Update: new approach by André using DDS, see below.
This will be a record of my attempts to develop a colour graphical OSD for radio-controlled aircraft. An OSD system is a device which overlays flight information onto the video feed used by the pilot of an RC aircraft, so that they are able to see their altitude, airspeed, GPS co-ordinates, remaining battery power or fuel, or direction back home.
There are a number of OSD systems available. Many of these are based on the Minim OSD board. This was originally designed by 3D Robotics but released as an open hardware project so there are many variations available and it is inexpensive. However it is entirely text based. The MAX7456 chip at the heart of it was intended to display black and white text over security camera feeds.
There have been projects to create true graphical OSD systems, such as AlceOSD. It is relatively straightforward to superimpose a black and white or greyscale image over a video feed using a modern microprocessor, doing the same with a colour image is much more challenging. The only widely available OSD capable of doing this is the EagleTree Vector. It is a closed-source commercial product. Edit: MyFlyDream Crosshair autopilot, another closed-source product, also features a colour OSD.
I am aiming to create something of comparable performance, for the FPV community, which will be fully open that anybody can build on or customize. At present I have two working solutions, one using the ADV7184 and ADV7341 digital encoder and decoder connected back to back, and one using the AD724 locked to an external subcarrier (Yes, Analog Devices are the last best maker of the buggy whip that is analog video technology). Neither solution is entirely satisfactory to me; the first uses too much current and the second too many components. So the search goes on. Please keep reading below to follow my progress, and if you have any ideas feel free to share them!
Weka OSD 