@saimo
Using PLDs as downix suggested is as simple as defining the logic needed to decode the video output, using a language such as VHDL... Then burning the logic to the chips.
Taken from the perspective of binary data conversion, hardware is infinitely simpler to build than software, IMHO. Each chip meerly converts one set of binary data into another, and so on.
"This is what I have, this is what I need... Hey chip, this is how to change it!"
