Prototype based on hybrid Japanese standard

The Matsushita Applied Research Laboratory (MARL), in cooperation with Matsushita’s Image Technology Research Lab, has developed the first fully digital, high-definition broadcast-quality television camera.

The prototype camera is configured to operate on the hybrid analog-digital Japanese HDTV standard, but Matsushita says the camera can be easily modified to accommodate any HDTV standard that emerges.

THE ADVANTAGES OF DIGITAL HDTV

Although analog HDTV cameras are already available, digital HDTV cameras offer superior stability and repeatability. With analog studio cameras, it is nearly impossible to get the same precise reading from one day to the next. Elements, such as heat, may effect camera performance.

When camera functions are all digital, exact settings can be programmed and recorded for consistent results. Also, functions, such as shading, color balance, gamma correction and edge enhancement functions are calculated more precisely and are more easily adjusted. These functions can be modified instantaneously by the operator through a master camera control unit or software.

Managing digital data. One of the greatest challenges in developing the digital camera was building a system with enough bandwidth and speed to process the increased amount of data in an HD video signal, according to Jukka Hamalainen, director of MARL.

The digital HDTV camera has been under development at Matsushita on and off for three years, according to Hamalainen. During the course of this development, a total of more than 12 U.S. patents were issued or are now pending.

The device consists of three main components: a camera head, a video processor and a master controller unit. The camera head contains analog circuitry for CCD (an image sensory unit) timing and video signal recovery. The core of the unit is the digital video processor where all the software processing and control functions are found.

As signals come from the CCD, the digital video processor amplifies the signals and turns them into a digital format. The video processor handles many adjustments, such as converting the signal to a nonlinear format, pixel-by-pixel shading correction and dynamic contrast compression, automatically and in real time.

The final component, the master control unit that was developed by Matsushita’s Image Technology Research Lab, provides the user interface and displays the camera set-up parameters and status.

In search of a standard. Matsushita doesn’t envision developing the camera for commercial use until after a U.S. HDTV standard is selected by the Federal Communications Commission. However, the company says it will be prepared when this happens. “The key thing was to develop the technology,” says Hamalainen. “The technology is something that it’s good to know if you have to develop something in a hurry.”

Amy Johns