Very strange question concerning inputs and aspect ratios

cazzzidy · 11-04-2009, 03:28 PM

Hey there,

This place looks like an awesome forum!

I've got a peculiar problem. I'm a marketing guy at work, and I'm supposed to debut a new videocamera technology at a big tradeshow next month. We need to send a video signal to a large display so people walking by can watch the videofeed. I need your folks help figuring out what TV to buy and what to do.

The engineers who are building the videocamera thing tell me this.

-The output from the camera is 400 pixels by 400 pixels square.
-The converter box will take that 400x400 digital signal and slap it into analog NTSC format, and leave black bars on the bottom and side.
-The image will be on the top left, leaving approximately 80 black scanlines on the bottom of the screen and some number of vertical lines on the right.
- We will use composite video input.

We will be mechanically cropping the image by installing the flatscreen in a cabinet. That way only the videofeed image will be viewable and the blank space on the screen will be hidden. That's our plan right now.

My questions are:

- Do any TVs enable you to zoom in on one portion of the image so we can do less cropping?
- Do any flatscreens automatically detect black space and fill the screen with the image?
- Do any flat screens come in a 4:3 aspect ratio, so we get more image on the screen?

We need at least a 20" x 20" image, which by my calculations means we need at least a 38" screen. Does anyone have a recommendation for a cheap, lightweight 38" flatscreen that might fit the bill?

Any other ideas?

Cassidy

oblioman · 11-04-2009, 07:10 PM

Ummm, you have engineers working on a "new experimental medical videocamera technology",,,yet it will use a composite connection? The first bit of advice would be to get engineers that understand the difference between composite and component. And mechanically cropping an image? How old school do you want to go? is this thread for real????

cazzzidy · 11-04-2009, 07:44 PM

Ha!

I absolutely understand your skepticism. Considering the nature of my predicament, you'd assume we'd have better solutions in mind.

The camera technology is an integrated, closed box system with a built in LCD screen. It doesn't use a standard video protocol. The only output that is easy for us to snatch from the device is NTSC, anything else would require developing more custom hardware.

So yes, this post is for real. I have an NTSC signal that will only be partially filled with an image. We mechanically crop it because the televsion will be stripped and custom built into a tradeshow booth.

We do, however, want to maximize the amount of screen we use.

I know it sounds like we're a bunch of hacks. We're not, we're just working with a limited marketing budget and need to get this thing done ASAP.

Rick-F · 11-05-2009, 02:32 PM

I would assume that a 768X1366 res. 37" LCD TV with a 2:1 zoom mode would (almost) do it inexpensively. A 2:1 zoom would be 800 x 800 and you would lose a small amount of vertical (768 vs. 800) picture, just 16 scan lines at the top and bottom. Or perhaps a 105" Plasma and you would not need to "zoom"-- this is NOT inexpensive however.

DTV_Engineer · 11-19-2009, 10:06 AM

Another possibility comes to mind... does your camera system normally display through a PC monitor? If so, you might do better to use a scan converter like a CSI ScanDoPro, which takes the VGA from the PC and converts it to either NTSC or serial digital video. The box gives you a certain degree of zoom and pan control, and will yield a much sharper display that will fill your display monitor.

You might contact the folks at B&H video... I think they might rent this equipment, or they might have another solution.

Regards,

-- Jeff

11-04-2009, 03:28 PM	#1
cazzzidy What is HD? Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 2	Very strange question concerning inputs and aspect ratios Hey there, This place looks like an awesome forum! I've got a peculiar problem. I'm a marketing guy at work, and I'm supposed to debut a new videocamera technology at a big tradeshow next month. We need to send a video signal to a large display so people walking by can watch the videofeed. I need your folks help figuring out what TV to buy and what to do. The engineers who are building the videocamera thing tell me this. -The output from the camera is 400 pixels by 400 pixels square. -The converter box will take that 400x400 digital signal and slap it into analog NTSC format, and leave black bars on the bottom and side. -The image will be on the top left, leaving approximately 80 black scanlines on the bottom of the screen and some number of vertical lines on the right. - We will use composite video input. We will be mechanically cropping the image by installing the flatscreen in a cabinet. That way only the videofeed image will be viewable and the blank space on the screen will be hidden. That's our plan right now. My questions are: - Do any TVs enable you to zoom in on one portion of the image so we can do less cropping? - Do any flatscreens automatically detect black space and fill the screen with the image? - Do any flat screens come in a 4:3 aspect ratio, so we get more image on the screen? We need at least a 20" x 20" image, which by my calculations means we need at least a 38" screen. Does anyone have a recommendation for a cheap, lightweight 38" flatscreen that might fit the bill? Any other ideas? Cassidy Last edited by cazzzidy; 11-04-2009 at 07:45 PM.

11-04-2009, 07:10 PM	#2
oblioman OTIS,,me hero Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Someville TN Posts: 4,562	Ummm, you have engineers working on a "new experimental medical videocamera technology",,,yet it will use a composite connection? The first bit of advice would be to get engineers that understand the difference between composite and component. And mechanically cropping an image? How old school do you want to go? is this thread for real????

11-04-2009, 07:44 PM	#3
cazzzidy What is HD? Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 2	Ha! I absolutely understand your skepticism. Considering the nature of my predicament, you'd assume we'd have better solutions in mind. The camera technology is an integrated, closed box system with a built in LCD screen. It doesn't use a standard video protocol. The only output that is easy for us to snatch from the device is NTSC, anything else would require developing more custom hardware. So yes, this post is for real. I have an NTSC signal that will only be partially filled with an image. We mechanically crop it because the televsion will be stripped and custom built into a tradeshow booth. We do, however, want to maximize the amount of screen we use. I know it sounds like we're a bunch of hacks. We're not, we're just working with a limited marketing budget and need to get this thing done ASAP.

11-05-2009, 02:32 PM	#4
Rick-F 58" & 50" PDP / 2 32" LCD Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 1,560	I would assume that a 768X1366 res. 37" LCD TV with a 2:1 zoom mode would (almost) do it inexpensively. A 2:1 zoom would be 800 x 800 and you would lose a small amount of vertical (768 vs. 800) picture, just 16 scan lines at the top and bottom. Or perhaps a 105" Plasma and you would not need to "zoom"-- this is NOT inexpensive however.

11-19-2009, 10:06 AM	#5
DTV_Engineer Broadcast Engineer Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Central New York Posts: 14	Another possibility comes to mind... does your camera system normally display through a PC monitor? If so, you might do better to use a scan converter like a CSI ScanDoPro, which takes the VGA from the PC and converts it to either NTSC or serial digital video. The box gives you a certain degree of zoom and pan control, and will yield a much sharper display that will fill your display monitor. You might contact the folks at B&H video... I think they might rent this equipment, or they might have another solution. Regards, -- Jeff