Narrow-Bandwidth Television Association

Here's my attempt at a test pattern.

The idea behind this one is to include a recognisable image -- I chose Baird over Nipkow because he is much more associated with actual television (in my mind, at least).

The test pattern uses a face to give some idea of "real world" usage. It also includes a greyscale range at the bottom, and both horizontal and vertical 'resolution' indicators. These are basically alternating black/white dots at what I consider optimal resolution (32 x 48 pixels, with a 1:1 pixel aspect ratio).

Finally, the image includes horizontal lines in black and white, and vertical lines in black and white. I can't at this stage think of much more that would be required for a test pattern. Please feel free to modify/improve.

Andrew, if you make the pattern in 256 x 412, eventually in colour, to start with in .bmp, then I think that I can convert it into CCNC video standard. My program makes then a .wav file of a length of 2 seconds, which you can copy to any length. As you might have read this wav file can be played also in black and white.

All low pass filtering is done by the program, it makes of it what is possible. And then, if I remember right, it can also make a B+W picture back, but now limited to 32 lines horizontally and 10 kHz vertically.

I will add an example, so you have the correct outline. It is in .gif, because .bmp isn't accepted by the forum. I convert them always back to .bmp, that is the input format for my program.

With GraphicConverter on Macintosh I can convert anything viewable into a Quicktime movie of theoreticly any length. This can be converted to a NBTV video. I will try it when I'm back home and my wife lets me use the Mac (mostly I have to use an old Dell notebook...).

Klaas Robers wrote:Andrew, if you make the pattern in 256 x 412, eventually in colour, to start with in .bmp, then I think that I can convert it into CCNC video standard. My program makes then a .wav file of a length of 2 seconds, which you can copy to any length. As you might have read this wav file can be played also in black and white.

Thanks for the above. That's very clever how the colour bars view as a greyscale in the black and white version.

When there are file formats that are not allowed in the forum, you can always zip up the files, and post the zip.

Last I knew, .bmp was not a 'web' format -- it is not supported by browsers on other platforms (or, it wasn't -- it's been a while since I played with web stuff). Basically, it used to be a "forbidden" format to use, so I didn't specifically enable it. I try to steer clear of GIF files as a matter of principle, because of the patent issues involved with the compression scheme. In any case, PNG is a far superior format.

As to conversion... I had assumed that I could make the original test pattern in *any* size (but I have kept it to 32 x 48 just for ease of drawing), and then add the frame to a track using some video editor, save that out as a movie as long as I wish, then run that movie (avi/wmv, etc) through Video2NBTV -- and I'd have the CCNC version I needed.

I might try this first, and will report on the results.

Taken from the other thread because it's fitting here much better: My wife photoshoped for me the BBC testcard with photos of Baird and Nipkow. They are looking great in normal resolution, but for 32 lines I have a lot of work on my Amiga using a pixel-oriented painting program (PPaint). I tried simply to scale it down on the PC, but it's not only looking awful, it's useless.

My wife saw me drawing, and she said that our testcards are looking so "eighties", we should take something more old-fashioned. And she said that a moving picture would make a better testcard. She made one example with Photoshop as a gif-anim. I was not able to transfer it into anything which "AVI to NBTV" will convert until now, maybe somebody knows a program for that. Most video converting programs have a big problem with a video of only 32 x 48 pixels...

Your wife has an interesting idea, Volker. To keep it simple and mechanical, perhaps the best thing to do would be to make a NBTV test "strip" instead of a card and wrap it around a slowly revolving drum in front of the camera. The strip could then contain much more test pattern information than would be possible in the limited area of a 30/32 line test card.

The idea with the drum is good, like that what the BBC used in that time, as to be seen on that testcard-site http://www.pembers.freeserve.co.uk/Test-Cards/index.html#30-Lines

(and not unlike much more modern testcards and logos. Many graphical tricks at the BBC and other TV stations which looked very modern and computer-made, like the BBC globe in the early 70th were in fact just models made of paper and plastic, animated by a motor. The earliest trick like that was I think the testcard with the clock.)

But until now I don't have a NBTV camera (this will follow later this year), so I'm happy that I have access to modern technology like computers and cd-rom.

I've found a picture of the first german TV test movie, a 10 minute silent movie calles "Wochenende" (weekend) with Imogen Orkutt and Schura von Finkelstein. They are singing (in a silent movie!?) "Horch, was kommt von draußen rein". This film had been used from 1929 to around 1934.

The earliest trick like that was I think the testcard with the clock.

..or just the clock on its own. This was used as 'filler' to make up some seconds that might have been gained or lost in the previous programme. This ensured that The Six O'clock news started exactly on time. Apart from the time-pips on radio, it was one of the few ways the public could accurately set their clocks. There was the GPO 'speaking clock', but that cost money to make the call (I think it still does).

Nowadays real time is rarely seen on TV. The local terrestrial services do here in the morning, but on the satellite service it's omitted. This is due to the delay in the signal going up to the 'bird' and back down again.

On international circuits there's not only that delay (especially if involves more than one 'hop'), but those caused by frame synchroinsers and standards convertors. There is also different time zones to consider.

Advertisers didn't like the clock, it reminded people that they were late for work and therefore turned off their TV.

Nowadays we have GPS and a few other accurate references for time like MSF. Even the Internet is good enough for domestic use.

Steve A.

DrZarkov wrote:I've found a picture of the first german TV test movie, a 10 minute silent movie calles "Wochenende" (weekend) with Imogen Orkutt and Schura von Finkelstein. They are singing (in a silent movie!?) "Horch, was kommt von draußen rein". This film had been used from 1929 to around 1934.

I am surprised how good this picture looks in the 30 line (3.0 daN) lateral scan format. This is remarkable for a 1200 pixel image.

Stephen,

Is a 3.0 DAN equivalent to a Black Belt??!

(Sorry)

Regards,

GL

AncientBrit wrote:Stephen,

Is a 3.0 DAN equivalent to a Black Belt??!

(Sorry)

Regards,

GL

Actually, I was just "fooling around", referring to my proposal for a new standard unit of measure for television scanning lines, the nipkow (or possibly baird). See the thread at http://www.taswegian.com/NBTV/forum/vie ... 1&start=15 . 30 lines would be 3.0 decanipkow (daN).

DrZarkov wrote:My wife saw me drawing, and she said that our testcards are looking so "eighties", we should take something more old-fashioned. And she said that a moving picture would make a better testcard. She made one example with Photoshop as a gif-anim. I was not able to transfer it into anything which "AVI to NBTV" will convert until now, maybe somebody knows a program for that. Most video converting programs have a big problem with a video of only 32 x 48 pixels...

Adding animated GIFs to Video2NBTV anon (watch this space).

@Stephen: "Baird" is to measure vertical scanning, and "Nipkow" for horizontal scanning. I suggest not simply to count the lines, that would be too easy. We should create a formula to include the aspect ratio and the frame rate. If interlacing is used, it is nor "Baird" neither "Nipkow", but "Farnsworth". O.k.?

So: 1 Baird = 30 x 3 x 7 x 12,5
1 Nipkow = 30 x 3 x 4 x 12,5
1 Farnsworth = 441 x 3 x 4 x 25



I wish you much pleasure to calculate a vertical picture with 60 lines and 38,75 frames: how much is that in "Baird"?

The more I think of it, a standard unit for scanning lines should honour Paul Nipkow, since I believe that he was the first to propose pixel-by-pixel, line-by-line sequential image scanning of any kind. One scanning line could be one nipkow (N). John Logie Baird did much experimentation with different aspect ratios, so he should probably be honoured with a standard unit of measure for that. One baird could be the ratio of lateral size to vertical size times ten to avoid small figures. Philo Farnsworth did not have much to do with interlacing. Actually, Mr. Baird was the first to experiment with it. However it was Ulises Sanabria that really promoted his version of interlacing in North America, a triple interlace 45 line scheme. Perhaps then he should be honoured with a standard unit of measure for frames per second (fps). One fps could be one sanabria.

Therefore a 441 line 4:3 aspect ratio 25 fps system becomes:

4.41 hectonipkow (hN), 1.33 decabaird (daB), 2.5 decasanabria (daS)

The standard club format becomes:

3.2 decanipkow (daN), 6.66 baird (B), 1.25 decasanabria (daS)

This makes perfect sense. It is almost intuitive. The NBTVA should quickly adopt this system!