Composite monitor
Encyclopedia
Analog signal
An analog or analogue signal is any continuous signal for which the time varying feature of the signal is a representation of some other time varying quantity, i.e., analogous to another time varying signal. It differs from a digital signal in terms of small fluctuations in the signal which are...
video display that receives input in the form of an analog composite video
Composite video
Composite video is the format of an analog television signal before it is combined with a sound signal and modulated onto an RF carrier. In contrast to component video it contains all required video information, including colors in a single line-level signal...
signal through a single cable
Cable
A cable is two or more wires running side by side and bonded, twisted or braided together to form a single assembly. In mechanics cables, otherwise known as wire ropes, are used for lifting, hauling and towing or conveying force through tension. In electrical engineering cables are used to carry...
— in contrast to multiple-cable or multiple-wire video sources such as VGA
Video Graphics Array
Video Graphics Array refers specifically to the display hardware first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987, but through its widespread adoption has also come to mean either an analog computer display standard, the 15-pin D-subminiature VGA connector or the 640×480 resolution...
cable. A monitor
Video monitor
A video monitor also called a broadcast monitor, broadcast reference monitor or just reference monitor, is a display device similar to a television set, used to monitor the output of a video-generating device, such as playout from a video server, IRD, video camera, VCR, or DVD player. It may or...
is different from a conventional TV set
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
because it does not have an internal RF
Radio frequency
Radio frequency is a rate of oscillation in the range of about 3 kHz to 300 GHz, which corresponds to the frequency of radio waves, and the alternating currents which carry radio signals...
tuner
Tuner (radio)
A radio tuner is a subsystem that receives radio broadcasts and converts them into audio-frequency signals which can be fed into an amplifier driving a loudspeaker. FM tuner, AM tuner, Digital Audio Broadcasting DAB tuner, etc. are types of radio tuner dealing with transmissions using different...
or RF converter that can receive signals from an over-the-air broadcast
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
TV station; however a user can install an external device that emulates a TV tuner (e.g. VCR
Videocassette recorder
The videocassette recorder , is a type of electro-mechanical device that uses removable videocassettes that contain magnetic tape for recording analog audio and analog video from broadcast television so that the images and sound can be played back at a more convenient time...
, cable box
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
, etc.). A video display that is a "monitor-only" is useful for security camera
Closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
s, some computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
s, and many other devices.
Inputs
Composite monitors often have RCA jackRCA connector
An RCA connector, sometimes called a phono connector or cinch connector, is a type of electrical connector commonly used to carry audio and video signals...
s or BNC connector
BNC connector
The BNC connector ' is a common type of RF connector used for coaxial cable. It is used with radio, television, and other radio-frequency electronic equipment, test instruments, video signals, and was once a popular computer network connector. BNC connectors are made to match the characteristic...
s for video input. Older (1970s) used UHF connector
UHF connector
The UHF connector, also called the Amphenol coaxial connector,is a World War II threaded RF connector design, from an era whenUHF referred to frequencies over 30 MHz.Originally intended for use as a video connector in RADAR applications,...
s.
Composite and S-Video are used in PAL
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
and NTSC
NTSC
NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
regions.
Composite monitors can be very high quality, with professional broadcast reference displays costing $10k-$15k (USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
) as of the year 2000.
Note that all composite monitors imply the use of a CRT
Cathode ray tube
The cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms , pictures , radar targets and...
for display, and for color signals anyway, the composite signal must be "decoded" into its three components of red, green and blue to be fed to each gun
Electron gun
An electron gun is an electrical component that produces an electron beam that has a precise kinetic energy and is most often used in television sets and computer displays which use cathode ray tube technology, as well as in other instruments, such as electron microscopes and particle...
of the CRT. A critical factor in the quality of this display is the type of "encoding" that is used in the TV camera to combine the signal together and the type of "decoding" that is used in the TV set to separate the signals back to RGB for display.
Comb filter
Comb filter
In signal processing, a comb filter adds a delayed version of a signal to itself, causing constructive and destructive interference. The frequency response of a comb filter consists of a series of regularly spaced spikes, giving the appearance of a comb....
s are frequently used to improve the quality of a composite monitor, and devices using the Faroudja decoders are frequently considered the pinnacle of composite displays.
Early innovations of this technology
Originally, these monitors were used for commercial studios. Composite video first saw home use for dubbing tapes on VCRVideocassette recorder
The videocassette recorder , is a type of electro-mechanical device that uses removable videocassettes that contain magnetic tape for recording analog audio and analog video from broadcast television so that the images and sound can be played back at a more convenient time...
s. Also, one of the first stand-alone composite monitors for home use were on home computers. Notably, IBM PCs with CGA
Color Graphics Adapter
The Color Graphics Adapter , originally also called the Color/Graphics Adapter or IBM Color/Graphics Monitor Adapter, introduced in 1981, was IBM's first color graphics card, and the first color computer display standard for the IBM PC....
cards, some compatibles
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
, the Apple I
Apple I
The original Apple Computer, also known retroactively as the Apple I, or Apple-1, is a personal computer released by the Apple Computer Company in 1976. They were designed and hand-built by Steve Wozniak. Wozniak's friend Steve Jobs had the idea of selling the computer...
, Apple II
Apple II series
The Apple II series is a set of 8-bit home computers, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977 with the original Apple II...
, Commodore
Commodore International
Commodore is the commonly used name for Commodore Business Machines , the U.S.-based home computer manufacturer and electronics manufacturer headquartered in West Chester, Pennsylvania, which also housed Commodore's corporate parent company, Commodore International Limited...
VIC 20
Commodore VIC-20
The VIC-20 is an 8-bit home computer which was sold by Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commodore's first personal computer, the PET...
/64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
/128
Commodore 128
The Commodore 128 home/personal computer was the last 8-bit machine commercially released by Commodore Business Machines...
, Atari
Atari 8-bit family
The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips...
and other home computers of the 1980s had composite video outputs or composite monitors bundled with/built into the systems; and some computer companies separately sold composite monitors bearing the company nametags (which were intended for use with the aforementioned computers).
Composite video and game consoles
During the same time period, home game consoles chose to stick with channel 3/4 outputChannel 3/4 output
A channel 3/4 output was a common output selection for most audiovisual devices sold in North America, that are intended to be connected to a TV using a Radio frequency signal. This channel option was provided because it was rare to have broadcast channels 3 and 4 used in the same market...
s since many people had color televisions without composite video inputs. However, in 1985, the NES
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
was released and was the first game console to feature direct composite outputs. Although the redesigned NES(NES 2
NES 2
The NES-101 model of the Nintendo Entertainment System is a compact, top-loading redesign of the original Nintendo Entertainment System control deck and game controllers released by Nintendo in 1993.Nintendo marketed the NES-101 model as the Nintendo Entertainment System Control...
) lacked these outputs, the Super NES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
and nearly all consoles made since have included the direct composite outputs. From the fifth generation systems(such as the Sony Playstation and the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
) onward, many consoles used these outputs as the primary means of connecting to the television, requiring a separate adapter for use on televisions lacking composite inputs. As of today, some people still use stand-alone composite monitors with modern game consoles even with the advent of televisions with a tuner and composite inputs combined.
Problems to overcome
Presently, AV devices with advanced technology do not have Channel 3/4 outputs (e.g. DVD players, video game consoles, etc.). One major exception to this is a TiVoTiVo
TiVo is a digital video recorder developed and marketed by TiVo, Inc. and introduced in 1999. TiVo provides an on-screen guide of scheduled broadcast programming television programs, whose features include "Season Pass" schedules which record every new episode of a series, and "WishList"...
DVR
Digital video recorder
A digital video recorder , sometimes referred to by the merchandising term personal video recorder , is a consumer electronics device or application software that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card or other local or networked mass storage device...
. People often use RF modulator
RF modulator
An RF modulator is a device that takes a baseband input signal and outputs a radio frequency-modulated signal....
s to overcome the problem of a TV set not having composite or S-Video inputs. Another method used by some game systems is a built-in RF converter, which eliminates the bulkiness of an RF modulator.
Sometimes, stand-alone composite monitors cannot be used with older-type game systems (e.g. Atari 2600
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
, NES 2, etc.) that have only channel 3/4 output
Channel 3/4 output
A channel 3/4 output was a common output selection for most audiovisual devices sold in North America, that are intended to be connected to a TV using a Radio frequency signal. This channel option was provided because it was rare to have broadcast channels 3 and 4 used in the same market...
s for conventional TVs, without modifying the systems themselves. A VCR can often be used to overcome that problem, since most VCRs have TV tuners built in.
These problems could explain why most composite monitors marketed to consumers also have TV-tuner capability. Also, some people have even used more modern computer systems with composite monitors since some people have laptops with S-video out ports which were extended for composite out support; meaning that some composite monitors were recycled for usage with computers. Also, some people treat their laptops as game consoles this way.
Commercial use of composite monitors
- Often, Television studioTelevision studioA television studio is an installation in which a video productions take place, either for the recording of live television to video tape, or for the acquisition of raw footage for post-production. The design of a studio is similar to, and derived from, movie studios, with a few amendments for the...
s will use stand-alone composite video monitorVideo monitorA video monitor also called a broadcast monitor, broadcast reference monitor or just reference monitor, is a display device similar to a television set, used to monitor the output of a video-generating device, such as playout from a video server, IRD, video camera, VCR, or DVD player. It may or...
s. These are usually high-end professional broadcast monitors that are used to view the output of Professional video cameraProfessional video cameraA professional video camera is a high-end device for creating electronic moving images...
s, VTRVideo tape recorderA video tape recorder is a tape recorder that can record video material, usually on a magnetic tape. VTRs originated as individual tape reels, serving as a replacement for motion picture film stock and making recording for television applications cheaper and quicker. An improved form included the...
s, Character generatorCharacter generatorA character generator, often abbreviated as CG, is a device or software that produces static or animated text for keying into a video stream. Modern character generators are computer-based, and can generate graphics as well as text...
, telecineTelecineTelecine is transferring motion picture film into video and is performed in a color suite. The term is also used to refer to the equipment used in the post-production process....
s and DDRs. They can also be used when new VideoVideoVideo is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
devices are being tested. Most commercial composite monitors have no audio, as the audio system would feed an audio board and/or the speaker system.
- Stand-alone composite monitors are commonly used for video surveillanceClosed-circuit televisionClosed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
.
- Many fast food restaurantRestaurantA restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s use composite monitors to display any pending orders for the staff to make.
The monitors used in video surveillance often operate at the same frequencies as composite monitors but are not true composite monitors, as they use black and white graphics so the manufacture cost for the item will go down. Stand-alone composite monitors that are marketed as surveillance monitors are occasionally marketed for home use.
Common features
- Stereo soundStereophonic soundThe term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective...
- TV tuner
- Front AV inputs
- S-VideoS-VideoSeparate Video, more commonly known as S-Video and Y/C, is often referred to by JVC as both an S-VHS connector and as Super Video. It is an analog video transmission scheme, in which video information is encoded on two channels: luma and chroma...
input - Closed captioningClosed captioningClosed captioning is the process of displaying text on a television, video screen or other visual display to provide additional or interpretive information to individuals who wish to access it...
Examples of non-composites
Examples of non-composite video include- RGBRGB color modelThe RGB color model is an additive color model in which red, green, and blue light is added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colors...
video (3 signals - Red, Green and Blue - on three wires typically from a computer) - Component Video (3 signals - such as YUVYUVYUV is a color space typically used as part of a color image pipeline. It encodes a color image or video taking human perception into account, allowing reduced bandwidth for chrominance components, thereby typically enabling transmission errors or compression artifacts to be more efficiently...
or Y, B-Y, R-Y) that are used with professional video gear such as a BetacamBetacamBetacam is family of half-inch professional videocassette products developed by Sony in 1982. In colloquial use, "Betacam" singly is often used to refer to a Betacam camcorder, a Betacam tape, a Betacam video recorder or the format itself....
VTRVideo tape recorderA video tape recorder is a tape recorder that can record video material, usually on a magnetic tape. VTRs originated as individual tape reels, serving as a replacement for motion picture film stock and making recording for television applications cheaper and quicker. An improved form included the...
and some DVD playerDVD playerA DVD player is a device that plays discs produced under both the DVD-Video and DVD-Audio technical standards, two different and incompatible standards. These devices were invented in 1997 and continue to thrive...
s) - S-VideoS-VideoSeparate Video, more commonly known as S-Video and Y/C, is often referred to by JVC as both an S-VHS connector and as Super Video. It is an analog video transmission scheme, in which video information is encoded on two channels: luma and chroma...
(2 signals - which have all of the brightness information on one cable and all of the color information on another; however, almost all monitors with S-Video inputs also feature composite inputs) - Digital videoDigital videoDigital video is a type of digital recording system that works by using a digital rather than an analog video signal.The terms camera, video camera, and camcorder are used interchangeably in this article.- History :...
(many different flavors)
Note: some composite monitors employ usage of these standards. Sometimes "composite monitor" can be a misnomer for s-video only monitors.