Serial output with video generator

scotta

Hi,

Is it possible to use the video generator to transmit serial
data to multiple serial IC's

There are 8 of them and each IC has Clock, Data and Load.

I have seen many examples of the video generator but
have not been able to get my head around it.

Sincerely,

Scott

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)

Yes, you can certainly do this, but the challenge might be doubling the bits in the data words (e.g. 10101010 -> 1100110011001100) to accommodate the clock in the video data stream. You could also drive the video circuitry with a mode %00100 or %00101 CTRA (you don't have to use mode %00011) and use either the positive or negative output as your shift clock. In this case, you'd be configuring for one clock per bit in VSCL.

-Phil

scotta

Phil,

Is there a way I can slow the video generator down to a crawl so I can
watch the waveforms with a scope (or a few LED's) ?

Also, what example should I start modifying: 8xPWM, Composite or VGA ?

Thanks Phil.

Scott

scotta

Phil, if your still there.

If the clock is done with CTRA then my bits don't need expanding (0110 ->> 00111100). Then
I'm really just pointing the video generator at my bits and off it goes ?

Scott

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)

scotta said...
Is there a way I can slow the video generator down to a crawl so I can watch the waveforms with a scope (or a few LED's) ?

500KHz is about the minimum unless you include the clock in the video data stream and expand the data. That's because the PLL needs at least 4MHz for stability and will only divide as low a 1/8.

scotta said...
If the clock is done with CTRA then my bits don't need expanding (0110 ->> 00111100). Then I'm really just pointing the video generator at my bits and off it goes ?

Yup.

-Phil

scotta

What order do I pack the Data, Clock and Load bits into a packet (A video frame ??) ?

Scott

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)

Video data are shifted out LSB-first. Each frame consists 16 or fewer "pixels" in four-color mode; 32 or fewer, in two-color mode. Each one- or two-bit "color" actually points to an eight-bit color value that's sent along with the pixels in each frame. So if you have more than two or four possible combinations of data, clock, and select, you will need to chop your frame into smaller pieces, so each subframe consists of no more than two or four different colors.

For example, if your data consist of a single serial data line and a clock, and one /ENA line, your four possible values during data transmission would be:

DAT CLK /ENA
 0   0   0
 0   1   0
 1   0   0
 1   1   0

A prologue and postlogue, when /ENA is being asserted or deasserted might have a set of "colors" like this:

DAT CLK /ENA
 0   0   0
 1   0   0
 0   0   1
 1   0   1

Explaining the video peripheral in much further detail is beyond the scope of a forum response, I'm afraid. You really need to consult some good documentation. Andr

scotta

That makes sense now.

Thanks a bunch Phil !

Scott