Take the 2-minute tour ×
Arduino Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for developers of open-source hardware and software that is compatible with Arduino. It's 100% free, no registration required.

I've managed to adapt some code from the arduino forums to display timecode on an lcd display.

What I would like some extra help with is firstly is there a way of defining the one_time_max etc differently depending on the high low state of a pin. This way i could use a switch to change the times so it could switch between NTSC and PAL.

Secondly would anyone be kind enough to explain what is happening in the middle part of this code. I've made some notes but any help would be really appreciated.

Here is a picture of how it's going so far. I'll keep you guys up to date as the project continues :)

http://i.imgur.com/kuGBfsZ.jpg

// Code from forum post Dec 12, 2007
//
//

// include the library code:
#include <LiquidCrystal.h>

// initialize the library with the numbers of the interface pins
LiquidCrystal lcd(12, 11, 5, 4, 3, 2);


#define one_time_max          600 // these values are setup for PA video
#define one_time_min          400 // It's the durstion of a one and zero with a little bit of room for error. 
#define zero_time_max          1050 // 
#define zero_time_min          950 // 


#define icpPin 8      // ICP input pin on arduino
//#define one_time_max      475 // these values are setup for NTSC video
//#define one_time_min      300 // PAL would be around 1000 for 0 and 500 for 1
//#define zero_time_max    875 // 80bits times 29.97 frames per sec
//#define zero_time_min    700 // equals 833 (divide by 8 clock pulses)

#define end_data_position   63
#define end_sync_position   77
#define end_smpte_position     80

volatile unsigned int pin = 13;
volatile unsigned int bit_time;   // volatile instructs the variable to be stored in RAM
volatile boolean valid_tc_word;   // booleon can be either of two values true or false but default to false
volatile boolean ones_bit_count;  // booleon can be either of two values true or false but default to false
volatile boolean tc_sync;         // booleon can be either of two values true or false but default to false
volatile boolean write_tc_out;    // booleon can be either of two values true or false but default to false
volatile boolean drop_frame_flag; // booleon can be either of two values true or false but default to false

volatile byte total_bits;   //this stores a an 8-bit unsigned number
volatile byte current_bit;  //this stores a an 8-bit unsigned number
volatile byte sync_count;   //this stores a an 8-bit unsigned number

volatile byte tc[8];         //this stores a an 8-bit unsigned number
volatile char timeCode[11];  //this stores a an 8-bit unsigned number


/* ICR interrupt vector */
ISR(TIMER1_CAPT_vect)   //ISR=Interrupt Service Routine, and timer1 capture event
{
  //toggleCaptureEdge
  TCCR1B ^= _BV(ICES1); //toggles the edge that triggers the handler so that the duration of both high and low pulses is measured.

  bit_time = ICR1; //this is the value the timer generates 

  //resetTimer1
  TCNT1 = 0;
// Ignore phase changes < time for 1 bit or > time for zero bit (zero bit phase change time is double that of 1 bit)
if ((bit_time < one_time_min) || (bit_time > zero_time_max)) // this gets rid of anything that's not what we're looking for
{
  total_bits = 0;
}
else
{
  // If the bit we are reading is a 1 then ignore the first phase change
  if (ones_bit_count == true) // only count the second ones pulse
    ones_bit_count = false;
  else
  { // We have already checked the outer times for 1 and zero bits so no see if the inner time is > zero min
    if (bit_time > zero_time_min)
    { // We have a zero bit
      current_bit = 0;  
      sync_count = 0;   // Not a 1 bit so cannot be part of the 12 bit sync
    }
    else // It must be a 1 bit then
    {
      ones_bit_count = true;  // Flag so we don't read the next edge of a 1 bit
      current_bit = 1;
      sync_count++;     // Increment sync bit count
      if (sync_count == 12) // part of the last two bytes of a timecode word
      { // We have 12 1's in a row that can only be part of the sync
        sync_count = 0;
        tc_sync = true;
        total_bits = end_sync_position;
      }
    }

    if (total_bits <= end_data_position) // timecode runs least to most so we need
    {                       // to shift things around
      tc[0] = tc[0] >> 1;

      for(int n=1;n<8;n++) //creates tc[1-8]
      {
        if(tc[n] & 1)
        tc[n-1] |= 0x80;

        tc[n] = tc[n] >> 1;
      }

      if(current_bit == 1)
        tc[7] |= 0x80;
    }
    total_bits++;
  }

  if (total_bits == end_smpte_position) // we have the 80th bit
  {
    total_bits = 0;
    if (tc_sync)
    {
      tc_sync = false;
      valid_tc_word = true;
    }
  } 
    if (total_bits <= end_data_position) // timecode runs least to most so we need
    {                       // to shift things around
      tc[0] = tc[0] >> 1;

      for(int n=1;n<8;n++) //creates tc[1-8]
      {
        if(tc[n] & 1)
        tc[n-1] |= 0x80;

        tc[n] = tc[n] >> 1;
      }

      if(current_bit == 1)
        tc[7] |= 0x80;
    }
    total_bits++;
    }

    if (total_bits == end_smpte_position) // we have the 80th bit
    {
    total_bits = 0;
    if (tc_sync)
    {
      tc_sync = false;
      valid_tc_word = true;
    }
    }

    if (valid_tc_word)
    {
    valid_tc_word = false;

    timeCode[10] = (tc[0]&0x0F)+0x30;   // frames  this converst from binary to decimal giving us the last digit
    timeCode[9] = (tc[1]&0x03)+0x30;    // 10's of frames this converst from binary to decimal giving us the first digit
    timeCode[8] =  ':';
    timeCode[7] = (tc[2]&0x0F)+0x30;    // seconds
    timeCode[6] = (tc[3]&0x07)+0x30;    // 10's of seconds
    timeCode[5] =  ':';
    timeCode[4] = (tc[4]&0x0F)+0x30;    // minutes
    timeCode[3] = (tc[5]&0x07)+0x30;    // 10's of minutes
    timeCode[2] = ':';
    timeCode[1] = (tc[6]&0x0F)+0x30;    // hours
    timeCode[0] = (tc[7]&0x03)+0x30;    // 10's of hours

    drop_frame_flag = bit_is_set(tc[1], 2); //detects whether theree is the drop frame bit.

    write_tc_out = true;
    }
  }


void setup()
{
  lcd.begin (16, 2);
  pinMode(icpPin, INPUT);           // ICP pin (digital pin 8 on arduino) as input

  bit_time = 0;
  valid_tc_word = false;
  ones_bit_count = false;
  tc_sync = false;
  write_tc_out = false;
  drop_frame_flag = false;
  total_bits =  0;
  current_bit =  0;
  sync_count =  0;

lcd.print("FINISHED SETUP");
delay (1000);

  TCCR1A = B00000000; // clear all
  TCCR1B = B11000010; // ICNC1 noise reduction + ICES1 start on rising edge + CS11 divide by 8
  TCCR1C = B00000000; // clear all
  TIMSK1 = B00100000; // ICIE1 enable the icp

  TCNT1 = 0; // clear timer1
}

void loop()
{
    if (write_tc_out)
    {
    write_tc_out = false;
    if (drop_frame_flag)
      lcd.print("TC-[df] ");
    else
      lcd.print("TC-NO DROP FRAME");
lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
    lcd.print((char*)timeCode);
    lcd.print("\r");
lcd.setCursor(11, 1);
lcd.print("......");
delay (30);
lcd.clear();
    }
}
share|improve this question
    
So if a pin were to be high or low, what variables would you change? And what would you change them to? –  hichris123 Feb 22 at 16:32
    
Hiya, the values i'd want to change are the one_time_min etc. And I want to change them to the values required to decode NTSC rather than PAL –  user3316519 Feb 22 at 16:55
add comment

1 Answer

The one_time_max, one_time_min, zero_time_max and zero_time_min are all defines at the top of the file. This will insert them as constant values at compile time. This makes changing the code to deal with them slightly awkward, but not impossible.

Oddly, the one_time_max value isn't used, but the others are. To allow you to switch between PAL and NTSC, I would do the following (this is marginally lazy, but quick):

  • change one_time_max to ONE_TIME_MAX_NTSC and ONE_TIME_MAX_PAL so that you have two defined constants for each part. Caps is convention for defines.
  • create a new global variable, a boolean, that is a flag to decide if PAL or NTSC is to be decoded.
  • every time that one of the constant is used, use a conditional statement based on the global variable to decided which constants are used.
  • use the input from a button to decided the value of the global variable.
share|improve this answer
    
Thank you! i'll give this a go and see what happens. I don't suppose you could explain how adding the 0x0F+0x30 converts it from presumably a hex value to a decimal? –  user3316519 Feb 22 at 16:57
    
The &ing seems superfluous in this situation. 0x30 is ASCII for 0, so if you represent 0 as 0x00 and 9 as 0x9, then adding 0x30 converts to ASCII. –  Cybergibbons Feb 22 at 22:02
add comment

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.