1

FUNDAMENTALS OF MONOCHROME
AND COLOUR TV SYSTEM
Picture formation
A picture can be considered to contain a number of small elementary areas of light or
shade which are called PICTURE ELEMET!" The elements thus contain the #isual
image of the scene"
In the case of a T$ camera the scene is focused on the photosensiti#e surface of pic% up
de#ice and a optical image is formed" The photoelectric properties of the pic% up de#ice
con#ert the optical image to a electric charge image depending on the light and shade of
the scene &picture elements'" ow it is necessary to pic% up this information and
transmit it" (or this purpose scanning is employed" Electron beam scans the charge
image and produces optical image" The electron beam scans the image line by line and
field by field to pro#ide signal #ariations in a successi#e order"
The scanning is both in hori)ontal and #ertical direction simultaneously"
The hori)ontal scanning fre*uency is +,-./, 0ert)"
The #ertical scanning fre*uency is ,1 0)"
The frame is di#ided in two fields" 2dd lines are scanned first and then the e#en lines"
The odd and e#en lines are interlaced" !ince the frame is di#ided into / fields the flic%er
reduces" The field rate is ,1 0ert)" The frame rate is /, 0ert) &(ield rate is the same as
power supply fre*uency'"
Number of TV Lines per Frame
If the number of T$ lines is high larger bandwidth of #ideo and hence larger R"("
channel width is re*uired" If we go for larger R( channel width the number of channels
in the R"(" spectrum will be reduced" 0owe#er- with more no" of T$ lines on the screen
the clarity of the picture i"e" resolution impro#es" 3ith lesser number of T$ lines per
frame the clarity &*uality' is poor"
Induction Course(TV)
A compromise between *uality and conser#ation of r"f" spectrum led to the selection of
./, lines in CCIR system 4" 2dd number is preferred for ease of sync pulse generator
&!P5' circuitary to enable interlace of fields"
Resolution
The scanning spot &beam' scans from left to right" The beam starts at the left hand edge
of the screen and goes to right hand edge in a slightly slanty way as the beam is
progressi#ely pulled down due to #ertical deflection of beam &as top to bottom scanning
is to ta%e place simultaneously'" 3hen the beam reach the right hand edge of the
screen the direction of beam is re#ersed and goes at a faster rate to the left hand edge
&below the line scanned'" 2nce again the beam direction is re#ersed and scanning of
ne6t line starts" This goes on till the beam completes scanning 7+/ and half lines
reaching the bottom of the screen" At this moment the beam flies bac% to top and starts
scanning starting from half line to complete the ne6t 7+/ and half lines of the frame"
To a#oid distortions in the picture whene#er the beam changes its direction- it is blan%ed
out for a certain duration"
The hori)ontal blan%ing period is +/ microseconds" !ince each line ta%es .8 micro
seconds the acti#e period of line is .8 9+/ : ,/ micro seconds"
&!ince ./, lines are scanned at the rate of /, 0) i"e" /, cycles per second- the number
of lines scanned in one second is ./, multiplied by /, which yields +,-./," !o the
hori)ontal fre*uency is +,-./, hert) and hence each line ta%es .8 micro seconds'"
!imilarly there is #ertical blan%ing period and /, T$ lines are blan%ed out during the
period" !o in one frame ,1 T$ lines are blan%ed out" 0ence effecti#e lines are ./,
minus ,1 i"e" ,;,"
The #ertical resolution depends on the number of scanning lines and the resolution
factor &also %nown as <ell factor'" Assuming a reasonable #alue of <ell factor as 1".="
The #ertical resolution is ,;, multiplied by 1".= which gi#es nearly 811 lines"
The capability of the system to resol#e ma6imum number of picture elements along
scanning lines determines the hori)ontal resolution" It means how many alternate blac%
and white elements can be there in a line" Let us also ta%e another factor" It is realistic
to aim at e*ual #ertical and hori)ontal resolution" 3e ha#e seen earlier that the #ertical
resolution is limited by the number of acti#e lines" 3e ha#e already seen that the
number of acti#e lines are ,;," so for getting the same resolution in both #ertical and
hori)ontal directions the number of alternate blac% and white elements on a line can be
,;, multiplied by <ell factor and aspect ratio" Therefore- the number of alternate blac%
and white dots on line can be ,;, 6 1".= 6 8>7 which is e*ual to ,/?"
!TI&T' Publication / 117>IC&T$'>/11+
Fundamentals of Monochrome & Colour TV System
It means there are ,/? di#ided by / cyclic changes i"e" /.8 cycles" These /.8 cycles
are there during ,/ micro seconds" 0ence the highest fre*uency is , M0)"
M0) ,
,/
+1 /.8
f
.
highest
=

=
Therefore the hori)ontal resolution of the system is , M0)"
A similar calculation for ,/, lines system limits the highest fre*uency to 8 M0) and
hence the hori)ontal resolution of same #alue"
In #iew of the abo#e the hori)ontal bandwidth of signal in ./, lines system is , M0)"
Grey Scale
In blac% and white &monochrome' T$ system all the colours appear as gray on a +19step
gray scale chart"
T$ white corresponds to a reflectance of .1@ and T$ blac% 7 @ gi#ing rise to a Contrast
Ratio of /1A+ &(ilm can handle more than 71A+ and eyeBs capability is much more'"
In blac% and white T$ the concept of gray scale is adopted for costumes- scenery etc" If
the foreground and bac% ground are identical in gray scale- they may merge and the
separation may not be noticed clearly on the screen"
Brightness
4rightness re#eals the a#erage illumination of the reproduced image on the T$ screen"
4rightness control in a T$ set adCusts the #oltage between grid and cathode of the
picture tube &4ias #oltage'"
Contrast
Contrast is the relati#e difference between blac% and white parts of the reproduced
picture"
In a T$ set the contrast control adCusts the le#el of #ideo signal fed to the picture tube"
!TI&T' Publication 7 117>IC&T$'>/11+
Induction Course(TV)
4rightness and contrast controls are to be adCusted in a T$ set to reproduce faithfully as
many gray scale steps as possible" Ultimately the adCustment depends on indi#idual
#iewing habit"
Viewing istance
2ptimum #iewing distance from T$ set is about 8 to ? times the height of the T$ screen"
3hile #iewing T$ screen one has to ensure that no direct light falls on the T$ screen"
Composite Vi!eo Signal "CVS#
Composite $ideo !ignal is formed with $ideo- sync and blan%ing signals" The le#el is
standardi)ed to +"1 $ pea% to pea% &1"; #olts of $ideo and 1"7 #olts of sync pulse'" The
composite #ideo signal &C$!' has been shown in figure +"
1";$
+"1$
1"7$
+",
!ec"
(ront
Porch
,/ !ec"
Acti#e Period
8"; !ec"
!ync Tip
.8 !ec"
0 Period
+/ !ec"
0 4lan%ing
4ac%
Porch
5.8 Sec.
Fig$ % Composite Vi!eo Signal "CVS#
!TI&T' Publication 8 117>IC&T$'>/11+
Fundamentals of Monochrome & Colour TV System
CC$!
!I5AL
!ync
!eparator
0"P"(
0
L"P"(
$
Fig$ & Separation of ' an! V sync pulses from CVS
Fre(uency Content of TV Signal
The T$ signals ha#e #arying fre*uency content" The lowest fre*uency is )ero" &when
we are transmitting a white window in the entire acti#e period of ,/ micro seconds the
fre*uency is Dero'" In CCIR system 4 the highest fre*uency that can be transmitted is ,
M0) e#en though the T$ signal can contain much higher fre*uency components" &In
film the reproduction of fre*uencies is much higher than , M0) and hence clarity is
superior to T$ system"' long shots carry higher fre*uency components than mid close
ups and close ups" 0ence in T$ productions long shots are %ept to a minimum" In fact
T$ is a medium of close ups and mid close ups"
C Component of )i!eo signal an! C restoration
A T$ signal is a continuously #arying amplitude signal as the picture elements gi#e rise
to #arying le#el which depends on how much of incident light the picture elements can
reflect and transmit the light signal to the T$ camera" 0ence the #ideo signal has an
a#erage #alue i"e" a EC component corresponding to the a#erage brightness of the
scene to scene"
Let us e6amine the following wa#e forms of figure 7"
!TI&T' Publication , 117>IC&T$'>/11+
Induction Course(TV)
Fig$ * +a)eforms showing C Restoration$
The blan%ing le#el is the reference blac% le#el and the signals are asymmetrical" 3hile
the EC component carries the information about scene brightness &mean #alue' the AC
component carries information regarding scene detail" (or correct tonal reproduction
both the components should be present at the input of picture tube"
3e ha#e the a#erage le#els or EC le#els #ary in all the three cases" If such signals pass
through #ideo amplifiers &AC coupled amplifiers' the signals will ha#e different )ero a6is
&the EC le#el becomes the )ero a6is' and if such signals are fed to the picture tube of a
T$ set the reproduction of the picture is not faithful and the concept of maintaining the
original scene brightness is lost" A method is to be de#ised to maintain blac% le#el as
always the reference le#el" The reference le#el &or blan%ing le#el' is always the same
irrespecti#e of the a#erage brightness of the scene" This method of restoring the EC
le#el &with respect to blac% le#el' is called EC restoration" EC restoration circuits such
as clamping circuits restores original wa#e form i"e" with the a#erage #alue as it was in
the signal scene" Clamping of signal can be done at bac% porch le#el which is reference
blac% le#el" This is called bac% porch clamping" It means at the end of each T$ line the
le#el is always brought to the reference blac% le#el before the ne6t line starts" In this
way EC is restored from the signal which has passed through AC circuits" T$ recei#ers
as well as T$ monitors employ the bac% porch clamping" Clamping at sync tip le#el is
also possible"
!TI&T' Publication . 117>IC&T$'>/11+

&a'
&b' &c'
Eotted line shows EC le#el F G it is in aHbHc
3ithout Clamping94rightness is not faithful
1";
1 $
91"7
+ $
Fundamentals of Monochrome & Colour TV System
Gamma Correction
The o#erall transfer characteristic of a tele#ision system relates brightness le#els in the
final displayed image to the brightness le#els in the tele#ised scene" 0ence it is the
combination of indi#idual transfer characteristics of pic%up de#ice &camera tube or CCE'-
$ideo amplifiers- transmitter- recei#er and finally the picture tube of the T$ recei#er"

R
e
p
r
o
d
u
c
e
d

4
r
i
g
h
t
n
e
s
s

IPUT
&!cene 4rightness'
4lac%
Pea% white
I +


H +
: +
2
U
T
P
U
T

Fig$ , Gamma Correction
If 5amma is less than unity whites are compressed &crushed' and blac%s are e6panded
&stretched'" If 5amma is more than unity whites are stretched and blac%s are crushed"
A 5amma of slightly more than unity is preferred to compensate for the loss of contrast
in the system due to optical flare etc"
(or e6ample if the scene has a contrast of +1A+ and is transmitted through a system
whose o#erall 5amma is /- the displayed image will ha#e a contrast ratio of +11A+ &+1
raised to the power of / is +11'" This is too much as there will be intolerable white
stretching and blac% compression" A 5amma around +"/ is tolerable"
5amma of picture tube is around /"?" Let us assume 5amma of pic% up de#ice is unity"
3e need to ha#e o#erall 5amma say +"/" Then the 5amma correction re*uired can be
calculated- as follow
2#erall 5amma : 5amma of pic% up de#ice 6
5amma of the corrector Circuit
Picture tube- #ideo- transmitting and recei#ing e*uipment is assumed to ha#e unity
5amma &Linear operation'
!TI&T' Publication ; 117>IC&T$'>/11+
Induction Course(TV)
(rom the abo#e figure we can now find out the 5amma Correction need"
+"/ : + 6 5 6 /"?
5 : 87 " 1
? " /
/ " +
=
5amma correction needed is 1"87 and can be achie#ed by #ideo circuits preceding the
transmitter input"
RF Transmission of Vision an! Soun! Signals
T$ Transmission ta%es place in $0( 4ands I and III and U0( 4ands I$ and $"
Picture is amplitude modulated and sound is fre*uency modulated on different carriers
separated by ,", M0)"
Also for #ideo amplitude modulation negati#e modulation is employed because of the
following main ad#antages"
Pictures contain more information towards white than blac% and hence the
a#erage power is lower resulting in energy sa#ing" &4right picture points
correspond to a low carrier amplitude and sync pulse to ma6imum carrier
amplitude'"
Interference such as car ignition interfering signals appear as blac% which is less
obCectionable"
Picture information is in linear portion of modulation characteristic and hence
does not suffer compression" Any compression that may ta%e place is confined
to sync pulse only"
The design of A5C circuit for T$ Recei#er is simpler"
AM produces double side bands" The information is the same in both side bands" It is
enough to transmit single side band only" Carrier also need not be transmitted in full and
a pilot carrier can help" 0owe#er- suppressing the carrier and one complete side band
and transmitting a pilot carrier leads to costly T$ sets" A compromise to sa#e R(
channel capacity is to resort to #estigial side band system in which one side band in full-
carrier and a part of other side band are transmitted"
!TI&T' Publication ? 117>IC&T$'>/11+
Fundamentals of Monochrome & Colour TV System
!ound Carrier
Picture Carrier
P
a
r
t

o
f

L
"
!
"
4
U"!"4
9+"/, J1";, 1 , ,",
(re*uency M0)
Fig$ - Theoretical representation of the si!e ban!s in VSB transmission$
(re*uency M0)
9+ 1 ,
+
1",
Pi6 I(
Fig$ . /F0 cur)e of TV set "Theoretical#
+11@
Modulation
Fig$ 1 2o!ulation of )i!eo signal
!TI&T' Publication = 117>IC&T$'>/11+
Induction Course(TV)
Soun! Signal Transmission
In CCIR system 4 sound carrier is ,", M0) abo#e the #ision carrier and is fre*uency
modulated" The ma6imum fre*uency de#iation is ,1 <0)"
Also the ratio of #ision and sound carriers is +1A+ &/1A+ is also employed in some
countries'
If we assume ma6imum audio signal is +, <0) the band width is +71 <0)"
According to CarsonBs Rule the bandwidth is / 6 &Ma6imum fre*uency de#iation K
highest modulating fre*uency'"
0owe#er- calculated #alue&using 4esselBs function' of 4andwidth is +,1 <0) i"e" ;, <0)
on either side of sound carrier"
In CCIR system picture I( is 7?"= M0) and sound" I( is 77"8 M0)"
At the recei#er end it is necessary to ensure that signal fre*uencies in the region of the
#estigial side band do not appear with double amplitude after detection" (or this
purpose the I( cur#e employs LMUII!T slope as shown in the figure ?"

f#
9+"/, 91";, ,",
Picture Transmitter (re*uency Response
f M0)
y*uist slope
f#
( M0)
Fig$ 3 Recei)er Pass Ban! Characteristics
!TI&T' Publication +1 117>IC&T$'>/11+
Fundamentals of Monochrome & Colour TV System
The Colour Tele)ision
It is possible to obtain any desired colour by mi6ing three primary colours i"e" Red- 4lue
and green in a suitable proportion"
The retina of human eye consists of #ery large number of light9 sensiti#e cells" These
are of two types- rods and cones" Rods are sensiti#e only to the intensity of the incident
light and cones are responsible for normal colour #ision"
The small range of fre*uencies to which the human eye is responsi#e is %nown as #isible
spectrum" This #isible spectrum is from ;?1 mm &Red' to 7?1 mm&$iolet'" &(ig"='
Fig$ 4 5ppro6imate relati)e sensiti)ity of the a)erage
human eye to !ifferent wa)e lengths
5!!iti)e Colour 2i6ing
The figure +1 shows the effect of proCecting red- green- blue beams of light so that they
o#erlap on screen"
L: 1"7 Red K 1",= 5reen K 1"++ 4lue
!TI&T' Publication ++ 117>IC&T$'>/11+
Induction Course(TV)
Fig$ %7 5!!iti)e Colour 2i6ing
The detail discussion on PAL colour Television System is discussed in Chater ! "#
!TI&T' Publication +/ 117>IC&T$'>/11+