|
Pete,
The question of what you should see on today's NTSC transmission is almost unanswerable. The taking characteristics (spectral response) of cameras is not an ideal match to the human eye to begin with (just too difficult to do). Major design criteria are a proper red/green crossover to get flesh hues right, plus a matrix to match the expected monitor primaries generally. Camera designers can do a mathematical calculation of the camera's performance based on a set of color chips, like the Macbeth ColorChecker chart, and adjust the camera matrix to match NTSC. But they would be foolish to not check it on a modern monitor. So, do current cameras and film scanners match NTSC best, or are they tweaked towards current monitors? I don't know, and I don't know that camera makers release this info - they sell cameras based on price, features, and how good they look in a display studio at the NAB convention. Beore blamng the camera guys for tweaking, consider that consumer receivers wiht non-NTSC phosphors have had a wide variety of matrix fiddles to make their rendition closer to NTSC (like the professional monitor matrix I wrote about). So, the system in the US has essentially been out of control.
Now, if you ask about PAL, the answer is simple: PAL standardized on the non-NTSC phosphors and specified their colors precisely, so they cannot transmit colors out to the NTSC gamut. HDTV is the same way - smaller gamut, but precisely defined.
Older material made with image orthicon cameras is intended for NTSC phosphors, but those cameras had no matrixing, so they are the best you can get with optical filtering only. Like most color film, they increased saturation by using narrower than theoretical R,G, and B filters, reducing the need for the matrix.
I was going to say that using the DVD and modulator should not be a problem, but it depends on the modulator having the proper R-Y and B-Y gains, and I suppose they might be wrong (although I think it's unlikely). A video tape of the color bars off your local station should work, since the tape shouldn't affect the R-Y and B-Y differently.
What local station is that? If you got through to the chief engineer and told him what you're doing, you likely could talk him into putting up the signals you want -especially if you invited him over to see the result.
The main requirement for the video essentials filters is that each one suppresses the other two primaries well enough that they don't affect your judgement - so traceable calibration is not needed, just a deep enough color. You should be able to tell if the red filter is letting any green and blue through by looking at the green and blue bars, and so on.
|