RCA connector mounted on ESP32 board. (Credit: aquaticus)
Just because a microcontroller doesn’t have dedicated video peripherals doesn’t mean it can’t output a video signal. This is demonstrated again, this time on the ESP32 by [aquaticus] with a library that generates PAL/SECAM and NTSC composite signals. As a finishing touch on the hardware side, [aqaticus] added an RCA jack is an optional extra. The composite signal itself is generated on GPIO 25, with a choice of a wide range of PAL and NTSC resolutions.
In addition, LVGL support is integrated: this is an open source library that provides a cross-platform way to provide graphical user interfaces for embedded platforms. Using this combination, any ESP32 can generate a fully graphical user interface on a black and white or color screen to add some extra flair and functionality to an ESP32 project.
Currently, this library does not support color output, but hopefully it will be added in the future. Still, along with a simple VGA output using a DAC, this library offers yet another way to add analog video output to ubiquitous MCUs like the ESP32. Even if these MCUs aren’t going to decode video formats at a reasonable speed, adding a user interface that’s more user-friendly than an HD44780-based display and a few buttons can really improve the user experience.
This post Generating Composite Video on ESP32 with LVGL GUI
was original published at “https://hackaday.com/2022/03/27/generating-composite-video-on-esp32-with-lvgl-gui/”
