Crystal Vision brings its affordable space-saving technology to High Definition color correction and legalization for the first time with CoCo HD. Working with all common HD formats as well as SD, CoCo HD allows flexible whole picture adjustments in both the RGB and YUV color spaces and is ideal for manipulating the colors in any digital image whenever there is a need to correct for camera or lighting problems or to standardize pictures shot at different times.
A wide range of color correction tools are available, with independent gain, lift and gamma in the RGB domain. The gain and lift tools are used together to increase or reduce the red, green or blue individually, allowing CoCo HD to perform true color correction. Overall gamma is used to lighten or darken the picture without crushing the blacks or the whites, while independent adjustment of red, green and blue gamma – rarely seen at this price level – allows extremely sophisticated color manipulation. The YUV adjustment tools on offer include independent lift, independent gain, overall lift and gain, hue phase adjustment and adjustable horizontal and vertical cropping, while with Black clean up Y levels below a user-defined value are forced to black – useful for cleaning up noise.
CoCo HD excels as a legalizer too. It has advanced correction for gamut errors, changing any YUV colors that are illegal in RGB to be valid in RGB in an intelligent and subtle way. It does this by reducing the color saturation without changing the hue, processing the RGB components on each pixel at the same time and achieving a legal and natural-looking picture. When there is no RGB processing, the signal is legalized in the YUV domain to make it RGB legal, avoiding the distortion inevitable when changing color space. Thanks to some clever processing CoCo HD will also correctly pass transients caused by the different bandwidths in the RGB and YUV color spaces.
CoCo HD makes it easy to preview and perfect any adjustments. Two auxiliary outputs can be connected to a monitor and will allow the operator to either wipe horizontally or vertically between the processed and unprocessed signal or switch between input and output for a ‘before’ and ‘after’ comparison. The auxiliary outputs can also be used to highlight any pixels containing illegal signal values in pink, making it easier to locate the problem and make any adjustments to equipment in the system. Using the 16 presets will save the operator time, while CoCo HD will pass all ancillary data including embedded audio without modification.
The instinctive user interface makes CoCo HD extremely simple to operate – with a choice of control methods to suit all preferences. Ideal for live use, the CoCo Controller 1RU control panel can operate up to twelve color correctors and has dedicated shaft encoders for the most commonly used adjustments. Also available are the Statesman PC software, an active front panel on the frame, a general remote control panel and full board edge control. One of CoCo HD’s winning features is its ability to save rack space – which also makes it ideal for multi-channel applications. This 100mm x 266mm module fits in the Crystal Vision frames alongside any of the other products, allowing 24 color correctors in 4RU, 12 in 2RU, six in 1RU or two in a desk top box.
Shipping in July, CoCo HD will find a place in any HD or SD broadcast environment. Popular applications include adjusting the colors on in shot plasma displays, being placed before an encoder to set the range of colors to be transmitted and the correction of computer-generated or post production outputs.
Based at Whittlesford near Cambridge in the UK, Crystal Vision provides digital keyers and a full range of digital and analog interface equipment including converters, decoders, encoders, distribution amplifiers and audio embedders to the professional broadcasting industry worldwide.
