Gec-marconi Limited

Simon H Spencer

A camera producing colour video outputs may employ an image intensifier and a monochrome CCD sensor The scene is exposed through filters F , F which may each contain stripes of subtractive primary colours alternating with clear regions. The video is decoded using waveforms derived from a memory which records the output of the sensor when imaged on, for example, primary colours such as red and blue, producing trains of pulses which identify the spatial regions of each line corresponding to the spatial areas of the pattern on the sensor produced by the colour filters F , F , in order that actual scenes can be decoded using the stored waveforms, for example using sample and hold devices. A colour interference signal is generated in matrix addition circuitry to produce a luminance signal which has stripe visibility removed from it, permitting high resolution video signals to be obtained.

Cameras

A circuit 8 reduces noise on a video signal from an imager 6 for a TV monitor 7. The noise reduction circuit includes a video frame store connected so as to integrate the corresponding picture elements of several frames in order to reduce noise. The amount of noise reduction applied depends on the noise on the incoming video signal but, whereas this has been assessed previously by comparing differences between incoming frames, in the invention it is assessed from the gain, information on which is encoded on the video signal. The gain of the imager gives a more accurate reflection of video noise than does comparing successive frames, since movements on the image can produce the same effect as noise fluctuations.

Apparatus and method for noise reduction of video signal dependent upon

A Television camera uses a pair of CCD imaging sensors (CCDA, CCDB), which are offset by half a pixel horizontally and one television line vertically and a beam splitter for focusing radiation from a scene to be imaged onto both imagers simultaneously. The outputs of the two imagers are digitized and combined at a compressed rate for recording on a digital cassette recorder. Signals may be read out from the cassette recorder at a quarter the rate they were input and subsequently processed to obtain a higher resolution, high speed image of the non-interlaced kind. The invention may be applied in the field of high definition television.

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Essex, United Kingdom

Simon H Spencer