The world of TV

by hws
Between 1928 and 1935 Nipkow and others constructed systems for line scanning of TV images
using a so called Nipkow disc, which allowed the drawing of images line by line in time
sequential manner. The resolution was about 60 lines with 12,5 frames per second .... Amazing !!!
The Start
Nipkow

The world of TV
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SDTV B/W
CCIR 625 lines 50 fields per second
- First, in the odd field, all lines with odd numbers ( 1,3,5 ..) are drawn from left to right and
from top to bottom.
- After 312,5 lines the trace returns to the top and draws the other 312,5 lines with the even line
numbers ( 2,4,6...).
- The image has an aspect ratio of 4:3 .
- The information in the line is analogue, that means there are no pixels in the line but
only the structure of the lines in the image.

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SDTV B/W
CCIR 625 lines 50 fields per second contd.
In Numbers
Lines total 625
Lines max. visible 575
Aspect ratio 4:3
interlaced drawing
synchronised by embedded sync pulses
Video signal amplitude +0,7V
Synchron pulse amplitude -0,3V
referenced to the black level
Field frequency 50 Hz
Line frequency 15625 Hz

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CCIR 625 lines 50 fields per second contd.
Timing diagram one line CCIR Standard
SDTV B/W

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CCIR 625 lines 50 fields per second contd.
SDTV B/W

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SDTV B/W
CCIR 625 lines and more ?
Audio is transported as a single FM signal with a carrier of 5.5 MHz and a frequency shift of 50 kHz.
This signal was intended to be out of the bandwidth of the video signal. Unfortunately this leads to a usable
bandwidth for the video signal that does not allow to have a square pixel resolution in this system.
The video signal is in its oldest and "simplest" way transported as CVBS signal (Colour Video Baseband Signal)
with an amplitude of 1 Volt peak-to-peak and an impedance of 75 Ohms over coaxial cable.
Audio is transported over a separate cable.
Also exists a way to use, for links between TV equipment, a antenna like signal by using a modulator on the
sending side and the normal receiver paths on the receiving side. This link gives absolutely the simplest way
but with absolutely the worst quality to connect TV equipment!
Signal connections

The world of TV
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SDTV Colour
How to make colour ?
As there was and is no way to generate a continuously tuneable colour source, and as the human eye perceives
colour in a spectrum even when it is generated only by mixing two or more components of fixed wavelength
the approach to colour photography and colour TV was made by using the additive light mixing shown in the
well known diagram below. The mostly used three basic components have to be as pure as possible, th achieve
the widest possible gamut - the area covered in the field of visible colours- of the system.

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SDTV Colour
Colour and mathematics
From the additive light mixing, we know, that all colours together - in the right quantity - have as sum the colour
white. White is also be known as "without colour" having only luminance. By the way this luminance is often
misnamed as brightness. The visual perception of the "normal" human eye is represented by the CIE chart.
This chart has the white point in the middle. In reality this is not a point, but an area. Also exists a way to describe
the so called white point in temperature - degrees Kelvin - in comparison with a black body having the named
temperature an emitting light of a specific colour. The higher the colour temperature - of the black body - the
more blueish is the light emitted, the lower the more reddish.
But the CIE chart shows only two dimensions of the game. The two dimensions in this chart, build by mixing
basic colours misses the luminance as a third dimension. We may imagine a third axis standing perpendicular
out of the plane of the chart with the foot point in the white point.
To transmit a coloured image we have to know the locus of colour, described by the CIE chart and the luminance.
In the realisation in TV systems, we have the three values of R, G and B. The sum of RGB called luminance, and
a however calculated ratio between the components called chrominance - our colour.
The chosen standard way of transforming for electrical transport is a weighted form of sums and difference,
in which the luminance can have a maximum of 1 - here without units.
U = U + U + U >> if U = 1 >> U = 0,30 U + 0,59 U + 0,11 U Y R G B Y Y R G B
U =U U = U 0,30 U - 0,59 U - 0,11 U =0,70 U - 0,59 U - 0,11 U
U =U U = U 0,30 U - 0,59 U - 0,11 U =-0,30 U - 0,59 U - 0,89 U
R-Y R - Y R - R G B R G B
B-Y B - Y B - R G B R G B

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Colour and mathematics contd.
SDTV Colour
Let us name the signal in an old fashioned way, even if it does not be correct in all cases, and without a notation
as voltage.
Y = Luminance U = chrominance part B-Y V = chrominance part R-Y
Ping... that was what we knew from the past !
As a next step U and V are added as components of a vector in a way that the parts are with a right angle in
between. We than get a amplitude and a phase which together and in relationship to the luminance
form the so called colour vector.
To describe the image content, we now need exactly two signal - voltages - the luminance, which represents
the old image content of the B/W TV - what a miracle - and the chrominance which is the added
information to open the dimension of colour.
To use a signal like this, we have to add some reference and synchronisation signal the "colour burst"
which is a signal transported in the line between the sync and the image on the "back porch" of the sync.
The sync is used to normalize and synchronize the needed oscillators in the receiver, so that the phase
information of the colour vector signal can be used without drifting away.
In the PAL system in addition the colour vector signal is "mirrored" line by line , so that a steady drift
is compensated over the lines.
The colour vector signal was then modulated on a 4,43361875 MHz carrier as Quadrature Amplitude Modulation
or shorter QAM. The modulated signal has no carrier in the resulting signal and is in bandwidth so formed,
that it could be added to the AM luminance signal without disturbing this very much.

The world of TV
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SDTV Colour
Colour and mathematics contd.
Scheme of spectra
( in parts only after modulation)
1 - - - / Lower sideband depressed
2 DC level / image carrier
3 Image content / upper sideband
4 Colour spectrum / interleaved
subband
5 - - - / sound carrier mono at 5,5 MHz
12 dB below image carrier
6 - - - / second sound carrier at
5,7421875 MHz
18 dB below image carrier

The world of TV
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Audio is transported as a two FM signals with a carrier of 5.5 MHz and 5,74 MHz and a frequency shift of
50 kHz for each.
The video signal is in its oldest and "simplest" way transported as CVBS signal (Colour Video Baseband Signal)
with an amplitude of 1 Volt peak-to-peak and an impedance of 75 Ohms over coaxial cable.
Audio is transported over a separated cable.
Also exists a way to use, for links between TV equipment, a antenna like signal by using a modulator on the
sending side and the normal receiver paths on the receiving side. This link gives absolutely the simplest way
but with absolutely the worst quality to connect TV equipment!
The more sophisticated way was named after a tape recording system S-Video or YC, which means it has two
coaxial wires, one for Y the luminance signal and one for C the chrominance signal. In this way the colour vector
signal is not interacting with the luminance, which gives a lot better image quality.
The "kings way" was and is to transport the three components and the synchronisation signal each over a
separate cable. This way there is the purest way without interaction, but the most expansive way with the
biggest connector or number of separate connectors. In Europe the SCART connector was used for this link.
Signal connections
SDTV Colour
PAL and more ?

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EDTV
Enhanced-definition television
The very first steps from the old fashioned Standard-Definition Television SDTV well known as NTSC, PAL or
others, a new format was established by the Consumer Electronics Association CEA.
This format based primarily on the content in numbers of the old formats.... but not in interlaced format, instead
in progressive format. That means that in a flicker free way all horizontal lines are drawn in one vertical sweep-
For this, the vertical scan rate needed to be doubled, so that, depending on the system 50 or 60 frames were
drawn per second, which then gave a more or less flicker free image.
The needed bandwidth is doubled in comparison to SDTV and from this version - ongoing to the higher grades -
there is no interface with defined for composite or otherwise combined signals.
The only two version of signals are component RGB and component YPbPr which both have either a
separated synchron signal or synchron signal combined with G respectively Y.
For EDTV the synchron signal is formed as a negative pulse - referred to black level - with only two levels.
This bi-level synchron signal is well known from the PC monitors where the VESA Standards define the various
combinations of positive and negative separated sync-signals.
The two mainly used formats are 480P60 and 576P50 where the first number tells the number of used image lines
and the second, after the P for progressive, tells the number of frames per second. In some literature and in
countries this formated is also belonging to the HDTV formats.

The world of TV
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EDTV
Enhanced-definition television in numbers
In Numbers
Lines total 625 / 525
Lines max. visible 576 / 484
Aspect ratio 4:3
Progressive drawing
synchronised by embedded or separated sync pulses
Video signal amplitude +0,7V
Synchron pulse amplitude -0,3V
referenced to the black level
Frame frequency 50 / 60 (59,94)Hz
Line frequency 31250 / 31500 Hz

The world of TV
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EDTV
Enhanced-definition television sychron signal analog

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HDTV
High-definition television
The real step to HDTV was the creation of two fornats by SMPTE (Standard of Motion Picture and Television
Engineers)which have 1 respectively 2 Megapixels. The two standards where promoted by two competing
groups inside SMPTE.
The "smaller" format is progressive and the "bigger" is interlaced. By this both need the same bandwidth which
is 5,5 times in comparison to SDTV.
The only two version of signals are component RGB and component YPbPr which both have either a
separated synchron signal or synchron signal combined with G respectively Y.
For HDTV the synchron signal is formed as a tri-level pulse beginning with a negative pulse - referred to black
level - followed by a positive pulse.
The two respectively four used formats are 720P60, 720P50, 1080I30 and 1080I25 where the first number tells
the number of used image lines and the second, after the P for progressive or I for interlaced, tells the number
of frames per second. In some literature the interlaced formats are named as 1080I60 resp. 1080I50 naming the
number of fields instead the number of frames.
As a next step the 2 Megapixelformat was enlarged respectively modified to the then progressive formats named
1080P60 and 1080P50 and furthermore to 1080P30 respectively 1080P25. As this was traverse to the facts of
video production, the world of disc storage media, with movies which are normaly produced as 24 frames on film
featured a format of 1080P24 which was used first time as a standard on BluRay-Players.
The "faster" formats 1080P60 and 1080P50 need double the bandwidth than the corresponding interlaced formats.
The "slower" format needs the sane bandwidth as the corresponding formats and gives, at least for movie
productions, the same quality of image as the "fatser" formats. Only for pure TV productions like sports or
similar suffer from missing frames.

The world of TV
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HDTV
High-definition television contd.

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HDTV
High-definition television in numbers
720P60 720P50 1080I30 1080I25 1080P60 1080P50 1080P30 1080P25 1080P24
Pixelclock [MHz] 74,25 74,25 74,25 74,25 148,50 148,50 74,25 74,25 74,25
Pixel per line total 1650 1980 2200 2640 2200 2640 2200 2640 2750
Lines total 750 750 1125 1125 1125 1125 1125 1125 1125
Pixel per line visible 1280 1280 1920 1920 1920 1920 1920 1920 1920
Lines max. visible 720 720 1080 1080 1080 1080 1080 1080 1080
Aspect ratio 16:9 16:9 16:9 16:9 16:9 16:9 16:9 16:9 16:9
Interlaced / Progressive P P I I P P P P P
Video signal amplitude +0,7V +0,7V +0,7V +0,7V +0,7V +0,7V +0,7V +0,7V +0,7V
Synchron pulse amplitude +-0,3V +-0,3V +-0,3V +-0,3V +-0,3V +-0,3V +-0,3V +-0,3V +-0,3V
Frame frequency [Hz] 60 50 30 25 60 50 30 25 24
Field frequency [Hz] 60 50 60 50 60 50 30 25 24
Line frequency [kHz] 45,00 37,50 33,75 28,13 67,50 56,25 33,75 28,13 27,00
Datarate [Mpix/s] 55,30 46,08 62,21 51,84 124,42 103,68 62,21 51,84 49,77

The world of TV
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HDTV and more ?
HDTV and what comes after it
The last realize standards for HDTV on the mass market is 1080P60 and 1080P24 but as time does not stand
still, also the development of HDTV is going forward.
So has the HDMI standard included some 4kx2K formats for 24,25 and 30 Hz framerate, which right now are only
used for cinema purposes. The future will bring this formats to the home cinema area as well.
To make a decision, if formats above FullHD are reasonable, we have to recall some facts about image
presentation to see where the limits are for a usefull resolution.

The world of TV
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HDTV and more ?
Resolution and viewing distance contd.
As we could see, the viewing distance is shrinking with the growing resolution. And as we are going nearer and
nearer to the screen, we come to a point, at which we are not having any further benefits from an increasing
resolution.
In most cases , especialy when we are watching TV with more than 2 people and use a panel with about 1 meter
diagonal size, we have already a problem positioning all seats in a correct distance and with not a to large
angular deviation.
So what for should we increase the resolution...?

The world of TV
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Resolution and viewing distance
HDTV and more ?
Let us make some statements to see where we are. The human eye has an ability to separate two objects which
have an angular distance of 0,5 to 1 angular minutes. As we are not viewing PC images. we are not needing to
view single pixels. TV is the way to draw an image using lines and pixel to draw a real world image. For this, we
need to have a viewing distance at which our eye does not separate pixels and/or lines. Instead we want that the
elements are "glued" together to form a continous image which is not distorted by the artefact of the imaging
system.
Let us calculate .... an old fashioned TV with a diagonal size of 70 cm an aspect ratio of 4:3 and 576 lines ..
with a little help of Pythagoras, that we have 42cm height with 576 lines. This comes out with a viewing distance
of 2,5 to 5 meter.
Format Diag. Size Aspect ratio Height Lines vert.
0,3' 0,5' 1,0'
576I/P 70 cm 4:3 420 576 8,3 m 5,0 m 2,5 m
720P 102 cm 16:9 500 720 8,0 m 4,8 m 2,4 m
1080I/P 102 cm 16:9 500 1080 5,3 m 3,2 m 1,6 m
2160I/P 102 cm 16:9 500 2160 2,7 m 1,6 m 0,8 m
720P 250 cm 16:9 1225 720 19,6 m 11,8 m 5,9 m
1080I/P 250 cm 16:9 1225 1080 13,0 m 7,8 m 3,9 m
2160I/P 250 cm 16:9 1225 2160 6,6 m 3,9 m 2,0 m
Optimal viewing distance
Eye resolution

The world of TV
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One way to use more resolution, is, to have two images in one.
This means that at least in the transport channel we have an interrest to double the capacity to have two images,
one for each eye... this means 3D vision.
Equaly which technical way we go to extend into the third dimension, we will need twice the channel capacity
and if it is something like the 3D image toys with the angular separation lens syystem, we will even need the
resolution on screen.
Ans ... the sky is open .... for new ideas to use - with reasonable benefits for the enduser - newer higher
resolutions !
Resolution and new ideas
HDTV and more ?

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The two worlds ?!
Pal versus NTSC ... the WAR
As well known, in the past there existed different systems of voltages and frequencies for the mains supply in the
different regions and countries of the world. After some time there were two main "worlds" left, the one with a
line frequency of 50Hz and the other with 60Hz. The 60Hz world is mainly North and Central America and Japan
and the remaining part is mainly 50Hz with some mixed areas like Brazil and Saudi Arabia.
Depending on this status in the time of the beginning of TV two systems were founded with a image (vertical)
frequency of 50Hz in Europe and 60Hz in USA. This was done, because with this the interferences between the
supply and the imaging system could be minimized. At least the european area created more different systems
with different numbers of lines on screen. After all, up to now two systems are existing, but thanks good with the
tendency to merge in the future. The two remaining systems are now in SDTV the PAL and the NTSC, from which
the last has less quality in terms of resolution and colour reproduction. Not without reasons is NTSC spelled as
"Never The Same Colour" because of the instability of the colour transporting path. On the other hand PAL is
spelled by the Americans with "Pay the Additional Luxury" because of the license fees to be paid for the usage of
the patented system.
In our HDTV systems we use both worlds, because our displays either have no problem with different
frequencies at all or they have built in a scaler and framerate converter, as all the flat panels normaly have.
As most content today is transmitted as SDTV, most of the modern TV panels having a progressive display
system, need to use also a deinterlacer, a processing device, which builts a "image in one" from the two halfs
which are conveyed by SDTV (interlaced). The newest generation of TVs and projectors may also use the naitive
cinema format 1080P24 which is a one-by-one copy from the movie. With this the old fashioned way of Pull-down
handling for NTSC and the speed-up with 4% for PAL are history. If the image is better than before depends on
the video processor and the physical frequency of the image modul.

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The world of TV
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SDTV the analog way
Video in AM Sound in FM and what more
The modulation of video signals in SDTV are done with AM in VSB mode (vestigial sideband) which means, that
from the normal AM signal only one sideband - in this case the upper - is transmitted in full and the other side-
band is only with a small residual bandwidth transmitter. This gives us the full carrier and in all cases of needed
filtering does not cut the low frequency parts of the modulation. This is very important, to have a constant
brightness of the background transmitted correctly. The modulation is "negative", which only means, that the low
voltage of the black and sync areas of signal are transported with maximum power. That gives an extra against
distortions on the way of transmission and allows us to have something like an AGC (automatic gain control)
based on the level of the sync tips.
The simplest way to transport audio was then to add an extra carrier outside the used bandwidth of the video
signal - just above - and modulate the frequency of this carrier with the audio frequency.
! There exist differences in some strange subtypes of PAL !
The audio systems were extended with a second, even lower leveled carrier for a second audio channel.
This audio channel may be used to implement stereo audio or a second language channel.
The carrier frequencies for PAL and NTSC are differing as well as the modulation conditions are slightly different.
All other information is transported "in lines" which means, that a digital information like Teletext or others are
like video information transported, but this time in unvisible lines in the images heads.
This descriptin is so far valid for the terristric and cable carried transmission of SDTV. The satellite way has had
different modulation scheme with solutions for the new problems of this path.

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Terristrical transmission of PAL and others
After some strange ways of coding like DMAC and D2MAC the now established way to transport SDTV on
terristric ways is COFDM (Coded Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing).
This system is based on a mixed strategy using between 2K and 8K subcarriers which each are modulated
with QPSK, 16QAM or 64QAM. These modulation schemes QPSK aso. are a mixture of phase and amplitude
modulation in a digital way which means that 4,16 or even 64 states of phase and amplitude represent a number
of 2, 4 or 6 bits. This is done on each carrier, which at the end comes out with a signal that is mor resistant
against multipath and similar distortions and has between 1704 and 6816 usable acrriers with 4 to 64 states in
one time slice of 360 to 1433 us. This signal may be demodulated by using a IFFT algorithme which gives the
value and the angle for each carrier decoded as a bit string of a length of 6816 to 436244 bits.
The useable bitrate is between 4,36MBit/s to 31,67MBits/s depending on modulation and channelwidth.
To use this for the transport of a TV signal, the TV signal is compressed encoded in MPEG2 / MPEG4 and
then recoded for the transport channel using FEC (Forward Error Correction) to establish a stable and trustable
transport.
The basic version used MPEG2 for the compression. The definitions for this is to be found in the ETSI
standard EN 301 958.
The next step uses the new standard DVB-T2 as described in ETSI EN 302 755 and uses MPEG4/H.264 as
compression standard with this may also HDTV be conveyed !
DTV the digital way

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Cable transmission of PAL and others
As on the cable, we have no problem with reflections and multipath conditions,there is no need to use OFDM.
instead a simple QAM is used. Depending on the system this may be 64QAM up to 256QAM.
The definitions for this is to be found in the ETSI standard
EN 301 958.
The basic version used MPEG2 for the compression.
The next step uses the new standard DVB-T2 as described in ETSI EN 302 769 and uses MPEG4/H.264 as
compression standard with this may also HDTV be conveyed easier and more efficient !
DTV the digital way

The world of TV
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As on the cable, we have no problem with reflections and multipath conditions,there is no need to use OFDM.
instead a simple QAM is used. Here the simplest way was used in form of a QPSK (4QAM).
The definitions for this is to be found in the ETSI standard
EN 301 421.
The newer standard uses
The basic version used MPEG2 for the compression.
The next step uses the new standard DVB-S2 as described in ETSI EN 302 307 and uses MPEG4/H.264 as
compression standard with this may also HDTV be conveyed easier and more efficient !
QPSK or the more sophisticated versions 8PSK, 16APSK and 32APSK which allow
even higher bitrates.
DTV the digital way
Satellite transmission of PAL and others

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The game of phase with optimization
PSK - Family
QPSK (4QAM) 8-APSK
16-APSK

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QAM - Family
The game of phase and value

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TV over IP
The video stream over Ethernet or what else ?
When the video stream in compressed form with added audio and other payload already exists as a bitstream
in packets,.... what is nearer than transporting this stream, in any possible way which is with benefits
for the quality or the efficiency for the system, over a LAN or WAN and with this ... over the internet protocol
(IP). The only thing we need to observe is, that this "channel" is not free of some jerking. That means, that we
need some preload...... waiting to start and then after start, we have to take care, that our "pipe" is not blocked.
With this and with the knowledge of the needed bitrate for the wanted image size and quality we can transport
a TV stream over IP.
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