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Digicam as Video Source

You guys probably know this trick already :) these days you can use a cheap digicam as a video signal source to adjust a TV or Monitor. I made (actually I assigned this task to my wife) a 640x480 image with 12 x 16 squares, basically a small grid to make sure the image on my recently repaired TV is not too distorted. I looked on the net (google image search) for standard test images but didn't find much. I think I searched for terms such as "raster" and perhaps "tv calibration image" but didn't have much luck.

Anyway, if you know a good test image somewhere let me know. Or if you want to adjust the image, just use your digicam, I don't see why you would need anything fancy these days (for DYI repairs that is, a pro shop it may be different)

Reply to
chibitul
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Here is one TV testcard image

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Roger

Reply to
Roger

Very nice! I used it to adjust the "focus" on my eight-year-old TV set which I recently repaired (bad cap in the vertical circuit) and it's as good as new!

Thanks, I will save this image to my "library"

Reply to
chibitul

If you can find an old Radio Shack Color Computer (around $10 these days) you can easily create as many test images formats as you like. You can save the programs on tape and load them in as needed. Better than the old B&K flying spot scanner systems - and color too!

N
Reply to
NSM

Dang, that's a good idea, I dunno why I never thought of that. Here I've been using a VCD in a DVD player.

Reply to
James Sweet

A couple more links for monitor test cards.

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Roger

Reply to
Roger

I used to do the same thing with my Commodore 64 back in the '80's. I had written some simple programs in BASIC that would produce crosshatch and dot patterns as well as color bars. Ran them off the floppy disk. I always wanted to burn the programs to EPROM and stick them in a cartridge but I never got around to it.

Reply to
James Jones

I did this too, but I used the SX-64 portable computer with the built in disk drive and 5" color monitor. I had additional patterns, as well, including a window waveform which is a large black box on a white background to check for smearing at sharp transitions. I also used it to test a 25 KW TV transmitter when I built Ch 58 in Destin, Florida about 12 years ago.

--
Link to my "Computers for disabled Veterans" project website deleted
after threats were telephoned to my church.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida
Reply to
Michael A. Terrell

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