PBS CONDENSED TECHNICAL OPERATING SPECIFICATIONS (CTOS)

Transcription

1 PBS CONDENSED TECHNICAL OPERATING SPECIFICATIONS (CTOS) The following is the condensed version of the PBS Technical Operating Specifications (TOS) for ITVS. This information should be used as a technical reference guide for producing your show. It does not contain all of the material in the full TOS, it should be sufficient for your purposes. Provide both your production engineer and your editor with this section. If you have any questions with regard to any of these standards, please consult the ITVS Production Department or PBS Technical Services at (703) If you call PBS, please tell them that you are producing for ITVS and the program may or may not air on PBS, but you wish to conform to PBS standards. While these standards are specific to PBS, programs that follow these standards have been technically acceptable to other broadcasters such as the Sundance Channel, the Independent Film Channel, Channel 4-UK, and others. Also included in this section are the PBS Videotape Technical Evaluation Form (VTE) and a PBS document explaining the VTE Form line-by-line. (See Chapter 9 for more information on the VTE.) Tape Stock Type of Recording Stock Beta SP, DVCPro, DVCAM, Mini-DV or Digital Beta Tape Condition 1. All tape shall be new tape stock. 2. The ITVS PROGRAM MASTER must be new tape stock that has been evaluated. Video Specifications Video Levels 1. The FM recorder for analog and digital recordings shall be set up to conform with a standard alignment tape. 2. Composite video level shall be 1.0 volt peak-to-peak, sync tip level to reference white (140 IRE units). 3. The video / synchronizing ratio shall be volts blanking to reference white video (100 IRE units) to volt sync level to blanking (-40 IRE units). Reference black level shall be 7.5 IRE units. 4. Reference color bars shall be a true indication of video, setup, chroma and phase. 5. Peak chrominance shall not exceed 120 IRE units. ITVS Production Handbook Chapter 10: PBS Condensed Technical Specifications Page 1

2 Blanking Although the FCC has deregulated blanking, PBS will still enforce the following blanking specifications. 1. Horizontal blanking shall meet the specifications stated in the RS 170A (10.9 µsec +/- 0.2 µsec), but will be accepted up to 12.0 µsec. 2. Vertical blanking shall meet the specifications stated in the RS 170A (21 lines), but will be accepted up to 24 lines. 3. Material originally produced in aspect ratios other than 4:3 may be delivered in letterbox format with prior approval from ITVS. Video Performance 1. Signal-to-noise shall not be less than 44 db for analog and 54 db for digital. 2. Differential phase shall not exceed four degrees for analog and one degree for digital. 3. Differential gain shall not exceed four percent for analog and two percent for digital. 4. Transient response shall not exceed one percent K FACTOR. 5. Moiré and microphonics shall not be visible in the picture. Monochrome Programs While most recordings submitted will be color throughout, some programs contain monochrome segments, or are entirely monochrome. All programs will contain the color burst signal during horizontal blanking. Recorded-in Impairments 1. Headswitching in active video from small format cassettes shall be minimized. 2. Dropouts and scratches recorded into the master or backup from another source are not acceptable. 3. The use of image manipulation devices, i.e., video switcher, digital video effects, timecompression or expansion image enhancement, time-based correction, etc., may introduce objectionable video or pulse artifacts. Every precaution shall be taken to ensure that these or other artifacts are not evident. Letterbox 1. Material originally produced with a picture aspect ratio other then 4:3 is accepted by PBS. 2. Except for special effects purposes, the letterbox color shall be black and the pedestal set at 7.5 IRE. Horizontal and vertical letterbox cannot be used simultaneously. ITVS Production Handbook Chapter 10: PBS Condensed Technical Specifications Page 2

3 Character Generator/Graphics 1. The peak luminance level of the video insert signal will not exceed 95 IRE units. 2. The peak-to-peak chrominance amplitude of the video insert signal shall not exceed 50 IRE units. 3. The peak luminance plus chrominance level of the video insert signal shall not exceed 120 IRE units. 4. The edging level (if used) will not be below black level (7.5 IRE units), nor higher than the video insert signal specifications. Equipment Specifications 1. All video editing must be performed on Betacam SP or digital formats. Editing on small format cassettes such as Hi-8 is not acceptable. a. Non-linear on-line systems must meet the PBS audio, video, and blanking specifications. b. The technical merit of programs edited on non-linear systems may determine PBS acceptance of the program 2. The use of analog, helical scan small formats (i.e. Hi-8) for capture of original material is acceptable in situations where a large format machine is not possible and as long as they meet the PBS audio and video specifications. These small format machines shall not be used for budgetary reasons. 3. First-generation small format cassette tape recordings containing original program material must be played back through a time-base corrector and properly adjusted noise reducer, and recorded on an acceptable PBS format. The time-base corrector must be equipped with velocity and dropout compensators. 4. Second-generation recording on small format tapes is acceptable for news events occurring within 24 hours of air-time if it is not practical to transfer the first-generation cassette to an acceptable format before editing. General Specifications Audio Specifications 1. The reference tone can be 400Hz for monaural or 1kHz. 2. The amplitude / frequency response shall be +/- 2.0 db from 50 Hz to 15 khz for analog submissions and +/- 1.0dB from 20Hz to 20kHz for digital submissions. 3. The signal-to-noise with respect to operating level shall be at least -95dB for digital submissions. ITVS Production Handbook Chapter 10: PBS Condensed Technical Specifications Page 3

4 4. Distortion shall be no greater than 1% for analog submissions and 0.1% for digital submissions at Operating Level. 5. Video cross-talk into program audio shall be inaudible. 6. Cross-talk between any two channels shall be better than 90dB for digital submissions. Stereo Specifications 1. Inter-channel amplitude error between audio tracks 1 and 2 shall be no greater than +/- 1.0dB. 2. Phase error at 10 khz between tracks 1 and 2 shall be 10 degrees or less. 3. Reference tone shall be 1 khz. Audio Track Assignments Stereo or Multi-Channel Audio: Track 1: Full Mix Left-channel stereo audio (primary language for multilingual programs). Track 2: Full Mix Right-channel stereo audio. Track 3: Music & sound effects Left or music and sound effects mono mix or silence. Track 4: Music & sound effects Right or SAP* or silence. *SAP - Secondary Audio Program such as: Descriptive Video Service (DVS) - a narration track for the visually impaired, or a Spanish language version of the program. Synthesized Stereo Synthesized stereo is not acceptable, except when used for special audio effects. Time-Code Specifications 1. Time-code will be present and shall be SMPTE 525/60 compensated time and controlcode (drop-frame). 2. Time-code shall begin at the start of the test signal and be continuous until 10 seconds after the end of program material and shall not pass through the 00:00:00:00 time frame. 3. The first frame of actual program content shall start at 1:00:00: Identical time-code shall be on the address track on digital submissions, and on lines 14 and 16 in the vertical interval (VITC) on all submissions. 5. Time-code shall be first-generation on the ITVS PROGRAM MASTER. 6. Disturbances in the time-code, video, audio or control track of a master or back-up, from beginning of test to 60 seconds after the end of the Program, are not acceptable. ITVS Production Handbook Chapter 10: PBS Condensed Technical Specifications Page 4

5 Closed Captioning Specifications 1. The captioning data stream shall be located on line 21, field 1 in the vertical interval. The level of the data stream pulses shall be 50 IRE with a tolerance of +/- 5%. In no cases shall the data stream extend below the baseline. Packaging 1. Bars and Tone a. Sixty-seconds of NTSC color bars, with 400 Hz tone (for mono programs), or with 1 khz tone (for stereo programs) at Operating Level of 0 VU. 2. A :20 visual slate. Please see the sample slates at the end of this section. The slate must contain the following information: a. Series or program name and producer. b. If the program is part of a series, the slate must also include the series subtitle followed by the episode number. The first episode must have the episode #101 on the slate, continuing with #102 for the second episode, etc. c. Indication of stereo audio. d. Track utilization for all audio tracks. e. Special indicators, if applicable, such as reel 1 of 2, or the original aspect ratio if letterboxed. If different versions of your program exist, please clearly identify which version this tape is. (i.e. Spanish version with subtitles.) 3. Countdown clock a. The countdown clock will start ten seconds before the program. A clock change will indicate the beginning of a second, coinciding with a 400 Hz audio tone. The first 0.2 of each second shall be recorded at reference level, and for the remaining 0.8 seconds, it shall be recorded at 12 db below reference level. b. There shall be 1.8 seconds of silent black between the countdown clock and the beginning of the program (silent black shall be taken at 0.2 seconds after the number 2 appears). 4. The body of the program. See Timing Worksheet ( Chapter 8: Credits and Packaging) for lengths, elements, credits, proper order, etc. 5. Dissolve to 60 seconds of silent black signal and hold for one-second. 6. At least 100 feet (two minutes) of blank tape. ITVS Production Handbook Chapter 10: PBS Condensed Technical Specifications Page 5

6 Labeling 1. The tape container labels shall indicate the following: a. Master or Protection Dub (Backup). b. Program series title or program title. c. Episode title and number, if applicable, that matches the slate information. d. Program length (Hr. Min. Sec.) e. Stereo, if applicable. f. SAP (Secondary Audio Program), if applicable. 6. Special indicators, if applicable. Program Delivery A completed Technical Evaluation Form shall be included with the closed captioned ITVS Broadcast Master. ITVS Production Handbook Chapter 10: PBS Condensed Technical Specifications Page 6

7 SAMPLE SLATES Sample Slate for Single Program Title of Show Name of producer or Production company Specify here whether program is mono or stereo Indicate the utilization of Each audio track Title: The Enigma of Clambakes Producer: Crustacean Productions Stereo Track 1: Left Channel Audio Track 2: Right Channel Audio Track 3: Silence Track 4: Silence Title of Show Name of producer or production company Name and number of episode (first episode of a series is 101, then second episode is 102, etc.) Specify here whether program is mono or stereo Indicate the utilization of each audio track Sample Slate for Series Title: Indifferent Presidents Producer: Historical Productions Episode: #103 Stereo Track 1: Left Channel Audio Track 2: Right Channel Audio Track 3: Silence Track 4: Silence TECHNICAL EVALUATION OVERIVEW The following overview explains the PBS Technical Evaluation Form line by line. The main objective is to act as a guide in standardizing evaluations by defining and clarifying specific terms on the form. It is recognized that some areas are more subjective than others, so the individual aesthetics may come into play in making certain judgments. For example, in evaluating audio, it should be noted that sensitivity to ranges of frequencies is subject to ITVS Production Handbook Chapter 10: PBS Condensed Technical Specifications Page 7

8 individual experience. However, the basic idea is to be able to communicate clearly, so that maintaining consistently high technical quality in each broadcast. Video 1. Reference Color Bar Level: Value of color bar test signal white flag measured at demodulator output in unity position. Should be 100 IRE units of video and 40 units of sync. (1) 100/40 (2) 10% or less deviation from 100/40 (3) More than 10% deviation from 100/40 2. Program Levels vs. Reference: Program luminance level, measured in IRE when color bar test signal has been set to proper value at VTR output, shall not exceed 100% (1) Program video agrees with reference (2) Program video nearly agrees with test (3) Program video differs from reference by more than 10% 3. Pedestal Levels vs. Reference: Lower excursions of program video (IRE units) when color bar test signal has been set to proper values at VTR output. Should be 7.5 IRE units. (1) Program set-up agrees with reference (2) Program set-up is not less than 5 IRE units (3) Program set-up less than 5 IRE units or inappropriately high 4. Chroma Level vs. Reference: Program chroma level when color bar test signal has been set to proper values at VTR output. (1) Saturation is optimum for normal pleasing true color reproduction and does not exceed 110 IRE units (luminance plus chrominance) (2) Saturation is noticeably different from optimum, but can be adjusted to fall within 110 IRE units (3) Saturation is noticeably different from optimum, and cannot be adjusted within an acceptable range 5. Chroma Phase vs. Reference (hue): Chroma phase of program when color bar test signal has been set to proper values at VTR output. (1) Hue is optimum for normal pleasing true color reproduction (2) Hue is somewhat less than optimum or varies, usually most noticeable in the flesh tones (3) Hue is incorrect, or varies widely 6. Resolution: Distinctness or clarity of detail. (1) Sharp clear video (2) Loss of detail, particularly in wide shots ITVS Production Handbook Chapter 10: PBS Condensed Technical Specifications Page 8

9 (3) Extremely soft appearance, very little detail 7. Signal to Noise: Extraneous electrical interference such as snow or impulsive noise. (1) Minor or no noise visible (2) Slight grain, noise visible especially in dark areas (3) Noise so predominant as to appear in light and dark areas affecting apparent resolution 8. Color Balance: Accuracy of color reproductions and its affect on true color values of original scene. (1) Blacks and whites are balanced, skin tone is natural (2) Noticeable imbalance of whites and/or blacks, skin tone possibly shifted (3) No pure whites and/or blacks, skin tones unrealistic 9. Registration: Proper geometric alignment of camera to merge red, green and blue images over one another to give correct picture without color fringes. (1) No chroma edging in any portion of the frame (2) Some chroma edging apparent to the frame (3) Chroma edging so evident that it causes loss of detail 10. Streaking: Picture defect in which objects appear extended horizontally beyond their normal boundaries. Most apparent at the vertical edges of sharp transitions of luminance. Smearing is short term streaking. (1) No streaking or smearing (2) Noticeable streaking or smearing (3) Excessive streaking or smearing ITVS Production Handbook Chapter 10: PBS Condensed Technical Specifications Page 9

10 11. Lag: After-image of a bright object which has moved, but whose ghost image slowly fades. (1) Not detectable (2) Very slight lag noticeable (3) Lag so predominant that details of some objects in motion in front of dark areas are completely lost 12. Moire: A rippling and flickering reproduction of straight lines or false color pattern often due to interference pattern between picture detail and scanning line structure or color subcarrier. (1) Very slight Moire (2) Moderate Moire (3) Heavy Moire 13. Croma tearing: A particular type of extreme streaking following sharp detail or high chroma in FM systems. (1) Little or no tearing present (2) Moderate bearding tending toward tearing (3) Heavy bearding and/or tearing 14. Ringing: Damped oscillations occurring at an abrupt change in luminance level and appearing as closely spaced multiple images in a picture. (1) Little or no noticeable ringing (2) Moderate ringing (3) Hard ringing, high amplitude; possibly multi-cycle 15. Microphonics Video noise caused by mechanical vibration of elements within camera pick-up tube (for tube type cameras rather than chip). (1) Little or no noticeable microphonics (2) Moderate microphonics (3) Hard microphonics 16. Compression/Clipping: A limitation of dynamic range (reduction of contrast) of the signals corresponding to the white or black regions of the picture. Clipping is the extreme case where a sharp limit exists. (1) Slight compression, possibly to achieve artistic or aesthetic goals (2) Clipping on some video, not too much detail lost (3) Heavy clipping, with loss of detail at end of grey scale ITVS Production Handbook Chapter 10: PBS Condensed Technical Specifications Page 10

11 17. Transients/Glitches Miscellaneous non-repetitive impulsive noise artifacts, hits. Does not include scratches or droouts. (1) Few glitches present (2) Some glitches present, low in levl or during short duration (3) High level glitches present for long periods of time 18. Velocity Error: Variation of hue caused by high frequency time base error. (1) Very slight, hardly visible (2) Rather noticeable, draws attention to itself (3) Severe and disturbing 19. Dropouts/Digital Noise: Recorded in black lines, white lines, or diagonal dot pattern in picture representing loss of signal due to dirt or defects on the magnetic surface of video tape. (1) Very few, and not clustered (2) Some scattered over a short duration (3) Many scattered over a short duration or major disruption to a frame or field 20. Flicker: A very low frequency picture modulation effect. (1) Very slight flicker appearing to roll through frame (2) Flicker heavy enough to be distracting (3) Extremely heavy modulation of picture 21. Scan Conversion Any defect specifically due to the translation process from one set of standards (line, frame rate and color system) to another. The most likely defects are flicker, errors in colorimetry, and motion artifacts. (1) Minor picture degradation (2) Some picture degradation (3) Excessive picture degradation 22. Archival Film or video that been preserved for public or historical records. Due to the nature of archival footage, each program will be evaluated on its technical merit. 23. Film Scratches/Debris Loss of picture material due to removed emulsion material or accumulated foreign matter on surface. (1) Not noticeable (2) Very slightly visible or intermittent (3) Very distracting, intrudes on active video 24. Film Jitter/Weave: Instability or movement of entire film image. Jitter is vertical, weave is horizontal. Framing is the appearance in active video of either film edge borders or inter-frame dividing line (frame line). (1) Not visible ITVS Production Handbook Chapter 10: PBS Condensed Technical Specifications Page 11

12 (2) Very slightly visible or intermittent (3) Very distracting, intrudes on active video 25. Cassette Video: First generation small format cassette tape recordings containing original program material must be played back through a time-base corrector and recorded on an acceptable PBS format. (1) Quality similar to broadcast formats (2) Noticeable degradations (noisy, soft) (3) Very degraded, poor resolution and/or colorimetry 26. Cassette Head Switching Not permitted in active video. (1) None (3) Visible Pulse Widths Measured at demod of analog VTR, or output of digital VTR 27. Vertical Blanking: (1) Up to 23 lines (3) Visible 28. Horizontal Blanking: (1) Up to 12.0 µsec (3) Over 12.0 µsec 29. Front Porch: (1) Up to 1.72 µsec (3) Over 1.72 µsec 30. Horizontal Sync to End of Blanking: (1) Up to 10.0 µsec (3) Over 10.0 µsec 31. SCH Phase: (1) Less than 40 (3) More than 40 Audio 32. Reference Levels: Reference tone playback level shall match the calibrated unity position on the VTR. It is recognized that there is an interchange difference between certain VTRs and allowances are made for these variations. (1) Reference tone recorded at standard (0VU) level (3) Reference tone recorded +3VU from calibrated VTR unity 33. Program Level vs. Reference: ITVS Production Handbook Chapter 10: PBS Condensed Technical Specifications Page 12

13 Audio reference level should be set at 0VU and average program peaks should occur near 0VU as read on a standard VU meter. Occasional excursions to +3VU are acceptable. (Peak indicators read higher levels and respond to transient peaks rather than average or effective loudness.) (1) Levels which do not exceed +1VU and no distortion is present (2) Occasional peaks to +3VU with no distortion present, or average levels no lower than -3VU (3) High levels that continually distort or levels that vary enough to require frequent adjustment of the playback level. Also, an audio level that is recorded so low that peaks average -5VU or less. 34. Intelligibility/Presence: The midrange of frequencies that enables human hearing to discriminate between various sound sources. These include the frequency range from approximately 1500 to 5000 Hz. (1) No more than a slight hardness or a subtle soft quality to the midrange (2) Strident and forward sounding midrange or a somewhat dull, receded quality (3) Midrange depressed to the extent that it is difficult to understand speech or other identifying qualities of a sound source 35. Distortion: Changes in sound quality due to the generation of unwanted products from alteration of the frequency response, and/or audio waveform. Harmonic distortion is less objectionable than intermodulation distortion since it generates products harmonically related to the original sound. Intermodulation distortion produces sound unrelated to the original; hence it is more offensive. (1) Not readily detectable on a high quality monitoring system (2) Occasional peak clipping on transients (3) Distortion occurring on a regular basis during the program which interferes with intelligibility 36. Hiss/Hum/Noise: Undesirable high and low frequency sounds. Hiss is generally caused by residual noise in the audio channels from inadequate level or improper Dolby encoding/decoding. Hum is usually caused by a leakage of the 60 Hz line frequency into the audio tracks. Noise can occur from static charges (popping), loose connections, intermittent mic cable wiring or a weak signal from an RF mic. (1) Not readily detectable (2) Noticeable during moderate level passages (3) Hiss/hum/noise which interferes with the program content 37. Sibilant/Tubby: Character or tonal balance of the audio, i.e. a sibilant quality emphasizes the upper midrange to high frequency part of the spectrum and can over-emphasize the zh, sh and ch sounds producing a hissing effect in speech or exaggerated sheen on stringed musical instruments. Tubby reproduction accentuates the low frequencies producing a barrel-like quality and can blur detail and definition of the sound. (1) Lows, midrange and high frequencies are balanced throughout the program ITVS Production Handbook Chapter 10: PBS Condensed Technical Specifications Page 13

14 (2) Noticeable emphasis in the low, midrange, or high frequency presence of the program (3) Presence range exaggerated to the extent that the audio has a harsh quality an has excessive sibilance or tubbiness 38. Azimuth Error: The time difference/phase relationship between two audio channels measured in degrees. (1) Not greater than 10 (3) More than Stereo Content: Phase Surround Stereo is the relationship between two audio tracks. A good mono signal is obtained when the stereo tracks are mixed in phase. Elements that can interfere with a good stereo mix are improper balance, synthesization, phase and azimuth error. Surround Sound involves the addition of out-of-phase elements that produce the perception of depth within the sound field. (1) True stereo, in-phase with good audio balance (3) Out of phase, poor audio balance or synthesized elements 40. Track Assignments: For formats with 3 audio tracks Track 1 Primary mono or left channel for stereo audio Track 2 Duplicate mono, M&E, silent or right channel for stereo audio Track 3 SMPTE drop frame timecode or Secondary Audio Program (SAP) For formats with 4 audio tracks Track 1 Primary mono or left channel for stereo audio Track 2 Duplicate mono, M&E, silent or right channel for stereo audio Track 3 Duplicate mono, mono mix of tracks 1 and 2, Primary SAP, silence Track 4 Secondary SAP or silence 41. Lip Sync Time coincidence of picture action with associated sound (1) Not visible (2) Barely detectable (3) Visible Packaging 42. Shipping Container: Must be in good condition and in the case of 1-inch Type C, a flame retardant plastic shipper is required. When available, flame retardant shippers will be required for all cassette formats. 43. Labeling: Shippers, reels and cassettes shall be provided with labels which identify the recorded program and episode. Labels shall identify master and backup. Separate indicators shall identify, special technical parameters such as Dolby NR, SAP, Closed Captions, Stereo, etc. 44. Producer s Evaluation: ITVS Production Handbook Chapter 10: PBS Condensed Technical Specifications Page 14

15 All programs shall arrive at PBS containing a completed producer s technical evaluation in the master shipper. Programs arriving without a completed evaluation will be charged $138 per hour. 45. Reel/Cassette Condition: Must be a metal flanged reel in good condition for 1-inch. In the case of cassette, the housing should be in good condition. 46. Test Signal/Stereo Leader: There shall be sixty seconds of standards NTSC color bars and 400Hz tone at reference level. For stereo programs, a :30 second PBS or :60 second SMPTE stereo leader is required. 47. Timecode Verification/VITC: Timecode must be in the drop frame format and recorded on track 1 on 1-inch Type C formats format and the address track on cassette formats. Identical Vertical Interval Time Code (VITC) shall be recorded on lines 16 and 18. If SAP is utilized, it will replace the linear timecode on track 1 on 1-inch format only. Liner timecode will be recorded at 0VU. 48. Slate: A :20 second visual slate that identifies program series, subtitle, episode number, and audio track utilization as well as special conditions, if applicable, such as reel number, stereo, subscript, etc. Note that indication of Dolby must not be present. (1) As above (3) Other 49. Countdown A countdown clock decrementing from :10 to :20 seconds before first program material shall be present accompanied by audio tones. 1.8 seconds of black will precede program. 50. Logo Type PBS logo, taken full, shall follow the program after :01 second of black. If additional material follows the PBS logo, the elements should again be separated by :01 second of black. (1) As above (3) Other 51. Runout Twenty seconds of silent synchronous black shall follow the PBS logo followed by 2:00 minutes of tape trailer that may be blank. 52. Garbled/Extraneous Captions ITVS Production Handbook Chapter 10: PBS Condensed Technical Specifications Page 15

16 Typographical errors or missing or scrambled text and/or the presence of captions that do not fit the accompanying program, or are not in context. This may apply to any captions that appear in a non-captioned program. (1) No errors (2) Very few mild errors, not especially distracting (3) Fair number of errors, somewhat distracting 53. Clear Pulses At program open and close, a coded instruction shall be present to delete any previously displayed captions. Recording/Tape Stock 54. Control Track Phase Position relationship between control track pulses and video track. If standard, facilitates peak playback of RF. (1) Maximum RF is achieved with tracking control in unity (2) RF is at least 80% of peak level with tracking control in unity (3) RF is less than 80% of peak level with tracking control in unity 55. RF Level Amount of RF observed on playback compared to nominal for a properly aligned machine. Observe off tape RF at meter or RF envelope on scope. (1) Nominal (2) Not less than 75% of nominal (3) Less than 75% of nominal 56. RF Waveform/Track Geometry Straightness of video track and standard positioning on tape. Contributes to the ability to recover a consistent stable RF signal. (Assessed by viewing the flatness and the squareness of the RF envelope on the waveform monitor.) (1) Minor dips, minimum rolloff and no noticeable breathing (2) Moderate dips not greater than 25% of amplitude, noticeable rolloff, or minor breathing (3) Dips greater than 25% of amplitude, excessive rolloff or breathing 57. Tension The amount of pull or stretch that is exerted on the tape around the scanner. It contributes to RF performance, but especially time-base stability of demod signal. Assessed by viewing the demod signal on a pulse cross display monitor. The displacement of horizontal sync is measured at the crossover in the vertical interval. (1) No error (2) Less than twice H sync width (3) Greater than twice H sync width 58. Edit Stability Edits are transparent with no horizontal or vertical shifts in the video. (1) Meets criteria above (3) Unstable edits 59. Dropouts/Bit Error Rate ITVS Production Handbook Chapter 10: PBS Condensed Technical Specifications Page 16

17 Dropouts are a loss of RF from the tape, usually considered significant if longer than 5µsec or about 1/10 of a line and deeper than 16dB (or visually detectable). Bit errors are the inability to correctly detect a recorded pulse. The bit error rate is determined by the amount of errors verses the total mass of data. When the bit error rates exceed the manufacturers specifications, loss of audio and/or video may occur. (1) Not noticeable (2) Moderate dropout activity corrected by DOC without creating objectionable line repetition (3) Dropout activity which is not correctable by DOC or creates objectionable line repetition. Bit errors that are sufficient to create audio or video artifacts ITVS Production Handbook Chapter 10: PBS Condensed Technical Specifications Page 17

18 60. Scratches/Shedding Loss of RF/oxide from tape, due to physical damage or tape deterioration. (1) Not visible (3) Impairments evident in the picture 61. Edge Damage/Creases/Wrinkles Distorted, bent or folded tape. (1) No stock damage (3) Defect evident in the video ITVS Production Handbook Chapter 10: PBS Condensed Technical Specifications Page 18

19 VIDEO TAPE TECHNICAL EVALUATION Series : Program : Episode : Producer : / Pillar To Post Prog Start > : : : C C Mono Format: Prog End > : : : SAP Stereo Prog Dur > : : : Surr Dolby VIDEO AUDIO 1 1 Reference Color Bar Level 32 1 Reference Levels Ch1 0 Ch2 0 Ch3 na Ch4 na 2 1 Program Level vs Reference 33 1 Program Level vs Reference Program 0 vu 3 1 Pedestal Level vs Reference 34 1 Intelligibility/ Presence 4 1 Chroma Level vs Reference 35 1 Distortion 5 1 Chroma Phase vs Reference 36 1 Hiss / Hum / Noise 6 1 Resolution 37 1 Sibilant / Tubby 7 1 Signal to Noise 38 1 Azimuth Error: 5ø 8 1 Color Balance 39 1 Stereo Content : Phase / Surround 9 1 Registration 40 1 Track Assignment 10 1 Streaking 41 1 Lip Sync 11 1 Lag PACKAGING 12 1 Moiré 42 1 Shipping Container 13 1 Chroma Tearing 43 1 Labeling 14 1 Ringing 44 1 Producers' Evaluation 15 1 Microphonics 45 1 Reel / Cassette Condition 16 1 Compression / Clipping 46 1 Test Signal : Stereo Leader 17 1 Transients / Glitches 47 1 Time Code Verification / VITC 18 1 Velocity Error 48 1 Slate 19 1 Dropouts / Digital Noise 49 1 Countdown 20 1 Flicker 50 na Logo Type : 21 1 Scan Conversion 51 1 Runout 22 1 Archival CAPTIONS 23 1 Film Scratches / Debris 52 1 Garbled / Extraneous 24 1 Film Jitter /Weave 53 1 Clear Pulses 25 1 Cassette Video RECORDING / TAPE STOCK 26 1 Cassette Head Switching 54 1 Control Track Phase PULSE WIDTHS max 55 1 RF Level 27 1 Vertical Blanking 24 lines 56 1 RF Waveform : Track Geometry 28 1 Horizontal Blanking 12 us 57 1 Tension 29 1 Front Porch 2 us 58 1 Edit Stability 30 1 Hor Sync to End of Blanking 10 us 59 1 Dropouts / Bit Error Rate 31 1 SCH Phase 40 ø 60 1 Scratches / Shedding 61 1 Edge Damage / Creases / Wrinkles Comments 1 Acceptable 2 Marginal (comments) 3 Unacceptable Eval By Roger Downey VTR # :3 Date : 10/11/01