings?

all color, you can send back either one of the cameras that were sent expedited to you, we can plug in and take a photo.

thanks,
adafruit support

[TECH GEEK]

Well I guess it is something I'm doing then. I'll keep trying to figure out what it is and try to send one back if I can find the money