Colorimetric Standards in U.S. Color Television: A Report by the Subcommittee on System Colorimetry of the SMPTE Television Committee

The objective of current standards efforts in the U.S. television industry is to improve both the uniformity and quality of color television as viewed on the home receiver. U.S. broadcast colorimetric standards are based on the original NTSC primaries. However, the phosphors used in current television display devices are significantly different from those specified by NTSC. These phosphor differences result in a colorimetric mismatch that may cause significant color distortions in the display. — Receiver manufacturers in the U.S. have adjusted the color demodulation characteristics in their receivers to compensate for these phosphor changes. To resolve this problem in Europe, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has recently recommended that broadcast standards be changed to require matrixing for modern phosphors in all cameras. An alternative approach is to place a correction matrix in the display device and retain the NTSC primaries. After making a study of how this basic problem affects U.S. television, it appears to be preferable to retain the NTSC standards and to insert a correction matrix in the display device that will compensate for the particular phosphors in use.

Print ISSN

0361-4573

Published

1974-01

Content type

Original Research

DOI

10.5594/J07613