Sony 900, 930, 950 manual Hardware

9 9-1.Hardware

The following are some technical terms that are frequently used in camera brochures or technical papers.

Adaptive DTL

A simple limiter makes DTL become thick. Adaptive DTL is a very effective function to keep the DTL under a certain level. It was originally developed for anti- aliasing.

Adaptive highlight control

To make the picture look perceptively better -, the picture is divided into several zones along the bright level in which the compression rates of the smaller zones are increased while those of the larger zones are decreased. The Adaptive Highlight Control has been developed for Sony’s HDC/BVP-Series, which only applys to the portion whose level is higher than the knee point.

Aspect ratio conversion

Converting 16:9 video signals to 4:3 signals is essential because most of the applications today are 4:3 even though sometimes shot with 16:9 cameras. Sony video cameras for broadcasting and professional use provide the aspect ratio conversion function in combination with a digital filter. Some manufacturers perform this function by changing the reading process of the CCD.

Auto knee/DCC

It is a device that automatically adjusts the knee point and knee slope to raise the dynamic range depending on the pattern of the subject for photography.

Black Gamma

Black Gamma is a function to change the Gamma curve of dark portions of the picture. It also can change the coloring.

Black shading correction

Black shading correction is used to compensate for the irregular black shading which occurs because of the dark current of picture elements and the characteristics of power circuits.

Boost frequency

Horizontal image enhancement is usually performed by raising the space frequency between 3 to 4 MHz. The peak of the frequency raised can be adjusted in order to meet the users’ different tastes.

CCD

CCD is the acronym for Charge Coupled Device. It is a kind of semiconductor that converts an optical image into electronic signals - the heart of a camera. After accomplishing the conversion, each pixel (a kind of photoelectric transformer) on the CCD first holds the signal and then transfers it to the next cell. These cells work like a bucket brigade. According to the transfer method, there are two types of CCDs - IT CCD and FIT CCD.

Color bars

Almost all of the video cameras used for broadcasting

-have a color bar generator. Although the color bar has been originally developed for the adjustment of an analog encoder, it has become a standard function for professional video camera. Since video cameras are quite often used as a color bar generator, it is still a

standard function for a video camera even though the encoder has been digitalized.

Crisp

DTL enhances picture sharpness but at the same time also emphasizes the noise, which makes the picture noisy. Crisp is a circuit that removes small amplitude DTL to improve S/N.

DTL comb filter

The DTL comb filter is used to weaken the oblique DTL that interferes with the sub carrier to generate cross color. However, resolution seems to look bad if the oblique DTL becomes too weak. Some component- dedicated cameras such as HD cameras do not adopt DTL comb filter.

Electronic soft focus

The DTL circuit can make the picture sharper, but it can also shade off the picture by reverting the polarity. When used this way, electronic soft focus is a function to generate a gentle film-like picture. It is more effective to make an announcer’s skin color much more lustrous when used in combination with the Skin Tone DTL.

Encoder

Inside the camera, video signals are processed in R/G/ B component signals. The encoder is a device used to convert the component signals into composite signals such as NTSC and PAL.

Flare correction

In an optical system, the image might sometimes seem floating or some colors might appear in dark portions of the picture because of diffused reflection. Flare correction electronically compensates for this phenomenon.

Gamma correction

A CRT does not beam at the screen linearly as per the signal level. Normally, a TV set should compensate for the error because it is part of a CRT’s characteristics. However, in consideration of the total cost, the industry has reached an agreement with TV stations that the acquisition side should take the responsibility to correct the error. This is the gamma correction. As the standard in this agreement is not very strict, the Gamma correction value is not always completely the same between different manufacturers and different TV stations. In the camera field, Gamma correction is also a way of creating user’s taste and setting the picture quality.

Gen lock

Synchronization should be done when using multiple cameras. Gen lock is a function developed for this purpose to synchronize the cameras to an external VBS input. Then, horizontal phase, vertical phase, and sub-carrier phase will be synchronized.

Horizontal image enhancement (H DTL) Horizontal image enhancement is performed by raising the frequency characteristic of the video signals which is carried out by using the Low Pass Filter and Delay Line for analog cameras while using the digital filter for digital cameras.

Image Enhancement

It is a function to give a perception of a sharper picture or higher resolution. Since the characteristic cannot be

HDC-900/950/930 Series Product Information Manual Chapter 9 Glossary – Terms and Definitions 173