FutabaNAGP1250 Streaming Demo

This is a companion project for the FutabaNAGP1250_Arduino library. It demonstrates high-performance video streaming to the Futaba VFD using a compressed binary protocol.

Features

• High Frame Rate: Streams video/camera at ~30 FPS.
• Compression: Uses PackBits (RLE) delta compression to minimize serial bandwidth.
• Robustness: Uses COBS framing, CRC32 checksums, and flow control (ACKs).
• Dithering: Advanced dithering algorithms (Sierra, Floyd-Steinberg, Bayer) via FFmpeg.
• Dual Mode: Supports both Camera streaming and Video File playback.
• Orientation Support: Automatically handles 140x32 (Horizontal) and 32x140 (Vertical) orientations.

Prerequisites

• Node.js: v16+
• FFmpeg: Must be installed and in your system PATH (brew install ffmpeg).
• PlatformIO (VSCode Extension) or Arduino IDE.

Installation

1. Firmware:

   • Open this folder in VSCode with the PlatformIO extension.
   • Connect your ESP32.
   • Upload the firmware: pio run -t upload
   • (Or check platformio.ini for library deps if using Arduino IDE).

2. Node.js Client:

   • Install dependencies:

     npm install

Usage

1. Stream from Camera

By default, the script streams from the default camera input.

node stream.js

2. Stream from File

To stream a video file (looping):

VIDEO=myvideo.mp4 node stream.js

3. Configuration via Environment Variables

You can tweak the stream using environment variables:

Variable	Default	Description
SERIAL_PORT	/dev/cu.usbserial-0001	Serial port path.
SERIAL_BAUD	230400	Baud rate (must match firmware).
MODE	sierra2_4a	Dithering mode (none, bayer, floyd_steinberg, sierra2, sierra2_4a, heckbert).
COMPRESSION	true	Enable/Disable RLE compression (true/false).
CONTRAST	varies	Contrast adjustment (e.g., 1.2).
BRIGHTNESS	varies	Brightness adjustment (e.g., 0.1).
ORIENTATION	auto	horizontal (140x32) or vertical (32x140). Auto-detects based on source.
TRANSPOSE	0	FFmpeg transpose mode for horizontal orientation (0=CCW+VFlip).
START_TIME	00:00:00	Start time for video files (HH:MM:SS).

Example:

MODE=bayer CONTRAST=1.5 COMPRESSION=1 VIDEO=movie.mp4 node stream.js

Protocol Details

The project uses a FlatBuffers schema (frame.fbs) to define the wire protocol.

• Full Frame: Complete bitmap.
• Delta Frame: XOR difference compressed with PackBits.

To regenerate the protocol code if you edit frame.fbs:

flatc --cpp -o include/ frame.fbs
flatc --ts -o futaba/ frame.fbs