Composi t e vi deo si gnal consi st s of a camer a si gnal cor r espondi ng t o t he desi r ed pi ct ur e

i nfor mat i on, bl anki ng pul ses t o make t he r et r ace i nvi si bl e, and synchr oni zi ng pul ses t o
synchroni ze t he t ransmi t t er and recei ver scanni ng. A hor i zont al synchroni zi ng (sync) pul se i s
needed at t he end of each act i ve l i ne peri od wher eas a ver t i cal sync pul se i s requi red aft er each
fi el d i s scanned. The ampl i t ude of bot h hori zont al and vert i cal sync pul ses i s kept t he same t o
obt ai n hi gher effi ci ency of pi ct ure si gnal t r ansmi ssi on but t hei r dur at i on (wi dt h) i s chosen t o
be di fferent for separ at i ng t hem at t he recei ver . Si nce sync pul ses ar e needed consecut i vel y
and not si mul t aneousl y wi t h t he pi ct ur e si gnal , t hese are sent on a t i me di vi si on basi s and
t hus form a part of t he composi t e vi deo si gnal .
3.1 VIDEO SIGNAL DIMENSIONS
Fi gure 3.1 shows t he composi t e vi deo si gnal det ai l s of t hree di ffer ent l i nes each correspondi ng
t o a di fferent bri ght ness l evel of t he scene. As i l l ust rat ed t here, t he vi deo si gnal i s const r ai ned
t o vary bet ween cer t ai n ampl i t ude l i mi t s. The l evel of t he vi deo si gnal when t he pi ct ur e det ai l
bei ng t r ansmi t t ed cor responds t o t he maxi mum whi t eness t o be handl ed, i s r efer r ed t o as
peak-whi t e l evel . Thi s i s fi xed at 10 t o 12.5 percent of t he maxi mum val ue of t he si gnal whi l e
t he bl ack l evel corr esponds t o approxi mat el y 72 percent . The sync pul ses are added at 75 percent
l evel cal l ed t he bl anki ng l evel . The di fference bet ween t he bl ack l evel and bl anki ng l evel i s
known as the Pedestal. However, in actual practice, these two levels, being very close, tend to
merge wi t h each ot her as shown i n t he fi gure. Thus t he pi ct ure i nformat i on may var y bet ween
10 percent t o about 75 percent of t he composit e vi deo si gnal dependi ng on t he rel at ive bri ght ness
of t he pi ct ur e at any i nst ant . The dar ker t he pi ct ur e t he hi gher wi l l be t he vol t age wi t hi n t hose
l i mi t s.
Not e t hat t he l owest 10 per cent of t he vol t age r ange (whi t er t han whi t e r ange) i s not
used t o mi ni mi ze noi se effect s. Thi s al so ensures enough margi n for excessi ve bri ght spot s t o
be accommodat ed wi t hout causi ng ampl i t ude di st or t i on at t he modul at or.
At t he r ecei ver t he pi ct ur e t ube i s bi ased t o ensur e t hat a r ecei ved vi deo vol t age
cor respondi ng t o about 10 percent modul at i on yi el ds compl et e whi t eness at t hat part i cul ar
poi nt on t he scr een, and an anal ogous arr angement i s made for t he bl ack l evel . Besi des t hi s,
the television receivers are provided with brightness and contrast controls to enable the
vi ewer t o make fi nal adjust ment s as he t hi nks fi t .
D.C. component of the vi deo si gnal . I n addi t i on t o cont i nuous ampl i t ude vari at i ons for
i ndi vi dual pi ct ur e el ement s, t he vi deo si gnal has an aver age val ue or dc component
36
COMPOSTE VDEO SGNAL 37
corr espondi ng t o t he aver age br i ght ness of t he scene. I n t he absence of dc component t he
recei ver cannot fol l ow changes i n bri ght ness, as t he ac camer a si gnal , say for gr ey pi ct ure
el ement s on a bl ack backgr ound wi l l t hen be t he same as a si gnal for whi t e area on a grey
back-gr ound. I n Fi g. 3.1, dc component s of t he si gnal for t hr ee l i nes have been i dent i fi ed, each
repr esent i ng a di ffer ent l evel of average bri ght ness i n t he scene. I t may be not ed t hat t he
br eak shown i n t he i l l ust r at i on aft er each l i ne si gnal i s t o emphasi ze t hat dc component of t he
vi deo si gnal i s t he average val ue for compl et e fr ames r at her t han l i nes si nce t he backgr ound
i nformat i on of t he pi ct ur e i ndi cat es t he bri ght ness of t he scene. Thus Fi g. 3.1 i l l ust rat es t he
concept of change i n t he average br i ght ness of t he scene wi t h t he hel p of t hr ee l i nes i n separ at e
frames because t he average bri ght ness can change onl y from frame t o fr ame and not fr om l i ne
t o l i ne.
0
12.5
20
40
60
75
80
100
v/v %
max
Peak white
level
Blanking
level
Horz sync
pulses
One line
duration
64 s
64 s
Picture
details
Active line
period
52 s
S
P
0.4
0.2
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
t
Fig. 3.1 Arbitrary picture signal details of three scanning lines with different average
brightness levels. Note that picture to sync ratio P/S = 10/4.
Pedestal hei ght. As not ed i n Fi g. 3.1 t he pedest al hei ght i s t he di st ance bet ween t he
pedest al l evel and t he aver age val ue (dc l evel ) axi s of t he vi deo si gnal . Thi s i ndi cat es aver age
br i ght ness si nce i t measures how much t he average val ue di ffers fr om t he bl ack l evel . Even
when t he si gnal l oses i t s dc val ue when passed t hr ough a capaci t or -coupl ed ci rcui t t he di st ance
bet ween t he pedest al and t he dc l evel st ays t he same and t hus i t i s conveni ent t o use t he
pedest al l evel as t he r eference l evel t o i ndi cat e aver age br i ght ness of t he scene.
Setti ng the pedestal l evel . The out put si gnal from t he TV camera i s of very smal l ampl i t ude
and i s passed t hr ough sever al st ages of ac coupl ed hi gh gai n ampl i fi er s befor e bei ng coupl ed t o
a cont r ol ampl i fi er . Her e sync pul ses and bl anki ng pul ses ar e added and t hen cl i pped at t he
cor rect l evel t o form t he pedest al s. Si nce t he pedest al hei ght det er mi nes t he aver age bri ght ness
of t he scene, any smal l er val ue t han t he cor rect one wi l l make t he scene darker whi l e a l ar ger
pedest al hei ght wi l l r esul t i n hi gher aver age br ight ness. The video cont rol operat or who observes
t he scene at t he st udi o set s t he l evel for t he desi r ed bri ght ness i n t he reproduced pi ct ur e whi ch
38 MONOCHROME AND COLOUR TELEVSON
he i s vi ewi ng on a moni t or r ecei ver. Thi s i s known as dc i nser t i on because t hi s amount s t o
addi ng a dc component t o t he ac si gnal . Once t he dc i nsert i on has been acompl i shed t he pedest al
l evel becomes t he bl ack r efer ence and t he pedest al hei ght i ndi cat es corr ect r el at i ve br i ght ness
for t he reproduced pi ct ure. However, t he dc l evel i nser t ed i n t he cont rol ampl i fi er i s usual l y
l ost i n succeedi ng st ages because of capaci t i ve coupl i ng, but st i l l t he correct dc component can
be r ei nsert ed when necessar y because t he pedest al hei ght remai ns t he same.
The bl anki ng pul ses. The composi t e vi deo si gnal cont ai ns bl anki ng pul ses t o make t he
ret r ace l i nes i nvi si bl e by rai si ng t he si gnal ampl i t ude sl i ght l y above t he bl ack l evel (75 per
cent ) duri ng t he t i me t he scanni ng ci rcui t s pr oduce ret r aces. As i l l ust rat ed i n Fi g. 3.2, t he
composi t e vi deo si gnal cont ai ns hor i zont al and ver t i cal bl anki ng pul ses t o bl ank t he
cor respondi ng r et race i nt erval s. The r epet i t i on rat e of hor i zont al bl anki ng pul ses i s t herefore
equal t o t he l i ne scanni ng frequency of 15625 Hz. Si mi larl y the frequency of t he vert i cal blanki ng
pul ses i s equal t o t he fi el d-scanni ng frequency of 50 Hz. I t may be not ed t hat t hough t he l evel
of t he bl anki ng pul ses i s di st i nct l y above t he pi ct ur e si gnal i nfor mat i on, t hese ar e not used as
sync pul ses. The reason i s t hat any occasi onal si gnal cor respondi ng t o any ext reme bl ack port i on
i n t he pi ct ure may ri se above t he bl anki ng l evel and mi ght concei vabl y i nt er fere wi t h t he
synchroni zat i on of t he scanni ng generat or s. Therefore, t he sync pul ses, speci al l y desi gned for
t r i gger i ng t he sweep osci l l at or s ar e pl aced i n t he upper 25 per cent (75 per cent t o 100 per cent
of t he car ri er ampl i t ude) of t he vi deo si gnal , and are t ransmi t t ed al ong wi t h t he pi ct ur e si gnal .
Peak white level
0
10
12.5%
20
30
40
50
60
70
75
80
90
100
72%
Black
level
Horz sync pulse
added here (25%)
64 s
Horz
blanking
pulses
160 s
Vertical blanking pulse period
(No picture information
during this interval)
Vertical
sync pulse added here (25%) Blanking level
Picture
information
t
Fig. 3.2 Horizontal and vertical blanking pulses in video signal. Sync pulses are added above
the blanking level and occupy upper 25% of the composite video signal amplitude.
Sync pul se and vi deo si gnal ampl i tude r ati o. The over al l arr angement of combi ni ng t he
pi ct ure si gnal and sync pul ses may be t hought of as a ki nd of vol t age di vi si on mul t i pl exi ng
where about 65 per cent of t he carri er ampl i t ude i s occupi ed by t he vi deo si gnal and t he upper
COMPOSTE VDEO SGNAL 39
25 per cent by t he sync pul ses. Thus, as shown i n Fi g. 3.1, t he fi nal radi at ed si gnal has a
pi ct ure t o sync si gnal rat i o (P/S) equal t o 10/4. Thi s rat i o has been found most sat i sfact or y
because i f t he pi ct ur e si gnal ampl i t ude i s i ncreased at t he expense of sync pul ses, t hen when
t he si gnal t o noi se rat i o of t he recei ved si gnal fal l s, a poi nt i s r eached when t he sync pul se
ampl i t ude becomes i nsuffi ci ent t o keep t he pi ct ure l ocked even t hough t he pi ct ure vol t age i s
st i l l of adequat e ampl i t ude t o yi el d an accept abl e pi ct ur e. On t he ot her hand i f sync pul se
hei ght i s i ncreased at t he expense of t he pi ct ur e det ai l , t hen under si mi l ar condi t i ons t he
rast er remai ns l ocked but t he pi ct ure cont ent i s of t oo l ow an ampl i t ude t o set up a wor t hwhi l e
pi ct ure. A rat i o of P/S = 10/4, or t her eabout , r esul t s i n a si t uat i on such t hat when t he si gnal t o
noi se rat i o reaches a cer t ai n l ow l evel , t he sync ampl i t ude becomes i nsuffi ci ent , i .e., t he sync
fai l s at t he same t i me as t he pi ct ur e ceases t o be of ent ert ai nment val ue. Thi s represent s t he
most effi ci ent use of t he t el evi si on syst em.
3.2 HORIZONTAL SYNC DETAILS
The hori zont al bl anki ng peri od and sync pul se det ai l s ar e i l l ust r at ed i n Fi g. 3.3. The i nt er val
bet ween hor i zont al scanni ng l i nes i s i ndi cat ed by H. As expl ai ned ear l i er, out of a t ot al l i ne
Retrace ends
0
12.5
20
40
60
75
80
100
0
Horz
deflection
sawtooth
Retrace
begins
Blanking begins
Trace
Retrace
Blanking ends
t
t
Horz blanking
pulse = 12 s
Picture
information = 52 s
Horz sync
pulse = 4.7 s
Back porch
= 5.8 s
Front porch = 1.5 s
Picture
H = 64 s
Front porch (blanked)
Back porch (blanked)
Picture space
on
the raster
Fig. 3.3 Horz line and sync details compared to horizontal deflection sawtooth
and picture space on the raster.
40 MONOCHROME AND COLOUR TELEVSON
peri od of 64 s, t he l i ne bl anki ng peri od i s 12 s. Dur i ng t hi s i nt erval a l i ne synchroni zi ng
pul se i s i nser t ed. The pul ses cor respondi ng t o t he di ffer ent i at ed l eadi ng edges of t he sync
pul ses ar e act ual l y used t o synchroni ze t he hor i zont al scanni ng osci l l at or. Thi s i s t he r eason
why i n Fi g. 3.3 and ot her fi gur es t o fol l ow, al l t i me i nt er val s are shown bet ween sync pul se
l eadi ng edges.
The line blanking period is divided into three sections. These are the front porch, the
line sync pulse and the back porch. The time intervals allowed to each part are summarized
bel ow and t hei r l ocat i on and effect on t he rast er i s i l l ust rat ed i n Fi g. 3.3.
D e t a i l s o f H o r i z o n t a l S c a n n i n g
Per i od Ti me (s)
Tot al l i ne (H) 64
Hor z bl anki ng 12 .3
Hor z sync pul se 4.7 0.2
Fr ont por ch 1.5 .3
Back por ch 5.8 .3
Vi si bl e l i ne t i me 52
Front porch. Thi s i s a br i ef cushi oni ng per i od of 1.5 s i nsert ed bet ween t he end of t he
pi ct ure det ai l for t hat l i ne and t he l eadi ng edge of t he l i ne sync pul se. Thi s i nt er val al l ows t he
recei ver vi deo ci rcui t t o set t l e down from what ever pi ct ure vol t age l evel exi st s at t he end of t he
pi ct ure l i ne t o t he bl anki ng l evel befor e t he sync pul se occurs. Thus sync ci r cui t s at t he r ecei ver
ar e i sol at ed fr om t he i nfl uence of end of t he l i ne pi ct ure det ai l s. The most st ri ngent demand i s
made on t he vi deo ci r cui t s when peak whi t e det ai l occurs at t he end of a l i ne. Despi t e t he
exi st ence of t he front por ch when t he l i ne ends i n an ext r eme whi t e det ai l , and t he si gnal
ampl i t ude t ouches al most zer o l evel , t he vi deo vol t age l evel fai l s t o decay t o t he bl anki ng l evel
befor e t he l eadi ng-edge of t he l i ne sync pul se occur s. Thi s resul t s i n l at e t ri ggeri ng of t he t i me
base circuit thus upsetting the horz line sync circuit. As a result the spot (beam) is late in
ar ri vi ng at t he l eft of t he scr een and pi ct ure i nformat i on on t he next l i ne i s di spl aced t o t he
left. This effect is known as pulling-on-whites.
Li ne sync pul se. Aft er t he fr ont pr och of bl anki ng, hor i zont al ret race i s pr oduced when
t he sync pul se st art s. The fl yback i s defi ni t el y bl anked out because t he sync l evel i s bl acker
t han bl ack. Li ne sync pul ses ar e separat ed at t he r ecei ver and ut i l i zed t o keep t he recei ver l i ne
t i me base i n pr eci se synchr oni sm wi t h t he di st ant t ransmi t t er. The nomi nal t i me durat i on for
t he l i ne sync pul ses i s 4.7 s. Duri ng t hi s per i od t he beam on t he rast er al most compl et es i t s
back st roke (ret r ace) and ar ri ves at t he ext r eme l eft end of t he r ast er.
Back por ch. Thi s per i od of 5.8 s at t he bl anki ng l evel al l ows pl ent y of t i me for l i ne
fl yback t o be compl et ed. I t al so per mi t s t i me for t he hori zont al t i me-base ci r cui t t o reverse
di rect i on of curr ent for t he i ni t i at i on of t he scanni ng of next l i ne. I nfact , t he rel at i ve t i mi ngs
ar e so set t hat smal l bl ack bars (see Fi g. 3.3) are for med at bot h t he ends of t he r ast er i n t he
hori zont al pl ane. These bl anked bar s at t he si des have no effect on t he pi ct ur e det ai l s reproduced
dur i ng t he act i ve l i ne per i od.
COMPOSTE VDEO SGNAL 41
The back por ch* al so pr ovi des t he necessar y ampl i t ude equal t o t he bl anki ng l evel
(r eference l evel ) and enabl es t o pr eser ve t he dc cont ent of t he pi ct ur e i nfor mat i on at t he
t r ansmi t t er . At t he recei ver t hi s l evel whi ch i s i ndependent of t he pi ct ure det ai l s i s ut i l i zed i n
t he AGC (aut omat i c gai n cont rol ) ci r cui t s t o devel op t r ue AGC vol t age proport i onal t o t he
si gnal st r engt h pi cked up at t he ant enna.
3.3 VERTICAL SYNC DETAILS
The ver t i cal sync pul se t rai n added aft er each fi el d i s somewhat compl ex i n nat ur e. The r eason
for t hi s st ems fr om t he fact t hat i t has t o meet several exact i ng r equi r ement s. Ther efore, i n
order t o ful l y appreci at e t he var i ous const i t uent s of t he pul se t rai n, t he ver t i cal sync det ai l s
ar e expl or ed st ep by st ep whi l e expl ai ni ng t he need for i t s vari ous component s.
The basi c vert i cal sync added at t he end of bot h even add odd fi el ds i s shown i n Fi g. 3.4.
I t s wi dt h has t o be kept much l ar ger t han t he hor i zont al sync pul se, i n or der t o der i ve a
sui t abl e fi el d sync pul se at t he r ecei ver t o t r i gger t he fi el d sweep osci l l at or .
The st andar ds speci fy t hat t he vert i cal sync per i od shoul d be 2.5 t o 3 t i mes t he hor i zont al
l i ne peri od. I f t he wi dt h i s l ess t han t hi s, i t becomes di ffi cul t t o di st i ngui sh bet ween hori zont al
and vert i cal pul ses at t he r ecei ver.
623
H
624
H
625
H
Lines 1, 2, 3rd
1st half 3.5 to 17 18 19
(b)
(a)
20 line period = (20 64 s = 1280 s)
2.5 H
(160 s)
313.5
H/2
310
H
311
H
312
H
313.5 314 315 316 to 330 331 332
End of first field
Beginning of second field
Vertical pulse
interval
Vertical blanking interval
End of second (even) field Beginning of first (odd) field
Fig. 3.4 Composite video waveforms showing horizontal and basic vertical sync pulses at
the end of (a) second (even) field, (b) first (odd) field. Note, the widths of
horizontal blanking intervals and sync pulses are exaggerated.
* I n col our TV t r ansmi ssi on a shor t sampl e (8 t o 10 cycl es) of t he col our subcar r i er osci l l at or
out put i s sent t o t he r ecei ver for pr oper det ect i on of col our si gnal si debands. Thi s i s known as col our
bur st and i s l ocat ed at t he back por ch of t he hor i zont al bl anki ng pedest al .
42 MONOCHROME AND COLOUR TELEVSON
I f t he wi dt h i s gr eat er t han t hi s, t he t r ansmi t t er must oper at e at peak power for an
unnecessari l y l ong i nt erval of t i me. I n t he 625 l i ne syst em 2.5 l i ne peri od (2.5 64 = 160 s)
has been al l ot t ed for t he ver t i cal sync pul ses. Thus a vert i cal sync pul se commences at t he end
of 1st hal f of 313t h l i ne (end of fi r st fi el d) and t ermi nat es at t he end fo 315t h l i ne. Si mi l ar l y
after an exact interval of 20 ms (one field period) the next sync pulse occupies line numbers
1st , 2nd and 1st hal f of t hi rd, just aft er t he second fi el d i s over. Not e t hat t he begi nni ng of
t hese pul ses has been al i gned i n t he fi gur e t o si gni fy t hat t hese must occur aft er t he end of
ver t i cal st r oke of t he beam i n each fi el d, i .e., aft er each 1/50t h of a second. Thi s al i gnment of
ver t i cal sync pul ses, one at t he end of a hal f-l i ne peri od and t he ot her aft er a ful l l i ne peri od
(see Fi g. 3.4), r esul t s i n a rel at i ve mi sal i gnment of t he hor i zont al sync pul ses and t hey do not
appear one above t he ot her but occur at hal f-l i ne i nt erval s wi t h respect t o each ot her. However ,
a det ai l ed exami nat i on of t he pul se t r ai ns i n t he t wo fi el ds woul d show t hat hor i zont al sync
pul ses cont i nue t o occur exact l y at 64 s i nt erval s (except duri ng t he vert i cal sync pul se per i ods)
t hroughout t he scanni ng peri od fr om frame t o frame and t he apparent shi ft of 32 s i s onl y due
t o t he al i gnment of vert i cal sync i nst ances i n t he fi gur e.
As al r eady ment i oned t he hor i zont al sync i nfor mat i on i s ext ract ed from t he sync pul se
t r ai n by di fferent i at i on, i .e., by passi ng t he pul se t rai n t hr ough a hi gh-pass fi l t er. I ndeed pul ses
cor respondi ng t o t he di fferent i at ed l eadi ng edges of sync pul ses are used t o synchroni se t he
hor i zont al scanni ng osci l l at or . The process of deri vi ng t hese pul ses i s i l l ust rat ed i n Fi g. 3.5.
Fur t hermore, r ecei vers oft en use monost abl e mul t i vi br at ors t o generat e hori zont al scan, and
so a pul se i s r equi r ed t o i ni t i at e each and ever y cycl e of t he hori zont al osci l l at or i n t he r ecei ver .
Sync
separator
Composite
video signal
Sync pulses
R
2
C
2
L.P.F.
H.P.F.
C
1
R
1
Differentiated output
ntegrated output
Fig. 3.5 Sync pulse separation and generation of vertical and horizontal sync pulses.
This br ings out the fi rst and most obvi ous shor tcomi ng of t he wavefor ms shown in Fi g. 3.4.
The hori zont al sync pul ses ar e avai l abl e bot h duri ng t he act i ve and bl anked l i ne per i ods but
t her e are no sync pul ses (l eadi ng edges) avai l abl e dur i ng t he 2.5 l i ne vert i cal sync per i od. Thus
t he hori zont al sweep osci l l at or t hat oper at es at 15625 Hz, woul d t end t o st ep out of synchr oni sm
dur i ng each ver t i cal sync peri od. The si t uat i on aft er an odd fi el d i s even wor se. As shown i n
Fi g. 3.4, t he ver t i cal bl anki ng per i od at t he end of an odd fi el d begi ns mi dway t hr ough a
hor i zont al l i ne. Consequent l y, l ooki ng furt her al ong t hi s wavefor m, we see t hat t he l eadi ng
edge of t he vert i cal sync pul se comes at t he wr ong t i me t o pr ovi de synchr oni zat i on for t he
hor i zont al osci l l at or. Therefore, i t becomes necessary t o cut sl ot s i n t he vert i cal sync pul se at
hal f-l i ne-i nt erval s t o pr ovi de hor i zont al sync pul ses at t he corr ect i nst ances bot h aft er even
and odd fi el ds. The t echni que i s t o t ake t he vi deo si gnal ampl i t ude back t o t he bl anki ng l evel
COMPOSTE VDEO SGNAL 43
4.7 s before t he l i ne pul ses are needed. The waveform i s t hen r et ur ned back t o t he maxi mum
l evel at t he moment t he l i ne sweep ci rcui t needs synchr oni zat i on. Thus fi ve narr ow sl ot s of
4.7 s wi dt h get for med i n each ver t i cal sync pul se at i nt er val s of 32 s. The t r ai l i ng but ri si ng
edges of t hese pul ses ar e act ual l y used t o t r i gger t he hor i zont al osci l l at or . The resul t i ng
wavefor ms t oget her wi t h l i ne numbers and t he di fferent i at ed out put of bot h t he fi el d t rai ns i s
i l l ust rat ed i n Fi g. 3.6. Thi s i nser t i on of short pul ses i s known as not chi ng or ser rat i on of t he
br oad fi el d pul ses.
Not e t hat t hough t he vert i cal pul se has been broken t o yi el d hor i zont al sync pul ses, t he
effect on t he vert i cal pul se i s subst ant i al l y unchanged. I t st i l l r emai ns above t he bl anki ng
vol t age l evel al l of t he t i me i t i s act i ng. The pul se wi dt h i s st i l l much wi der t han t he hori zont al
pul se wi dt h and t hus can be easi l y separat ed at t he r ecei ver. Ret ur ni ng t o Fi g. 3.6 i t i s seen
t hat each hori zont al sync pul se yi el ds a posi t i ve spi ked out put from i t s l eadi ng edge and a
negat i ve spi ked pul se fr om i t s t rai l i ng edge. Ti me-const ant of t he di fferent i at i ng ci rcui t i s so
chosen, t hat by t he t i me a t rai l i ng edge arr i ves, t he pul se due t o t he l eadi ng edge has just
about decayed. The negat i ve-goi ng t r i ggeri ng pul ses may be r emoved wi t h a di ode si nce onl y
t he posi t i ve goi ng pul ses ar e effect i ve i n l ocki ng t he hor i zont al osci l l at or .
End of 2nd field
623 624 625 1 2 3
1 2 3 4 5
4.7 s 27.3 s
623 624 625 1 2 3 4 5 6
(a)
End of 1st field
311 312 313 314 315 316
1 2 3 4 5
311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318
(b)
Fig. 3.6 Differentiating waveforms (a) pulses at the end of even (2nd) field and the
corresponding output of the differentiator (H.P.F.) (b) pulses at the end of odd (1st)
field and the corresponding output of the differentiator (H.P.F.) Note, the differentiated pulses
bearing line numbers are the only ones needed at the end of each field.
44 MONOCHROME AND COLOUR TELEVSON
However, t he pul ses act ual l y ut i l i zed ar e t he ones t hat occur sequent i al l y at 64 s
i nt er val s. Such pul ses are marked wi t h l i ne number s for bot h t he fi el ds. Not e t hat duri ng t he
i nt er val s of ser rat ed vert i cal pul se t rai ns, al t er nat e vert i cal spi kes ar e ut i l i zed. The pul ses not
used i n one fi el d ar e t he ones ut i l i zed dur i ng t he second fi el d. Thi s happens because of t he
hal f-l i ne di ffer ence at t he commencement of each fi el d and t he fact t hat not ched ver t i cal sync
pul ses occur at i nt er val s of 32 s and not 64 s as requi r ed by t he hor i zont al sweep osci l l at or.
The pul ses t hat come at a t i me when t hey cannot t ri gger t he osci l l at or are i gnored. Thus t he
requi rement of keepi ng t he hor i zont al sweep ci rcui t l ocked despi t e i nsert i on of ver t i cal sync
pul ses i s r eal i zed.
Now we t urn t o t he second shor t comi ng of t he waveform of Fi g. 3.4. Fi rst i t must be
ment i oned t hat synchr oni zat i on of t he vert i cal sweep osci l l at or i n t he r ecei ver i s obt ai ned
from vert i cal sync pul ses by i nt egrat i on. Thi s i s i l l ust r at ed i n Fi g. 3.5 where t he t i me-const ant
R
2
C
2
i s chosen t o be l arge compared t o t he durat i on of hor i zont al pul ses but not wi t h r espect t o
wi dt h of t he ver t i cal sync pul ses. The i nt egr at i ng ci rcui t may equal l y be l ooked upon as a l ow-
pass fi l t er , wi t h a cui t -off frequency such t hat t he hori zont al sync pul ses produce very l i t t l e
out put , whi l e t he vert i cal pul ses have a frequency t hat fal l s i n t he pass-band of t he fi l t er. The
vol t age bui l t acr oss t he capaci t or of t he l ow-pass fi l t er (i nt egrat i ng ci rcui t ) corr espondi ng t o
t he sync pul se t rai ns of bot h t he fi el ds i s shown i n Fi g. 3.7. Not e t hat each hor i zont al pul se
causes a sl i ght ri se i n vol t age across t he capaci t or but t hi s i s reduced t o zero by t he t i me t he
next pul se arr i ves. Thi s i s so, because t he chargi ng peri od for t he capaci t or i s onl y 4.7 s and
t he vol t age at t he i nput t o t he i nt egrat or remai ns at zero for t he rest of t he peri od of 59.3 s.
Hence t her e i s no resi dual vol t age across t he ver t i cal fi l t er (L.P. fi l t er) due t o hori zont al sync-
pul ses. Once t he broad ser rat ed ver t i cal pul se ar ri ves t he vol t age acr oss t he out put of t he fi l t er
st art s i ncr easi ng. However , t he bui l t up vol t age di ffers for each fi el d. The r eason i s not di ffi cul t
t o fi nd. At t he begi nni ng of t he fi rst fi el d (odd fi el d) t he l ast horz sync pul se corr espondi ng t o
t he begi nni ng of 625t h l i ne i s separat ed from t he 1st vert i cal pul se by ful l one l i ne and any
vol t age devel oped across t he fi l t er wi l l have enough t i me t o r et urn t o zero before t he arr i val of
t he fi r st ver t i cal pul se, and t hus t he fi l t er out put vol t age bui l ds up fr om zer o i n r esponse t o t he
fi ve successi ve br oad ver t i cal sync pul ses. The vol t age bui l ds up because t he capaci t or has
more t i me t o charge and onl y 4.7 s t o di scharge. The si t uat i on, however , i s not t he same for
t he begi nni ng of t he 2nd (even) fi el d. Here t he l ast hori zont al pul se corr espondi ng t o t he
begi nni ng of 313t h l i ne i s separ at ed from t he fi rst ver t i cal pul se by onl y hal f-a-l i ne. The vol t age
devel oped acr oss t he vert i cal fi l t er wi l l t hus not have enough t i me t o reach zer o befor e t he
ar ri val of t he fi r st vert i cal pul se, whi ch means t hat t he vol t age bui l d-up does not st ar t fr om
zero, as i n t he case of t he 1st fi el d. The r esi dual vol t age on account of t he hal f l i ne di screpancy
get s added t o t he vol t age devel oped on account of t he broad vert i cal pul ses and t hus t he
vol t age devel oped across t he out put fi l t er i s some what hi gher at each i nst ant as compared t o
t he vol t age devel oped at t he begi nni ng of t he fi r st -fi el d. Thi s i s shown i n dot t ed chai n l i ne i n
Fi g. 3.7.
The vert i cal osci l l at or t ri gger pot ent i al l evel mar ked as t r i gger l evel i n t he di agr am
(Fi g. 3.7) i nt er sect s t he t wo fi l t er out put profi l es at di fferent poi nt s whi ch i ndi cat es t hat i n t he
case of second fi el d t he osci l l at or wi l l get t r i gger ed a fract i on of a second t oo soon as compared
COMPOSTE VDEO SGNAL 45
t o t he fi r st fi el d. Not e t hat t hi s i nequl i t y i n pot ent i al l evel s for t he t wo fi el ds cont i nues duri ng
t he per i od of di scharge of t he capaci t or once t he vert i cal sync pul ses ar e over and t he hori zont al
sync pul ses t ake-over. Though t he act ual t i me di ffer ence i s qui t e short i t does prove suffi ci ent
t o upset t he desi red i nt erl aci ng sequence.
End of 2nd field 1st field
1 625
End of 1st field 2nd field
312 313
(a)
(b)
(c)
v
0
0
After end of 2nd field
Trigger level
After end of 1st field
Time
error
Trigger pulse
for the vertical oscillator
t
Fig. 3.7 ntegrating waveforms (a) pulses at the end of 2nd (even) field (b) pulses at the end of
1st (odd) field (c) integrator output. Note the above sync pulses have purposely been drawn
without equalizing pulses.
Equal i zi ng pul ses. To t ake care of t hi s dr awback whi ch occur s on account of t he hal f-
l i ne di screpancy fi ve narr ow pul ses are added on ei t her si de of t he ver t i cal sync pul ses. These
ar e known as pre-equal i zi ng and post -equal i zi ng pul ses. Each set consi st s of fi ve narr ow pul ses
occupyi ng 2.5 l i nes peri od on ei t her si de of t he ver t i cal sync pul ses. Pre-equal i zi ng and post -
equal i zi ng pul se det ai l s wi t h l i ne numbers occupi ed by t hem i n each fi el d are gi ven i n Fi g. 3.8.
The effect of t hese pul ses i s t o shi ft t he hal f-l i ne di screpancy away bot h fr om t he begi nni ng
and end of vert i cal sync pul ses. Pre-equal i zi ng pul ses bei ng of 2.3 s dur at i on resul t i n t he
di schar ge of t he capaci t or t o essent i al l y zero vol t age i n bot h t he fi el ds, despi t e t he hal f-l i ne
di screpancy before t he vol t age bui l d-up st ar t s wi t h t he arr i val of ver t i cal sync pul ses. Thi s i s
i l l ust rat ed i n Fi g. 3.9. Post -equal i zi ng pul ses ar e necessar y for a fast di schar ge of t he capaci t or
t o ensur e t r i gger i ng of t he ver t i cal osci l l at or at proper t i me. I f t he decay of vol t age acr oss t he
capaci t or i s sl ow as woul d happen i n t he absence of post -equal i zi ng pul ses, t he osci l l at or may
t r i gger at t he t r ai l i ng edge whi ch may be far -away from t he l eadi ng edge and t hi s coul d l ead t o
an err or i n t r i gger i ng.
Thus wi t h t he i nser t i on of nar row pre and post equal i zi ng pul ses, t he vol t age ri se and
fal l pr ofi l e i s essent i al l y t he same for bot h t he fi el d sequences (see Fi g. 3.9) and t he vert i cal
osci l l at or i s t ri ggered at t he pr oper i nst ant s, i .e., exact l y at an i nt er val of 1/50t h of a second.
46 MONOCHROME AND COLOUR TELEVSON
Thi s probl em coul d possi bl y al so be sol ved by usi ng an i nt egrat i ng ci r cui t wi t h a much l ar ger
t i me const ant , t o ensur e t hat t he capaci t or r emai ns vi r t ual l y uncharged by t he hori zont al
pul ses. However, t hi s woul d have t he effect of si gni fi cant l y reduci ng t he i nt egrat or out put for
vert i cal pul ses so t hat a ver t i cal sync ampl i fi er woul d have t o be used. I n a broadcast i ng
si t uat i on, t her e ar e t housands of recei ver s for ever y t r ansmi t t er . Consequent l y i t i s much
more effi ci ent and economi cal t o cure t hi s probl em i n one t ransmi t t er t han i n t housands of
recei vers. Thi s, as expl ai ned above, i s achi eved by t he use of pr e and post equal i zi ng pul ses.
The compl et e pul se t r ai ns for bot h t he fi el ds i ncor por at i ng equal i zi ng pul ses are shown i n
Fi g. 3.10.
29.7 s 2.3 + 0.1 s
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
2nd half
of 623
624 625
311 312 1st half of
313
2nd field ending
1st field ending
(a) Pre-sync equalizing pulses (five)
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
2nd half
of 3rd
4 5
316 317 1st half of
318
1st field
2nd field
(b) Post-sync equalizing pulses (five)
Fig. 3.8 Pre-sync equalizing and Post-sync equalizing pulses.
From t he compar i son of t he hori zont al and vert i cal out put pul se for ms shown i n Fi gs. 3.7
and 3.9 i t appear s t hat t he vert i cal t r i gger pul se (out put of t he l ow-pass fi l t er) i s not ver y
sharp but act ual l y i t i s not so. The scal e chosen exaggerat es t he ext ent of t he vert i cal pul ses.
The vol t age bui l d-up peri od i s onl y 160 s and so far as t he vert i cal synchr oni zi ng osci l l at or i s
concerned t hi s pul se occur s rapi dl y and represent s a sudden change i n vol t age whi ch decays
very fast .
The pol ari t y of t he pul ses as obt ai ned at t he out put s of t hei r respect i ve fi el ds may not be
sui t abl e for di rect appl i cati on i n t he cont roll ed synchronizi ng osci l lat or and mi ght need i nver sion
dependi ng on t he t ype of osci l l at or used. Thi s aspect wi l l be ful l y devel oped i n t he chapt er
devot ed t o vert i cal and hor i zont al osci l l at ors.
COMPOSTE VDEO SGNAL 47
Active lines Pre-equalizing pulses Field sync pulses Post-equalizing pulses Blanking lines
End of 2nd field
621 622 623
309 310
End of 1st field
dentical vertical sync
built-up
v
0
0
Trigger level
(no time error)
t
Fig. 3.9 dentical vertical sync voltage built-up across the integrating capacitor.
3.4 SCANNING SEQUENCE DETAILS
A compl et e chart gi vi ng l i ne number s and pul se desi gnat i ons for bot h t he fi el ds (correspondi ng
t o Fi g. 3.10) i s gi ven bel ow :
F i r s t F i e l d ( o d d f i e l d )
Li ne number s : one to 1st-hal f of 313th l i ne (312.5 l i nes)
1, 2 and 3rd 1st-half, lines 2.5 linesVertical sync pulses
3rd 2nd-half, 4, and 5 2.5 linesPost-vertical sync equalizing pulses.
6 to 17, and 18th 1st-half 12.5 linesBlanking retrace pulses
18th 2nd-half to 310 292.5 linesPicture details
311, 312, and 313th 1st-half 2.5 linesPre-vertical sync equalizing pulses
for t he 2nd fi el d.
Tot al number of l i nes = 312.5
S e c o n d f i e l d ( e v e n f i e l d )
Li ne number s : 313th 2nd-hal f t o 625 (312.5 l i nes)
313t h 2nd-hal f, 314, 315 2.5 linesVertical sync pulses
316, 317, 318t h 1st -hal f 2.5 linesPost-vertical sync equalizing pulses
318t h 2nd-hal f-t o 330 12.5 linesBlanking retrace pulses
331 t o 1st -hal f of 623r d 292.5 linePicture details
623 2nd-hal f, 624 and 625 2.5 linesPre-vertical sync equalizing pulses
for t he 1st fi el d
Tot al number of l i nes = 312.5
Tot al Number of Li nes per Fr ame = 625