Model 516 is a PC/104 frame grabber that captures and transfers full-frame (640 x 480) video at 30 frames per second. It overcomes the low bandwidth of the PC/104 bus by using hardware compression to produce encoded MPEG-2 and MPEG-1 data streams of 440 kbits to 10 Mbits per second. It also has two audio input channels that are synchronized to the MPEG data.

Advantages
MPEG2 data reduces the amount of memory required to store full motion video. The compressed data requires a smaller transmission bandwidth. This makes it possible to transmit 30 frames/sec video and audio over the PC/104 bus or over a 10/100 Base-T Ethernet. The hardware compression circuit uses a motion estimation algorithm to produce smooth images from interlaced cameras. The length of MPEG2 video streams is not limited by the viewing software.

Decompression
Encoded MPEG2 data can also be decompressed by the 516’s hardware to produce composite video and audio. The video output is available at a flat cable header. The audio output is available at an audio jack and the flat cable header.

Video channels
The 516 has four multiplexed video channels that function as four separate composite channels or as two S-video inputs. Only one channel can be compressed at a time

Digital I/O
Two bi-directional logic lines are under software control.

Text caption buffer
A 64 character buffer is available for adding text to each frame. The text is within a transparent box that may be positioned anywhere within the frame.

Self test
Digitized video and audio inputs can be looped back to the output circuits to allow camera and sound adjustments. The 516’s D/A can be programmed to generate color test bars. This is useful for testing the video output channel.

Lost video detection
The status of the camera’s vertical and horizontal sync signals may be used to detect the presence or absence of the camera signal. The included software allows reading these signals to detect a lost video signal.