CHAPTER 5: FUNDAMENTAL

CONCEPTS IN VIDEO

What’s the difference between analog

and digital video?
The way the signal is sent
Every pixel element and audio sample is a
stream of 0’s and 1’s

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What’s so good about digital video?
Less subject to noise.
Can be stored and transmitted on a computer
Digital editing techniques are powerful and also allow
the video to be integrated into other multimedia
applications.
Editing can be non-linear and non-destructive.
Interactive elements can be added during editing.
Can be reproduced repeatedly without degradation of
quality.
Can be easily compressed and encrypted.
Can be replayed non-linearly and in still images.
One digital video file can be replayed with different
settings depending on the system where it is replayed
(e.g. resolution, frame rate, color).

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 Organization of Video Signals
Component video – 3
wires/connectors connecting the camera
or other devices to a TV or monitor;
three separate signals for the image
components
YUV or YIQ (color encoding system)
works well for analog video.
Advantage: The 3 components of the
signal are on separate lines, so there
isn’t any electromagnetic interference
among them.
Disadvantage: Requires more
bandwidth and synchronization.
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Composite video – all the image information
(e.g., YUV) sent on one line or channel.
Luminance and chrominance components are
separated on the receiver end.
Connecting a TV with a VCR can be done this way –
one connection (audio signal connected separately.)
There can be some interference among YUV
components.

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S-video – a compromise between component and
composite video.
Uses two wires or channels – one for luminance and
one for chrominance.
Not as expensive as component video.
Less interference between the two compared to
composite signal.

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 Scanning Methods
Interlaced – odd lines are displayed first, then even lines
Taken together, all the odd lines are called a field (and
similarly for all the even lines).
The original purpose of interlaced display was to avoid
flicker. Standard television uses this method, displaying 60
fields per second (which makes 30 frames per second).
Progressive – the method used by computer monitors.
An entire screen can be written to a buffer.
The buffer is displayed “instantaneously.”
Think about how analog video would be converted to
digital – the fields would have to be put back together,
which can create interlacing artifacts.

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 Standards Organizations for Video
(originallly analog, extended to digital)
 NTSC (National Television Systems Committee)
◦ North America, Japan, Taiwan, and parts of the Caribbean
and South America
◦ 525 scan lines, 29.97 frames/s/ 4:3 aspect ratio, YIQ color
model, interlaced fields
 PAL (Phase Alternating Line)
◦ France, Australia, New Zealand
◦ 625 scan lines per frame, 25 frames/s, 4:3 aspect, ratio,
YUV color model, interlaced fields
 SECAM (Système Electronique Couleur avec Mémoire)
◦ Soviet Union and Eastern Europe
◦ 625 scan lines per frame, 25 frames/s, 4:3 aspect, ratio,
YUV color model, interlaced fields (differs from PAL in the
color coding scheme
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 Analog Signal for Video Transmission
(NTSC)
525 lines/frame * 29.97 frames/s ≈ 15,734 lines/s
Each line must be “swept out” in 1/15,374 secs ≈
63.6 μsec.
The horizontal retrace signal takes 10.9 μsec.
This leaves 52.7 μsec for the active line signal
giving image data.

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Converting Analog Video to Digital
that applies to both NTSC and PAL.
 According to the CCIR standard, a frame is sampled to 720 X
480 pixels for NTSC and 720 X 576 for PAL.
 But this is misleading. There aren’t really 720 pixels per line.
The number of samples taken to digitize the video doesn’t
necessarily correspond to the number of pixels on the display
device.
 You can do digital video in NTSC format at 640 X 480 or 720
X 480 with different pixel aspect ratios.
 You can do digital video in PAL format at 720 X 480 or 720 X
576 with different pixel aspect ratios.

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 Subsampling
4:2:2 subsampling of the chrominance component.
This means that there in every 4-pixel-square area,
4 luminance samples are taken and 2 of each of the
chrominance samples are taken (4 Y’ samples, 2
CB samples, and 2 CR samples).

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Digital Television, SDTV,
HDTV
SDTV vs. HDTV
◦ Standard definition television
◦ High definition television
Is HDTV the same thing as digital TV?
◦ no
Characteristics of HDTV
◦ 16:9 aspect ratio (1280 X 720 or 1920 X 1080) and
Dolby digital surround sound (AC-3)

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HDTV vs. DTV
High definition television is not necessarily digital –
that is, it does not have to be digitally transmitted.
What characterizes HDTV is the aspect ratio,
resolution, and sound quality
Digital television is not necessarily HDTV.
What characterizes DTV is the way in which the data
is transmitted – in digital, as opposed to analog, form.
HDTV was not originally DTV, but at present most
HDTV is digitally transmitted.

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Digital Television
There are 18 different DTV formats
Six are also HDTV.
Five of these (the DTV formats that are also
HDTV) are based on progressive scanning and
one on interlaced.
Both HDTV and DTV use MPEG-2
Three of the 18 formats for DTV that are used
frequently are:
◦ 480p – 640 X 480 pixels, progressive
◦ 720p – 1280 X 720 pixels, progressive
◦ 1080i – 1920 X 1080 pixels, interlaced

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Digitizing Video
One of the biggest considerations, of course, is
file size.

Size of file = frame rate * frame width * frame height

* bytes per pixel * number of seconds

For example:
30 f/s * 640 pix * 480 pix * 3 bytes/pix * 60 s =
1,658,000,000 bytes= ~ 1.6 GB

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 Basic Workspace Elements in DV Editing Programs
Examples of professional digital video editing programs are
Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro, Sony Vegas, and
Avid. There are some basic workspace elements that many of
these programs share. The workspaces of DV editing
programs are usually divided in four main areas: 1. Asset list,
2. Preview window, 3. Timeline, 4. Effects and transitions
Asset list manages the imported source materials for the
video project. They include the captured or digitized video
footage, audio, still images, titles, and graphics. The source
materials imported are not embedded in the video project file
itself; the source files are linked only.
This means, if you move the source files to another folder or
delete the source files later, you will be prompted to locate
these linked source files next time you open the video
project.
Preview window lets you preview your entire video project.
Adobe Premiere also has a Dual View Monitor window that
you can use to view, edit and trim the individual source clip.

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Timeline is where you can arrange your source clips in
sequence. It usually has video tracks and audio tracks.
Effects and transitions can be found in a separate palette
or menu item. Effects can include video and audio effects.
Many of the video effects work very similar to the image
filters that
you may find in image editing programs.
Examples of video effects including altering the color
balance of the video clip, desaturating, resizing, clipping,
blurring, sharpening, distorting, and stylizing the video
clip.
The most commonly used video transition is cross dissolve.
Other transition types include 3D motion, page peel, slide,
wipe, zoom, stretch.

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Where does file size create challenges?
In capturing digital video, your hardware and software
has to be able to keep up with the data rate.
When the file is stored, you have to have enough room
on your hard disk.
When the file is downloaded and then played, your user
has to have the patience to wait for the download.
When digital video is played in real-time, the data
transmission rate has to be fast enough to keep up with
the rate at which the video should be played.

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Ways to capture digital video
Copy something that is already in video
format (either digital or analog) to your
computer.
Directly, live, from a digital camera,
either analog or video
Pick up a live video broadcast signal on
your computer.

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 What equipment do you need to do
this?
If source is already digital video, it can be transmitted
directly to computer.
If the source is recorded analog video, a video capture
card must convert analog to digital.
Digital camera may digitize and compress before the
data is sent to the computer.
Connect camera through high speed Firewire (IEEE
1394 interface) or USB.(USB can handle data transfer
rates of 1.5 to 480 Mb/s. Firewire can handle up to 800
Mb/s.)
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 Advantages and disadvantages of
digitizing in the camera
Advantage
– less noise from transmission.
◦ Noise degrades the quality.
◦ Noise makes compression more difficult.
Disadvantage
– you have to use some standard format and don’t have as
much control over compression and data rate.
◦ Noise degrades the quality.
◦ Noise makes compression more difficult.

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Codec
Compressor/decompressor
Hardware or software?
◦ Both
 Hardware on a video capture board
 Software – compression done within your video
processing program. Decompression done at the
user’s computer.

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Where and when to compress
Inthe digital camera, after which the digital stream is
passed to the computer through FireWire (IEEE 1394).
DV is standard.
◦ DV data rate is ~3.5 MB/s, 720X480 NTSC
In the video capture card on the computer, where the
video is converted from analog to digital and
compressed using the card’s hardware.
In a software codec: Compression is usually done
twice – once during capture, and again as the video is
prepared for distribution.
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 Compression Strategies
Spatial compression (intra-frame)
◦ Areas that are alike can be grouped in a more concise
representation.
Temporal compression (inter-frame)
◦ Record the difference between one frame and another. Look up
tables
◦ Keep a table of typical patterns
◦ Record a small part of the image as an entry into the table
Down sampling (luminance/chrominance)

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Examples of Codecs
Cinepak
Intel Indeo
Sorenson
MPEG
Even with these codecs, you generally can’t
compress video enough so that it can be played
in full screen on a mid-range computer. You can
get about 320X240 at 12 frames per second

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Cinepak
Gets a good compression rate
Decompresses a lot faster than it
compresses
Uses vector quantization and temporal
compression with key frames and
difference frames
Good for video with a lot of motion

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Intel Indeo
About 30% faster than Cinepak at
compresses
Preserves color well on video with a lot of
static scenes
Uses vector quantization and temporal
compression with key frames and
difference frames

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Sorenson
Available as part of QuickTime
Newer than the other two. Good quality, good
compression rate
Can compress to a data rate of 50 KB/s
Uses vector quantization and temporal
compression with key frames and difference
frames
Sorenson’s motion compensation method is
similar to the one used in MPEG compression

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MPEG
An international standard
Motion Picture Experts Group
MPEG-1, 2, 3, and 4. As the numbers get
higher, you get more compression, so the
compression method is suitable for more
“challenging” material
The standard specifies how the data stream is
formatted after compression and how it will be
decompressed, but not how the compression has
to be implemented

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 MPEG-1
 Released in 1992
 Designed for audio/video played mainly from CD-ROMS
and hard drives
 Compression ratio of about 4:1; depends on application
 Typical data rate of 1.86 Mb/s -- for video that can be
stored on CD, VHS quality
 Progressive scan (can’t handle interlacing or HDTV
formats)
 Typically 320X240 (square pixel format) or 352X240 (SIF
– Source Input Format), 29.97 frames per second

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Terminology for MPEG
Compression
Block is 8 X 8 pixels
Macroblock is 16 X 16 pixels
Progressive scanning displays line after
line
Interleaved scanning displays odd
numbered lines, then even
A field is either all the odd numbered
lines or all the even numbered lines

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MPEG Compression
I, P, and B frames are designated
A GOP (group of pictures) size is chosen
GOP size is usually about 8, 12, or 16
frames

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Steps in MPEG compression
Iframes are compressed like static images are
with JPEG compression
◦ 4:2:0 or 4:2:2 downsampling
◦ DCT
◦ Quantization
◦ Run-length and Huffman encoding
◦ Need about 2 I frames/s for random access
Each P frame is encoded with reference to the
previous I or P frame
Each B frame is encoded with reference to
previous or subsequent frames

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So what is MP-3?
MP3 is audio encoding in the standard of
MPEG1 audio Layer 3. There are three audio
“layers” possible in MPEG encoding
◦ Layer 1 32-448 Kb/s
◦ Layer 2 8-384 Kb/s
◦ Layer 3 8-320 Kb/s
Allthree layers use psychoacoustical encoding
methods
◦ If one frequency component is going to be masked by
another one, it doesn’t matter if you drop it

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 MPEG-2
 Released in 1994
 Intended as a coding standard for SDTV and HDTV with data
rates of 1.5-60 Mb/s; 15 Mb/s is typical (“Main Profile at Main
Level” – MP@ML)
 Scalable, as compared to MPEG-1
 Profiles describe functionality, levels describe resolution
 Broadcast quality
 Supports interlaced video
 720X480 frame
 4:2:2 or 4:2:0 down sampling
 About 8:1 compression ratio; depends on application

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MPEG-3
Originally intended for HDTV
MPEG-2 was sufficient for HDTV
Projected 12:1 compression ratio
Not really used much

MPEG-4
• Standardized in 1998, but still under
development
• Can mix video with text, graphics, and 2-D
and 3-D animation layers
• 5 Kb/s to 4 MB/s 35
Maximum Data Transfer Rates
 POTS 28.8-56 Kb/s
 ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network)
64-128 Kb/s
 ADSL (Digital Subscriber Line) 1.5-8.5 Mb/s
(downstream)

16-640 Kb/s (upstream)

 VDSL 12.96-55.2 Mb/s
 CATV 20-40 Mb/s

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Speed of Delivery from Storage Devices
CD
◦ 1x 150 KB/s
◦ 2x 300 KB/s
◦ 8x 1200 KB/s
◦ 52x 7.8 MB/s
DVD
◦ 1x 1.35 MB/s
◦ 16x 21.6 MB/s
SCSI Hard Drive
◦ 10-20 MB/s (or even as high as 100 MB/s)

Storage Capacity of Storage Devices

• CD
– 700 MB
• DVD
– 4.7 GB 37