Television Graphics
Introduction
The images you see on televison are a combination of human talents,
television (TV) graphics or recorded films. Color slides, credit captions,
titles, photographs, diagrams, and film footage all fall into the category of
TV graphics. Graphics intended for TV transmission are created on studio
cards or with a character generator (CG).
Limitations
Within the 3:4 aspect ratio, there are three area limitations that affect the
creation of graphics intended for transmission. The three area limitations are
the scanning area, the essential area, and the border area.
Scanning area
The total picture or area the camera sees is called the scanning area. The
transmission and reception of electrical impulses include a peripheral loss of
10- to 15-percent of the total scanning area. This loss results in distortion
and is less visible in scenes, where it appears as blurred resolution, and most
visible with text, where it renders text illegible.
Figure 3-3 shows the scanning area of a TV screen.
Figure 3-3. —Scanning area.
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