POS Video Text Inserter FG-4

View of the device

FG-4 device links point of sale terminals (POS) with CCTV cameras to produce a continuous overlay of transactions superimposed on video output. For the video signal, FG-4 acts as a looping device, with PAL input and PAL output. The FG-4 text inserter provides the ability to add the Cash Register/POS data to the video screen.

The device can provide additional security against fraudulent practices (such as non-registered transfers of products, registering inappropriate items, etc.). In addition, FG-4 can operate in terminal mode and display all character strings received from the POS terminal.

Description of connecting the FG-4 M1720 text inserter to a cash register/POS printer:
To connect the device to a POS printer, one needs RS-232 to RS-485 converter SNIF-42 M1721. SNIF-42 M1721 allows to monitor ("sniff") RS-232 transmission without any risk of changing the original data. This is particularly important in the case of cooperation with POS printer, which does not tolerate disruption or errors in data exchange. Therefore, it is not recommended the use other RS-232 to RS-485 converters.

The configuration of POS terminal, RS-232 to RS-485 converter SNIF-42 M1721, video text inserter M1720, and video signal path

Device configuration procedure is performed with 4 buttons that allow to control OSD menu displayed on CCTV monitor. The buttons with arrows are used for navigation through the menu, "ENTER" changes the selected parameter and opens a sub-menu/parent menu, while the "KEY LOCK" button is used to lock/unlock the keypad to prevent accidental configuration changes.

View of the front panel

On the rear panel there are: BNC video IN connector (PAL), BNC video OUT connector (PAL), RS-485 connector, and 12 VDC socket. The green LED located at the BNC connectors indicates the presence of the input video signal, the green LED positioned over the RS-485 interface shows the reception of data frame, while the red LED indicates the presence of power.

View of the rear panel

A screenshot of the menu

An example of POS data displayed on a CCTV monitor