Abstract: A video-based character input apparatus includes an image capturing unit, an image processing unit, a one-dimensional feature coding unit, a character database, a character recognizing unit, a display unit, and a stroke feature database. The image capturing unit captures an image. The image processing unit filters a moving track of a fingertip in the picture by detecting a graphic difference, then detecting a skin color and picking out a moving track most corresponding to a point of the object. The one-dimensional feature coding unit takes a stroke with respect to the moving track and converts the stroke into a coding sequence in a one-dimensional string according to a time sequence. The character recognizing unit proceeds with character comparison between the coding sequence in a one-dimensional string and the character database to find out a character having the most similarity for display one the display unit.