Television systems: Monochrome TV standards,

UNIT-3 Components of a TV system, scanning process, aspect

ratio, persistence of vision and flicker, interlace scanning, picture resolution. Composite video signal.
Colour TV standards, colour theory, hue, brightness, saturation, Luminance and Chrominance . Different
types of TV camera.

Monochrome TV Standards
Monochrome TV standards refer to the technical specifications and broadcasting tandards used
for black-and-white television systems.
Here are some key monochrome TV standards:
1. NTSC (National Television System Committee)
Used in North America, Japan, and some other countries
525 lines, 30 frames per second (fps)
Aspect ratio: 4:3
2. PAL (Phase Alternating Line)
Used in Europe, Australia, and some other countries
625 lines, 25 fps
Aspect ratio: 4:3
3. SECAM (Système Électronique pour Couleur à Mémoire)
Used in France, Eastern Europe, and some other countries
625 lines, 25 fps
Aspect ratio: 4:3
These monochrome TV standards were widely used before the advent of color television.
Although they are no longer the primary broadcasting standard, they still hold historical
significance and are sometimes referenced in modern broadcasting and video technology.
2.1 COMPONENTS OF A TV SYSTEM:
✔ The fundamental aim of a television system is to extend the sense of sight beyond its
natural limits, along with the sound associated with the scene being televised.
✔ Essentially then, a TV system is an extension of the science of radio communication with
the additional complexity that besides sound the picture details are also to be transmitted.
✔ In most television systems, as also in the C.C.I.R. Consultative Committee on International
Radio 625 line monochrome system adopted by India, the picture signal is amplitude
modulated and sound signal frequency modulated before transmission.
✔ The carrier frequencies are suitably spaced and the modulated outputs radiated through a
common antenna.
 ✔ Thus each broadcasting station can have its own carrier frequency and the receiver can
then be tuned to select any desired station. Fig 2.1 and Fig 2.2 shows a simplified block
representation of a TV transmitter and receiver.
2.1.1 PICTURE TRANSMISSION:
✔ The picture information is optical in character and may be thought of as an assemblage of
a large number of bright and dark areas representing picture details.
✔ These elementary areas into which the picture details may be broken up are known as
„picture elements‟, which when viewed together, represent the visual information of the
scene.
✔ Thus, the problem of picture transmission is fundamentally much more complex,
because, at any instant there are almost an infinite number of pieces of information,
existing simultaneously, each representing the level of brightness of the scene to the
reproduced.
✔ In other words the information is a function of two variables, time and space. Ideally
then, it would need an infinite number of channels to transmit optical information
corresponding to all the picture elements simultaneously.
✔ Presently the practical difficulties of transmitting all the information simultaneously and
decoding it at the receiving end seem insurmountable and so a method known as scanning
is used instead.
✔ The conversion of optical information to electrical form and its transmission are carried
out element by element, one at a time and in a sequential manner to cover the entire scene
which is to be televised.
✔ Scanning of the elements is done at a very fast rate and this process is repeated a large
number of times per second to create an illusion of simultaneous pick-up and
transmission of picture details.
✔ A TV camera, the heart of which is a camera tube, is used to convert the optical
information into a corresponding electrical signal, the amplitude of which varies in
accordance with the variations of brightness.
✔ Fig.2.1 shows the elementary details of one type of camera tube to illustrate this
principle. An optical image of the scene to be transmitted is focused by a lens assembly
on the rectangular glass face-plate of the camera tube.
 Fig. 2.1 Basic monochrome television transmitter

Fig.2.2 Basic monochrome television receiver.

✔ The inner side of the glass face-plate has a transparent conductive coating on which is
laid a very thin layer of photoconductive material.
✔ The photolayer has a very high resistance when no light falls on it, but decreases
depending on the intensity of light falling on it.
✔ Thus depending on the light intensity variations in the focused optical image, the
conductivity of each element of the photolayer changes accordingly.
✔ An electron beam is used to pick-up the picture information now available on the target
plate in terms of varying resistance at each point.
✔ The beam is formed by an electron gun in the TV camera tube. On its way to the inner
side of the glass faceplate it is deflected by a pair of deflecting coils mounted on the glass
 envelope and kept mutually perpendicular to each other to achieve scanning of the entire
target area.
✔ Scanning is done in the same way as one reads a written page to cover all the words in
one line and all the lines on the page.
✔ To achieve this deflecting coils are fed separately from two sweep oscillators which
continuously generate saw-tooth waveforms, each operating at a different desired
frequency.
✔ The magnetic deflection caused by the current in one coil gives horizontal motion to the
beam from left to right at a uniform rate and then brings it quickly to the left side to
commence the trace of next line.
✔ The other coil is used to deflect the beam from top to bottom at a uniform rate and for its
quick retrace back to the top of the plate to start this process all over again.
✔ Two simultaneous motions are thus given to the beam, one from left to right across the
target plate and the other from top to bottom thereby covering the entire area on which
the electrical image of the picture is available.
✔ As the beam moves from element to element, it encounters a different resistance across
the target-plate, depending on the resistance of the photoconductive coating.
✔ The result is a flow of current which varies in magnitude as the elements are scanned.
✔ The current passes through a load resistance RL, connected to the conductive coating on
one side and to a dc supply source on the other.
✔ Depending on the magnitude of the current a varying voltage appears across the
resistance RL and this corresponds to the optical information of the picture.

Fig 2.3 Simplified cross-sectional view of a Videocon TV camera Tube

 ✔ If the scanning beam moves at such a rate that any portion of the scene content does not
have time to move perceptibly in the time required for one complete scan of the image.
✔ The resultant electrical signal contains the true information existing in the picture during
the time of the scan.
✔ The desired information is now in the form of a signal varying with time and scanning
may thus be identified as a particular process which permits the conversion of
information existing in space and time coordinates into time variations only.
✔ The electrical information obtained from the TV camera tube is generally referred to as
video signal.
✔ This signal is amplified and then amplitude modulated with the channel picture carrier
frequency. The modulated output is fed to the transmitter antenna for radiation along with
the sound signal.

Fig. 2.4 Path of scanning beam in covering picture area

2.1.3 SOUND TRANSMISSION
✔ The microphone converts the sound associated with the picture being televised into
proportionate electrical signal, which is normally a voltage.
✔ This electrical output, regardless of the complexity of its waveform, is a single valued
function of time and so needs a single channel for its transmission.
✔ The audio signal from the microphone after amplification is frequency modulated,
employing the assigned carrier frequency.
✔ In FM, the amplitude of the carrier signal is held constant, whereas its frequency is varied
in accordance with amplitude variations of the modulating signal.
 ✔ The output of the sound FM transmitter is finally combined with the AM picture
transmitter output, through a combining network, and fed to a common antenna for
radiation of energy in the form of electromagnetic waves.
2.1.4 PICTURE RECEPTION
✔ The receiving antenna intercepts the radiated picture and sound carrier signals and feeds
them to the RF tuner.
✔ The receiver is of the heterodyne type and employs two or three stages of intermediate
frequency (IF) amplification.
✔ The output from the last IF stage is demodulated to recover the video signal. This signal
that carries the picture information is amplified and coupled to the picture tube which
converts the electrical signal back into picture elements of the same degree of black and
white.
✔ The picture tube shown in Fig is very similar to the cathode-ray tube used in an
oscilloscope. The glass envelope contains an electrongun structure that produces a beam
of electrons aimed at the fluorescent screen.
✔ When the electron beam strikes the screen, light is emitted. The beam is deflected by a
pair of deflecting coils mounted on the neck of the picture tube in the same way and rate
as the beam scans the target in the camera tube.
✔ The amplitudes of the currents in the horizontal and vertical deflecting coils are so
adjusted that the entire screen, called raster, gets illuminated because of the fast rate of
scanning.

Fig 2.5 Elements of a picture tube.

 ✔ The video signal is fed to the grid or cathode of the picture tube. When the varying signal
voltage makes the control grid less negative, the beam current is increased, making the
spot of light on the screen brighter.
✔ More negative grid voltage reduces the brightness. If the grid voltages is negative enough
to cut-off the electron beam current at the picture tube there will be no light.
✔ This state corresponds to black. Thus the video signal illuminates the fluorescent screen
from white to black through various shades of grey depending on its amplitude at any
instant.
✔ This corresponds to the brightness changes encountered by the electron beam of the
camera tube while scanning the picture details element by element.
✔ The rate at which the spot of light moves is so fast that the eye is unable to follow it and
so a complete picture is seen because of the storage capability of the human eye.
2.1.5 SCANNING :
✔ Scanning (USING ELECTRON BEAM) : Conversion is made by element by element
one at time in a sequential manner.
✔ Vertical scanning : process used to move the electron beam across the screen with a
continuous and uniform motion from top to bottom and vice versa
✔ Horizontal scanning : process used to move the electron beam across the screen with a
continuous and uniform motion from left to right and vice versa.
✔ Sequential scanning : process in which both horizontal and vertical directions are scanned
simultaneously to provide complete pictures.
✔ Flicker: If Scanning rate is less-25 frames per second, the time to move one frame to
another frame will be high. This results in alternate bright and darkness in the screen.
✔ Interlaced scanning :Separate odd and even lines,50 frames per second
✔ Sync pulses:
✔ Sync pulses are added to provide synchronization between camera tube and picture tube.
✔ Aspect Ratio:
✔ Aspect Ratio = Width/height (4:3)
✔ Most of objects are move in horizontal direction.
✔ Resolution:
✔ Ability to reproduce the fine structure and quality of picture
✔ Vertical Capable -of resolving picture details in vertical direction
 ✔ Horizontal - Capable of resolving picture details in horizontal direction
2.2INTERLACING:
1. When referring to a computer monitor or other display, interlace or interlacing is a
description of how the picture is created. With interlaced the picture is created by scanning every
other line, and on the next scan, scanning every opposite line. This allows for a faster refresh rate
by having less information during each scan and often allows the display to be sold at a much
lower cost. Unfortunately, this may cause flickering or noticeable line movements in some
situations.
2. When referring to an interlaced graphic image, such as an interlaced GIF or
progressive JPEG these are images that are displayed by loading every other line of the image
and when at the bottom starting over and loading every opposite line. This image is often only
noticed by users with slow slow Internet connections, such as users with a modem connection or
when downloading a very large image and will often appear to fade in as it's being loaded.
A common way to compress video is to interlace it. Each frame of an interlaced video signal
shows every other horizontal line of the image.
✔ As the frames are projected on the screen, the video signal alternates between showing
even and odd lines. When this is done fast enough, i.e. around 60 frames per second, the
video image looks smooth to the human eye.
✔ Interlacing has been used for decades in analog television broadcasts that are based on the
NTSC (U.S.) and PAL (Europe) formats.
✔ Because only half the image is sent with each frame, interlaced video uses roughly half
the bandwidth than it would sending the entire picture.
✔ The downside of interlaced video is that fast motion may appear slightly blurred. For this
reason, the DVD and HDTV standards also support progressive scan signals, which draw
each line of the image consecutively.
2.3 COMPOSITE VIDEO SIGNAL:
• Camera signal - corresponding to the desired picture information
• Blanking pulses – to make the retrace invisible
• Synchronizing pulses – to synchronize the transmitter and receiver scanning horizontal sync
pulse, vertical sync pulse amplitudes are kept same but their duration are different consecutively
and not simultaneously with the picture signal – so sent on a time division basis
2.4 COLOUR TELEVISION
 ✔ Colour television is based on the theory of additive colour mixing, where all colours
including white can be created by mixing red, green, and blue lights.
✔ The colour camera provides video signals for the red, green, and blue information. These
are combined and transmitted along with the brightness (monochrome) signal.
✔ Each colour TV system is compatible with the corresponding monochrome system.
Compatibility means that colour broadcasts can be received as black and white on
monochrome receivers.
✔ Conversely colour receivers are able to receive black and white TV broadcasts. This is
illustrated in Fig 2.6 where the transmission paths from the colour and monochrome
cameras are shown to both colour and monochrome receivers.
✔ At the receiver, the three colour signals are separated and fed to the three electron guns of
colour picture tube.
✔ The screen of the picture tube has red, green, and blue phosphors arranged in alternate
dots.
✔ Each gun produces an electron beam to illuminate the three colour phosphors separately
on the fluorescent screen.
✔ The eye then integrates the red, green and blue colour information and their luminance to
perceive the actual colour and brightness of the picture being televised.
2.4.1 COLOUR RECEIVER CONTROLS
✔ NTSC colour television receivers have two additional controls, known as Colour and Hue
controls. These are provided at the front panel along with other controls.
✔ The colour or saturation control varies the intensity or amount of colour in the reproduced
picture. For example, this control determines whether the leaves of a tree in the picture
are dark green or light green, and whether the sky in the picture is dark blue or light blue.
✔ The tint or hue control selects the correct colour to be displayed. This is primarily used to
set the correct skin colour, since when flesh tones are correct, all other colours are
correctly reproduced.
✔ It may be noted that PAL colour receivers do not need any tint control while in SECAM
colour receivers, both tint and saturation controls are not necessary.
✔ The reasons for such differences are explained in chapters exclusively devoted to colour
television.
 Fig 2.6Signal transmission paths illustrating compatibility between colours and
monochrome TV systems.

2.4.2 Color transmission and reception:

✔ A colour TV transmitter is essentially the same as the monochrome transmitter except for
the additional need that colour (chroma) information is also to be transmitted.
✔ Any colour system is made compatible with the corresponding monochrome system.
✔ For this, the luminance (brightness) signal is transmitted in a colour system in the same
way as in the monochrome system and with the same bandwidth.
2.4.3 Color theory:
✔ Colour broadcast can be created by broadcasting three monochrome images, one each in
the three colour of red, green, and blue (RGB). When displayed together or in rapid
succession, these images will blend together to produce a full- colour image as seen by
the viewer.
✔ 3 Basic colour
✔ RED, BLUE , GREEN
2.5 Luminance signal:
✔ The luminance and chrominance signals take separate paths after the video detector and
rejoin later in matrix section.
✔ The luminance signal processing network recover luminance (Y) signal from composite
video signal.
2.6 Chrominance Signal:
✔ By using chrominance band pass filter selects the chrominance signal (color signal) and
rejects other unwanted components of composite signal.
 ✔ Hue – Adjusted colour sometimes called tint control (Green to red)
✔ Brightness – Illumination of the picture that includes sharpness of edges including the
contrast control
✔ Saturation - Saturation defines a range from pure color (100%) to gray (0%). Saturation is
sometimes referred to as color intensity, a fully saturated color is one of pure color while
a fully desaturated color appears as grey
2.7 MONOCHROME PICTURETUBE:
Construction:
1. Electron gun motion:
✔ The electron gun unit has a cathode, control grid and accelerating anode.
✔ The cathode (K) is a small metallic oxide disk placed at tube the end of a narrow that
covers the heater. It is heated to produce thermionic emission and thus serves as source of
electrons for the beam current.
✔ The control grid (G1) is used to control the flow of electrons from the cathode (K). The
control grid (G1) is maintained at negative potential with respect to cathode (K).
✔ The grids that follow the control grid are the accelerating grid (or) screen (G2) and
focusing grid (G3).these are maintained at different positive potentials with respect to
cathode (K).

Fig 2.7 Monochrome picture tube

 ✔ All the grids, cathode, heater elements of the electron gun are connected to the base pins.
Through this base pins only necessary voltages are applied.
2. Focusing anode section:
✔ Electrostatic focusing method is used here, to focus the electron beam.
✔ This section also brings all the electrons in the stream into small spot. It is considered as
first electrostatic lens action.
✔ The second lens system consists of screen grid are so selected that the second
convergence point is on the screen of the picture tube.
3. Deflection coil section:
✔ Here we are using electromagnetic system to deflect the electron beam in horizontal and
vertical direction. One pair of deflection coils is placed left and right side neck of the
picture tube to produce vertical deflection and one pair is placed top and bottom side of
the neck to produce horizontal deflection.
✔ The two pairs of coils are collectively called deflection yoke. The magnetic field in the
coil reacts with the electron beam to make the deflection.
✔ In the deflection yoke centering magnet and pin cushion magnet are also provided for
centering the electron beam and adjusting the movement of the electron beam at the
corners.

Fig 2.8 Deflection angle

Deflection angle:
✔ This is the angle through which the beam can be deflected without striking the side of the
picture tube (or) bulb.
4. Final anode section:
✔ A final anode is included in the tube, to provide sufficient velocity and energy for the
electron beam.
✔ A black graphite material coating called aqua Dag, it is used as final anode. It is
connected through a specially provided pin at the top or side of the glass bell to a very
high potential of over 15kv.
✔ The secondary electrons emitted from the screen are attracted by these aquadag coating.
5. Phosphor screen:
✔ The phosphor chemicals are generally light materials such as zinc and cadmium in the
form of sulphate and phosphate compounds.
✔ This material is proceeded to produce very fine particles which are then applied on the
inside of the glass plate.
✔ The high velocity electrons of the beam on hitting the phosphor excite its atoms with the
result that corresponding spot fluoresces and emit light.
6. External conductive coating:
✔ Aqua Dag is also coated on the outer surface of the glass bell. A spring clip is used to
connect this coating with the chasis ground.
✔ This coating is used to filter the AC ripples in high voltage and to provide a perfect
higher voltage.
Working:
✔ An AC supply of 6.3V is given to the heater. This filament heats the cathode (K) and the
cathode emits electrons. The control grid (G1) controls the flow of electrons. By varying
the control grid voltage, the number of electrons in the beam is also controlled.

✔ The accelerating anode (G2) increases the velocity of the moving electrons. The
focussing anode (G3) merges the electron beam so that they merge at a point and strike
the phosphor coating on the screen.
✔ The aqua Dag coating inside the tube is given a high voltage in the order of about 10kv to
15kv. This high voltage coating accelerates the electrons and also collects the secondary
emissions.
 ✔ Using the deflection coils we can deflect the electrons in both vertical and horizontal
directions.
✔ A sawtooth current is used for this, when the electron beam strikes the phosphor coating
it emits light.
✔ Depending on the video signal voltage the emitted light is bright (or) dark.
2.8 Color picture tube – Delta gun picture tube:
✔ In this color picture tube the three guns are arranged in a rectangular form and hence the
name delta gun tube. It was developed by Radio Corporation of America.
Main sections:
1. Electron gun section
2. Screen and shadow mask section
Electron gun section:
✔ The three guns are spaced equally at 120 degree with one another. They are tilted inward
with respect to axis of the tube. The three guns are in the three corners and found delta
shape.
✔ The three independent electron beams for each primary color come out of the three guns.
✔ Each gun has a heater filament, cathode, control grid and accelerating anode. The
accelerating anodes are supplied EHT of about 25 kV.
✔ While the focusing grids are provided an adjustable potential of about 5 to 75 kV for
optimum focus.
✔ The deflection yoke design is more complex, since, we have to deflect three electron
beams at a time.
✔ The purity magnets are used to adjust the axis of electron beams so that they can strike
the correct phosphor dot at the screen.
Screen and shadow mask section:
✔ In the screen, the three colour phosphor dots are arranged in a group called trials. It forms
the delta shape.
✔ Each dot represents one primary colour. Depending on the screen size nearly 3 lacs to 4
lacs triads are formed over the screen.
✔ The diameter of the each dot is about 0.42 mm and each spaced some 0.72 mm apart
triangularly.
 ✔ Shadow mask is a thin perforated metal sheet. It is placed behind the screen. Shadow
mask has one hole for each triad on the screen.
✔ This arrangement moves the electron beam passing through a hole and hit only one triad
on the screen.

Fig 2.9 a) Gun structure b) Screen and shadow mask c) colour picture tube
Working:
✔ The video signals corresponding to each primary colour are to three electron guns.
Necessary acceleration and focusing are done for each electron beam by its accelerating
and focusing anodes.
✔ Here purity magnet adjusts the axis of each electron beam. Convergence coil assembly
will converge the electron beams.
✔ Due to these arrangements the three electrons beams will strike the corresponding colour
phosphor dots in each of the triads. The shadow mask arrangement makes only one triad
to energize by electron beam at a time.
Advantages:
1. Better focusing, if best possible ratio of gun-to-neck diameter is achieved.
Disadvantages:
1. Shadow mask absorbs 80% of beam current.
2. Beam convergence is a complex process.
2.9 COLOUR TV SYSTEMS:
2.9.1 NTSC (National Television Standards Committee)
✔ The majority of 60Hz based countries use a technique known as NTSC originally
developed in the United States by a focus committee called the National Television
Standards Committee.
✔ NTSC (often funnily referred to as Never Twice the Same Colour) works perfectly in a
video or closed circuit environment but can exhibit problems of varying colour when
used in a broadcast environment.
2.9.2 PAL (Phase Alternate Lines)
✔ This huge change problem is caused by shifts in the colour sub-carrier phase of the
signal.
✔ A modified version of NTSC soon appeared which differed mainly in that the sub- carrier
phase was reversed on each second line.
✔ This is known as PAL standing for Phase Alternate Lines (it has a wide range of funny
acronyms including Pictures At Last, Pay for Added Luxury etc). PAL has been adopted
by a few 60Hz countries, most notably Brazil.
2.9.3 SECAM
✔ Amongst the countries based on 50Hz systems, PAL has been the most widely adopted.
✔ PAL is not the only colour system in widespread use with 50Hz; the French designed a
system of their own -primarily for political reasons to protect their domestic
manufacturing companies.
✔ Which is known as SECAM, standing for Sequential Couleur Avec Memoire? The most
common facetious acronym is System Essentially Contrary to American Method.
SECAM ON PAL
✔ Some Satellite TV transmissions (usually Russian) that are available over India, are in
SECAM Since the field (25 frames /sec) and scan rates are identical, a SECAM signal
will replay in B&W on a PAL TV and vice versa.
✔ The transmission frequencies and encoding differences make equipment incompatible
from a broadcast viewpoint. For the same reason, system converters between PAL and
SECAM, while often difficult to find, are reasonably cheap.
 ✔ In Europe, a few Direct Satellite Broadcasting services used a system called D-MAC. Its
use is not wide-spread at present and it is trans-coded to PAL or SECAM to permit video
recording of its signals.
✔ It includes features for 16:9 (widescreen) aspect ratio transmissions and an eventual
migration path to Europe's proposed HDTV standard.
✔ There are other MAC-based standards in use around the world including B-MAC in
Australia and B-MAC60 on some private networks in the USA.
✔ There is also a second European variant called D2-MAC which supports additional audio
channels making transmitted signals incompatible, but not baseband signals.
2.10 COMPONENTS OF REMOTE CONTROL AND TV CAMERA TUBES:
✔ A remote control is a component of an electronics device, most commonly a television
set, used for operating the television device wirelessly from a short line-of-sight distance.
✔ The remote control is usually contracted to remote. It is known by many other names as
well, such as converter, clicker, "The box" didge, flipper, the tuner, the changer, or the
button.
✔ Commonly, remote controls are Consumer IR devices used to issue commands from a
distance to televisions or other consumer electronics such as stereo systems, DVD players
and dimmers.
✔ Remote controls for these devices are usually small wireless handheld objects with an
array of buttons for adjusting various settings such as television channel, track number,
and volume.
✔ The majority of modern devices with this kind of control, the remote contains all the
function controls while the controlled device itself only has a handful of essential primary
controls.
✔ Most of these remotes communicate to their respective devices via infrared (IR) signals
and a few via radio signals.
✔ Earlier remote controls in the 1970s used ultrasonic tones. Television IR signals can be
mimicked by a universal remote, which is able to emulate the functionality of most major
brand television remote controls.
✔ The remote allowed audiences, for the first time, to interact with their TV without
touching it.
 ✔ They no longer watched programs just because they did not want to get up to change the
channel. They could also channel surf during commercials, or turn the sound off.
✔ The invention of the remote control has led to several changes in television programming.
One was the creation of split screen credits.
✔ According to James Gleick, an NBC research team discovered that when the credits
started rolling after a program, 25% of its viewers would change the channel before it
was over.
✔ Because of this, the NBC 2000 unit invented the “squeeze and tease” which squeezed the
credits onto one third of the screen while the final minutes of the broadcast aired
simultaneously.
✔ The remote control also led to an adjustment in commercial airings. Networks began to
feel that they could not afford to have commercials between programs because it would
detract viewers from staying tuned in to their channel.
✔ Programmers decided to place commercials in the middle of programs to make the
transition to the next show direct.
✔ With networks keeping in mind that people were equipped with remotes, 30-second
advertisement spots were cut into segments of eight seconds or less.
✔ MTV was made up of this high-speed and broken cutting style, which aired music videos
that were around three-minutes and each shot no more than two or three seconds.
✔ But MTV felt that even these three-minute segments were too long, so they created an
animated series called Beavis and Butthead, to keep their viewers attention.
✔ In the show, they would show segments of music videos and then switch back to the
characters and offer dialogue and action while the music video played in the background.
2.10.1 REMOTE CONTROL APPLICATIONS ON MOBILE DEVICES:
✔ In the late 2000s-early 2010s, a number of smart phone and portable media player
platforms were provided with installable software applications.
✔ Which allow for the remote controlling of media centers and media players on home
theater PCs and general-purpose personal computers over Wi-Fi, such as iTunes Remote
on iOS.
✔ In comparison to the user interfaces of physically buttoned dedicated remote control
devices, the user interfaces of these remote control applications are designed to take
 advantage of the dynamic graphics offered by usually touch screened handheld devices,
making for larger virtual buttons and virtual keyboards.
✔ Most developers of remote control applications for handhelds usually architect the
software for usage with specific media player or media center applications (i.e., iTunes
Remote for iTunes and iTunes-based software from Apple, Boxee remote for Boxee,
DVR Remote for TiVo, VLC Remote for VLC, etc.).
2.11 TYPES OF TV CAMERA TUBES:
✔ A TV camera, the heart of which is a camera tube, is used to convert the optical
information into a corresponding electrical signal, the amplitude of which varies in
accordance with the variations of brightness
Different TV camera tubes are
✔ Vidicon
✔ Plumbicon
✔ Orthicon
2.11.1 VIDICON
✔ A vidicon is the most commonly used TV camera tube because its simplicity and based
on the principle of photoconductivity.
✔ An optical image of the scene to be transmitted is focused by a lens assembly on the
rectangular glass face-plate of the camera tube.
✔ The inner side of the glass face-plate has a transparent conductive coating on which is
laid a very thin layer of photoconductive material layer of either selenium or anti-mony
compounds..
✔ The photo layer has a very high resistance when no light falls on it, but decreases
depending on the intensity of light falling on it.
✔ Thus depending on the light intensity variations in the focused optical image, the
conductivity of each element of the photo layer changes accordingly
✔ An electron beam is used to pick-up the picture information now available on the target
plate in terms of varying resistance at each point.
✔ The beam is formed by an electron gun in the TV camera tube. On its way to the inner
side of the glass faceplate it is deflected by a pair of deflecting coils mounted on the glass
envelope and kept mutually perpendicular to each other to achieve scanning of the entire
target area.
 ✔ To achieve scanning the deflecting coils are fed separately from two sweep oscillators
which continuously generate saw-tooth waveforms, each operating at a different desired
frequency.
✔ The magnetic deflection caused by the current in one coil gives horizontal motion to the
beam from left to right at a uniform rate and then brings it quickly to the left side to
commence the trace of next line.
✔ The other coil is used to deflect the beam from top to bottom at a uniform rate and for its
quick retrace back to the top of the plate to start this process all over again.
✔ Two simultaneous motions are thus given to the beam, one from left to right across the
target plate and the other from top to bottom thereby covering the entire area on which
the electrical image of the picture is available.
✔ As the beam moves from element to element, it encounters a different resistance across
the target-plate, depending on the resistance of the photoconductive coating. The result is
a flow of current which varies in magnitude as the elements are scanned.
✔ This current passes through a load resistance RL, connected to the conductive coating on
one side and to a dc supply source on the other. Depending on the magnitude of the
current a varying voltage appears across the resistance RL and this corresponds to the
optical information of the picture.

Fig 2.10 Vidicon camera tube

2.11.2 PLUMBICON
✔ Plumbicon camera tube is a photoconductive type of as photoconduction is the basis of
its operation.
✔ This camera tube was invented in the year 1963 by Philips.
✔ Invention of Plumbicon is the drawback of image lag associated with tubes.
✔ To eliminate this drawback, the target of Plumbicon is fabricated in the form of a PIN
diode.
✔ The tube consists of a faceplate whose inner region is coated with a layer of tin-oxide that
forms a strong n-type surface.
✔ It shows transparency towards the light that is allowed to fall on its surface and holds
conductive property. It acts as a signal plate of the target.
✔ Over this layer, a photoconductive layer of lead monoxide (PbO) is deposited that acts as
intrinsic region. And in order to form the P region, pure PbO is doped with a p-type
material so as to form a complete PIN diode structure that acts as a target.
✔ The target plate is usually 15 mm wide and scanning beam strikes the p region of the
target.
✔ The structure holds an electron gun section that basically comprises of a cathode that
emits the electrons, a control grid G1 and an accelerating grid G2.
✔ The beam emerging from the cathode of the gun scans the target plate.
✔ The electrostatic and magnetic focusing is provided to the travelling electron beam by the
use of grid 3 and external focusing coil. Here electrostatic focusing is given by G3 while
external focusing coils gives the desired magnetic focusing.
✔ Magnetic focusing is employed in order to provide sufficient convergence to the moving
electrons at the centre so as to have sharp spots on the surface of the target.
✔ A wire-mesh screen is present near the target that functions as a sort of covering for the
electron gun.
 Fig 2.11 Plumbicon camera tube
✔ When light is allowed to fall on the surface of the target then electrons are emitted from
the n region of the PIN target structure.
✔ The intrinsic layer provides a high electric field gradient this leads to sweeping of
released electrons from the target plate rapidly. Thereby preventing the chances of image
lag present in case of Vidicon.
✔ Due to the photoconductive nature of the target (capacitor), in the absence of light, the
material offers high resistance. And so the applied bias voltage appears across the
capacitor.
✔ When the capacitor is exposed to radiation, then the resistance existing across it reduces
to an extremely low value. This allows the leakage of charge through the capacitor. (Or
we can say the emission of electrons from the surface of the target.)
✔ However, if the capacitor is exposed with an image of dark regions (or low optical
energy), then high value is resistance is offered by it, leading to leakage of extremely low
or negligible charge from the capacitor.
✔ When the bright image falls on the target (capacitor) then it reduces the resistance,
thereby causing emission of charge and this leads to increase in voltage existing on one
side of the capacitor. While in case of incidence of the dark image, the resistance offered
will be higher leading to low voltage.
 ✔ The charge image produced on the gun side of the target is the accumulation of positive
charge on it.
✔ Further, a scanning beam is allowed to an incident on the surface of the target. The beam
is emitted from the cathode and potential at G2 provides required acceleration to the
moving electrons. Also electrostatic and magnet focusing is provided to the beam by G3
and the focusing coil.
✔ In order to prevent the secondary emission of electrons from the surface of the target, G4
provides desired deceleration to the moving electrons.
✔ This causes the striking of electrons to the target with almost zero velocity. Thus the
positive charge at the plate gets neutralized without causing secondary emission.
✔ The neutralization of positive charge on the surface of the target results in the flow of
current. The amount of current is dependent on the voltage present on the gun side of the
plate thereby showing proportionality with the intensity of incident light.
✔ This resultantly produces video signal at load.
2.11.3 ORTHICON
✔ Image Orthicon is a photoemissive type of camera tube. Photoemission is the basis of its
working.
✔ This camera tube was invented in the year 1945 by Radio Corporation of America.
✔ Photocathode acts as a primary element in the operation of image orthicon. This is so
because photocathode allows the emission of electrons from its surface when light from a
scene is allowed to incident on it.
✔ Image section
✔ Scanning section
✔ Electron gun and multiplier section
✔ The image section consists of photocathode formed by coating the inner surface of a glass
faceplate with silver-antimony-cesium. A lens system is used that focuses the image from
a scene on the surface of the photocathode.
✔ This incident light from the image allows the emission of electrons from the surface of
the photocathode.
✔ The surface of the photocathode is semi-transparent in nature. Thereby allowing
penetration of incidenting light into the inner surface from where the electron emission is
taking place.
✔ Photocathode emits the charge stored in it by the action of light energy. Therefore, the
structure is designed in a way that electrons emitted from the surface of the photocathode
are accelerated towards the target plate.
✔ Also, a thin wire-mesh screen is placed which is composed of 300 meshes / cm2 at a
distance of 50 to 75 microns from the target plate to avoid interference with electron
image.
✔ In the structure of image orthicon, the focusing coil allows focused striking of the
electron beam at the target. The structure holds the electron gun and multiplier stage that
provides the desired video signal.
Image section
✔ Light from the scene to be focussed on the photocathode surface by a lens system and the
optical image thus formed results in the release of electrons.
✔ The electron image produced at the photocathode is made to move towards the target
place located at a short distance from it.
✔ Target place is made of a very thin sheet of glass.
✔ This is maintained at about 400 volts.
✔ Secondary electrons are collected by a wire mesh screen , which is located in front of the
target on the image side.
Scanning section
✔ The electron gun structure produces a beam of electrons that is accelerated towards the
target.
✔ Accelerating potential of 80 to 330 volts are applied to grid 2, grid 3, grid 4.
✔ Deflection of electron beams to scan the entire target plate is accomplished by magnetic
fields of vertical and horizontal deflecting coils.
✔ These coils are fed from two oscillators, one working at 15625 Hz, for horizontal
deflection and the other operating at 50 Hz for vertical deflection.
✔ The electron gun structure produces a beam of electrons that is accelerated towards the
target.
Electron multiplier
✔ This multiplication is obtained to maintains a high signal to noise ratio.
✔ The secondary electrons are collected by the anode, which is connected to the highest
supply voltage of +1500 volts in series with a load resistance RL.
 ✔ Voltage across RL is the desired video signal. Amplitude of which varies in accordance
with light intensity variations of scene.

•
• Fig 2.12 Orthicon camera tube

ATTRIBUTES OF COLOUR
All primary colours as well as those produced by adding the primary colours in suitable
proportions are characterised by three main features: hue, brightness and saturation.

Hue : The colour itself is called the hue and depends on the dominant wavelength of the light.
By adding two or more of the primary colours many hues are produced.

Brightness : Each colour produces a certain amount of brightness. Brightness of a colour is

determined by the amount of light energy contained in it. Light energy is measured in lumens.

Saturation : The amount of white light contained in a colour determines its saturation level. For
instance, a highly saturated or deep red light will contain a much less amount of white light than
a dull red light.
Saturation, thus denotes the degree of dilution of colour by white light. More white light makes
the colour dull or less saturated or vice versa.
Brightness of a colour is quite different from its saturation. Brightness is an attribute of white
light and colour light, whereas saturation is an attribute of colour light only. It is possible to
vary one while keeping the other constant. Colour TV receivers, therefore, have two different
controls: brightness and saturation. When the brightness control is varied, the amount of light
energy contained in the colour is varied. When the saturation control is varied, the amount of
white light contained in the colour is varied.
LUMINANCE SIGNAL
The luminance signal can be obtained by adding together the signals representing the three
primaries, R, G and B. However, the three voltages contributing the luminance signal must be
taken in different amounts because the human eye responds to each of the three primaries
differently. Calculations show that the luminance signal associated with whites of the picture
should contain 30% red, 59% green and 11% blue.

This equation, pivotal to colour television, needs some explanation, Suppose that a simple
pattern made of a white stripe against a black background is projected onto photocathodes of the
three pick-up tubes. The dichroic mirrors, Fig. 31.4, will split light from the white stripe into
three colour components R, G and B. The gain of the video amplifiers can then be adjusted so
that their output voltage is the same i.e.;

This is the relative sensitivity of a three tube camera. The luminance signal essential to
operation of a blackand- white TV, is produced by means of a matrix. The circuit of a simple
matrix composed of four resistors (three voltage dividers) is shown in Fig. 31.5. If the values of
R1, R2 and R3 are chosen to be sufficiently high in comparison with Rout, the voltage dividers
are mutually isolated so that the following voltages are developed across the resistor Rout:
By setting the scale factors Rout/R1 = 0.30, Rout/R2 = 0.59 and Rout/R3 = 0.11 the following
luminance signal will be secured at the matrix output :

The following example will provide a better insight into the significance of equation 31.3
to colour television. Suppose two blue and white objects having the same intensity of radiation
are to be televised. To an observer watching the two areas on a colour reproducer, both of
them will appear different in luminance.
In accordance with the above equation the luminance of the blue area will be equal to 11% of
that of the white area. On a black and white reproducer the areas will not appear
coloured. However due to matrixing, the luminance of the blue area will still be equal to 11% of
that of the white area because of the voltages ER and EG entering the equation for EY and
coming from the red and green pick-up tubes, disappear and EY = 0.11 EB.
To keep the bandwidth needed for the television signal unchanged during the insertion
of the luminance signal, one of the colouring signals, ER, EG or EB should be dropped from the
transmission. This may be done on the basis of equation 31.3. If the receiving terminal picks up
two colour signals, say ER and EB in addition to the luminance signal, the third colouring signal
EG can be derived by matrixing. It follows from the equation for EY that

The gain of the succeeding stages should be adjusted so as to introduce a correction

factor of 1/0.59. In this way, by the use of matrixing in the receiver, it is possible to derive four
signals, EY, ER, EG and EB from three input signals, EY, ER and EB.
CHROMINANCE SIGNAL
The generation of chrominance signal involves the separation of the luminance signal,
EY from the natural colour signals, ER, EG and EB. This is shown in Fig. 31.6. The natural colour
signals ER, EG and EB are developed across resistors R1, R2 and R3 respectively. Part of the
voltage across these resistors (0.3 V across R1, 0.59 V across R2, and 0.11 V across R3) is tapped
off. The full potential difference across R1, R2 and R3 is simultaneously fed to the adders in
stages 2, 3 and 4.
When a white scene is being televised, the three tubes pick-up will extract the three
primary colours from the white light and develop corresponding voltages across R1, R2 and R3.
Since light falls on all the three pick-up tubes with the same intensity, these three voltages
would be equal, i.e,
ER = EG = EB = (say) 1 V
Adder stage 1 will produce an output of:
0.30 ER + 0.59 EG + 0.11 EB
The sum of these voltages is the voltage EY corresponding to white light. As such, the
output from adder
stage 1, will be EY.
Thus EY = 1 V
This output is routed through an L.P. filter (low pass filter) to an amplifier stage which is
a conventional common-emitter amplifier, so that at its output we obtain the signal (–EY),
whose value in this example will be – 1 V.
The (–EY) signal is applied simultaneously to stage 2, 3 and 4. To these stages the full
voltages ER, EG and EB are also applied. In the case of white light each of these three voltages
are each equal to 1 V. Thus each of the 2, 3 and 4 stages has two inputs :

–EY = – 1 V
and ER = EG = EB = 1 V
Obviously the output of each one of the adder stages 2, 3 and 4 will be zero. These four
outputs are brought out from terminals 1 to 4 and routed to the TV transmitter after due
processing.
This, then, is the process of televising a white scene. The luminance signal is available at
terminal 1 for transmission and no signal is avialable at terminals 2, 3 and 4.
Let us next consider a colour scene, say a red scene. The red camera will generate the
signal ER. Let ER, the potential drop across R1 be 1 V. Part of the voltage (0.30 V) is tapped off
and applied to terminal 1. Since only a red scene is being televised, there will obviously be no
output from the blue and green cameras.
Hence the input to terminal 1, will be:
ER = 0.30 V; EG = 0 V and EB = 0 V
Thus, the output designated as EY will be:
EY = 0.30 V
This voltage is available at terminal 1 for being routed to the transmitter. Also, this
voltage is inverted after passing through the LP filter and a stage of amplification. After
inversion, it is applied to stages 2, 3 and 4. This inverted voltage will be.
– EY = – 0.30 V
Now the input to stages 2, 3 and 4 will be :
At terminal 2 ER = 1 V and – EY = – 0.30 V
At terminal 3 EG = 0 V and – EY = – 0.30 V
At terminal 4 EB = 0 V and – EY = – 0.30 V
The output of the adder stages available at terminals 1 to 4 will be
At terminal 1 EY = 0.30 V
At terminal 2 ER – EY = 0.70 V
At terminal 3 EG – EY = – 0.30 V
At terminal 4 EB – EY = – 0.30 V
The voltage available at terminal 1 is the luminance signal EY. The voltages available at
terminals 2, 3 and 4, designated as ER – EY, EG – EY and EB – EY respectively are the colour
difference or chrominance signals.
This, in brief, is the technique adopted in the TV transmitter for electrically separating
the natural colour and luminance signals, resulting in the generating of colour difference or
chrominance signals.