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NTSC camera to RCA

I want to convert the output from a NTSC camera to RCA for input to a micro controller project.
Is there a schematic available?

Thanks!
 

KrisBlueNZ

Sadly passed away in 2015
Hi and welcome to Electronics Point :)

It's hard to say - we don't know what type of camera you have. Can you post a brand and model number?

NTSC is a video standard for "composite video" that includes luminance (brightness) and chrominance (colour) on a single signal. In consumer equipment it is normally fed through RCA phono connectors.

Does your camera have a single-signal NTSC composite video output? If so, you can probably connect that to an RCA phono socket without any other circuitry.

If the video camera has RGB output (three connectors), circuitry will be needed to convert it to a composite video signal.

If the video camera has a USB or FireWire connection, quite a lot of circuitry will be needed to transfer the digital data from the camera and convert it to analogue video.
 
The camera has a BNC connector. I tried connecting it to an RCA input on a video converter, but no output on VGA. The camera has no model number. It is from China. It has a 12v power connector and a BNC output. There is a sticker on the camera that says NTSC.


Hi and welcome to Electronics Point :)

It's hard to say - we don't know what type of camera you have. Can you post a brand and model number?

NTSC is a video standard for "composite video" that includes luminance (brightness) and chrominance (colour) on a single signal. In consumer equipment it is normally fed through RCA phono connectors.

Does your camera have a single-signal NTSC composite video output? If so, you can probably connect that to an RCA phono socket without any other circuitry.

If the video camera has RGB output (three connectors), circuitry will be needed to convert it to a composite video signal.

If the video camera has a USB or FireWire connection, quite a lot of circuitry will be needed to transfer the digital data from the camera and convert it to analogue video.
 
The camera has a BNC connector. I tried connecting it to an RCA input on a video converter, but no output on VGA. The camera has no model number. It is from China. It has a 12v power connector and a BNC output. There is a sticker on the camera that says NTSC.
If the camera has a BCN connector... it could be outputting an NTSC or PAL video stream... are you sure it's NTSC?
Secondly, how many BNC terminals are connected?
It could very well be a composite video signal which would be easy to convert, or if there is more than one, you are most likely looking at component video.
Additionally, if you guessed the video format and connection correctly, are you certain you are using the video converter correctly? (Have you been able to test it)

Can you snap a picture, or link us to the webpage you bought it from.
To us it is a mystery camera, you can see it, look at it, and test it. We can't, so this is difficult for us.
 

davenn

Moderator
The camera has a BNC connector. I tried connecting it to an RCA input on a video converter, but no output on VGA. The camera has no model number. It is from China. It has a 12v power connector and a BNC output. There is a sticker on the camera that says NTSC.


So if just 1 BNC connector, it will be a composite video signal
 
There is a NTSC sticker on the camera, and there is one BNC connector.
I'll test the video converter on another source and get back to you...
 
Here is the eBay description:
HD 1000TVL CMOS IR CUT Color Cctv Surveillance Camera Waterproof Video W89-10

View attachment 17043
Thank you for that.
You should have power, and a composite video connection.
As long as the sticker is correct, you should see a video when you use a simple BNC to RCA adaptor. The trick now is making sure the video converter you have is functional, and that the sticker on the camera is correct. If the video is incorrectly PAL instead of NTSC, you may get a distorted picture, or nothing at all.

Something you can try as well... is connecting the camera to power, and putting it in a dark room or closet. This will cause the IR LEDs to power on which will may glow a very faint red. To be certain, grab a digital camera, and use it to look at the front of the security camera (with the flash off), you should see the ring of LEDs brightly lit up. This won't guarantee that the camera itself is powering up correctly, but will at least tell you if power is getting into the camera.
 
Working now!
The video converter had a power supply issue. Tried another and it worked.
Thanks for all the help, guys. Haven't dealt with video cameras in several years and
the BNC confused me.
 
Working now!
The video converter had a power supply issue. Tried another and it worked.
Thanks for all the help, guys. Haven't dealt with video cameras in several years and
the BNC confused me.
Good to hear!
When you start messing around with different connection types, video formats, and data formats, it can get pretty confusing.
Some of the most common video details you'll run into is:
-NTSC vs PAL video format. (Defines things like frame-rate and video-size)
-Composite / S-Video / Component. (All analogue data streams, the difference is how the chroma/luma [color/brightness] signals are passed. Composite has both signals on the same wire, S-Video splits the signals to two different conductors, and Component splits it further by splitting the signal across 3 conductors)
-RCA vs. BNC (As you've found out, is simply the physical connector, as long as the video type, and the signal matches what is expected, you can use a simple adaptor to connect.)

Converting NTSC to PAL is a pain... they play at different frame-rates, so the simplest way to do it is to double up on the odd frame, or toss the odd frame.. this leads to some video not appearing very smooth... when mixing and matching devices, you will find that they may produce an image, but they are heavily distorted...
Converting the electrical signals is a bit easier... for example, you can use a simple passive filter to convert to/from S-Video and Composite simply because the two signals are at different frequencies. An appropriate capacitor will do. Converting to/from component is a little bit trickier, and I am currently unaware of any passive converters that will do this.
Converting end type is the easiest of all! wire a new one on, or use some kind of adaptor.

Have fun, and you'll never get stuck if your willing to keep learning!
 
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