• Video Technology Page

    Index

    • General information
    • Basics of video signals
    • Broadcasting
    • Cable TV
    • Connectors
    • Data transmission inside TV signal
    • Digital video
    • Home Theater
    • Satellite TV
    • Video standards
    • Monitors
    • Standards conversion
    • TV receiver technology
    • Video projection systems
    • Video protection systems
    • Video storage medias
    • Video production and editing
    • Video system setup tips
    • Video chips
    • Video equipment companies
    • Video related circuits
    • Video equipment performance tests
    • Video equipment controlling

    General information

      Glossaries

      • Annotated Glossary of Essential Terms for Electronic Production - from SMPTE
      • Glossary of Terms for Video Essentials
      • Multimedia Glossary - very complete video term dictionary from Video Demystified book
      • Videonics Video Glossary - designed to be a learning tool, as well as a reference

      History

      • Early U. S. Television Chronology
      • The Birth of Television

      FAQs

      • rec.video FAQ - answers to common video questions
      • rec.video.desktop FAQ
      • rec.video.satellite.misc FAQ

      Organizations

      • Imaging Science Foundation
      • National Association of Broadcasters
      • Society of Broadcast Engineers
      • Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers (SMPTE)

      Key concepts

      • Basic Video - introduction to video signals
      • Broadcast TV - learning package for TV systems information
      • Conventional Analog Television - An Introduction - two lectures of material
      • Explaining Aspect Ratios
      • Motion portrayal, eye tracking, and emerging display technology - paper explores how the temporal characteristics of image capture and image display devices interact with eye tracking
      • Report of the Task Force on Digital Image Architecture - key concepst of imaging architechtures, info about flicker
      • Stereo/Multiview Image/Video Coding - papers, discussion forum and links
      • Televisiotekniikka - basics of television technology in Finnish
      • Video: Tech Basics - introduction to video technology
      • Vision Science in WWW virtual library

      Color info

      • Color Spaces: RGB vs. NTSC
      • How we see color with out eyes
      • Imaging Science Foundation Reference Library - CIE coordinates examples
      • Legal Colors - on-line tool to convert RGB values to legal NTSC and PAL values
      • Minnesota Supercomputer Center Color information - Human Perception Of Color and TV color systems, hints how to make good video graphics
      • Poynton's Color Technology Page - Gamma and Color FAQs

      Video system hardware

      • Engineering Primer - basics of Composite Video Signal, Waveform Monitor and Vectorscope
      • Hardware for Audio/Video Conferencing - pointers to hardware commonly used for MBone-style events
      • How Television Works - television operation described in simple way
      • Multimedia Central - The "One-Stop Page" Specifically For Engineers Designing Multimedia ICs or Systems by Keith Jack
      • Poynton's Video Engineering page - very good general video information site
      • Video cabling links

      Handbooks

      • Video University Free Articles & Guides

      Misc links

      • NAB Library & Information Resource Center - private library designed to serve NAB staff and NAB members
      • On Cables and Connections - information on video wiring from Kramer Electronics
      • Television and video links - companies, technical, standards

    Basics of video signals

    Here is some introductory material on video signals. Check those if you are looking for basic information on video signals.

    • Basic Video - introduction to video signals
    • Basic Principles of Video - good introduction chapter from A Technical Introduction to Digital Video book in pdf format

    Video standards

      Standards info

      • Analogue TV technologies
      • CCIR 476-1 - Colorimetric standards in colour television
      • CCIR-601 - some basic information of that digital video standard
      • CCIR 624-4 report - Characteristics of systems for monocrome and colour television
      • Colour TV Systems - what are NTSC, SECAM and PAL
      • Getting in Sync - introduction to video sync signal from Kramer Electronics
      • ITU BT Series Recommendations - Broadcasting service (television) - free standards list, standards text itself costs money to order
      • TV Systems: A Comparison
      • Worldwide TV Standards - A Web Guide - documents about TV and video standards
      • World Video and Power Standards

      Composite video formats

      • Basic Video - introduction to PAL, NTSC and SECAM
      • Comb Filters [A Multi-part Series] NTSC Decoding Basics - read also part 2 and part 3 of the article
      • Concerning "legal" and "valid" video signals - there is confusion in the video industry concerning the terms legal, illegal, valid and invalid
      • Cross-Colour Interference - effect sometimes seen on certain television pictures in which part of the picture includes a pattern of very closely spaced black and white lines
      • Info on the three color TV systems - short description of NTSC, PAL and SECAM
      • NTSC four-field sequence
      • NTSC/PAL Reference - basic reference to NTSC/PAL test signals, measurements and standards in Windows (3.1 or 95) help format
      • RS-170A and Genlocking
      • Short description of PAL timing info
      • Signal Synchronization in PAL
      • Video Formats and Resolution - CCTV system standards
      • What is leagal broadcast video signal ?
      • Y/C & Composite Video Signal Formats - specific to the NTSC video

      Component video format

      • Component Video Sync Formats
      • Consumer Analog RGB and YUV Video Formats
      • Solving the Component Puzzle - lots of information on component video formats

      What standard is used where

      • TV Systems Chart - map and country listing with TV standards
      • Video Standards NTSC, PAL and SECAM - what is used in what country and some parameters of different standard version
      • World TV Standards - country list and basic standard information

      Web sites with standard on-line

      • Fraunhofer: information on CCIR, SMPTE and EBU standards
      • Image Communication Information Board (ICIB) - various video standards on-line
      • Video engineering information from BBC Aberdeen - TV standards, video connectors

      Advanced video standards

      • A Brief Guide to NICAM
      • All You Ever Wanted to Know About PALplus but were Afraid to Ask
      • CCIR 601 digital "standard" television signals
      • CCIR Rec. 601-2 Document - digital encodign of video signals
      • Open Media Framework (OMF) Interchange - professional post-production interchange standard for the exchange of digital media information
      • SMPTE Digital Image Architecture
      • The latest scoop on HDTV - information about set of Grand Alliance HDTV formats for use in USA
      • US HDTV Standard - ATSC Digital Television Standard
      • Video Module Interface - developed in cooperation with many multimedia IC vendors in order to standardize the video interfaces between video chips
      • Widescreen signalling - in pdf format, covers PAL, NTSC and SECAM systems

      Program Delivery Control

      • PDC Explained - information about program delivery control for VCRs
      • PDC Live - Programme Delivery Control information home page
      • PDC-OnAir YLE TV 1 - what PDC data is sent out just now with description (in Finnish)

      Teletext

      • MRG Systems Teletext tutorial
      • Teletext Then and Now
      • Teletext Transmission Details
      • UK Teletext: Teletext Links
      • What Is Teletext ? - comprehensive description in pdf format

      Data transmission inside TV signal

      • Intel Intercast Technology Home Page
      • TV Data Broadcasting
      • VBI Data Broadcasting - a way to transmit data with normal TV video signal
      • VBI Data Standards and Tutorials
      • Wavephore - company that uses VBI data transmission technology to make WaveTop service
      • WaveTop - VBI data system

      Time code

      • Links to timecode calculators - download free programs for many computer platforms
      • SMPTE and Video In the Electronic Music Studio - basic technique needed for composing music for video is synchronization
      • SMPTE QuickGuide - how to use SMPTE time code, also available in pdf format
      • Synchronisation and SMPTE timecode - mainly technical description of the SMPTE time-code synchronization system, especially LTC time code
      • Technical Introduction to Timecode - This note excerpted from A Technical Introduction to Digital Video book outlines timecode, as used in video, film, audio recording, editing, and sequencing equipment
      • Time Code Primer - introduction to time code and it's use
      • Timecode Tutorial - pdf tutorial file from Leitch

      Connector standards

      • Scart-Belegung - SCART pinout picture, texts in german
      • SCART interface details
      • S-Video interface details
      • Notes on Video Conversion - how to convert video signals from different sources and connectors
      • Video Module Interface (VMI) - developed to standardize the video interfaces between video chips

      Standards conversion

      • 3D Video Standards Conversion - description of conversion between NTSC and PAL video standards
      • Building bridges between the video standards - format conversion, transcoding
      • Composite Video Separation Techniques - application note, 2 megabyte pdf file
      • How does NTSC 4.43 play on PAL TV ?
      • Notes on Video Conversion - how to convert video signals from different sources
      • Standards Conversion - basic PAL/NTSC conversion and how to cope with movement
      • The Rosetta Video Enhancer VSRVE - information on commerical converter and the conversion process in general, information on film to video conversion
      • UNESCO TV Standards Converter Kit - information about simple digital video processor suitable for use in developing countries, from Mallard Concepts

      Film to video conversion

      • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Bernard J. Farber, the Movie Censorship Advocate - opinions about movie letterboxing
      • How film is transferred to video - check also notes on film to laser disk conversion
      • Letterbox and Widescreen Advocacy Page

      Other

      • Cross-Colour Interference - describes also TV transmission details
      • Video Color Phase vs Cable Length
      • What is SSTV? - information about Slow Scan Television (SSTV) used by Radio Amateurs

    Digital video

      General

      • A Guide to MPEG Fundamentals and Protocol Analysis
      • alt.video.digital-tv FAQ
      • Basic principles od digital video - chapter 1 from A Technical Introduction To Digital Video book in PDF format (939 kb)
      • Consumer and Professional Digital Video Recording and Data Formats - standard related to IEEE 1394
      • Digital Production Manual For Film Students
      • Digital Video Links - very large link collection
      • DV & Firewire Central - devoted to DV (and its related formats - DVC, DVCAM, DVCPRO, etc.) and Firewire
      • Leitch Digital Television Tutorials - articles about serial digital video and more
      • Matrox Camera Interface Guide - interfacing cameras to video digitizing cards from Matrox Imaging
      • The Digital Fact Book - on-line book on digital video technology
      • The Pilot European Image Processing Archive
      • YCbCr to RGB Considerations - application note in PDF format

      Detailed information

      • A Technical Introduction to Digital Video - introduction chapers of the book
      • ATSC Standards - digital television standards for USA
      • A Tutorial on Magic Numbers for High Definition Electronic Production - also info on magic numers in NTSC and PAL systems
      • Color Spaces - RGB, YUV, YCbCr described, Powerpoint presentation, part of Video Demystified Multimedia Presentations
      • DV & Firewire Central
      • Letich Application notes - lots of useful notes on digial and analogue video
      • Report of the Task Force on Digital Image Architecture - information about many digital video details
      • Serial Video Basics - pdf file from Leitch
      • Snell & Wilcox Online Bookshelf - compression, motion compensation, encoding, decoding, standard conversion, DTV broadcaster guide, DTV production, aspect ratio conversion, transition to DTV
      • The Blue Fish Consortium - A Masters degree project on Digital Video subjective quality analysis performed with the BBC
      • Video Demystified - introduction to very good video book
      • Video Sampling - some details of most common sampling schemes in use today

      Video compression

      • Compression Technology - introduction to JPEG and MPEG, VideoCD, DVD, specification and resource links
      • Data Compression - introductory chapter from The Scientist and Engineer's Guide to Digital Signal Processing, covers RLE, Huffman, Delta encoding, LZW, DCT, JPEG and MPEG
      • DV vs. Betacam SP: 4:1:1 vs. 4:2:2, Artifacts and Other Controversies
      • Influence of Compression in the Production Chain - technical report
      • MPEG-2 Fundamentals for Broadcast and Post-Production Engineers - good white paper
      • MPEG Informations, Questions and Answers
      • MPEG Pointers and Resources
      • MPEG Video Encoding Standards - lecture slides
      • Real World Considerations in a Video Compression System - Conference paper presented at ADVICE, Cambridge 1996
      • Stereo/Multiview Image/Video Coding - discussion forum, papers, research groups and test images
      • The Ins And Outs Of MPEG

      Computer based digital video

      • Evaluation of Image Capture Pathways for Multimedia Application
      • How to Play Movies on Your PC - how to make and playback videos using PC
      • Local Peripheral Bus Interface Specification - interface to connect MPEG2 decoder to graphics card
      • Multimedia Central - The "One-Stop Page" Specifically For Engineers Designing Multimedia ICs or Systems
      • Tomi Engdahl's multimedia link page
      • Tomi Engdahl's PC video technology page
      • Video Interface Port (VIP) Specification - a standard interface between a "video-enabled" graphics chip and one or more video devices, such as an MPEG2 decoder or video decoder, pdf file
      • What are the prospects for video on the Net? - This article examines the emerging technologies for distribution of time-based media over intranets and the Internet

      Digital TV broadcasting

      • ACTS Digital Television Standard - digital HDTV standard proposal for USA in pdf format

    Video storage medias

      General

      • A comparison between home video formats
      • Home Video Systems Visual Resolution Comparison
      • How Film Is Transferred to Video

      Tape

        How VCR works

        • An introduction to VCRs - focuses on NTSC VCR
        • Disassembly and Investigation of a VCR - course report
        • Information "Tracks" on Videotape - what tracks are included in normal video tape
        • Videotape Systems Theory

        Video tape formats

        • Consumer and Professional Digital Video Recording and Data Formats - standard related to IEEE 1394
        • DV vs. Betacam SP: 4:1:1 vs. 4:2:2, Artifacts and Other Controversies
        • Home Video Formats - comparision of different video formats
        • PAL and NTSC VHS video tape information - VHS video tape speeds and lengths
        • Video recording formats - background info on professional formats
        • Video Recording Formats Part 1 - commercial video formats

        Mainteance and repairing

        • A DIY Guide to Cleaning Your Video Cassette Recorder (VCR)
        • Notes on VCR failure diagnosis and repair -also useful technical data
        • VCR FIRST AID
        • VCR First Aid

        Misc

        • DV & Firewire Central - site devoted to digital video
        • Improving recorded-video-signal technology - technical report

      Discs

        General

        • Capacitance Electronic Disc system - antique technology which got never popular
        • RCA SelectaVision VideoDisc FAQ - a delivery platform for home video marketed by RCA from March 1981 until mid 1986

        DVD

        • A Closer Look at DVD
        • Apple DVD FAQ
        • Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) - new laser disk standard for video and audio
        • DVD and Microsoft Operating Systems - planned support for DVD in Windows
        • DVD FAQ
        • DVD Information Resources
        • DVD page - very good DVD information resource
        • DVD Specifications - basic specifications as announced in the spring of 1996
        • DVD Today - DVD information resource
        • DVD video Consortium
        • The DVD Debate - information on DVD releasers
        • Virtual Urth DVD Channel - DVD news and reviews

        Laserdisc

        • Laser disk articles archive at nic.funet.fi - check index for more information
        • Leopold's Laserdisc page - very informative and lots of links
        • Laser Disk technology introduction - check also technical summary of LD

        VideoCD

        • Super Video Compact Disc - MPEG-2 on compact disc

      Other

      • THX Certification information - how films to video transfer can be certified

    Home Theater

    • Digital Theater Page - news, discussion forum, reviews, software
    • Genenral Home Theater Info/Advice
    • Hi-Rez Tech Articles - home theater planning and technical articles
    • Home Theater, HIFI & AV Page by KTS
    • Home Theater Page - documents, hints, product reviews

    Unsorted links

    • Index to Multimedia Information Sources
    • Quicscan - Indexing video material at the source, in a proprietary method
    • Tomi Engdahl's list of companies in video business