Reprinted from a JVC press release:
April 7, 2002 Photon Vision Systems, Inc. (PVS), an industry leader in designing and delivering low cost, high quality imaging sensors, supporting electronics and imaging solutions to customers worldwide, today announced the integration of its CMOS 8.3 million pixel QuadHDTV imaging sensor into JVC’s Ultra High Definition TV (UDTV) color camera. This camera utilizes three of PVS’s QuadHDTV sensors to deliver 25 million pixels and operates at 30 full frames per second (progressive or interlaced, selectable). The resolution of PVS’s QuadHDTV sensor is four times that of High Definition Television (HDTV), with a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels.
PVS’s QuadHDTV sensor brings new levels of resolution and speed, as well as quality, versatility and convenience to applications such as digital cinematography, studio broadcasting, demanding security and biometrics, scientific analysis, industrial quality inspection, and others.
We chose PVS’s CMOS 8.3 million pixel QuadHDTV sensor to bring its unique imaging capabilities to our Ultra High Definition TV (UDTV) camera now under development because of PVS’s notable technology and quantifiable competitive advantages, said Clark Yoshida, President, JVC Laboratory of America. Of all the available sensor technologies, PVS’s proved superior and helps to ensure that we continue to deliver the latest innovations in presentation, broadcast, and professional equipment.
Within digital cinematography, high-resolution digital technology is replacing film as the medium for motion pictures. Movies can now be shot digitally for the big screen, digitally post-
processed, and even screened digitally. Digital movies do not degrade like film, so the 1,000th viewing will be as crisp and clean as the first. Digital moviemaking dramatically lowers production and distribution costs and speeds up post-production work. As an added benefit, digital movie cameras are lighter, more mobile and allow a higher frame rate, eliminating the familiar flicker at the movie theaters.
Prior to the introduction of QuadHDTV, moviemakers and studios had to take a step backwards in resolution when choosing to transition from conventional film to the more flexible digital cameras. First generation digital movies are currently being captured with a resolution of only 1280 x 1024 pixels, enough for viewing on a computer monitor, but clearly deficient when displayed on the big screen or home theatre system.
Television is another medium that benefits from QuadHDTV technology. In a broadcast of a soccer game, for example, the entire field can be shot digitally in real time with the QuadHDTV sensor. Any action, no matter where it occurred on the field, can be recorded and played back in instant zoom replay. This feature adds tremendous flexibility to the broadcast of the game, and, as an added benefit for producers, the QuadHDTV captures all of the action using fewer cameras than traditional filming methods.
Another exciting feature for television spectators is QuadHDTV’s ability to provide extreme zoom close-ups of the players and action on any part of the field. This is possible because the QuadHDTV sensor has 32 times the resolution of standard television. From the comfort of their own homes, sports fans can now view the entire field of play, and recall instant replays and zoom close-ups in high definition clarity. An improvement over being present at a live game, the viewer can see more of the field, in greater detail than they could see from the stands.
Other applications for the QuadHDTV sensor include Security and Biometrics. The QuadHDTV sensor is perfectly suited for uses such as passenger identification verification at airports and video surveillance at other security checkpoints. The QuadHDTV sensor allows a large, moving crowd to be imaged and can provide the detail needed for computer recognition of individual faces or other features.
The QuadHDTV sensor integrates PVS’ innovative Active Column Sensor (ACS) technology for low noise video, its PVS-Bus technology for high-speed video data rates, and other proprietary technologies. Use of these advanced PVS technologies in combination with standard foundry processing results in fewer defects and therefore better image quality. These standard processes are also used to make most integrated circuits today, including microprocessors, memory, and other devices.
The advancements embodied in this achievement prove without a doubt that ACS image sensors are the technology of choice for demanding applications, declares Vogelsong.
We’re excited at the demonstrated capabilities of PVS’s CMOS 8.3 million pixel QuadHDTV imaging sensor, said Kai Schleupen, manager, Design and Electronics Advanced Display Technology Laboratory, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center. Their sensor may prove to be the optimal input device for our recently released 9.2Mpixel 22.2-inch LCD display. We are eager to begin work with PVS in order to deliver the highest quality high-resolution LCD display for graphics, CAD, satellite imagery and other applications, and further IBM’s position as a leading global research organization.
