USB H.264 Frame Grab 2253S

Model 2253 is a compact and robust USB-compatible audio/video codec that is powered from a single USB port. Its small size (1.5" x 2.75") and low power consumption (1.5 Watts) make it ideal for both portable and embedded applications.

Features

• Simultaneous encode/decode in a robust, compact unit
• Uncompressed + compressed outputs from one video input
• Low preview latency
• H.264 HP@L3, MPEG-4 ASP, MJPEG video compression
• AAC, G.711 audio compression, uncompressed PCM
• Text overlay
• Two general-purpose digital I/Os
• Industrial temperature range version available

Encoder

The unit is capable of simultaneously producing two different video streams from its single composite input and sending the streams out over USB. One of the streams can be a low-latency uncompressed stream (useful for real time previewing) and the other compressed, or both streams may be compressed. Image resolution is independently configurable for each stream, as well as compression type and bit rate in the case of compressed streams.

Video and audio are available as elementary streams or may be multiplexed in MP4 container format.

Up to 1024 bytes of application-supplied data may be inserted in the H.264 or MPEG stream, at a specified frame interval or single shot.

Audio

The 2253 implements hardware-generated timestamps to keep audio synchronized to the video, thus eliminating "lip sync" problems.

Text Overlay

Up to 80 characters of overlay text may be positioned anywhere in the video frame prior to compression.

Digital I/O

One general purpose digital input and one output are provided. The output is optically isolated, while the input may be either optically isolated or galvanically coupled. The input is sampled every millisecond and, when a state change is detected, a notification is sent to the application program.

Image Overlay

Overlay images can be displayed on top of the composite video output. The overlayed video may be sourced from either the composite video input or a decoded compressed stream. Image formats supported are Windows bitmap (BMP) and Portable Network Graphics (PNG), with 24 or 32 bits per pixel. Overlays support 7 transparancy levels.

Decoder

The 2253 can also perform as a d

ecoder, converting a USB-supplied compressed audio/video stream into standard analog video and audio signals. (Decoding is guaranteed only for streams captured with the 2253). The following formats are supported for decoding: MPEG-4 (.m4v), H.264 (.264 or .h264), MP4 (.mp4) and MJPEG (.mjpg or .mjpeg).

Ultra-low latency preview

Model 2253 supports an ultra-low latency preview mode for real-time applications. When capturing in native resolution (704x480 for NTSC or 704x576 for PAL) this mode reduces the overall latency by approximately one frame time.

Pending Feature - Transport Stream

The codec will generate a standard format for transmission and storage of audio, video and program data that is used in broadcast systems such as DVB and ATSC.