A method, electronic device, and medium for real-time LED printing of timecodes based on serial communication.

Abstract

This invention discloses a method for real-time printing of timecodes on LEDs based on serial communication, belonging to the field of virtual serial communication technology. The method includes: Step 1, acquiring timecode data of precisely marked video frames from a video source in real time; Step 2, retrieving the LED screen device port; Step 3, determining the command parameters for serial communication; and Step 4, determining the data format for serial communication. The receiving end of this invention responds to different display data according to the specific parsing specifications, completely printing the timecode of each frame to the LED in real time. This enables real-time, accurate, and fast display of timecode information, and allows for a more intuitive view of the synchronization status between the device and the input source timecode. Serial communication, through asynchronous wired transmission, offers higher anti-interference capabilities and stronger compatibility. With a baud rate of 9600bps, it transmits 9600 bits per second, meaning each bit takes approximately 0.1ms (1 / 9600th of a second), resulting in higher transmission stability and meeting the requirements of real-time speed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of virtual serial communication technology, and in particular to a method, electronic device, and medium for real-time LED printing timecode based on serial communication. Background Technology

[0002] Timecode plays a crucial role in virtual production and virtual directing. It accurately marks video frames during shooting and is an important prerequisite for frame synchronization. Timecode provides accurate reference for post-editing, enabling different devices to capture the same frame simultaneously. Editors can quickly locate the scene or audio segment that needs to be processed based on the timecode trajectory, greatly facilitating post-processing.

[0003] Currently, in most broadcast shooting processes, there are very few solutions that can simultaneously meet the requirements of real-time, accurate, and fast display of timecode information, and provide a more intuitive way to check whether the equipment is in timecode synchronization. This seriously affects the entire post-production process and post-production work. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This invention addresses the shortcomings of existing technologies by providing the following technical solution: a method for real-time LED timecode printing based on serial communication, comprising the following steps:

[0005] Step 1: Real-time acquisition of timecode data of precisely marked video frames from the video source;

[0006] Step 2: Retrieve the LED screen device port;

[0007] Step 3: Draft the command parameters for serial communication, including the start bit, baud rate, data bits, parity bit, and stop bit parameters;

[0008] Step 4: Determine the data format for serial communication;

[0009] Step 5: The sending end sends instructions according to the planned communication protocol parameters and format;

[0010] Step 6: The receiving end receives serial port data and responds to different instructions by printing time codes in real time.

[0011] As an improvement to the above technical solution, the virtual broadcast control unit has a front LED and a rear LED screen. After matching the LED screen device port, it will return the two port device targets. The sending end needs to send communication data to the corresponding port targets respectively to realize the real-time synchronous display of time code information on the front LED and the rear LED.

[0012] As an improvement to the above technical solution, step 3 uses a parity bit for odd or even parity checking. The parity bit is not mandatory. The stop bit can be 1, 1.5, or 2 bits, which marks the end of transmitting a character. The start bit marks the beginning of transmitting a character and is unique. All data is in hexadecimal. The serial port sends instructions in ASCII-encoded characters, with 8 data bits, meaning 1 character is sent per frame.

[0013] As an improvement to the above technical solution, the communication data formats of the sending and receiving ends must be consistent in order to establish communication normally.

[0014] As an improvement to the above technical solution, the parameter command for the start bit, instruction parameters, clock display, minute display, second display, frame display, and end bit sends a piece of data as follows:

[0015] [0XAA][0X01][0X00][0X0B][0X32][0X1A][0XBB];

[0016] Wherein, [0XAA] is the fixed parameter start bit; [0X01] is the specific operation instruction, which is not a fixed parameter; [0X00] is the clock display data, which is not a fixed parameter; [0X0B] is the minute display data, which is not a fixed parameter; [0X32] is the second display data, which is not a fixed parameter; [0X1A] is the frame display data, which is not a fixed parameter; and [0XBB] is the fixed parameter end bit.

[0017] As an improvement to the above technical solution, the start bit, command, clock display, minute display, second display, and frame display together constitute a complete serial communication data structure. The command parameter range is between [0x00] and [0x80], ensuring that more types of specified operations can be accommodated. In addition to printing time codes in real time, the LED can also realize other more diverse display states. Each data bit of 4 bytes displays its corresponding data normally before [0x00] to [0x63]. When the data is [0x64], only the corresponding display state is turned off. The start bit and end bit are fixed hexadecimal numbers. The data in the last column indicates the object relationship between the corresponding instruction data initiator and receiver.

[0018] As an improvement to the above technical solution, in step 5, the display instruction data for frame display is sent from the sending end to the receiving end target in the planned communication protocol parameters. This is the number of frames counted per second in timecode, not the video frame rate or frame rate. The video frame rate is the speed at which the camera captures frames or plays back frames on the device, and it is defined by the number of frames per second.

[0019] An electronic device includes a processor and a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor, wherein the processor executes a method for real-time LED printing timecodes based on serial communication when it is running.

[0020] A computer-readable medium storing computer program instructions, which, when processed and executed, implement a method for real-time LED printing timecodes based on serial communication.

[0021] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: By acquiring the timecode data of the video input source, the receiving port for serial communication is determined through port identification to identify the target LED port. Then, the transmitting end sends valid information to the communication thread at fixed intervals of 1 / baud rate per second. The receiving end then sequentially reads the data bits, parity bits, and stop bits bit by bit and matches the command parameters. Since serial communication is asynchronous, both ends must agree on their respective communication commands, including start bit, baud rate, data bits, parity bits, and stop bits. The definition of the start bit is unique. All data is in hexadecimal. The serial port command is an ASCII-encoded character. The data bits are 8 to send exactly one character per frame. Further decoding is then performed based on the received serial port data to obtain... The data packet consists of a 1-byte header, a 1-byte command, a 4-byte command display section including the LED clock, minute, second, and frame displays, and a 1-byte end bit. The receiving end responds with different display data according to the specific parsing specifications, printing the complete timecode of each frame to the LED in real time. This allows for real-time, accurate, and fast display of timecode information, and provides a more intuitive view of the synchronization status between the device and the input source timecode. Serial communication, through asynchronous wired transmission, offers higher anti-interference capabilities and stronger compatibility. With a baud rate of 9600bps, it transmits 9600 bits per second, meaning each bit takes approximately 0.1ms (1 / 9600th of a second), resulting in higher transmission stability and meeting real-time speed requirements. Attached Figure Description

[0022] Figure 1 This is a diagram of the serial communication data structure of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 This is a communication data diagram of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 3 This is a flowchart of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0025] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the invention will be further described in detail below. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and not intended to limit the invention.

[0026] Please see Figure 1-3 This invention provides a technical solution: a method for real-time LED timecode printing based on serial communication, the method comprising the following steps:

[0027] Step 1: Real-time acquisition of timecode data of precisely marked video frames from the video source. The camera signal is connected to the live streaming workstation all-in-one application via an HDMI or SDI video capture card. When counting frames, the timecode assigns a unique identifier of a non-contiguous integer to each frame. Each frame has a label containing the value of hour:minute:second:frame rate. The timecode frame rate is the number of frames counted per second by the timecode, not the video source frame rate. Acquiring real-time video source signal data is an important prerequisite for ensuring that the subsequent software client performs timecode synchronization and phase-locking based on the TimeCode.

[0028] Step 2: Search the LED screen device ports. The sending end identifies the port named "CH340" among all ports, and sends the port identification command data in sequence and receives the corresponding data feedback to complete the port identification. The command data sent by the sending end and the data returned by the receiving end are both fixed hexadecimal numbers jointly determined by both ends. The purpose is to achieve fast and efficient data communication between the two sides, which can greatly improve the retrieval efficiency.

[0029] Step 3: Draft the command parameters for serial communication. Serial communication is asynchronous, so both ends of the communication need to agree on their respective communication commands, including parameters for start bit, baud rate, data bits, parity bit, and stop bit. The baud rate is the modulation rate of the data signal to the carrier, expressed as the number of times the carrier modulation state changes per unit time. The data bits are the actual effective information in the communication, and the number of data bits is agreed upon by both parties.

[0030] Step 4: S1 Defines the data format for serial communication. The data bits are the valid display information in the communication and are jointly defined by both communicating parties. S2 The data format consists of a 1-byte data packet header, a 1-byte instruction command, a 4-byte instruction display data section including the LED clock display, minute display, second display, and frame display, and a 1-byte end bit. S3 Defines the start and end bits for serial communication. S4 Defines the instruction parameters for serial communication between the two ends, ranging from [0X00] to [0X80]. This ensures that more specified data can be accommodated. The receiving end can respond to different operations according to different instruction parameters. The receiving end receives the data signal from the sending end. The system reads all instruction parameters bit by bit in sequence to respond to different display data, and prints the complete timecode of each frame to multiple LEDs in real time. The S5 connects to the video source signal of the live workstation all-in-one application via HDMI or SDI, and synchronizes the device timecode of the all-in-one application with the camera's metadata according to the input source timecode, so that each frame of each device is the same in time. It also performs synchronization phase-locking (Genlock), which locks the actual number of frames of the application to be consistent with the number of frames of the input source. In the case of a video source output of 1080P50, where 1080P is the video source resolution and 50 is the number of frames output by the video source, we should lock the device frame rate of the application to 50 frames.

[0031] Step 5: After the timecode synchronization and phase-locked loop of the integrated device application and input source are completed, the sending end sends instructions according to the planned communication protocol parameters and format, and sends the TimeCode data of the currently split device to the receiving end target with the corresponding start bit, instruction parameters, clock display, minute display, second display, frame display, and end bit parameter instructions.

[0032] Step 6, the response from the front LED panel and the rear LED panel of A1 is that the display panel lights up green and the panel timecode displays [00.11.50.26], respectively; as shown in the attached document. Figure 3The parameters and instructions shown indicate that we have now completely printed each frame of timecode to multiple LED panels in real time. A2 compares the data displayed in the fourth frame of the timecode based on the real-time printed timecode data; this is the number of frames counted per second in the timecode. If the video source output is 1080P50, then the displayed data for this frame is the count accumulated to 50 per frame, incrementing by one digit (i.e., incrementing by one digit per second). If the video source output is 1080P30, then the displayed data for this frame is the count accumulated to 30 per frame, incrementing by one digit. If the displayed frame data does not match the actual input source output frame count, it indicates that the current... If the device timecode is not synchronized with the input source, but the frame display data matches the actual number of frames output by the input source, it indicates that the current device timecode is synchronized with the input source, and a green light indicates its display status. Based on the above judgment of the current synchronization status of the device timecode and the input source, A3 decides whether to immediately take measures such as connecting an external synchronization device or performing synchronization phase lock to keep the hardware and software timecodes consistent, so as to avoid affecting the subsequent production work and process. By printing the timecode information to multiple LEDs in real time, the synchronization status of the device and the input source timecode can be viewed more intuitively.

[0033] In this implementation scheme, by acquiring the timecode data of the video input source, the receiving port for serial communication is identified to determine the target LED port. Then, the transmitting end sends valid information to the communication thread at fixed intervals of 1 / baud rate per second. The receiving end then sequentially reads the data bits, parity bits, and stop bits bit by bit and matches the command parameters. Since serial communication is asynchronous, both ends must agree on their respective communication commands, including start bit, baud rate, data bits, parity bits, and stop bits. The start bit is unique, all data is in hexadecimal, and the serial port commands are ASCII-encoded characters. The data bits are 8 to ensure one character is sent per frame, as shown in the attached diagram. Figure 1 The received serial data is then further decoded to obtain a 1-byte header, a 1-byte command, a 4-byte display data section including the LED clock, minute, second, and frame displays, and a 1-byte end bit. The receiving end responds with different display data according to the specific parsing specifications, printing each frame's timecode to the LEDs in real time. This allows for real-time, accurate, and fast display of timecode information, and provides a more intuitive view of the synchronization status between the device and the input source timecode. Serial communication, through asynchronous wired transmission, offers higher anti-interference capabilities and stronger compatibility. With a baud rate of 9600bps, it transmits 9600 bits per second, meaning each bit takes approximately 0.1ms (1 / 9600th of a second), resulting in higher transmission stability and meeting real-time speed requirements.

[0034] Specifically, the virtual broadcast control unit has front-facing LEDs and rear-facing LED screens. After matching the LED screen device ports, it returns the target devices for both ports. The sending end needs to send communication data to the corresponding port targets to achieve real-time synchronous display of timecode information on the front-facing and rear-facing LEDs. Both the sending end's command data and the receiving end's returned data are fixed hexadecimal numbers jointly determined by both ends. The purpose is to achieve fast and efficient data exchange between the two sides, which can greatly improve retrieval efficiency.

[0035] Specifically, step 3 involves a parity bit used for odd or even parity checking. The parity bit is not mandatory. The stop bit can be 1, 1.5, or 2 bits, marking the end of a character transmission. The start bit uniquely marks the beginning of a character transmission. All data is in hexadecimal, and the serial port sends ASCII-encoded characters. The data bits are 8, meaning one character is sent per frame, as shown in the attached diagram. Figure 1 .

[0036] Specifically, the data formats of the sending and receiving ends must be consistent in order to establish communication normally.

[0037] Specifically, the parameter command for the start bit, instruction parameters, clock display, minute display, second display, frame display, and end bit sends a data message as follows:

[0038] [0XAA][0X01][0X00][0X0B][0X32][0X1A][0XBB];

[0039] Wherein, [0XAA] is the fixed parameter start bit; [0X01] is the specific operation instruction, which is not a fixed parameter; [0X00] is the clock display data, which is not a fixed parameter; [0X0B] is the minute display data, which is not a fixed parameter; [0X32] is the second display data, which is not a fixed parameter; [0X1A] is the frame display data, which is not a fixed parameter; and [0XBB] is the fixed parameter end bit.

[0040] Specifically, the start bit, command, clock display, minute display, second display, and frame display together constitute a complete serial communication data structure. The command parameter range is between [0x00] and [0x80], ensuring that it can accommodate more types of specified operations. This allows the LED to achieve more diverse display states in addition to printing time codes in real time. Each data bit of 4 bytes displays its corresponding data normally before [0x00] to [0x63]. When the data is [0x64], only the corresponding display state is turned off. The start bit and end bit are fixed hexadecimal numbers. The data in the last column indicates the object relationship between the corresponding instruction data initiator and receiver.

[0041] Specifically, in step 5, the sending end sends the planned communication protocol parameters to the receiving end target. The display instruction data for the frame display is the number of frames counted per second in timecode, not the video frame rate or frame rate. The video frame rate is the speed at which the camera captures frames or plays back frames on the device, and it is defined by the number of frames per second.

[0042] An electronic device includes a processor and a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor, wherein the processor executes a method for real-time LED printing timecodes based on serial communication when it is running.

[0043] A computer-readable medium storing computer program instructions, which, when processed and executed, implement a method for real-time LED printing timecodes based on serial communication.

[0044] This invention solves the problem that few related technologies can simultaneously meet the requirements of real-time, accurate, and fast display of timecode information, and provide a more intuitive way to check whether the device is in a timecode synchronization state. It can also determine whether to use external synchronization devices or perform synchronization phase-locking and other related settings to keep the hardware and software timecodes consistent based on the status. Through asynchronous wired transmission via serial communication, the data communication has higher anti-interference ability, stronger compatibility, and higher stability, and can promptly avoid the problem of device asynchrony, greatly improving the efficiency of subsequent processing.

[0045] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and are not intended to limit it.

Claims

1. A method for real-time LED timecode printing based on serial communication, characterized in that, The method includes the following steps: Step 1: Connect the camera signal to the all-in-one device to acquire the video source in real time and accurately mark the timecode data of the video frames; Step 2: Search for LED screen device ports. The sending end identifies the names of all ports, sends port identification command data in sequence, and receives corresponding data feedback to complete port identification. Step 3: Draft the command parameters for serial communication, including the start bit, baud rate, data bits, parity bit, and stop bit parameters; Step 4: Determine the data format, start bit, and end bit for serial communication; synchronize the device timecode of the all-in-one machine with the camera's metadata according to the input source timecode, so that each frame of each device is the same in time, and then synchronize and lock the phase; Step 5: The sending end sends instructions according to the planned communication protocol parameters and format; Step 6: The receiving end receives serial port data and responds to different instructions to print time codes in real time. It also determines the synchronization status between the current device time code and the input source, and decides whether to immediately take measures such as connecting an external synchronization device or performing synchronization lock-in to keep the hardware and software time codes consistent.

2. The method for real-time LED timecode printing based on serial communication according to claim 1, characterized in that: The virtual broadcast control unit has a front LED and a rear LED screen. After matching the LED screen device ports, it will return the two port device targets. The sending end needs to send communication data to the corresponding port targets to realize the real-time synchronous display of time code information on the front LED and the rear LED.

3. The method for real-time LED timecode printing based on serial communication according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step 3, the check bit is used for odd or even parity checking, the stop bit is 1, 1.5 or 2 bits, which marks the end of transmitting a character; the start bit marks the beginning of transmitting a character and is unique, all data is in hexadecimal, the serial port sends instructions in ASCII-encoded characters, the data bits are 8, that is, 1 character is sent per frame.

4. The method for real-time LED timecode printing based on serial communication according to claim 3, characterized in that: The data formats of the sending and receiving ends must be consistent in order to establish communication normally.

5. The method for real-time LED timecode printing based on serial communication according to claim 4, characterized in that: The parameter command for the start bit, instruction parameters, clock display, minute display, second display, frame display, and end bit sends one piece of data as follows: [0XAA][0X01][0X00][0X0B][0X32][0X1A][0XBB]; Wherein, [0XAA] is the fixed parameter start bit; [0X01] is the specific operation instruction, which is not a fixed parameter; [0X00] is the clock display data, which is not a fixed parameter; [0X0B] is the minute display data, which is not a fixed parameter; [0X32] is the second display data, which is not a fixed parameter; [0X1A] is the frame display data, which is not a fixed parameter; and [0XBB] is the fixed parameter end bit.

6. The method for real-time LED timecode printing based on serial communication according to claim 5, characterized in that: The start bit, command, clock display, minute display, second display, and frame display together constitute a complete serial communication data structure. The command parameter range is between [0x00] and [0x80], ensuring that it can accommodate more types of specified operations. This allows the LED to not only print time codes in real time but also achieve other more diverse display states. Each data bit of 4 bytes displays its corresponding data normally before [0x00] to [0x63]. When the data is [0x64], only the corresponding display state is turned off. The start bit and end bit are fixed hexadecimal numbers. The data in the last column indicates the object relationship between the corresponding instruction data initiator and receiver.

7. The method for real-time LED timecode printing based on serial communication according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step 5, the sending end sends the planned communication protocol parameters to the receiving end target. The display instruction data for the frame display is the number of frames counted per second in timecode, not the video frame rate or frame rate. The video frame rate is the speed at which the camera captures frames or plays back frames on the device, and it is defined by the number of frames per second.

8. An electronic device, characterized in that: It includes a processor and a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor, wherein the processor executes, when running, any one of claims 1-7, a method for real-time LED printing timecodes based on serial communication.

9. A computer-readable medium, characterized in that: It stores computer program instructions, which, when processed and executed, implement the LED real-time printing timecode method based on serial communication as described in any one of claims 1-7.

Images