Has anyone tried the b101/b102 HDMI to CSI-2 or the V20 HD-SDI to CSI-2
bridge cards yet?
If so what kind of success did you have?
(Can be found at auvidea.eu)
HDMI to CSI-2 bridge
Re: HDMI to CSI-2 bridge
It is also available from Geekworm via Amazon (just ordered one)...
https://youtu.be/L5qbZPrpPp0
https://youtu.be/L5qbZPrpPp0
Andy, KA5BBC/MM0BQV
Re: HDMI to CSI-2 bridge
Although the package arrived yesterday, while I was at work, I did not get a chance to look at it until this morning.. at 0400 before heading to work.
I connected the ribbon cable to the RPi and a Tandberg/Cisco telepresence camera to the HDMI connector - camera was set to 720P/60 which I did not change - and to my surprise and delight It worked right out of the box.
Unfortunately I had to go to work so I will test it with other devices such as a quadviewer, video mixer, etc when I get an opportunity - there is a short list of known devices which have known issues such as the Blackmagic ATEM mini and others with HDCP supported and/or enforced (It has been reported that HDCP strippers resolve this issue)
Based on this quick test I do recommend this as an alternative input option for the same reasons that I decided to look at it and test it:
It is small and uses very little current compared to a USB camera or even an EasyCap
The input allows for HD resolutions of 720p/50, 720p/60, 1080i/50, 1080p/24, and 1080p/25 (Lower resolutions are also working)
HDMI cameras are available more readily and often cheaper than PiCams and also currently more readily available than the EasyCap.
It does not take up a USB port no does it draw current that way
It does not rely on a ribbon cable connecting the camera directly to the RPi and is there for more robust and flexible (especially if you are considering building a unit for portable / field day/rallies and demonstrations unit)
I connected the ribbon cable to the RPi and a Tandberg/Cisco telepresence camera to the HDMI connector - camera was set to 720P/60 which I did not change - and to my surprise and delight It worked right out of the box.
Unfortunately I had to go to work so I will test it with other devices such as a quadviewer, video mixer, etc when I get an opportunity - there is a short list of known devices which have known issues such as the Blackmagic ATEM mini and others with HDCP supported and/or enforced (It has been reported that HDCP strippers resolve this issue)
Based on this quick test I do recommend this as an alternative input option for the same reasons that I decided to look at it and test it:
It is small and uses very little current compared to a USB camera or even an EasyCap
The input allows for HD resolutions of 720p/50, 720p/60, 1080i/50, 1080p/24, and 1080p/25 (Lower resolutions are also working)
HDMI cameras are available more readily and often cheaper than PiCams and also currently more readily available than the EasyCap.
It does not take up a USB port no does it draw current that way
It does not rely on a ribbon cable connecting the camera directly to the RPi and is there for more robust and flexible (especially if you are considering building a unit for portable / field day/rallies and demonstrations unit)
- Geekworm HDMI-to-CIS2 card
- HDMI_CSI-2-IMG-8000_1024x1024~2.jpg (119.38 KiB) Viewed 3090 times
Andy, KA5BBC/MM0BQV
Re: HDMI to CSI-2 bridge
Not a bad price (£35) compared to a camera or Elegato dongle. However, the HDMI straight to H264/5 box is surely a better bet?
Mike
Mike
Re: HDMI to CSI-2 bridge
I do like the lkv373a option and the Jetson option, however, availability and cost of these could easily outweigh the advantages.
The lkv373a is getting harder to find and more expensive - I know of only one US source and it is $80 for the pair with no one selling just the sender.
The original Jetson Nano was $200+ depending on the source. The new one is only $59 but has yet to be tested - I have no doubt that it'll work - and all the additional parts add cost and size.
EasyCap and C920 are getting harder to find.
OBS streaming in is about the best alternative but not as simple and can have a significant learning curve for some people.
The lkv373a is getting harder to find and more expensive - I know of only one US source and it is $80 for the pair with no one selling just the sender.
The original Jetson Nano was $200+ depending on the source. The new one is only $59 but has yet to be tested - I have no doubt that it'll work - and all the additional parts add cost and size.
EasyCap and C920 are getting harder to find.
OBS streaming in is about the best alternative but not as simple and can have a significant learning curve for some people.
Andy, KA5BBC/MM0BQV
Re: HDMI to CSI-2 bridge
But the H264/5 box is £70 only, HDMI in, H265 out. Simple.
- Attachments
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- s-l640.jpg (29.53 KiB) Viewed 3062 times
Re: HDMI to CSI-2 bridge
Another alternative certainly but again more expensive and requires more things to go with it such as ethernet cable & switch and another couple of PSUs.
We are going to find lots of different ways of making it work for us and we will have differing requirements and standards for each individual setup. My recommendation is based on the criteria I set out to meet and listed above. I did also look at SDI input but it did not meet the budgetary constraints.
We are going to find lots of different ways of making it work for us and we will have differing requirements and standards for each individual setup. My recommendation is based on the criteria I set out to meet and listed above. I did also look at SDI input but it did not meet the budgetary constraints.
Andy, KA5BBC/MM0BQV
Re: HDMI to CSI-2 bridge
Andy,
We have been actively using this solution for over a year now. Evariste has even integrated it into the Pluto firmware. We are likely to end up with fragmentation if new stuff keeps being added doing the same job as existing things. If it is compatible with the PI camera and effectively no change as far as software is concerned then fine of course, but it leaves us without a solution for H265 encoding, unless the Nano also replaces the PI. Then that starts to look more expensive. It's also not really clear what advantage there is over a USB capture dongle, and they cost under £10.
Mike
We have been actively using this solution for over a year now. Evariste has even integrated it into the Pluto firmware. We are likely to end up with fragmentation if new stuff keeps being added doing the same job as existing things. If it is compatible with the PI camera and effectively no change as far as software is concerned then fine of course, but it leaves us without a solution for H265 encoding, unless the Nano also replaces the PI. Then that starts to look more expensive. It's also not really clear what advantage there is over a USB capture dongle, and they cost under £10.
Mike
Re: HDMI to CSI-2 bridge
Mike...
I'm not suggesting this as a replacement for anything in the standard build rather as an alternative to the PiCam as it connects to the CIS-2 header on RPi 3 & 4 allowing for other devices to be connected. It requires no alteration at all to the software, you still select PiCam from M1 source button.
There are many advantages to this device as an alternative to USB devices as stated above. The most important of these being that it draws a far less current than a USB device and does not take up a USB port. It also supports higher resolutions than the EasyCap, which is becoming more difficult to find, and the C920 is also becoming more difficult to find and the price is rising. And finally when compared to the PiCam it relieves the issue of either a direct ribbon cable connection or having to use a very short HDMI intermediary cable - the cable I used in the test is is 25 ft long, this was not a selection rather the nearest one to hand at 0400 this morning.
As for H264/5 coding.. protocols come and go plus there are already replacements available which use less bandwidth and less processing power so we may eventually switch to those.
I'm not suggesting this as a replacement for anything in the standard build rather as an alternative to the PiCam as it connects to the CIS-2 header on RPi 3 & 4 allowing for other devices to be connected. It requires no alteration at all to the software, you still select PiCam from M1 source button.
There are many advantages to this device as an alternative to USB devices as stated above. The most important of these being that it draws a far less current than a USB device and does not take up a USB port. It also supports higher resolutions than the EasyCap, which is becoming more difficult to find, and the C920 is also becoming more difficult to find and the price is rising. And finally when compared to the PiCam it relieves the issue of either a direct ribbon cable connection or having to use a very short HDMI intermediary cable - the cable I used in the test is is 25 ft long, this was not a selection rather the nearest one to hand at 0400 this morning.
As for H264/5 coding.. protocols come and go plus there are already replacements available which use less bandwidth and less processing power so we may eventually switch to those.
Andy, KA5BBC/MM0BQV
Re: HDMI to CSI-2 bridge
Hi Andy
Perhaps you could test whether, when fed with a full frame HD test card on the HDMI input, this device gives a full frame H264 image when transmitting SD.
A similar device that was tested in the past highlighted that the Portsdown sometimes only takes a few pixels from the centre of the Pi Camera image to transmit lower definition pictures. No problem with a simple camera, but a bigger issue for HDMI capture.
Dave
Perhaps you could test whether, when fed with a full frame HD test card on the HDMI input, this device gives a full frame H264 image when transmitting SD.
A similar device that was tested in the past highlighted that the Portsdown sometimes only takes a few pixels from the centre of the Pi Camera image to transmit lower definition pictures. No problem with a simple camera, but a bigger issue for HDMI capture.
Dave