Connector

Hookup

VIDEO IN

RCA connector type
Attach noise free NTSC or PAL video source such as a camera
Not required if self-generated screen mode selected

VIDEO OUT

RCA connector type
Attach to video monitor, DVR, etc.

SERIAL PORT

DB-9 connector type
Attach to 9,600 or 19,200 baud RS-232 or TTL source
Pin 2 Serial out (from VideoStamp+™)
Pin 3 Serial in (to VideoStamp+™)
Pin 5 Ground

DC 8-14V IN

2.1 mm x 5.5 mm, center tip positive connector
Attach supplied 110 VAC wall power supply
DO NOT EXCEED 14 VDC

DIP #

Description

1

RS-232 baud rate
           OFF   = 9,600 baud
           ON    = 19,200 baud

2

NTSC or PAL video format
           OFF   = NTSC
           ON    = PAL

3

Display font screen (for testing purposes)
           OFF   = Do nothing
           ON    = Display font screen         

4

Firmware flash update
           OFF   = Do nothing
           ON    = Enter VideoStamp+™ firmware flash update

Command

Value

Number
Of Params

Description

UNUSED

0xE0h

N/A

UNUSED

Set Video Format

0xE1h

1

Set the video format (0-1)
0 = NTSC
1 = PAL
Only required to override dip switch #2 setting

Set Overlay Mode

0xE2h

1

Set the video overlay mode (0-2)
0 = Auto switch based on valid video input [default]
1 = Overlay text and graphics with incoming video only (external sync)
2 = Overlay text and graphics with self-generated background screen only (Internal sync)

Clear Screen

0xE3h

0

Clear the entire screen with spaces (uses character in font position 00h)

Show / Hide Overlay

0xE4h

1

Show or hide the text and graphics overlay (0-1)
0 = Hide text and graphics
1 = Show text and graphics [default]

Set Cursor Position

0xE5h

2

Set the cursor position
Byte 0 = X (0-29)
Byte 1 = Y NTSC (0-12),  PAL (0-15)

Set Character Blink Attribute

0xE6h

1

Set character blink attribute (0-1)
0 = Off [default]
1 = On
Applies to all characters drawn after the command is sent

Set Character Invert Attribute

0xE7h

1

Set character invert attribute (0-1)
0 = Normal (white pixels display white, black pixels display black) [default]
1 = Invert (white pixels display black, black pixels display white)
Applies to all characters drawn after the command is sent

Set Character Background Attribute

0xE8h

1

Set character background attribute (0-1)
0 = Sets the background pixels of the character to the incoming video [default]
1 = Sets the background pixels of the character to the background mode brightness (0xF7h)
Note: During internal sync mode, the background attribute behaves as if it is set to 1
Applies to all characters drawn after the command is sent

Draw Upper Range Character

0xE9h

1

Draw one upper range font character at the current cursor position (0xE0-0xFF)

Draw Sprite

0xEAh

1

Draw one sprite at the current cursor position (0-15)

Wait for VBLANK

0xEBh

1

Wait for VBLANK before proceeding
Byte 0 = Pre-delay in milliseconds (0-128)
             This is a forced delay before VBLANK detection occurs allowing the user time to send              characters to be drawn during VBLANK.

Set Screen Horizontal Position Offset

0xECh

1

Set Screen Horizontal Position Offset [default 53]
0 = Farthest left (-32 pixels)
32 = No horizontal offset
63 = Farthest right (+31 pixels)

Set Screen Vertical Position Offset

0xEDh

1

Set Screen Vertical Position Offset [default 29]
0 = Farthest up (-16 pixels)
16 = No vertical offset
31 = Farthest down (+15 pixels)

Set Date and Time
(Internal battery backup)

0xEEh

12

Set the on-board real-time clock
mmddyyhhmmss
mm = 2 ASCII characters 01-12
dd = 2 ASCII characters 01-31
yy = 2 ASCII characters 00-99
hh = 2 ASCII characters 00-23
mm = 2 ASCII characters 00-59
ss = 2 ASCII characters 00-59

Set Date and Time Display Format
(Stored in non-volatile memory)

0xEFh

2

Set date and time display format
Byte 0  = Date display format (0-1)
            0 = mm/dd/yy [default]
            1 = dd/mm/yy
Byte 1  = Time 12/24 hour display format (0-1)
            0 = 24 hour format [default]
            1 = 12 hour format

Set Time Display Position
(Stored in non-volatile memory)

0xF0h

2

Set the position to display the on-screen time
Byte 0 = X (0-29)
Byte 1 = Y NTSC (0-12),  PAL (0-15)

Set Date Display Position
(Stored in non-volatile memory)

0xF1h

2

Set the position to display the on-screen date
Byte 0 = X (0-29)
Byte 1 = Y NTSC (0-12),  PAL (0-15)

Show / Hide Time
(Stored in non-volatile memory)

0xF2h

1

Show or hide the on-screen time (0-1)
0 = Hide time [default]
1 = Show time

Show / Hide Date
(Stored in non-volatile memory)

0xF3h

1

Show or hide the on-screen date (0-1)
0 = Hide date [default]
1 = Show date

Set Pixel Rise and Fall Time

0xF4h

1

Set pixel rise and fall time—typical transition times between adjacent OSD pixels (0-5)
0 = 20ns (maximum sharpness/maximum cross-color artifacts )
1 = 30ns
2 = 35ns
3 = 60ns [default]
4 = 80ns
5 = 110ns (minimum sharpness/minimum cross-color artifacts)

Set Pixel Switching Time

0xF5h

1

Set pixel insertion mux switching time–typical transition times between input video and OSD pixels (0-5)
0 = 30ns (maximum sharpness/maximum cross-color artifacts )
1 = 35ns
2 = 50ns
3 = 75ns [default]
4 = 100ns
5 = 120ns (minimum sharpness/minimum cross-color artifacts)

Set Row Brightness Black and White Levels

0xF6h

3

Set the row brightness black and white levels
Byte 0 = Row number: NTSC (0-12),  PAL (0-15)
Byte 1 = Character black level % of OSD white level (0-3)
             0 = 0% [default]
             1 = 10%
             2 = 20%
             3 = 30%
Byte 2 = Character white level % (0-3)
             0 = 120%
             1 = 100%
             2 = 90% [default]
             3 = 80%

Background Mode Brightness

0xF7h

1

Set background mode brightness for external mode (overlay) character background frame and internal mode (no video) background screen (0-7)
0 = 0%
1 = 7%
2 = 14% [default]
3 = 21%
4 = 28%
5 = 35%
6 = 42%
7 = 49%

Auto Scrolling Message Mode

0xF8h

N/A

After the 0xF8h command is sent wait or a <cr><lf> (13,10) response

To start a new scrolling message:
Send an <esc> (27 decimal) and wait for a <cr><lf> (13,10) response
Send the message repeat count (1-9), 0 = continuous repeating loop, 255 = exit the auto scrolling message mode
Send the screen y position NTSC (0-12), PAL (0-15)
Send the ASCII message (up to 896 characters) followed by <cr><lf> (13,10)
Message will start scrolling
If a repeat count of 1-9 is specified then each time the message has finished scrolling on-screen an ASCII remaining count character is sent from the VideoStamp+. For example if a message is to be repeated 3 times the VideoStamp+ would count down "2" "1" "0".  When a "0" has been sent then the last message has scrolled off the screen. Once complete repeat the steps above to start over starting with the <esc>.

Enable Automatic Sprite Draw (e.g. Graphic Logo) at Power-up

0xF9h

N/A

Byte 0 = Sprite to draw (0-15, 255=none) [default 255]
Byte 1 = Cursor X position (0-29)

Display System Information

0xFBh

1

Display system information on-screen
0 = Information screen* (input settings, software version, etc.)
1 = Font screen (font map)
* Partial ASCII character font must be installed

Soft Reset

0xFCh

0

Reset the VideoStamp+ to default (power-up) settings

Define Sprite
(Stored in non-volatile memory)

0xFDh

4

Define a sprite in non-volatile memory
Byte 0 = Sprite # (0-15)
Byte 1 = Start font table memory position (0-255)
Byte 2 = Sprite width in characters (1-30)
Byte 3 = Sprite height in characters NTSC (1-13),  PAL (1-16)

Returns: <cr><lf> (Must wait for before continuing to next sprite)

Define Font Character
(Stored in non-volatile memory)

0xFEh

56

Define a character in non-volatile font table memory
Each character is 12 x 18 pixels
Each pixel consists of 2 bits:
       00 = black
       10 = white
       x1 = transparent (pass video though)

Byte 0 = Font table position to fill (0-255)
Byte 1-54 = 54 bytes – 3 bytes per character row, 18 rows
Byte 55 = End byte flag (0xAAh)

Returns: <cr><lf> (Must wait for before continuing to next character)

Read Data

0xFFh

1

Read data from the OSD-232+™
Byte 0 = Read request type
       0x00h = Verify RS-232 connection
                      Returns: “ok”<cr><lf> if connected
       0x01h = Get firmware version
                      Returns: Firmware version number e.g. “1.01”<cr><lf>
       0x02h = Get board Input pin 0 - 7 settings
                      Returns: “XXXXXXXX”<cr><lf> (“0” = off, “1” = on)
       0x03h = Get video input status
                      Returns: “X”<cr><lf> (“0” = no sync, “1” = sync)

Problem

Solution

Green LED off (unit won’t power up)

• Verify power supply output is 7.0 to 14.0 volts DC when attached
• Verify the 250ma internal fuse is good

Garbage characters on screen or text not displayed

• Verify using correct RS-232 com port on PC
• Verify communication baud rate 9,600 or 19,200
• Enable DIP 3 to generate the font test screen
• Use the supplied PC demonstration utility to verify the unit is working properly

Current date / time overlay information not retained with power loss

• Replace the internal clock battery