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Camera On Denso Touchscreen

39K views 66 replies 29 participants last post by  Vespista150 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I've been having a faff with a spare touchscreen and an old CCTV camera today and i can confirm.... at the moment... that i have a picture on the screen, without the need for a media adapter.

I have to stablise the picture, as its clear, but no colour at present, this may be due to the wiring that im using not being shielded.

I have taken a screen pic and will post this up when i can.

Just popping back out to see if it will revert back to normal nav screen once the power to the camera is disconnected. If it does, then just a simple tap into a reverse circuit will bring the rear view screen up.

Output device Home appliance Gadget Computer Display device


The rectangular line across the top of the screen i cannot shift.

On further testing, the image from the DVD ROM does NOT go away once the camera is powered up, therefore i would imagine that some sort of switch would be required to interrupt the normal screen image to allow the camera to function.

Im not that informed on how this could be achieved, but im sure someone else could provide a solution!
 

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#2 ·
ooh interesting
 
#3 · (Edited by Moderator)
Just a few ideas/suggestions

For your test camera do we know what format it's in PAL or NSTC format ? as this might explain the black & white picture that you have ? Also I have notice a gap at the top, does this mean we have a rolling picture.

To me this might be we have the wrong frame rate on either the camera or on the display. Also what are we using for the signal input, composite or RGB ?

But from the picture shown, I am impress how clear & sharp the denso can display. If this can be cracked could we shown a PC VGA signal ??
 
#4 ·
Its not a rolling picture... just has the distortion at the top...

The camera connection is an RCA lead, took the outer core to the earth on the touchscreen video input and then 3 separate wires from the positive into the R, G & B connections, that gives the picture on the screen as is, almost like a sepia filter.

I will look at the camera itself and see if there is a dip switch for the different format. I do have 2 range rover cameras from an Evoque, but i dont know the pin outs for them and i would imagine that they would need some sort of interface yeah?
 
#5 ·
Its good to see someone is making some more progress on this as the previos thread seems to have died down. there are a couple of things i really want to do with my denso unit, one is the video input/camera mod and the other is working out how to interface an iPod of USB device.

i am by no means an expert on the matter but if you are feeding into the component RGB input of the unit i am fairly sure that you cant just common them all up and feed it with a composite signal - as i say i amy be wrong but maybe you need a composite to component converter?

Component video has seperate sync and colour/video feeds where as composite is just avideo feed and ground?

Ddo you have a component source you could try with?

Also is audio available when the source is switched to the camera feed? all i am thinking is if i wanted to connect a DVD player or similar would the audio automatically be switched when the video is?

Do you have any details on what you have done to complete what you have accheived above as i would love to get something like this working myself.

Anyway good luck with it all, i look forward to any updates.

Best regards,

Phil.
 
#6 ·
hi Alex,

I have been looking into getting an external source to display on my Denso unit for quite some time, so far every attempt i can see has come to a dead end or people have become disinterested so the thread has faded out. i was wondering if you would be able to point me in the direction of the pin outs for the unit, more specifically where you are tapping into the video feed, i am no expert in audio/video but i am an electronics engineer so fancied giving this a crack myself/may be able to offer you some help on this one.

Thanks,

Phil.
 
#7 ·
Hi Alex

Very nice work. Just what we need, now as almost any attempt in finding a media interface etc. has failed, in order to connect video to the Denso.

Could you share some info on, how and what you did so far to get the video onto the Denso screen? Which connector and pin did you break into?

A few pictures and eventually a schematic would be fantastic.

I have electronic engineering background and could provide some help if needed...

Cheers and best regards

Jan
 
#8 ·
Hi guys. Just a quick update on this one.

I have managed to source the original connectors for the nav loom to avoid cutting the original. I ha a little chance at the weekend to play about and I have had an image displayed on the unit and confirmed a few things as to how I thought the system works.

Providing my back and the weather holds out this weekend I hope to be able to get back out to the car and try a few more things out at which point I will report back with my findings.

If any of you have made any progress on this it would be great if you could report back your findings too.

Regards.

Phil
 
#9 ·
I have finally had a chance to spens some time working on this and i am glad to say it has been a great sucess, a lot of my suspicions were correct as to how this unit works. it has not been particularly easy or cheap (i am about £200 out of pocket) but i have attached a picture of the end result.

currently the unit displays a camera feed when reverse gear is engaged and has 2 further video inputs selectable either via remote control or a push button.

by pushing the button you scroll through factory navigation>video1>video2 also i am able to switch audio at the same time but still maintain the mute and audio finctions of the original nav, for example if i enter my destination then put on a dvd or plug in my iPhone when teh navigation needs to give me instruction the audio mutes and the instruction is read out as per original. if i need to see the navigation instruction on screen i just have to press a push button (i am currently still working on how to get it to do this automatically.

Phil.
 

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#10 ·
oohh how much would you charge to make said module
 
#13 ·
Hi again Phil

Great news
)

I am also very excited to know more about your solution.

Have you used a ready made media interface to connect the camera, or have you developed something yourself from scratch?

Last year I discussed the topic with a dutch guy, who has developed an interface him self, with the option of reverse camera and remote controling a DVD player via the Denso touch screen - quite nice. Maybe its a similar interface you are using, which explians the price you mention. I memorize the price being arond 350 Euro's.

Hopefully you will share detalied info on your findings, so that we can just replicate it. Or alternatively sell a ready made kit. Both would work for me
)

Have a nice day.

Cheers

Jan
 
#14 ·
1 Thing i am strugling with is finding a reliable supplier for the connector at the back of the boot mounted DVD drive, it is not esential to find but it does make this a plug and play solution and avoids cutting the original loom and is then completely reversable, all teh connectors i need are teh same but in different sizes so if i cxan find a supplier for one i can get all of them. i am open to sugestions if anyone has any ideas?

Thanks,

Phil.
 

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#17 ·
Thanks Jan.

I have bought a similar thing for my initial testing however I had to buy 2 as they are not fully populated and I need new terminals for it as some of the cable needs to be twisted pair and some of it needs to be shielded cable for the unit to function correctly and reliably. For my testing I cut the existing wiring off and soldered onto the pins but this is by no means a permanent solution nor is it cheap. It has however allowed me to test things. I think I may have found a board mounted connector Which I may have to incorporate into my pcb.

I am also currently working on some signal conversion hardware to make my device more compatible with standard video formats.

By the look if it I think the final product will be 2 boxes, 1 will have to mount in the boot with the bulk of the electronics in and a smaller one behind the dash or display if there is room. I have now ordered a camera which I hooey to be bake to mount discreetly in the number folate light. I am just waiting on it to arrive so I can test it.

It may well just be me that has a car pc but would it be of interest to anyone to have a VGA input on the unit if I can incorporate one as I think this should be fairly simple.

That's my update for now and thanks for all your support and help.

Phil
 
#19 ·
Hi Phil

I would think it's really worth the extra effort to include the option for an external VGA. Think about the almost endless possibilities it opens up for. I have in mind adding a small PC to get an interface to control music from a USB, SD Card or Smart phone. No commercial solutions seem to exist for the Denso...

By the way - how would you characterize the Denso video interface? Is it component video or what?

I have been looking into a Denso schematic recently to try to understand. There seems to be RGB + a sync line. But I memorize, that VGA has both a horizontal sync and a vertical sync in seperate lines. How would you apply correct sync here? Would you wind H-sync and V-sync from the external device together and connect to Denso sync?

Cheers

Jan
 
#22 ·
Sorry Guys,

I have been slacking on this a bit due to generally being busy with things i get paid for, having other projects on the go and having been in and out of hospital.

So currently i have managed to acheive a dedicated reverse camera input which automatically Displays when reverse gear is selected, 2 video inputs capable of accepting any composite PAL/NTSC and a VGA input for any of you out there like myself that have a car PC (the quality leaves something to be desired on the VGA input so this is still a work in progress) I have managed to get the audio for each source to automatically select itself relative to the input selected but you will have to select the aux input on the head unit this has allowed me to retain the normal function of the AUX socket in the glovebox.

I am working on trying to switch the video source to one of the 'AV' channels via the head unit rather than an external push button or IR remote as i currently am as i am keen to maintain the 'OEM look' as much as possible as currently i can only get the reverse camera input to select itself appropriately.

I have had few issues with power requirements etc but now i have made some modifications and believe my issues with this to be sorted (i will test over the next few weeks)

really everything is going fairly well but i am left needing some help in terms of the touch screen. I am fairly confident that the pannel in the head unit can only be a 4 or 5 wire capacitive/resistive touch screen pannel however i am keen not to take the head unit apart in my own car untill i am sure!

Does anyone have any information on the touchscreen pannel particularly as to what type it is and where it is terminated inside the head unit? i was hoping it would be terminated on one of the connectors at the back as this would simplify things a whole lot but i am not holding my breath.

I deally i could do with even a non functioning head unit to be able to take apart and investigate but so far i have spent far more money than i was willing to initially and simply cant justify spending any more cash.

If anyone has any experience/information on the touch screen pannel it would be greatly received.

I will keep you all updated.

Best regards,

Phil.
 
#23 ·
I can cobble together a touchscreen for you to play with. just wont have the touch panel bit, but screen and all is ok...

Any good?

Of course, i have to be one of the first to take up any module at a reduced price for my help... lol


Alex
07955 406 446
 
#24 ·
All i need to know initially is where the touch screen panel connects inside the head unit and if any of its connections are present on any of the connectors that come out of the back of the unit?

Once it is up and running i am happy to suply one at the cost of the components to prove that it is working.

Phil.
 
#26 ·
yeah... ill get on that thursday... Just finished a 92 hour working week so im off to bed....
 
#27 ·
hi

i'm new member of the Forum.

i'm writting from France

I have a ford Smax, with the DENSO Unit and i'm looking for a multimedia adapter as i can set up a rearview cam on my smax and a dvd player or multimedia HDD.

I already contacted Rheinaudio in Deutschland but they don't sale the product anymore.

They told me to contact Novosonic in spain. i sent them 2 emails never answered.

i found your topic and decide to sign in and participate to the topic.

Do you have reached an issue to make your own interface ?

Thank you and good work
 
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