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Component video

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected fromRGBHV)
This article is about analog component video. For the processing of color components in digital video, seeDigital video,Chroma subsampling,andYCbCr.
Not to be confused withComposite video.
Three cables, each withRCA plugsat both ends, are often used to carryYPbPranalog component video.

Component videois ananalog videosignal that has been split into two or more component channels. In popular use, it refers to a type of component analog video (CAV) information that istransmittedor stored as three separate signals. Component video can be contrasted withcomposite videoin which all the video information is combined into a single signal that is used inanalog television.Like composite, component cables do not carryaudioand are often paired withaudio cables.

When used without any other qualifications, the termcomponent videousually refers to analogYPBPRcomponent video with sync on luma (Y) found on analoghigh-definition televisionsand associated equipment from the 1990s through the 2000s when they were largely replaced withHDMIand other all-digital standards. Component video cables and theirRCA jackconnectors on equipment are normally color-coded red, green and blue, although the signal is not inRGB.YPbPr component video can be losslessly converted to the RGB signal that internally drives the monitor; the encoding is useful as the Y signal will also work on black and white monitors.

Analog component video

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Reproducing a video signal on a display device (for example, acathode-ray tube;CRT) is a straightforward process complicated by the multitude of signal sources.DVD,VHS,computers and video game consoles all store, process and transmit video signals using different methods, and often each will provide more than one signal option. One way of maintaining signal clarity is by separating the components of a video signal so that they do not interfere with each other. A signal separated in this way is called "component video".S-Video,RGBandYPBPRsignals comprise two or more separate signals, and thus are all component-video signals. For most consumer-level video applications, the common three-cable system using BNC or RCA connectorsanalogcomponent video was used. Typical formats are480i(480 lines visible, 525 full for NTSC) and576i(576 lines visible, 625 full for PAL). Forpersonal computer displaysthe 15 pin DIN connector (IBM VGA) provided screen resolutions including 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×1024.

RGB analog component video

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A 15-pinVGA connectorfor a personal computer
A 21-pinSCARTor JP21 connector for a television

The various RGB (red, green, blue) analog component video standards (e.g., RGBS, RGBHV, RGsB) use no compression and impose no real limit oncolor depthor resolution, but require largebandwidthto carry the signal and contain a lot ofredundant datasince each channel typically includes much of the same black-and-white image. Early personal computers such as theIBM PS/2offered this signal via aVGA port.Many televisions, especially in Europe, can utilize RGB via theSCARTconnector.[citation needed]

In addition to the red, green and blue color signals, RGB requires two additional signals to synchronize the video display. Several methods are used:

  • Composite sync, where the horizontal and vertical signals are mixed together on a separate wire (the S in RGBS)
  • Separate sync, where the horizontal and vertical are each on their own wire (the H and V in RGBHV; also the acronym HD/VD, meaninghorizontal deflection/vertical deflection,is used)
  • Sync on green, where a composite sync signal is overlaid on the wire used to transport the green signal (SoG, Sync on G, or RGsB).
  • Sync on red or sync on blue, where a composite sync signal is overlaid on either the red or blue wire
  • Sync on composite (not to be confused with composite sync), where the signal normally used for composite video is used alongside the RGB signal only for the purposes of sync.
  • Sync on luma, where the Y signal from S-Video is used alongside the RGB signal only for the purposes of sync.

Composite sync is common in the European SCART connection scheme (using pins 17 [ground] and 19 [composite-out] or 20 [composite-in]). RGBS requires four wires – red, green, blue and sync. If separate cables are used, the sync cable is usually colored yellow (as is the standard for composite video) or white.

Separate sync is most common withVGA,used worldwide for analogcomputer monitors.This is sometimes known as RGBHV, as the horizontal andvertical synchronizationpulses are sent in separate channels. This mode requires five conductors. If separate cables are used, the sync lines are usually yellow (H) and white (V), yellow (H) and black (V), or gray (H) and black (V).

Sync on Green(SoG) is less common, and while some VGA monitors support it, most do not.Sonyis a big proponent of SoG, and most of their monitors (and theirPlayStationline of video game consoles) use it. Like devices that use composite video or S-video, SoG devices require additional circuitry to remove the sync signal from the green line. A monitor that is not equipped to handle SoG will display an image with an extreme green tint, if any image at all, when given a SoG input.

Sync on red and sync on blue are even rarer than sync on green, and are typically used only in certain specialized equipment.

Sync on composite, not to be confused with composite sync, is commonly used on devices that output both composite video and RGB over SCART. The RGB signal is used for color information, while the composite video signal is only used to extract the sync information. This is generally an inferior sync method, as this often causes checkerboards to appear on an image, but the image quality is still much sharper than standalone composite video.

Sync on luma is much similar to sync on composite, but uses the Y signal from S-Video instead of a composite video signal. This is sometimes used on SCART, since both composite video and S-Video luma ride along the same pins. This generally does not suffer from the same checkerboard issue as sync on composite, and is generally acceptable on devices that do not feature composite sync, such as the Sony PlayStation and some modded Nintendo 64 models.

Luma-based analog component video

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Main articles:YPBPRandS-Video
YPBPRcomponent video out on a consumer electronics device, a Sony DVD player

Further types of component analog video signals do not use separate red, green and blue components but rather a colorless component, termedluma,which provides brightness information (as in black-and-white video). This combines with one or more color-carrying components, termedchroma,that give only color information. Both theS-Videocomponent video output (two separate signals) and theYPBPRcomponent video output (three separate signals) seen on DVD players are examples of this method.

Converting video into luma and chroma allows forchroma subsampling,a method used byJPEGandMPEGcompression schemes to reduce the storage requirements for images and video (respectively).

Many consumer TVs, DVD players, monitors, video projectors and other video devices at one time used YPBPRoutput or input.

When used for connecting a video source to a video display where both support 4:3 and 16:9 display formats, the PAL television standard provides for signaling pulses that will automatically switch the display from one format to the other.

Connectors used

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Synchronization

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Component video requires an extrasynchronization signalto be sent along with the video.Component video syncsignals can be sent in several different ways:

Separate sync
Uses separate wires for horizontal and vertical synchronization. When used in RGB (i.e.VGA) connections, five separate signals are sent (Red, Green, Blue, Horz. Sync, Vert. Sync).
Composite sync
Combines horizontal and vertical synchronization onto one wire. When used in RGB connections, only four separate signals are sent (Red, Green, Blue, Comp. Sync).
Sync-on-green (SOG)
Combines composite sync with the green signal in RGB. Only three signals are sent (Red, Green with Sync, Blue). This synchronization system is used in - among other applications - many systems bySilicon GraphicsandSun Microsystemsthrough aDB13W3connector.
Sync-on-luminance
Similar to sync-on-green, but combines sync with theluminance signal(Y) of a color system such asYPbPrandS-Video.This is the synchronization system normally used inhome theatersystems.
Sync-on-composite
The connector carries a standardcomposite videosignal along with the RGB components, for use with devices that cannot process RGB signals. For devices that do understand RGB, the sync component of that composite signal is used along with the color information from the RGB lines. This arrangement is found in theSCARTconnector in common use in Europe and some otherPAL/SECAMareas.

Digital component video

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Digital component videomakes use of single cables with signal lines/connector pins dedicated to digital signals, transmitting digital color space values allowing higher resolutions such as480p,480i,576i,576p,720p,1080i,and1080p.[1]

RGB component video has largely been replaced by modern digital formats, such asDisplayPortorDigital Visual Interface(DVI) digital connections, while home theater systems increasingly favorHigh-Definition Multimedia Interface(HDMI), which support higher resolutions,[2]higher dynamic range, and can be made to supportdigital rights management.The demise of analog is largely due to screens moving to large flat digital panels as well as the desire for having a single cable for both audio and video, but also due to a slight loss of clarity when converting from a digital media source to analog and back again for a flat digital display, particularly when used at higher resolutions where analog signals are highly susceptible to noise.

International standards

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Examples of international component video standards are:

Componentversuscomposite

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In a composite signal, such asNTSC,PALorSECAM,theluminance,Brightness (Y) signal and thechrominance,Color (C) signals are encoded together into one signal. When the color components are kept as separate signals, the video is called component analog video (CAV), which requires three separate signals: the luminance signal (Y) and the color difference signals (R-Y and B-Y).

Since component video does not undergo the encoding process, the color quality is noticeably better than composite video.[3]

Component video connectors are not unique in that the same connectors are used for several different standards; hence, making a component video connection often does not lead to a satisfactory video signal being transferred. Many DVD players and TVs may need to be set to indicate the type of input/output being used, and if set incorrectly the image may not be properly displayed.Progressive scan,for example, is often not enabled by default, even when component video output is selected.

See also

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References

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  1. ^"What Shared Composite/Component Video Connections on TVs Mean for You".LifeWire.com.Retrieved21 March2018.
  2. ^"HDMI 2.1a Specification Overview".HDMI.org.Retrieved2023-08-04.
  3. ^"Video Signal: Composite vs. Component".Apple Support.3 October 2008.Retrieved25 April2011.

Further reading

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