Basic TV Technology: Digital and Analog, 3/e

Description:

Basic TV Technology is the essential basic guide to the fundamentals underlying all television and video systems, written for students and nontechnical professionals. You don't need to have a math or science background in order to understand this explanation of how the principal pieces of equipment work, what their functions are, and how they are integrated to form a complex video system. An understanding of this material will be necessary for you to succeed in the real world, where one person often has to perform many different roles and functions within a production. Armed with some basic technical background information, you'll be more effective at figuring out new applications and at problem-solving.

The fourth edition of Basic TV Technology has been updated to reflect the industry shift to digital video and includes new information on compression, television standards, LCD displays, HD, and equipment.

This book features the accessible Media Manual format, in which every topic is covered in two pages: one of explanatory text and one of figures.

 

Table of Contents:

Introduction

Acknowledgements

The Atom & Electricity
The parts of the atom
The flow of electrons through metals

Basic Circuits
Direct current (DC)
Alternating current (AC)

Units of Measurement (1)
Voltage
Current
Power
Resistance and impedance
Mathematical symbols and formulas

Units of Measurement (2)
Frequency
AC frequency
Capacitance

Fields (Induction) and Noise
Induction
Noise
Signal-to-noise ratio

Abbreviations
Kilo
Mega
Giga
milli
micro
nano
Conversions

Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs)
Interlace Scanning
Progressive Scanning

Need for interlace scanning

Blanking
Horizontal blanking
Vertical blanking

Waveform Display


Charge Coupled Devices
CCD layout and operation
Broadcast-quality requirements

An Introduction to Digital (1)
What is digital?
What Computers do

An Introduction to Digital (2)
Bits & Bytes (binary numbering system)

Analog and Digital
A to D conversion
Sampling and quantizing
D to A conversion

Color system
Color verses black and white
Additive and subtractive colors
Complementary colors


How the Eye Sees Light (1)
Color temperature

How the Eye Sees Light (2)
Filters
Black Balance
White balance

Digital Encoding Ratios
From black and white to color
Digital responses to this situation

CODECs

Composite Encoding
Home video cameras

Color CRTs
Convergence

Plasma Display Screens
How it works

LCD Screens

Analog Sync Generators

Analog Sync Generator Signals (1)
Drive pulses
Blanking pulses
Sync pulses
Color burst

Analog Sync Generator Signals (2)
Combining sync with video

Vectorscope
Reading the vectorscope
Color bar display

PAL

Analog Sync Flow Diagrams (1)
Distribution amplifiers

Camera Flow Diagram

Combining Sync and Camera Flow Diagrams
Out-of-phase cameras
Timing the system

Video Switchers
Vertical interval switchers
Component switchers
Digital Switchers
Special effects

Switcher Applications
Production and editing switchers
On-air switchers
Routing switchers

Production Switcher Flow Diagram
Switcher buses
Switcher outputs

Switcher Transitions and Special Effects
Wipes

Special Effects Keys--Luminance Keys
Linear or transparent keys

Special Effects Keys--Chroma Keys

Composite Versus Component Video
Problems of composite video
Component video
Y/C

Color Difference Component Video

Digital Special Effects
Compressions
Pushes
Flips
Rotations
Other special effects

Digital Interpolation
Manipulation
Interpolation

Analog Videotape Recording Technology
Recorders
Videotape
Recording heads

Analog Video Recording Standards & Formats
Audio versus video recording
Helical video recording

Other Tracks and Lockup (1)
Sound and control tracks
VTR Lockup
Capstan lock

Other Tracks and Lockup (2)
Vertical lock
Frame lock
Horizontal lock

Time Base Error

External Causes of Time Base Error
Gyroscopic time base error

Time Base Error Correction

Time Base Correctors (1)
What a time base corrector does
How a TBC works
Horizontal sync as a clock

Time Base Correctors (2)
D-to-A conversion
Video proc amp
Window of correction

Larger Analog Sync Problems & Solutions
Nonsynchronous sources
Frame synchronizer

Other Advantages of TBCs & Frame Synchronizers
Dynamic tracking heads
Freeze frames
TBCs, VTRs, and production

Digital Videotape Recorders
DV video

Digital Video Servers
Problems of videotape
Video servers

Disc Based Recorders

Editing Analog Videotape
Physical cutting and splicing
Electronic editing

The Editing Process (1)

The Editing Process (2)

Types of Edits 117
Assemble edits
Insert edits

Editing Methods-Manual editing

Editing Methods-Control track counters

SMPTE Time Code Editing

Off-Line and On-Line Editing
Off-line editing
On-line editing

Editing by Computers
Drop frame/non-drop frame editing

Problems of Traditional Editing

Non Linear Editing

Video Compression

Spatial Compression
Entrophy reduction
Entrophy encoding

Temporal Compression

MPEG Compression Standard

Computer Graphics for Video
Originating computer graphics
Interface between people and machines

Character Generators

Creating Imagery & Effects
Computer-generated imagery (CGI)
Digital Video effects


The Digital Studio

Open Architecture vs. Dedicated Equipment

Drawbacks of Open Architecture Equipment

High-Definition TV
Production HDTV standards versus broadcast HDTV standards

ATSC High Definition Broadcast Standard

Standard Definition Digital Television (SDTV)

Audio For Video
The early years
Mono and stereo

Surround Sound
5.1 Stereo

Professional and Consumer Audio
Impedance
Balanced and unbalanced audio

Combining Audio Components
Line and mic levels
Analog and digital
Professional and consumer equipment

Microphones, Mixers, and Loudspeakers
Microphones
Mixers
Loudspeakers


Sound Recording for Video
DAT
Solid State Recorders

Digital Audio Workstations

Further Reading

Glossary