Television Production Handbook Chapter 5 The Television Camera

Additive Primary Colors

Red, green, and blue. Ordinary white light(sunlight) can be separated into the three primary light colors. When these three colored lights are combined in various proportions, all other colors can be reproduced.

Analog

A signal that fluctuates exactly like the original stimulus.

Aspect Ratio

The width-to-height proportions of the standard television screen and therefore of all standard television pictures: 4 units wide by 3 units high. For HDTV the aspect ratio is 16x9. The small mobile media(cell-phone) displays have various aspect ratios.

Beam Splitter

Compact internal optical system of prisms within a television camera that separates white light into the three primary colors: red, green, and blue. Also called prism block.

Binary

A number system with the base of 2.

Bit

Stands for binary digit- the smallest amount of information a computer can hold and process. A charge is either present, represented by a 1, or absent, represented by a 0. One bit can describe two levels, such as on/off or black/white.

Camcorder

A portable camera with the videotape recorder or some other recording device built into it to form a single unit.

Camera Chain

The television camera (head) and associated electronic equipment, including the camera control unit, sync generator, and power supply.

Camera Control Unit(CCU)

Equipment, separate from the camera head, that contains various video controls, including color fidelity, color balance, contrast, and brightness. The CCU enables the video operator to adjust the camera picture during a show.

Charge-coupled Device(CCD)

The imaging sensor in a television camera. It consists of horizontal and vertical rows of tiny image-sensing elements, called pixels, that translate the optical (light) image into an electric charge that eventually becomes the video signal.

CMOS

Stands for complementary metal-oxide semiconductor. A camera imaging sensor similar to a CCD but which operates on a different technology. It translates light into an electronic video charge that eventually becomes the video-signal.

Digital

Usually means the binary system- the representation of data in the form of binary digits (on/off pulses).

Digital Cinema Camera

A high-definition television camera with sensors that can produce extremely high-resolution pictures exceeding 4,00 (4k) pixels per line. It records on memory cards, with a variable frame rate for normal, slow, and accelerated motion capture.

EFP Camera

High-quality portable, shoulder-mounted field production camera that must be connected to an external video recorder.

ENG/EFP Camcorder

High-quality portable field production camera with the recording device built-in.

Field

One-half of a complete scanning cycle, with two fields necessary for one video frame. There are 60 fields, or 30 frames, per second in standard NTSC television.

Frame

(1) The smallest picture unit in film, a single picture. (2) A complete scan from top to bottom of all raster lines by exposure and subsequent electric charge, or one single frame of a motion series.

Frame Rate

The number of complete video frames the video video system is producing each second. Also expressed as fps. The NTSC standard for traditional American Television is 30 fps. The 480p and 720p scanning systems normally have a frame rate of 24 fps and/or variable frame rates. The standard 1080i HDTV system has a frame rate of 30 fps.

Gain

Electronic amplification of the video signal, boosting primarily picture brightness.

HDTV Camera

Video camera that delivers high-definition video of superior resolution (720p, 1080i, and 1080p), color fidelity, and light-and-dark contrast; uses hight-quality imaging sensors and lenses.

Imaging Device

The imaging element in a television camera. Its sensor (CCD or CMOS) transduces light into electric energy that becomes the video signal. Also called chip and sensor.

Pixel

Short for picture element. (1) A single imaging element (like the single dot in a newspaper picture) that can be identified by a computer. The more pixels per picture area, the higher the picture quality. (2) The light-sensitive elements on a CCD that contain a charge.

Raster

The scanning pattern of a video image.

Refresh Rate

The number of complete digital scanning cycles (frames) per second.

Resolution

The measurement of picture detail, expressed in the number of pixels per scanning line and the number of visible scanning lines. Resolution is influenced by the imaging device, the lens, and the television set that shows the camera picture. Often used synonymously with definition.