New from Crystal Vision is CoCo 3G – a color corrector and legalizer which works with 3Gb/s, HD and SD sources and allows flexible whole picture adjustments in both the RGB and YUV color spaces. CoCo 3G takes the innovative technology found in Crystal Vision’s other space-saving color correctors and adds additional features, including the ability to work with 25 different video standards, enhanced picture processing and optional integrated fiber input/output connectivity.
CoCo 3G’s flexible adjustments in both the RGB and YUV color spaces make it ideal for manipulating the colors in any digital image to correct for camera or lighting problems or to standardize pictures shot at different times. 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.
The extensive color correction tools available include 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 3G 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 include independent lift, independent gain, overall lift and gain, hue phase adjustment and adjustable horizontal and vertical cropping. With Black clean up, Y levels below a user-defined value are forced to black – useful for cleaning up noise.
CoCo 3G includes excellent legalizing features, including advanced correction for gamut errors which changes any YUV colors that are illegal in RGB to be valid in RGB 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. Further clever processing ensures that CoCo 3G will correctly pass transients caused by the different bandwidths in the RGB and YUV color spaces.
The ability to handle 25 different video standards makes CoCo 3G suitable for use with any sources and for a wider range of industries. In addition to handling 625, 525, 720p, 1080i and 1080p video at the popular 50Hz and 59.94Hz data rates, CoCo 3G can also be used with the 23.98, 24 and 25 frames per second progressive video standards for film to HD video transfers.
Commented Crystal Vision’s Managing Director, Philip Scofield: “CoCo 3G has been produced as part of our policy of continuing to improve successful products. The latest version of our CoCo product range has processing improvements, as well as new hardware to enable it to work with 3Gb/s 1080p images. To make sure our customers get the best return on their investment we ensure our products work on video standards which customers will work with in the future, as well as with what they use now.”
CoCo 3G includes three features to make the operator’s life easier. The first of these makes it easy to preview any adjustments: the auxiliary outputs can be connected to a monitor allowing the operator to either wipe horizontally or vertically between the processed and unprocessed signal, or to 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, making it easier to locate the problem and make any adjustments to equipment in the system. Finally, 16 presets can be used to save time: being able to store the precise adjustments for future use is ideal for those who need to continually correct a feed from the same camera, for example.
CoCo 3G offers a choice of control methods to suit all preferences. With the hands-on control panel frequently one of the deciding reasons for engineers selecting Crystal Vision’s color correctors, a new dedicated 1U control panel has been introduced for live use – the CoCo 3G Controller. Fitting easily into any control desk and allowing the operation of up to 12 color correctors, it has seven dedicated shaft encoders for the most commonly used adjustments (video gain, chroma gain, black level, red gain, green gain, blue gain and gamma) with the values shown in a display, as well as quick set-up buttons to implement the common combinations. For those who prefer PC control, the Statesman PC software and SNMP both allow alarms to be set for out of range inputs, while a frame active front panel, general remote control panel and full board edge control are all ideal for a permanent set up such as legalizing.
Crystal Vision’s color correctors have always differentiated themselves by being space-efficient modules that save broadcast engineers rack space and CoCo 3G continues this tradition. The 4 x 10.5 inches module is housed in the standard Crystal Vision frames alongside any of the other products, fitting 24 boards in 4RU, 12 in 2RU, six in 1RU and two in a desk top box. CoCo 3G can fit even more functionality in a single frame slot by offering the option of integrated fiber input or output connectivity, with the FIP fiber input and FOP fiber output options plugging directly on to the CoCo 3G motherboard – useful with the increasing uptake of HD and 3Gb/s video with its more limited coaxial cable length range.
Providing up to two main and three auxiliary outputs, CoCo 3G can be used with three different frame rear modules. The RM41 rear module is for standard applications, the RM57 for fiber applications, while the RM64 allows one-to-one RS422 wiring from the CoCo 3G Controller straight to the board and also gives CoCo 3G relay bypass protection to help maintain programme output in the event of power failure or board removal.
CoCo 3G and the CoCo 3G Controller are both shipping now.
Based at Whittlesford near Cambridge in the UK, Crystal Vision provides digital keyers, picture storage modules and a full range of digital and analog interface equipment including converters, synchronizers, distribution amplifiers and audio embedders to the professional broadcasting industry worldwide.
