SparkFun Forums

[rbmj]

Hi everyone,

I was looking for a system that would allow me to stream a low-resolution camera feed wirelessly. XBees look like they are just shy of the bandwidth requirements, and any decent video stream format wouldn't do well with on-the-fly compression even if a small microcontroller could handle the number crunching.

WiFi is good, but signal strength and range are issues... and Cell-phone networks are great, but require $$$.

An ad-hoc wimax network looked like a good solution, and I found a part here: http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/e ... ND/1937450 however, the datasheet doesn't say too much about how to make the part actually function beyond how to avoid frying the component, AND there's no way in hell i'm hand-soldering that without hot air, which I don't currently have access too (a few more months and I might spring for it, but I don't have the cash right now...).

Anyone have any ideas?

[stevech]

use an analog camera if it's short range (as suggested by the XBee comment).
Even an old X10 cam sender/receiver + any old cam.

if it HAS to be IP based, then of course, use a WiFi cam. These are $50 or so.

[rbmj]

As far as transmission goes, the primary constraints are range and baud. A low-res monochrome camera stream pushes the upper bound of the XBee's rated baud. Trying to get 4 color frames/sec @ 320x240 requires 7200kbps, and the xbee is only rated to 250kbps. Even if you compress the hell out of it, this is just not feasible. Synapse sells a chip that (they say) gets 2048kbps, which is closer, but still not there.

On the other hand, WiFi range is horrible without having access points everywhere. Sure, it could carry the data, but only if I was 100ft away.

[xiphocoleon]

I have been working on a remote control project, and part of it is to stream video from a remote place to an LCD screen in the remote control.

My goal is to create a system that is organized like this:

Video camera (transmits real time video only -- no recording options needed) --> 5.8GHz transmitter --> 5.8GHz receiver --> real time video is displayed on an LCD monitor

I have been stuck on designing this system though because I am new at working with camera/video technology, and I am not sure what the structure of my signal outputs are through this system.

One option I considered was to use this DV04 camera, http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__ ... opter.html, and connect it to a 5.8GHz transmitter: http://www.ehirobo.com/walkera-hm-tx-58 ... above.html
which would transmit to a 5.8GHz receiver and then to a 16:9 resolution LCD screen

The above system seems like a good option; however, I haven't been able to find a standalone 5.8GHz receiver and standalone 16:9 LCD monitor. Also, from what I have been able to read from the limited specs given for the Walkera transmitter/receiver, I am not really sure how they transmit data; for instance, are they analog or digital trans./ receivers?

I know this is an old thread, but perhaps the ideas above could help someone out.

Also, could anyone answer:
1) Can anyone recommend a 16:9 resolution LCD screen?
2) Can anyone tell me what kind of signal this camera outputs: http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__ ... opter.html
I am reading about NTSC and its other features, but I am not sure what type of signal is output from the camera, and consequently, what type of circuitry can receive it.

Thank you.