83 and 83-F
HDMI to 3G/HD/SD SDI Converter
and
HDMI to Fiber 3G/HD/SD SDI Converter
User Guide
R Revision 1.0 SW v1.2.0
“Regardless of how quickly we need to take Mitto to air, it works famously every time. And it looks spectacular. When
we covered the blizzards last winter, all of our user-generated content submissions and Skype camethrough Mitto.”
~ John Schilberg, VP of Technology, Grin Communications, KWTV, KOTV and KQCW
Who is Ensemble Designs?
By Engineers, For Engineers
In 1989, a former television station engineer who loved designing
and building video equipment, decided to start a new company.
He relished the idea of taking an existing group of equipment
and adding a few special pieces in order to create an even more
elegant ensemble. So, he designed and built his rst product and
the company was born.
BrightEye — palm sized video and audio conversion,
HD up/down/cross conversion, scan conversion and
test signal generators with 3G, HD, SD, ASI, HDMI video,
audio and optical choices.
Everything is made at our factory in
Nevada City, California.
Shipped with care to television broadcasters
and video facilities all over the world.
Focused On What You Need
As the company has grown, more former TV station engineers have
joined Ensemble Designs and this wealth of practical
experience fuels the company’s innovation. Everyone at the
company is focused on providing the very equipment you need
to complete your ensemble of video and audio gear. We oer
those special pieces that tie everything together so that when
combined, the whole ensemble is exactly what you need.
Notably Great Service for You
We listen to you – just tell us what you need and we’ll do our best
to build it. We are completely focused on you and the equipment
you need. Being privately held means we don’t have to worry
about a big board of directors or anything else that might take
attention away from real business. And, you can be sure that
when you call a real person will answer the phone. We love this
business and we’re here to stay.
Bricks and Mortar of Your Facility
The bricks and mortar of a facility include pieces like
up/downconverters, audio embedders, video converters,
protection switches, routers and SPGs for SD, HD and 3Gb/s .
That’s what we’re focused on, that’s all we do – we make proven
and reliable signal processing and infrastructure gear for
video facilities worldwide, for you.
And consider our Avenue product line when
you need a modular system.
Come on by and visit us.
Drop in for lunch and a tour!
83 and 83-F
HDMI to 3G/HD/SD SDI Converters
Contents
Product Overview 4
Capabilities Overview for BrightEye 83 and BrightEye 83-F 4
Free Software Upgrades Forever 4
Functional Description and Block Diagram 5
Applications 6
Rear Connectors 7
Power Connection 8
HDMI Connection 8
USB Connection 8
SDI Outputs 8
Inputs and Outputs 9
Operation 10
Front Panel Indicators 10
Status Indicators 10
Using the BrightEye Control Application 11
Input Menu 12
Troubleshooting 14
The Input Menu status displays “Unknown” and the Invalid Input LED is illuminated on
the front panel 14
No Input LED is illuminated on the front panel, the Power LED is illuminated 14
Software Updating 15
Warranty and Factory Service 15
Warranty 15
Factory Service 15
Specications for BrightEye 83 and BrightEye 83-F 16
Glossary 17
www.ensembledesigns.com BrightEye 83 and 83-F - Page 3
83 and 83-F
HDMI to 3G/HD/SD SDI Converters
Product Overview
BrightEye 83 and BrightEye 83-F convert HDMI to 3G, HD or SD SDI. These units are convenient
for broadcast video cameras and other sources with an HDMI output. BrightEye 83 and 83-F pass
embedded audio and support all 8 audio channels on the HDMI input.
BrightEye 83 converts HDMI to standard denition video signals and 3 Gb/s and 1.5 Gb/s high
denition signals.
BrightEye 83-F presents both electrical and optical serial digital outputs The optical output can drive
single mode ber to a distance of 20 kilometers. With an optical launch power attenuator, multi-mode
ber can also be used.
Signal monitoring is provided on the front panel of the unit, and through the included BrightEye Mac
and BrightEye PC software.
In compliance with the licensing restrictions on HDCP encrypted material, BrightEye 83 and 83-F
cannot convert encrypted signals to SDI form.
A glossary of commonly used video terms is provided at the end of this user guide.
Capabilities Overview for BrightEye 83 and BrightEye 83-F
• HDMI to 3G, HD and SD SDI Converter
• Optical and Electrical SDl Outputs with BrightEye 83-F
• Use with Cameras and Other Sources that have an HDMI Output
• Passes Embedded Audio
• Supports all 8 Audio Channels on the HDMI Input
• Intuitive Front Panel Indicators
• Easy-to-use Mac and PC User Interface
• Rackmountable
• 5-Year Warranty and Free Software Upgrades
Free Software Upgrades Forever
BrightEye Mac/PC software is included with each unit at no charge. Use BrightEye Mac/PC software to
monitor and control a single BrightEye unit or any number of units connected to a USB hub. BrightEye
Mac/PC software is not required as the BrightEye 83 and 83-F front panel controls are intuitive and
provide signal monitoring. You can choose what type of monitoring and control is best for your facility.
BrightEye software is easily upgraded through the unit’s USB port. Software upgrades are available at
no charge for the life of the product and are conveniently downloadable at the following link:
www.ensembledesigns.com/support/brighteye-support/brighteye-software
www.ensembledesigns.com BrightEye 83 and 83-F - Page 4
83 and 83-F
HDMI to 3G/HD/SD SDI Converters
Functional Description and Block Diagram
As shown in the functional block diagram below, HDMI is fed to the BrightEye 83 or 83-F on an
HDMI 1.3 connector. Whan a valid input is detected it is converted to 3G, HD or SD SDI. 8 channels of
incomming audio are supported and embedded in the SDI outputs.
BrightEye 83 provides two electrical SDI outputs (BNC). BrightEye 83-F provides two electrical SDI
outputs (BNC) and one optical output.
BrightEye 83 and 83-F are powered by a 12 volt DC universal power supply. This power supply can
accept an input voltage between 90 and 230 volts, at 50 or 60 Hertz.
BrightEye 83 and 83-F use a standard IEC line cord and can be used anywhere in the world. It is normal
for the converter to be quite warm to the touch when operating.
HDMI In
HDMI
Receiver
&
Color Space
Conversion
Video Signal
Audio Signal
Regenerator
to LED’s and
BrightEye Mac/PC Application Software
Embedder
8 Channel
Audio Processor
Clock
Format
Detection
TRS
Insertion
Sample Rate
Conversion
to all circuits
BrightEye 83 and 83-F Functional Block Diagram
Serializer
3G/HD/SD SDI Out
3G/HD/SD SDI Out
3G/HD/SD SDI
Optical Out
(BE83-F Only)
www.ensembledesigns.com BrightEye 83 and 83-F - Page 5
83 and 83-F
HDMI to 3G/HD/SD SDI Converters
Pro Monitor
Applications
One useful application for the BrightEye 83 or 83-F is converting content from a receiver or media
player to SDI video for use with a router or professional video monitor.
Refer to the application drawings below for examples of using BrightEye 83 or 83-F for this purpose.
Media Player
or Server
Receiver
BrightEye 83
SDI Out 1
HDMI
SDI Out 2
BrightEye 83 HDMI to 3G/HD/SD SDI Conversion Example
BrightEye 83-F
Optical
Out
3G/HD/SD SDI In
Router
3G/HD/SD SDI In
Optical Out
to Fiber Backhaul
HDMI
SDI Out
SDI Out
3G/HD/SD SDI In
BrightEye 83-F HDMI to Optical and Electrical Conversion Example
www.ensembledesigns.com BrightEye 83 and 83-F - Page 6
to another 3G/HD or SD SDI Destination
Router
83 and 83-F
HDMI to 3G/HD/SD SDI Converters
Rear Connectors
All connections to the BrightEye 83 and 83-F are made on the rear of the unit. Refer to the illustrations
below for a snapshot reference. A more detailed explanation of the rear connectors follows.
BrightEye 83 Rear View
BrightEye 83-F Rear View
www.ensembledesigns.com BrightEye 83 and 83-F - Page 7
83 and 83-F
HDMI to 3G/HD/SD SDI Converters
Power Connection
Connect the modular power supply (ED part number 23118900) to the 12-volt DC power input
connection on the far left of the unit. Use the locking ring to secure it.
HDMI Connection
Connect your video source to the BrightEye 83 or 83-F HDMI Input.
USB Connection
Your BrightEye 83 or 83-F comes with a USB cable, shown below. Connect the USB port to a PC or Mac
running BrightEye software for more comprehensive monitoring and upgrades to the unit. BrightEye
PC/Mac control application software is included on CD that came with your BrightEye, or
the application can be downloaded for free at the following link:
www.ensembledesigns.com/support/brighteye-support
USB cable that is included with your BrightEye
SDI Outputs
The SDI Output BNCs output the same signal on both BNCs. The Output Standard follows the Input
Standard. Connect to a video destination such as a router, production switcher, or broadcast monitor.
Example of a BNC cable
www.ensembledesigns.com BrightEye 83 and 83-F - Page 8
83 and 83-F
HDMI to 3G/HD/SD SDI Converters
Inputs and Outputs
• HDMI In – Connect your video source to the HDMI Input. BrightEye 83 and 83-F support all of
the 3G, HD and SD standards listed in the chart in the “Using the BrightEye Control Application”
on page 11.
Note: HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) is a content encryption system
for HDMI. It is meant to prevent copyright content from being copied. Protected content,
like a movie on a Blu-Ray disc is encrypted by its creator. Devices that want to display the
protected content, like a television, must have an authorized key in order to decode the
signal and display it. The entity that controls the HDCP standard strictly limits the kinds of
devices that are allowed decryption keys. Devices that decrypt the content and provide an
unencrypted copy are not allowed.
• SDI Outputs – Two identical SDI outputs are provided for feeding destinations that accept
standard denition video signals and 3 Gb/s and 1.5 Gb/s high denition video signals.
• Optical SDI Out (BrightEye 83-F Only) – This output is a 3G, HD or SD SDI signal. It is the
same signal that is on the electrical 3G/HD/SD SDI Out BNCs.
www.ensembledesigns.com BrightEye 83 and 83-F - Page 9
83 and 83-F
HDMI to 3G/HD/SD SDI Converters
Operation
Operation of the BrightEye 83 and 83-F is performed from the front panel or remotely from a
networked PC with the BrightEye Mac/PC Control application software.
Front Panel Indicators
The front panel of the converter, shown in the gure below, provides status indicators.
BrightEye 83 Front Panel
Status Indicators
• In (Input) – The incoming format (3G, HD, or SD) will Illuminate green when a valid HDMI input
is detected on the HDMI In connector.
BrightEye 83 and 83-F support all of the 3G, HD and SD standards listed in the chart in the
“Using the BrightEye Control Application” on page 11. The video format coming in on the
HDMI connector is auto detected.
If an invalid or incompatible input signal is detected, Invalid will illuminate red. Possible reasons
for this are:
1. The incoming signal is HDCP encrypted (see note below for an explanation of HDCP)
2. The incoming signal is an unsupported format, such as a computer resolution of 1024 x 768
3. The incoming signal is an unsupported refresh rate
Note: HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) is a content encryption system for
HDMI. It is meant to prevent copyright content from being copied. Protected content, like a
movie on a Blu-Ray disc is encrypted by its creator. Devices that want to display the protected
content, like a television, must have an authorized key in order to decode the signal and
display it. The entity that controls the HDCP standard strictly limits the kinds of devices that
are allowed decryption keys. Devices that decrypt the content and provide an unencrypted
copy are not allowed.
• Pwr (Power) – The power indicator illuminates green when the BrightEye unit has power and
the internal voltage regulator is functioning correctly.
www.ensembledesigns.com BrightEye 83 and 83-F - Page 10
83 and 83-F
HDMI to 3G/HD/SD SDI Converters
Using the BrightEye Control Application
BrightEye Mac and PC Control application software is included on a CD with each unit and oers
more comprehensive monitoring of your BrightEye 83 or BrightEye 83-F. BrightEye Mac/PC software is
designed to allow you to monitor the BrightEye 83 or 83-F from a personal computer. Installation and
instructions for using this software application are given in the PDF manual on the CD.
If the BrightEye 83 or 83-F is connected to a computer running BrightEye Mac/PC software, the
Input menu is available for monitoring the unit. This menu is detailed on the following page.
www.ensembledesigns.com BrightEye 83 and 83-F - Page 11
83 and 83-F
HDMI to 3G/HD/SD SDI Converters
Input Menu
• Input – This menu provides a read-only status indication of input video presence. The video
format coming in on the HDMI connector is auto detected and reported here. BrightEye 83
and 83-F support all of the 3G, HD and SD standards listed in the chart below.
3G HD SD Other
3G 1080p/50 720p/50 SD 525 No Input
3G 1080p/59.94 720p/59.94 SD 625 Unknown
3G 1080p/60 720p/60
1080i/50
1080i/59.94
1080i/60
1080p/25
1080p/23.98
1080p/24
1080sF/25
1080sF/23.98
1080sF/24
• Unknown – If the status indicator displays “Unknown“, the unit is detecting an invalid or
incompatible input signal. Possible reasons for this are:
1. The incoming signal is HDCP encrypted (see note below for an explanation of HDCP)
2. The incoming signal is an unsupported format, such as a computer resolution of 1024 x 768
3. The incoming signal is an unsupported refresh rate
Note: HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) is a content encryption system
for HDMI. It is meant to prevent copyright content from being copied. Protected content,
like a movie on a Blu-Ray disc is encrypted by its creator. Devices that want to display the
protected content, like a television, must have an authorized key in order to decode the
signal and display it. The entity that controls the HDCP standard strictly limits the kinds of
devices that are allowed decryption keys. Devices that decrypt the content and provide an
unencrypted copy are not allowed.
• No Input – If the status indicator displays “No Input”, the BrightEye is not detecting any input
signal. Check your cabling connections:
Note: In this situation none of the Input LEDs on the front panel will be illuminated, and the
Power LED will be illuminated.
www.ensembledesigns.com BrightEye 83 and 83-F - Page 12
83 and 83-F
HDMI to 3G/HD/SD SDI Converters
BrightEye 83/83-F Input Menu
www.ensembledesigns.com BrightEye 83 and 83-F - Page 13
83 and 83-F
HDMI to 3G/HD/SD SDI Converters
Troubleshooting
The Input Menu status displays “Unknown” and the Invalid Input LED is illuminated on the front panel.
The Input Menu status in BrightEye Mac/PC will display “Unknown” and the Invalid Input LED on the
front panel will illuminate red if:
1. The incoming signal is HDCP encrypted
2. The incoming signal is an unsupported format, such as a computer resolution of 1024 x 768
3. The incoming signal is an unsupported refresh rate
Please Note: HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) is a content encryption
system for HDMI. It is meant to prevent copyright content from being copied. Protected
content, like a movie on a Blu-Ray disc is encrypted by its creator. Devices that want to
display the protected content, like a television, must have an authorized key in order to
decode the signal and display it. The entity that controls the HDCP standard strictly limits
the kinds of devices that are allowed decryption keys. Devices that decrypt the content and
provide an unencrypted copy are not allowed.
No Input LED is illuminated on the front panel, the Power LED is illuminated.
If no Input LED illuminated on the front panel but the Power LED is illuminated, the BrightEye is not
detecting any input signal. Check your cabling connections:
Note: In this situation the Input Menu status in BrightEye Mac/PC will display “No Input”
www.ensembledesigns.com BrightEye 83 and 83-F - Page 14
83 and 83-F
HDMI to 3G/HD/SD SDI Converters
Software Updating
Software upgrades for BrightEyes are available free at the following link:
www.ensembledesigns.com/support/brighteye-support/
Use BrightEye Mac or PC software to install the software update into your BrightEye.
Warranty and Factory Service
Warranty
This module is covered by a ve-year limited warranty. If you require service (under warranty or not),
please contact Ensemble Designs and ask for customer service before you return the unit. This will
allow the service technician an opportunity to provide any other suggestions for identifying the
problem and to recommend possible solutions.
Factory Service
If you return equipment for repair, please get a Return Material Authorization Number (RMA) from the
factory rst.
tel +1 530.478.1830
fax +1 530.478.1832
service@ensembledesigns.com
www.ensembledesigns.com
Ship the product and a written description of the problem to:
Ensemble Designs, Inc.
Attention: Customer Service RMA #####
870 Gold Flat Rd.
Nevada City, CA 95959 USA
Be sure to put your RMA number on the outside of the box.
www.ensembledesigns.com BrightEye 83 and 83-F - Page 15
83 and 83-F
HDMI to 3G/HD/SD SDI Converters
Specications for BrightEye 83 and BrightEye 83-F
Input
Number One
Type HDMI 1.3, Type C connector
Format Supports HDMI signals which map to the video standards listed below
SDI Standards Supported
1080i (SMPTE 274M -4,5,6) 50, 59.94 or 60 Hz
720p (SMPTE 296M -1,2,3) 50, 59.94 or 60 Hz
1080p (SMPTE 274M -9,10,11) 23.98, 24, 25 Hz
1080sF (RP211 -14,15,16) 23.98, 24, 25 Hz
1080p (SMPTE 424M, 425M), 50, 59.94, 60, Level A
525i, 625i (SMPTE 259M)
Serial Digital Output
Number Two, BNC
Type Follows Input
Impedance 75 Ω
Return Loss >15 dB to 1.485 GHz
>10 dB to 2.97 GHz
Output DC None (AC coupled)
Optical Output (BE83-F Only)
Number One, LC/UPC
Type Follows Input
Wavelength 1310 nm (non-CWDM)
Wavelengths 170 nm –1610 nm at 20 nm CWDM spacing available.
Call factory for price and specify part number BE83-F-SP.
Power -7 dBm
Max Cable Length 20 km (For greater distances, or higher power and larger loss budgets,
please contact the factory
Fiber Type Single Mode
Multi-mode compatible with attenuation at transmit end
General Specications
Size 5.625” W x 0.8” H x 5.5” D (143 mm x 20 mm x 140 mm)
including connectors
Power 12 volts, 5 watts
Temperature Range 0 to 40° C ambient
Relative Humidity 0 to 95° non-condensing
www.ensembledesigns.com BrightEye 83 and 83-F - Page 16
83 and 83-F
HDMI to 3G/HD/SD SDI Converters
Glossary
AES/EBU
The digital audio standard dened as a joint eort of the Audio Engineering Society and the European
Broadcast Union. AES/EBU or AES3 describes a serial bitstream that carries two audio channels,
thus an AES stream is a stereo pair. The AES/EBU standard covers a wide range of sample rates and
quantizations (bit depths). In television systems, these will generally be 48 KHz and either 20 or 24 bits.
AFD
Active Format Description is a method to carry information regarding the aspect ratio of the video
content. The specication of AFD was standardized by SMPTE in 2007 and is now beginning to appear
in the marketplace. AFD can be included in both SD and HD SDI transport systems. There is no legacy
analog implementation. (See WSS).
ASI
A commonly used transport method for MPEG video streams, ASI or Asynchronous Serial Interface,
operates at the same 270 Mb/s data rate as SD SDI. This makes it easy to carry an ASI stream through
existing digital television infrastructure. Known more formally as DVB-ASI, this transport mechanism
can be used to carry multiple program channels.
Aspect Ratio
The ratio of the vertical and horizontal measurements of an image. 4:3 is the aspect ratio for standard
denition video formats and television and 16:9 for high denition. Converting formats of unequal
ratios is done by letterboxing (horizontal bars) or pillar boxing (vertical pillars) in order to keep the
original format’s aspect ratio.
Bandwidth
Strictly speaking, this refers to the range of frequencies (i.e. the width of the band of frequency) used
by a signal, or carried by a transmission channel. Generally, wider bandwidth will carry and reproduce
a signal with greater delity and accuracy.
Beta
Sony Beta SP video tape machines use an analog component format that is similar to SMPTE, but
diers in the amplitude of the color dierence signals. It may also carry setup on the luminance
channel.
Bit
A binary digit, or bit, is the smallest amount of information that can be stored or transmitted digitally
by electrical, optical, magnetic, or other means. A single bit can take on one of two states: On/O,
Low/High, Asserted/ Deasserted, etc. It is represented numerically by the numerals 1 (one) and 0
(zero). A byte, containing 8 bits, can represent 256 dierent states. The binary number 11010111, for
example, has the value of 215 in our base 10 numbering system. When a value is carried digitally, each
additional bit of resolution will double the number of dierent states that can be represented. Systems
www.ensembledesigns.com BrightEye 83 and 83-F - Page 17
83 and 83-F
HDMI to 3G/HD/SD SDI Converters
that operate with a greater number of bits of resolution, or quantization, will be able to capture a
signal with more detail or delity. Thus, a video digitizer with 12 bits of resolution will capture 4 times
as much detail as one with 10 bits.
Blanking
The Horizontal and Vertical blanking intervals of a television signal refer to the time periods between
lines and between elds. No picture information is transmitted during these times, which are required
in CRT displays to allow the electron beam to be repositioned for the start of the next line or eld.
They are also used to carry synchronizing pulses which are used in transmission and recovery of the
image. Although some of these needs are disappearing, the intervals themselves are retained for
compatibility purposes. They have turned out to be very useful for the transmission of additional
content, such as teletext and embedded audio.
CAV
Component Analog Video. This is a convenient shorthand form, but it is subject to confusion. It is
sometimes used to mean ONLY color dierence component formats (SMPTE or Beta), and other times
to include RGB format. In any case, a CAV signal will always require 3 connectors – either Y/R-Y/B-Y,
or R/G/B.
Checkeld
A Checkeld signal is a special test signal that stresses particular aspects of serial digital transmission.
The performance of the Phase Locked-Loops (PLLs) in an SDI receiver must be able to tolerate long
runs of 0’s and 1’s. Under normal conditions, only very short runs of these are produced due to a
scrambling algorithm that is used. The Checkeld, also referred to as the Pathological test signal, will
“undo” the scrambling and cause extremely long runs to occur. This test signal is very useful for testing
transmission paths.
Chroma
The color or chroma content of a signal, consisting of the hue and saturation of the image.
See also Color Dierence.
Component
In a component video system, the totality of the image is carried by three separate but related
components. This method provides the best image delity with the fewest artifacts, but it requires
three independent transmission paths (cables). The commonly used component formats are
Luminance and Color Dierence (Y/Pr/Pb), and RGB. It was far too unwieldy in the early days of color
television to even consider component transmission.
Composite
Composite television dates back to the early days of color transmission. This scheme encodes the
color dierence information onto a color subcarrier. The instantaneous phase of the subcarrier is the
color’s hue, and the amplitude is the color’s saturation or intensity. This subcarrier is then added onto
the existing luminance video signal. This trick works because the subcarrier is set at a high enough
frequency to leave spectrum for the luminance information. But it is not a seamless matter to pull
the signal apart again at the destination in order to display it or process it. The resultant artifacts of
www.ensembledesigns.com BrightEye 83 and 83-F - Page 18
83 and 83-F
HDMI to 3G/HD/SD SDI Converters
dot crawl (also referred to as chroma crawl) are only the most obvious result. Composite television is
the most commonly used format throughout the world, either as PAL or NTSC. It is also referred to as
Encoded video.
Color Dierence
Color Dierence systems take advantage of the details of human vision. We have more acuity in our
black and white vision than we do in color. This means that we need only the luminance information to
be carried at full bandwidth, we can scrimp on the color channels. In order to do this, RGB information
is converted to carry all of the luminance (Y is the black and white of the scene) in a single channel.
The other two channels are used to carry the “color dierence”. Noted as B-Y and R-Y, these two signals
describe how a particular pixel “diers” from being purely black and white. These channels typically
have only half the bandwidth of the luminance.
Decibel (dB)
The decibel is a unit of measure used to express the ratio in the amplitude or power of two signals. A
dierence of 20 dB corresponds to a 10:1 ratio between two signals, 6 dB is approximately a 2:1 ratio.
Decibels add while the ratios multiply, so 26 dB is a 20:1 ratio, and 14 dB is a 5:1 ratio. There are several
special cases of the dB scale, where the reference is implied. Thus, dBm refers to power relative to 1
milliwatt, and dBu refers to voltage relative to .775V RMS. The original unit of measure was the Bel
(10 times bigger), named after Alexander Graham Bell.
dBFS
In Digital Audio systems, the largest numerical value that can be represented is referred to as Full
Scale. No values or audio levels greater than FS can be reproduced because they would be clipped.
The nominal operating point (roughly corresponding to 0 VU) must be set below FS in order to have
headroom for audio peaks. This operating point is described relative to FS, so a digital reference level
of -20 dBFS has 20 dB of headroom before hitting the FS clipping point.
DVI
Digital Visual Interface. DVI-I (integrated) provides both digital and analog connectivity. The larger
group of pins on the connector are digital while the four pins on the right are analog.
EDH
Error Detection and Handling is a method to verify proper reception of an SDI or HD-SDI signal at the
destination. The originating device inserts a data packet in the vertical interval of the SDI signal and
every line of the HD signal which contains a checksum of the entire video frame. This checksum is
formed by adding up the numerical values of all of the samples in the frame, using a complex formula.
At the destination this same formula is applied to the incoming video and the resulting value is
compared to the one included in the transmission. If they match, then the content has all arrived with
no errors. If they don’t, then an error has occurred.
Embedded Audio
Digital Audio can be carried along in the same bitstream as an SDI or HD-SDI signal by taking
advantage of the gaps in the transmission which correspond to the horizontal and vertical intervals
of the television waveform. This technique can be very cost eective in transmission and routing, but
www.ensembledesigns.com BrightEye 83 and 83-F - Page 19
83 and 83-F
HDMI to 3G/HD/SD SDI Converters
can also add complexity to signal handling issues because the audio content can no longer be treated
independently of the video.
Eye Pattern
To analyze a digital bitstream, the signal can be displayed visually on an oscilloscope by triggering the
horizontal timebase with a clock extracted from the stream. Since the bit positions in the stream form
a very regular cadence, the resulting display will look like an eye – an oval with slightly pointed left and
right ends. It is easy to see from this display if the eye is “open”, with a large central area that is free of
negative or positive transitions, or “closed” where those transitions are encroaching toward the center.
In the rst case, the open eye indicates that recovery of data from the stream can be made reliably and
with few errors. But in the closed case data will be dicult to extract and bit errors will occur. Generally
it is jitter in the signal that is the enemy of the eye.
Frame Sync
A Frame Synchronizer is used to synchronize the timing of a video signal to coincide with a timing
reference (usually a color black signal that is distributed throughout a facility). The synchronizer
accomplishes this by writing the incoming video into a frame buer memory under the timing
direction of the sync information contained in that video. Simultaneously the memory is being read
back by a timing system that is genlocked to a house reference. As a result, the timing or alignment of
the video frame can be adjusted so that the scan of the upper left corner of the image is happening
simultaneously on all sources. This is a requirement for both analog and digital systems in order to
perform video eects or switch glitch-free in a router. Frame synchronization can only be performed
within a single television line standard. A synchronizer will not convert an NTSC signal to a PAL signal,
it takes a standards converter to do that.
Frequency Response
A measurement of the accuracy of a system to carry or reproduce a range of signal frequencies. Similar
to Bandwidth.
H.264
The latest salvo in the compression wars is H.264 which is also known as MPEG-4 Part 10. MPEG-4
promises good results at just half the bit rate required by MPEG-2.
HD
High Denition. This two letter acronym has certainly become very popular. Here we thought it was all
about the pictures – and the radio industry stole it.
HDCP
HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) is a content encryption system for HDMI. It is
meant to prevent copyright content from being copied. Protected content, like a movie on a Blu-Ray
disc is encrypted by its creator. Devices that want to display the protected content, like a television,
must have an authorized key in order to decode the signal and display it. The entity that controls
the HDCP standard strictly limits the kinds of devices that are allowed decryption keys. Devices that
decrypt the content and provide an unencrypted copy are not allowed.
www.ensembledesigns.com BrightEye 83 and 83-F - Page 20
83 and 83-F
HDMI to 3G/HD/SD SDI Converters
HDMI
The High Denition Multimedia Interface comes to us from the consumer marketplace where it is
becoming the de facto standard for the digital interconnect of display devices to audio and video
sources. It is an uncompressed, all-digital interface that transmits digital video and eight channels of
digital audio. HDMI is a bit serial interface that carries the video content in digital component form
over multiple twisted-pairs. HDMI is closely related to the DVI interface for desktop computers and
their displays.
IEC
The International Electrotechnical Commission provides a wide range of worldwide standards. They
have provided standardization of the AC power connection to products by means of an IEC line cord.
The connection point uses three at contact blades in a triangular arrangement, set in a rectangular
connector. The IEC specication does not dictate line voltage or frequency. Therefore, the user must
take care to verify that a device either has a universal input (capable of 90 to 230 volts, either 50 or
60 Hz), or that a line voltage switch, if present, is set correctly.
Interlace
Human vision can be fooled to see motion by presenting a series of images, each with a small change
relative to the previous image. In order to eliminate the icker, our eyes need to see more than 30
images per second. This is accomplished in television systems by dividing the lines that make up
each video frame (which run at 25 or 30 frames per second) into two elds. All of the odd-numbered
lines are transmitted in the rst eld, the even-numbered lines are in the second eld. In this way, the
repetition rate is 50 or 60 Hz, without using more bandwidth. This trick has worked well for years, but
it introduces other temporal artifacts. Motion pictures use a slightly dierent technique to raise the
repetition rate from the original 24 frames that make up each second of lm—they just project each
one twice.
IRE
Video level is measured on the IRE scale, where 0 IRE is black, and 100 IRE is full white. The actual
voltages that these levels correspond to can vary between formats.
ITU-R 601
This is the principal standard for standard denition component digital video. It denes the luminance
and color dierence coding system that is also referred to as 4:2:2. The standard applies to both PAL
and NTSC derived signals. They both will result in an image that contains 720 pixels horizontally, with
486 vertical pixels in NTSC, and 576 vertically in PAL. Both systems use a sample clock rate of 27 MHz,
and are serialized at 270 Mb/s.
Jitter
Serial digital signals (either video or audio) are subject to the eects of jitter. This refers to the
instantaneous error that can occur from one bit to the next in the exact position of each digital
transition. Although the signal may be at the correct frequency on average, in the interim it varies.
Some bits come slightly early, others come slightly late. The measurement of this jitter is given
either as the amount of time uncertainty or as the fraction of a bit width. For 270 Mb/s SD video, the
allowable jitter is 740 picoseconds, or 0.2 UI (Unit Interval – one bit width). For 1.485 Gb/s HD, the
same 0.2UI spec corresponds to just 135 pico seconds.
www.ensembledesigns.com BrightEye 83 and 83-F - Page 21
83 and 83-F
HDMI to 3G/HD/SD SDI Converters
Luminance
The “black & white” content of the image. Human vision had more acuity in luminance, so television
systems generally devote more bandwidth to the luminance content. In component systems, the
luminance is referred to as Y.
MPEG
The Moving Picture Experts Group is an industry group that develops standards for the compression
of moving pictures for television. Their work is an on-going eort. The understanding of image
processing and information theory is constantly expanding. And the raw bandwidth of both the
hardware and software used for this work is ever increasing. Accordingly, the compression methods
available today are far superior to the algorithms that originally made the real-time compression and
decompression of television possible. Today, there are many variations of these techniques, and the
term MPEG has to some extent become a broad generic label.
Metadata
This word comes from the Greek, meta means ‘beyond’ or ‘after’. When used as a prex to ‘data’, it can
be thought of as ‘data about the data’. In other words, the metadata in a data stream tells you about
that data – but it is not the data itself. In the television industry, this word is sometimes used correctly
when, for example, we label as metadata the timecode which accompanies a video signal. That
timecode tells you something about the video, i.e. when it was shot, but the timecode in and of itself
is of no interest. But in our industry’s usual slovenly way in matters linguistic, the term metadata has
also come to be used to describe data that is associated with the primary video in a datastream. So
embedded audio will (incorrectly) be called metadata when it tells us nothing at all about the pictures.
Oh well.
Multi-mode
Multi-mode bers have a larger diameter core than single mode bers (either 50 or 62.5 microns
compared to 9 microns), and a correspondingly larger aperture. It is much easier to couple light energy
into a multi-mode ber, but internal reections will cause multiple “modes” of the signal to propagate
down the ber. This will degrade the ability of the ber to be used over long distances.
See also Single Mode.
NTSC
The color television encoding system used in North America was originally dened by the National
Television Standards Committee. This American standard has also been adopted by Canada, Mexico,
Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. (This standard is referred to disparagingly as Never Twice Same Color.)
Optical
An optical interface between two devices carries data by modulating a light source. This light source
is typically a laser or laser diode (similar to an LED) which is turned on and o at the bitrate of the
datastream. The light is carried from one device to another through a glass ber. The ber’s core acts
as a waveguide or lightpipe to carry the light energy from one end to another. Optical transmission
has two very signicant advantages over metallic copper cables. Firstly, it does not require that the
two endpoint devices have any electrical connection to each other. This can be very advantageous
in large facilities where problems with ground loops appear. And secondly, and most importantly, an
www.ensembledesigns.com BrightEye 83 and 83-F - Page 22
83 and 83-F
HDMI to 3G/HD/SD SDI Converters
optical interface can carry a signal for many kilometers or miles without any degradation or loss in the
recovered signal. Copper is barely useful at distances of just 1000 feet.
Oversampling
A technique to perform digital sampling at a multiple of the required sample rate. This has the
advantage of raising the Nyquist Rate (the maximum frequency which can be reproduced by a given
sample rate) much higher than the desired passband. This allows more easily realized anti-aliasing
lters.
PAL
During the early days of color television in North America, European broadcasters developed a
competing system called Phase Alternation by Line. This slightly more complex system is better able
to withstand the dierential gain and phase errors that appear in ampliers and transmission systems.
Engineers at the BBC claim that it stands for Perfection At Last.
Pathological Test Pattern – see Checkeld
Progressive
An image scanning technique which progresses through all of the lines in a frame in a single pass.
Computer monitors all use progressive displays. This contrasts to the interlace technique common to
television systems.
Return Loss
An idealized input or output circuit will exactly match its desired impedance (generally 75 ohms) as a
purely resistive element, with no reactive (capacitive or inductive) elements. In the real world, we can
only approach the ideal. So, our real inputs and outputs will have some capacitance and inductance.
This will create impedance matching errors, especially at higher frequencies. The Return Loss of
an input or output measures how much energy is returned (reected back due to the impedance
mismatch). For digital circuits, a return loss of 15 dB is typical. This means that the energy returned is
15 dB less than the original signal. In analog circuits, a 40 dB gure is expected.
RGB
RGB systems carry the totality of the picture information as independent Red, Green, and Blue signals.
Television is an additive color system, where all three components add to produce white. Because the
luminance (or detail) information is carried partially in each of the RGB channels, all three must be
carried at full bandwidth in order to faithfully reproduce an image.
ScH Phase
Used in composite systems, ScH Phase measures the relative phase between the leading edge of sync
on line 1 of eld 1 and a continuous subcarrier sinewave. Due to the arithmetic details of both PAL and
NTSC, this relationship is not the same at the beginning of each frame. In PAL, the pattern repeats ever
4 frames (8 elds) which is also known as the Bruch Blanking sequence. In NTSC, the repeat is every 2
frames (4 elds). This creates enormous headaches in editing systems and the system timing of analog
composite facilities.
www.ensembledesigns.com BrightEye 83 and 83-F - Page 23
83 and 83-F
HDMI to 3G/HD/SD SDI Converters
Setup
In the NTSC Analog Composite standard, the term Setup refers to the addition of an articial oset
or pedestal to the luminance content. This places the Black Level of the analog signal 54 mV (7.5 IRE)
positive with respect to ground. The use of Setup is a legacy from the early development of television
receivers in the vacuum tube era. This positive oset helped to prevent the horizontal retrace of the
electron beam from being visible on the CRT, even if Brightness and Contrast were mis-adjusted.
While the use of Setup did help to prevent retrace artifacts, it did so at the expense of dynamic range
(contrast) in the signal because the White Level of the signal was not changed.
Setup is optional in NTSC systems, but is never used in PAL systems (see ‘Perfection’ characteristic of
PAL). This legacy of Setup continues to persist in North American NTSC systems, while it has been
abandoned in Japan.
In the digital component world (SD and HD SDI) there is obviously no need for, and certainly every
reason to avoid, Setup. In order for the interfaces between analog and digital systems to operate
as transparently as possible, Setup must be carefully accounted for in conversion products. When
performing analog to digital conversion, Setup (if present) must be removed and the signal range
gained up to account for the 7.5% reduction in dynamic range. And when a digital signal is converted
back to analog form, Setup (if desired on the output) must be created by reducing the dynamic range
by 7.5% and adding the 54 mV positive oset. Unfortunately, there is no truly foolproof algorithm to
detect the presence of Setup automatically, so it’s denitely a case of installer beware.
SDI
Serial Digital Interface. This term refers to inputs and outputs of devices that support serial digital
component video. This could refer to standard denition at 270 Mb/s, HD SDI or High Denition Serial
Digital video at 1.485 Gb/s, or to the newer 3G standard of High Denition video at 2.97 Gb/s.
SMPTE
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers is a professional organization which has done
tremendous work in setting standards for both the lm and television industries. The term “SMPTE’” is
also shorthand for one particular component video format - luminance and color dierence.
Single Mode
A Single mode (or mono mode) optical ber carries an optical signal on a very small diameter (9
micron) core surrounded with cladding. The small diameter means that no internally reected
lightwaves will be propagated. Thus only the original “mode” of the signal passes down the ber.
A single mode ber used in an optical SDI system can carry a signal for up to 20 kilometers. Single
mode bers require particular care in their installation due to the extremely small optical aperture that
they present at splice and connection points. See also Multi-mode.
TBC
A Time Base Corrector is a system to reduce the Time Base Error in a signal to acceptable levels. It
accomplishes this by using a FIFO (First In, First Out) memory. The incoming video is written into the
memory using its own jittery timing. This operation is closely associated with the actual digitization of
the analog signal because the varying position of the sync timing must be mimicked by the sampling
www.ensembledesigns.com BrightEye 83 and 83-F - Page 24
83 and 83-F
HDMI to 3G/HD/SD SDI Converters
function of the analog to digital converter. A second timing system, genlocked to a stable reference,
is used to read the video back out of the memory. The memory acts as a dynamically adjusting delay
to smooth out the imperfections in the original signal’s timing. Very often a TBC will also function as a
Frame Synchronizer. See also Frame Sync.
Time Base Error
Time base error is present when there is excessive jitter or uncertainty in the line to line output
timing of a video signal. This is commonly associated with playback from video tape recorders, and
is particularly severe with consumer type heterodyne systems like VHS. Time base error will render a
signal unusable for broadcast or editing purposes.
Timecode
Timecode, a method to uniquely identify and label every frame in a video stream, has become one of
the most recognized standards ever developed by SMPTE. It uses a 24 hour clock, consisting of hours,
minutes, seconds, and television frames. Originally recorded on a spare audio track, this 2400 baud
signal was a signicant contributor to the development of video tape editing. We now refer to this as
LTC or Longitudinal Time Code because it was carried along the edge of the tape. This allowed it to
be recovered in rewind and fast forward when the picture itself could not. Timecode continues to be
useful today and is carried in the vertical interval as VITC, and as a digital packet as DVITC. Timecode is
the true metadata.
Tri-Level Sync
For many, many years, television systems used composite black as a genlock reference source. This
was a natural evolution from analog systems to digital implementations. With the advent of High
Denition television, with even higher data rates and tighter jitter requirements, problems with this
legacy genlock signal surfaced. Further, a reference signal with a 50 or 60 Hz frame rate was useless
with 24 Hz HD systems running at lm rates. Today we can think of composite black as a bi-level sync
signal – it has two levels, one at sync tip and one at blanking. For HD systems, Tri-Level Sync, which has
the same blanking level (at ground) of bi-level sync, but the sync pulse now has both a negative and
a positive element. This keeps the signal symmetrically balanced so that its DC content is zero. And it
also means that the timing picko point is now at the point where the signal crosses blanking and is
no longer subject to variation with amplitude. This makes Tri-Level Sync a much more robust signal
and one which can be delivered with less jitter.
USB
The Universal Serial Bus, developed in the computer industry to replace the previously ubiquitous
RS-232 serial interface, now appears in many dierent forms and with many dierent uses. It actually
forms a small local area network, allowing multiple devices to coexist on a single bus where they can
be individually addressed and accessed.
VGA
Video Graphics Array. Traditional 15-pin, analog interface between a PC and monitor.
www.ensembledesigns.com BrightEye 83 and 83-F - Page 25
83 and 83-F
HDMI to 3G/HD/SD SDI Converters
Word Clock
Use of Word Clock to genlock digital audio devices developed in the audio recording industry. Early
digital audio products were interconnected with a massive parallel connector carrying a twisted pair
for every bit in the digital audio word. A clock signal, which is a square wave at the audio sampling
frequency, is carried on a 75 ohm coaxial cable. Early systems would daisychain this 44.1 or 48 kilohertz
clock from one device to another with coax cable and Tee connectors. On the rising edge of this Work
Clock these twisted pairs would carry the left channel, while on the falling edge, they would carry the
right channel. In most television systems using digital audio, the audio sample clock frequency (and
hence the ‘genlock’ between the audio and video worlds) is derived from the video genlock signal. But
products that are purely audio, with no video reference capability, may still require Word Clock.
WSS
Wide Screen Signaling is used in the PAL/625 video standards, both in analog and digital form, to
convey information about the aspect ratio and format of the transmitted signal. Carried in the vertical
interval, much like closed captioning, it can be used to signal a television receiver to adjust its vertical
or horizontal sizing to reect incoming material. Although an NTSC specication for WSS exists, it
never achieved any traction in the marketplace.
YUV
Strictly speaking, YUV does not apply to component video. The letters refer to the Luminance (Y), and
the U and V encoding axes using in the PAL composite system. Since the U axis is very close to the B-Y
axis, and the V axis is very close to the R-Y axis, YUV is often used as a sort of shorthand for the more
long-winded “Y/R-Y/B-Y”.
Y/Cr/Cb
In digital component video, the luminance component is Y, and the two color dierence signals are
Cr (R-Y) and Cb (B-Y).
Y/Pr/Pb
In analog component video, the image is carried in three components. The luminance is Y, the R-Y
color dierence signal is Pr, and the B-Y color dierence signal is Pb.
www.ensembledesigns.com BrightEye 83 and 83-F - Page 26
Loading...