(No, not really an application note. Deadline was tight and the product was still in a proto-type stage. Instead the marketing team opted for a kind of technical brochure. I opted for a lively first draft knowing we would gray it down in review. More than I thought survived.)
Tektronix Application Brief
(Rx) for the SDI Blues
The TDS3SDI Video Module creates a fast, tell-all tool for 601 video troubleshooting
(Photo 1: Graceful engineer with TDS3054 in an awkward spot. Squeezed between racks or scrunched behind mixer or router console, almost entangled by BNCs. It needs to suggest a place or task where scope carts can not easily follow.)
SDI to Analog Video Converter
Until now, SDI video was only an eye diagram to your oscilloscope
Installing, operating or maintaining video facilities has never been easy, and SDI just adds to the fun. Take a peek at the signal and all you see is an eye diagram of scrambled bits—standard SMPTE 259M digital video at 270 Mbps. But is it the weather guy, a satellite feed, color bars, or that special on mountain gorillas—and how are you going to check the white balance? Only your digital waveform monitor would know for sure, and it’s back on your bench. Not much help when you’re tracing cable behind the rack.
You need help that’s good, fast and, well, ingenious&ldots;
Enter Tektronix, the measurement and video experts. We understand your problem, and the solution—something highly portable and very convenient that lets you see, measure, and diagnose SDI. That’s why we developed an ingenious tool, the TDS3SDI video module.
The module plugs into a 4 channel TDS3000 series Digital Phosphor Oscilloscope, such as the versatile TDS3054. Together they create a compact, battery capable, 3.2-kg unit that carries the capabilities of an SDI to analog video converter, vectorscope, picture monitor and an award-winning TDS3000—Test & Measurement World’s Product of the Year—wherever you go.
Complete digital video troubleshooting in a single portable instrument
This one-tool solution allows you to trace and identify signals, examine their representative analog component and composite waveforms, and analyze the bitstream. The module even auto-equalizes for long cable lengths.
Built-in SDI to Analog
(Photo 2: close-up of module with cable and hand by back of unit.)
The TDS3SDI plugs easily into the back of your Tektronix TDS3000 series scope. Attach a standard 75 Ohm BNC cable and the module’s built-in SDI to analog converter transforms the 601 signal into familiar analog output. Four separate cables carry composite analog and component analog signals (RGB, Y-Pb-Pr, or Y-C) to the inputs of the TDS3000. These familiar analog signals and the module-scope combination enable you to make many standard video measurements on the spot.
Video Picture Mode
(Capture 1: Some stock video picture on the TDS screen. Use an identifying caption, like, "There are the color bars you were trying to trace.")
The TDS3SDI gives you fast access to the analog video behind the digital video stream. Check out a monochrome image of the originating camera or other source. Then use the on-screen line select to move on quickly to the VITS line. Or use the composite out video cable to hook up a monitor.
Built-in Vectorscope Capabilities
(Capture 2: The waveform for Capture 1. "The white balance is obviously off. Looks like the camera needs adjustment.")
Enabled by the module, a 4 channel TDS3000 series oscilloscope can function as a vectorscope with built in graticules for 100% and 75% color bars. It’s easy to measure amplitude levels. The TDS3000’s digital phosphor display makes it easy to see your white balance problem and adjust the camera to solve it.
A Perfect Pairing
(Capture 3:screen illustrating Quick Menu, possibly the measure menu.)
The TDS3054’s four inputs, 5 GS/s, and 500 MHz bandwidth make it an ideal companion for the TDS3SDI. The module enables the scope’s full range of video capabilities. The QuickVideo menu features TV graticules and video triggering. The Video Autoset function adjusts vertical, horizontal, and trigger settings automatically to bring up your video waveform. The video trigger capability makes it easy to trigger on All Fields or All Lines whether you are viewing NTSC, PAL or SECAM. Video cursors provide fast and accurate measurements.
Built-in Convenience
The TDS3SDI and your Tektronix TDS3000 scope create a versatile "tell-all" tool that is compact in size, light in weight, and battery capable. It’s easy to take to the field or behind the rack to find the problem. It converts 601 video streams into familiar analog video signals for quick diagnosis. Its auto equalization ensures proper signal levels for testing even if you’re far from the source. It provides video picture identification with on-screen line TV graticules and a vectorscope mode. And it ably performs standard eye diagram checks with the direct SMPTE 259M digital stream. Easy to learn and use, the TDS3SDI and TDS3000 may form the smartest (and lightest) video tool you’ve ever carried.
Specifications
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