Road Test: Strong Technobeam, page 40 - PLSN.com

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NEW PRODUCTS Doremi GHX-10 Doremi Labs’ new GHX-10 HD video cross converter features HDMI, DVI, and SDI connectors that allow for any input to be converted to any output format or scan rate. It supports SD and HD video and employs 12 bit bi-cubic interpolation. In addition to audio support, sync output and gunlock, the unit features dual-link SDI and 3Gb/s SDI connectors for 4:4:4 2K film resolution. It can be used as a computer DVI to HD-SDI converter, a HDMI resolution converter, or as a HD video upconverter or downconverter and much more. The GHX-10 supports up to 8 channels of AES, HDMI and SDI audio. Doremi Labs, Inc. • 818.562.1101 • www.doremilabs.com High End Systems DL.3 High End Systems Inc.’s new DL.3 with integrated media server is equipped with a 6500-lumen, 3-chip LCD projector and features 2000:1 contrast ratio, new optional lens accessories for longer throw projection applications and SDI input/output. Other new features include a DMXcontrolled vertical lens shift function and a large surface area, low noise HEPA filter to protect the projection optics from theatrical haze. Collage Generator enables arrays up to 8x8 to create seamless vertical, horizontal or central panoramic media projections controlled from a lighting console. The company has also expanded its royalty-free stock libraries with a greater selection of high-resolution still images and video footage. High End Systems, Inc. • 512.836.2242 • www.highend.com Mega-Lite Enigma Matrix LED Panels In late 2007, Mega-Lite introduced the Enigma Matrix 16mm and Enigma Matrix 20mm LED panels. Both products are used to display higher resolution media and video. The LED display panels are 30 by 20 by 9 inches and weigh 74 pounds, requiring only two people to install them. The weathersealed cabinet design gives the display panel an IP rating of 64 in the front and 54 in the rear, making it possible to be used outdoors. Each panel is capable of reproducing 1,536 real pixels and 6,144 virtual pixels. Applications include live video, set designs, outdoor billboards, stadium scoreboards and more. Mega-Lite • 210.684.2600 • www.mega-lite.com Sanyo PLC-XF47 LCD Projector Sanyo’s new PLC-XF47 LCD projector offers 15,000 lumens and is equipped with four 330-watt lamps. In the event that the lamp burns out, the projector is equipped with a failsafe feature to ensure the image is not interrupted. In addition to wired networking capabilities, the unit is the first Sanyo projector to provide an HD-Wireless System, which is capable of receiving uncompressed 720p and 1080p data wirelessly from distances approximately 100 feet away with less than one millisecond of latency. It supports video data rates of up to 1.5Gbps and operates in the 20MHz bandwidth, conforming to worldwide 5GHz regulations. Sanyo • 888.495.3452 • www.sanyoLCD.com TVOne-task HDMI Extender with DDC Correction Ad info:http:// www.plsn.com/instant-info The TVOne-task 1T-DA-631 HDMI Extender is a dynamic cable equalizer with DDC correction that restores the HDMI v1.3 signal at the end of long cable runs, just prior to the input to the display. It has a maximum distance of 40 meters from the source to the equalizer input and up to five meters from the output to the display when using Z-Plus grade HDMI cables. All signal components present within the encoded signal are maintained, including stereo or 7.1 audio and HDCP encryption. HDTV resolutions of 480p, 720p, 1080i and 1080p are supported. The MSRP is $99. TV One • 800.721.4044 • www.tvone.com 50 PLSN MARCH 2008 www.PLSN.com
By VickieClaiborne PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS Components of a Digital Video Signal VIDEO DIGERaTI Have you ever wondered what is actually happening in that cable connecting your video source to your monitor or projector? If you’re like me, you may be fascinated to know that the video signal being transmitted down those cables is comprised of many parts, all seamlessly working together to provide the information that our eye can use to get as much detail as possible. Here’s a look at a few of those components. So, how do you transport an image from the camera to your TV or projector? You may be asking, “Why not just transmit the RGB information as the camera captured it?” The answer has to do with bandwidth. Uncompressed RGB uses up a lot of expensive bandwidth, so the first thing that typically happens before transmitting a picture is that the RGB signals are converted into a more compact (compressed) format known as “component video.” Analog component video is made up of three signals. The first is the luminance signal, which refers to the brightness (or black and white information) that is contained in the original RGB signal. It is usually referred to as the “Y” component and it could actually be viewed as black and white video. The second The composite signal is typically carried through a cable terminated with an RCA connector, and the signal can conform to NTSC, PAL, or SECAM formats. Digital video, on the other hand, uses a different scheme for encoding chrominance values. Instead of Pb and Pr, a different conversion algorithm is used that allows for more compression and bandwidth reduction. The resulting red and blue components are called Cb and Cr. Why not just transmit the RGB information as the camera captured it? The answer has to do with bandwith. scheme, and in particular, understand the tradeoffs in terms of signal quality and compression, you’ll be able to make better decisions when planning a video workflow and obtaining the proper equipment. Vickie Claiborne is a freelance control systems and digital media server training developer, lighting director and programmer, and an industrial training specialist. She can be reached at vclaiborne@plsn.com. It all comes down to RGB PLSN Three colors—red, green, and blue – are the only colors that the human eye can actually see. All the other perceptible colors and shades of the spectrum are the result of your brain interpreting the mix of red, green, and blue signals coming from your eye’s optical sensors. Therefore, a video system only needs to capture red, green, and blue (a.k.a. RGB) in order to capture images. The camera must capture RGB on the front end. That information must be delivered accurately to your television or projector, which then reproduces RGB in the display. By varying the intensity of red, green, and blue, every color of the spectrum can be reproduced. The results are, hopefully, very close to what you see in real life. Bandwidth PLSN Composite video packages and sends RGB video as one compressed signal for broadcast. Green (Y), blue (Pb) and red (Pr) cables capture RGB on the front end. and third signals are called the “color difference” signals, and they indicate how much blue and red is present — relative to the luminance. The blue component is “Pb” and the red component is “Pr.” The color difference signals are mathematical derivatives of the RGB signal. The green information doesn’t need to be transmitted as a separate signal since it can be derived from the “Y, Pb, Pr” combination. The display device fills in the green information based on how bright the image is (the Y component), how much of that information is blue, and how much of it is red. In most professional video gear, analog component video cables are terminated with BNC connectors, although SCART connectors are typically used in Europe. The cables are usually colored green (Y), blue (Pb), and red (Pr). Saving Bandwidth PLSN Once the video information is packaged in component video format, the bandwidth requirements are reduced by a factor of 1/3, as compared to uncompressed RGB. But more compression is required for broadcast purposes, so with the introduction of the color television in 1953, the National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) developed a technique that allowed all of the component video information to be compressed into one signal known as “composite video.” Composite video provides a way of packaging and sending the luminance ( b r i g h t n e s s ) a n d chrominance (color) information through a single cable, instead of the three individual cables required for component signals. By mixing the three signals in a frequency-division multiplexing scheme and then modulating them with a radio frequency carrier, the result is a single composite signal that can be broadcast using less bandwidth. Chroma Subsampling PLSN In addition, digital uses chroma subsampling to further reduce bandwidth. Subsampling means that the color information is sampled at a lower rate than the luminance information. Since the human response system is less sensitive to color information than to luminance information, the eye can’t detect the difference even though there is less color information. The “color sampling ratio” describes the relationship between sampling rates of the luminance and chrominance values in a digital video signal. For professional digital video, the color sampling ratio is known as 4:2:2. Here, the two chroma components are sampled at one half the rate of the luminance component. The resulting signal has a particular data rate which depends on its compression. The more compression present in the signal, the faster the transfer rate — but more compression has its drawbacks in terms of a degraded visual image. For this reason, a plethora of codecs are available for compressing and decompressing the data, hopefully minimizing the signal degradation. Video acquisition and encoding is a complex subject. There are many encoding schemes and video formats. Some of the more important terms to remember are: Component Video – A video signal in which the luminance and chrominance signals are kept separate, and three wires are required for transmission. Component requires a higher bandwidth, but yields a higher quality picture. Composite Video – the luminance and chrominance signals are combined into one signal, and one wire is required for transmission. Signal quality is not as high as component, but composite video facilitates easy transmission in standard video formats, such as NTSC, PAL or SECAM. Luminance - the black and white, or brightness, part of a component video signal; also called the "Y" signal. Chrominance – the part of a video signal which carries the color information such as hue and saturation. As noted, there are many factors that can affect the final result of a video signal. If you understand the advantages and disadvantages of each video transmission Ad info:http:// www.plsn.com/instant-info www.PLSN.com 2008 MaRCH PLSN 51
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