Maxim introduces on-screen-display generator

Story link: Maxim introduces on-screen-display generator by Jan Harris

Maxim Integrated Products has introduced the MAX7456, a single-channel on-screen-display (OSD) generator with integrated nonvolatile memory (EEPROM).

MAX7456 allows user-defined text and graphics to be overlaid onto a video-image and is compatible with composite NTSC and PAL video standards.

Conventional CCTV systems usually include a number of cameras routed through a video switch matrix. The cameras are viewed, and the footage is recorded on a small number of monitors and recorders.

Each piece of equipment can contain an OSD function to display information such as date, time, camera ID, system setup, and control.

The OSD is usually inserted with either an inflexible fixed character system, which offers a limited number of characters or else requires an expensive and complex graphic controller.

MAX7456 provides a more flexible and simpler way to display graphical and text information such as company logos, date and time.

Using the device’s EEPROM, 256 user-defined characters and graphics can be inserted onto a composite video signal.

MAX7456 includes an input clamp, sync separator, video timing generator, OSD insertion MUX, nonvolatile (EEPROM) character memory, display memory, OSD generator, crystal oscillator, an SPI(TM)-compatible interface to read/write the OSD data, and a video driver.

The device also features blinking, inverse grey Scale, and background-control character attributes; selectable brightness by row; the ability to display up to 16 rows x 30 characters; sag compensation on video driver output; loss-of-sync, vertical sync, horizontal sync, and clock outputs and an internal sync generator.