Inducing a signal on to Tv to display a message while wa

[directcurrent]

Hello Folks or Konnichiwa Folks. I have a problem!!! I need a way to send a signal to a TV set, while watching TV, Say NCSI, in the top right of my picture I want to display a message, say "there is a dog in my yard or maybe a graphic picture in the cornner.

1. I have no idea what it would require to generate the signal I need to make the message. 2. I have no idea what would be needed to convert this message to a TV signal.
3. I have no idea how to generate a animated graphic program to animate this message.

Help!!! Help!!! Help!!! Open for suggestion????

God bless all DC

<small>[ March 09, 2006, 10:03 PM: Message edited by: DC ]</small>

[jimandy]

Howdy down there in the Wire Grass from up here in the "Tragic" city. It sounds like you want to have an effect of what is called Picture-in-Picture (PIP) that is a feature of some TV's, but the inserted image will be your own video signal – text or animated graphic. If you have a PIP TV you're halfway there, needing only the device to produce the message as an external video signal fed to the AV input of the receiver.. Such a device is often called a "character generator".

A first-off question that needs to be answered is what are your expectations on how you compose the message to be displayed? Do you want a keyboard input? Do you want some pre-written messages that are triggered by certain events? In other words – what is the purpose behind your need? That will better help others here get you pointed in a direction.
BTW - A suggestion on composing your posts.. You don't need the Quotes codes. Just use the Bold codes if you want emphasis.

[philba]

Over the years, I've seen projects that do some variant of this. Putting simple text on an NTSC signal doesn't seem that hard and I believe there was an N&V project in the recent past that did this (or was it CCI?). Putting it over s-video seems a little trickier. Component video - well even my multi-thousand dollar AV receiver doesn't do it though, in principle, it doesn't seem THAT complex.

I recall seeing (but couldn't find with a short search) a project that put caller ID on the TV screen.

phil

[jimandy]

I see something in my Jameco catalog called a BOB-3 Video Text Overlay Module that allows for "up to 680 characters on standard video monitors and TV sets."

[directcurrent]

Konnichiwa(hello)Folks, Jimandy from the big city of the iron man and Birmingham Hospital, Philba. Thank you for the info.

I kind of like to put a little puzzaz in my writing to make up for a lot problems I have with one shakey right hand. I have been tring to learn html, Japanese, Glassblowing and working on my little projects along with a bunch of other things I keep myself busy, stay out of trouble that way.

What have I been working on, well my folks are a bit on age and they forget things like putting something on stoves, mail, time to take a pill or two--- I am sure you get the picture. Anyway I can't be around the house all the time I would go nuts. So while I am making a bad attempt to recuit a famale friend, I need to be able to let them know when to do things, so I have device a plan to install, upgrade all the electric and electronics things in the house that they deal with and place a message and an icon to check things that need to be don't; example They put something on stove. I have rig. sencors around the stove to tell them to check it. At present I have them connected to bells and buzzers, which bug my mom's heardaid, so I am riging it to send signal plus Icon's to the TV, which gets turned on from morning to late midnight. I want to induce this text/icon/voice message on the TV via a preset voice recorder with an icon of the device I am talking about in the upper right hand conner of the screen. It uses standard cable connections but I am planning on getting a big boy HDTV because they can't see the TV from where they set.

This may help me in the long run too.

The idea of the BOB-3 seams prompusing here. That would give me a bit of flexabilit by controlling with my computer.

Keep pouring the information to me folks.

[Newz2000]

Sounds fun and interesting... but it seems like it may be overkill. Are you sure this is the simplest way to accomplish your goal? (like when I envisioned a device that would start a timer when I pulled out of the garage and then stopped when I arrived at work so that I could see how long it took me to get there - then I realized there was a watch on my wrist)

Either way, here's my two cents worth:
You already have something rigged to provide alerts. Let's say there are four alerts you want to be able to notify them of.

Create a box with four LEDs or light bulbs that each shine through a picture/stencil. When the stove is on, the light for the stove alert lights up and projects a picture of a stove on the wall near the TV. If you want, the bulb/picture could blink on and off and you could put a beeper/buzzer in the box.

If it's time to take pills, the picture of a pill shines up on the wall. If it's time to boyth take the pills and the stove is on, both can turn on.

Kind of like the way the people in Gotham City notify Batman that they need help. Heck, for fun, you could even flash a batman picture up on the wall now and then to see what your parents do.

<small>[ March 10, 2006, 07:42 PM: Message edited by: Matt Nuzum ]</small>

[directcurrent]

That is a thought Matt, I like your comparrison, but unfortunatly I had tried that, it went over like Godzilla and Bamba, it didn't work out to well But I tried.

I did a bit of studing on there habbits with a mini camera and found that this would be just what I needed. I found one person who had don't this for his family problem and it work well, unfortunatly I had no time to spend with him to see what he had done. Talk to a doctor, thought that this would be a great idea.

Think that first I need is the inducer, to covert a message signal, be it key board or pre-program message into tv signal and place it in the upper right had conner of screen, as you folks has said putting a p-n-p on the TV. I though about just at start I could use an old Nitendo as a character generator test, Then the box to send the signal to tv thru the cable line, as P-N-P to the right hand conner of screen.

jimandy, I have the Jameco catalog about the BOB-3, do you think this is something worth trying. I still a bit puzzeled as to how that picture in picture stuff works. I am using a TV with just plane orginal cable signal from dish network or local antanna?

I welcome any idea's, multiple heads are better then one. Take care and God Bless
Konnichiwa (good -bye)

Off the wall question? can you chance font type size and color on this forum site.My eye are what they use to be.

[jimandy]

I still a bit puzzeled as to how that picture in picture stuff works. I am using a TV with just plane orginal cable signal from dish network or local antanna?

Well, I upgraded to a larger TV and in the process lost the PiP feature, else I would experiment with it for you. Pip works because the mixing circuit follows the demodulation of the cable or antenna's RF signal internally in the TV set. You can't mix video with RF. If you can't use Pip, you could probably use the video out of a VCR hooked to the cable, feed that to the mixer, and feed the resulting mix into the TV via an A/V connector. Sounds klugey, but it would work given the right mixer and character generator.

Here's a suggestion. Go to a local store like Best Buy or Circuit City and ask someone to demo the PiP using a VCR as the external picture (video) source for the inserted box. See if the size of the box will be adequate. Remember, the box scales down the inputted picture, so text might be sort of small to read.
Another thought is not to have a box, but have horizontal scrolling text near the bottom, sort of like when they overlay news bulletins, weather alerts and such.

I think the general idea is great having dealt with my elderly parents for some years who eventually had to have round the clock home care.

[dyarker]

Does the BOB-3 have "genlock"? It is needed to mix video. Jameco is currently showing XBOB as a replacement for BOB-3. XBOB does have genlock.

[directcurrent]

Now that sounds like a good Idea. We're not luckey enough to have a best buy around here but we got a circuit city, might just do that tomorrow, while I make another atempt at female hunting( disapointing). Got to look at TV's any way. The TV they have should be called squent TV.

One of the devices I am connecting is from the mail box. when mail is delievered, it presently is connected to a voice recorder that tells them, in a pirates voice, that the mail has been delievered. one of the TV stations interview me about that one. <<Keep them ideas coming>>
God bless all DC

[Gorgon]

Hi,
I don't know if this is relevant, but once, many years ago, I designed this type of product based on a chip from Fujitsu, the MB88324AP. I think this is more or less obsolete today, but I found a modern version, and much more advanced, the MB90050 here:
http://edevice.fujitsu.com/fj/DATASHEET ... 428829.pdf

I think you can make a very nice product from this, with relative little effort, supporting all your specifications.

TOK

[jimandy]

The Jameco "BOB3" as it was called in my older catalog appears to be renamed the "Ezvid" and is apparently manufactured by MultiLabs. A manual can be dowloaded at Jameco's website but much more info can be gleaned at
http://www.multilabs.net/ezVID.html

<small>[ March 11, 2006, 11:44 AM: Message edited by: jimandy ]</small>

[jimandy]

Well I blew it this time. My previous post was wrong because I confused the EZvid I found in the on-line catalog with the BOB-3 text module. EZvid is part #355856CB, BOB-3 is #283733CB. As far as I can tell the EZvid does not overlay it's video on another video signal. And the BOB-3 is limited to ooverlaying only it's own character set.

[directcurrent]

Konnichiwa Gorgon and Jimandy,

I noted this change in the bob-3 to the EZvid. I am going to look into this chip Gorgon and see what up with it. After reading about the bob-3 and these ideas, I am now thinking of centerlizing my stuff into one area of the house in the utility room, with an additional computer that just runs the house as I did in florence, SC. That might give me an additinal edge on this project. Even had one of the dogs train to feed herself. never could get the other two dummy's to figure out if you push the button they'd get their food anytime they where hungry.

I will check out the website tomorrow.

Take care all, God Bless, Sayonara (good bye).
DC

[bachbui]

I noted that BoB3 is not working well with cable TV. Given that now a day we use cable tv more than antenna tv, Bob3's usability is just negligible. Is there any one have a better solution?