Computer Hardware Terms, Glossary and Dictionary

Composite video is a type of an analog television (picture only) signal before it is combined with a sound signal and modulated onto an RF carrier. The standards for such signal are NTSC, PAL or SECAM. It is a composite of three source signals called Y, U and V (together referred to as YUV) with sync pulses. Y represents the brightness or luminance of the picture and includes synchronizing pulses, so that by itself it could be displayed as a monochrome picture. U and V between them carry the colour information. They are first mixed with two orthogonal phases of a colour carrier signal to form a signal called the chrominance. Y and UV are then added together. Since Y is a baseband signal and UV has been mixed with a carrier, this addition is equivalent to frequency-division multiplexing.

Related Terms

composite video