Charles Poynton - Articles

Charles Poynton -
Articles

This page has abstracts of technical articles and papers that I have written concerning topics in digital video, high definition television, and color reproduction. You can access the full original articles.

The abstracts are on the web (in HTML); the papers themselves are available in Adobe Acrobat PDF format (served up through http protocol).

YUV and luminance considered harmful:
A plea for precise terminology in video

The notation YUV, and the term luminance, are widespread in digital video. However, digital video almost never uses Y'UV color difference components, and never directly represents the luminance of color science. The common terms are almost always wrong. This note explains why. I urge video engineers and computer graphics specialists to use the correct terms, almost always Y'C_BC_R and luma

Acrobat PDF format, 54864 bytes

Merging Computing with Studio Video: Converting Between R'G'B' and 4:2:2

In this "white paper" that I wrote for Discreet Logic, I explain the R'G'B' and Y'C_BC_R 4:2:2 representations, and explain the technical aspects of conversion between the two. I conclude by suggesting steps that can be taken during production and post-production to avoid difficulty with the conversion.

Luminance, luma, and the migration to DTV

On February 6, I presented a paper, Luminance, luma, and the migration to DTV, at the 32nd SMPTE Advanced Motion Imaging Conference in Toronto. For now, just the abstract is available. The technical note Errors due to nonconstant luminance contains information on this topic. I am in the proces of preparing a published version of the paper. Some information concerning the Principle of Constant Luminance is available in this IS&T paper ...

The rehabilitation of gamma

I presented this paper at the SPIE/IS&T Conference in San Jose, Calif., Jan. 26 - 30, 1998. The paper is published in the Proceedings of that conference, B. E. Rogowitz and T. N. Pappas (eds.), Proceedings of SPIE 3299, 232-249 (Bellingham, Wash.: SPIE, 1998).

Motion portrayal, eye tracking, and emerging display technology

I presented this paper at the SMPTE conference in Seattle, February 1-3, 1996; it is published in The convergence continues ... Computer technology and television: Proceedings of the 30th SMPTE Advanced motion imaging conference, 192-202 (White Plains, New York: SMPTE, 1996).

Outlook for home use video terminals

International Broadcasting Symposium '95, Broadcasting in the Multimedia Age, Tokyo, Japan, Nov. 1995.

A Guided Tour of Color Space

This article describes the theory of color reproduction in video, and some of the engineering compromises necessary to make practical cameras and practical coding systems. I presented this paper at the SMPTE Advanced Television and Electronic Imaging Conference, San Francisco, Feb. 1995. This is an edited version of the paper published in the proceedings of that conference, New Foundations for Video Technology (pages 167-180).

Wide Gamut Device-Independent Colour Image Interchange

Proceedings of International Broadcasting Convention, 1994 (Amsterdam, 16-20 September 1994), IEE Conference Publication No. 397, pages 218-222.

"Gamma" and its Disguises - The Nonlinear Mappings of Intensity in Perception, CRTs, Film and Video

Published in SMPTE Journal, Vol. 102, No. 12 (December 1993), 1099-1108. This article has effectively been superseded by Chapter 6, Gamma, of my book A Technical Introduction to Digital Video. That chapter is available online, in Acrobat (PDF) format.