Rec. ITU-R BT.

1120-7 1

RECOMMENDATION ITU-R BT.1120-7

Digital interfaces for HDTV studio signals

(Question ITU-R 42/6)
(1994-1998-2000-2003-2004-2005-2007)

Scope
This HDTV interface operates at two nominal clock frequencies, 1.485 GHz and 2.97 GHz. The
uncompressed payload of the interface is defined in Part 1 and Part 2 of Recommendation ITU-R BT.709.
The interface may also be used for carrying packetized data.

The ITU Radiocommunication Assembly,

considering
a) that in the scope of Recommendation ITU-R BT.709, studio standards for HDTV have been
developed for 1125- and 1250-line systems, which comprise systems related to conventional
television as well as systems with the square pixel common image format (CIF) including
progressive scanning;
b) that Recommendation ITU-R BT.709 contains the following HDTV studio standards to
cover a wide range of applications:
for systems related to conventional television:
– 1125 total line, 2:1 interlace scanning, 60 fields/s, 1035 active line standard;
– 1250 total line, 2:1 interlace scanning, 50 fields/s, 1152 active line standard.
for systems with CIF (1920 × 1080):
– 1125 total lines and 1080 active lines;
– picture rates of 60, 50, 30, 25 and 24 Hz, including progressive, interlace and segmented
frame transport;
c) that in Recommendation ITU-R BT.709, the 1920 × 1080 HD-CIF is given as a preferred
format for new installations, where interoperability with other applications is important, and work is
being directed with the aim of reaching a unique worldwide standard;
d) that the HD-CIF systems provide a common data rate feature, which allows for the use of a
unique digital interface;
e) that a whole range of equipment based on the above systems has been developed or is being
developed and is commercially available now or soon, including all that necessary for broadcasting
chains and for industrial applications;
f) that many programmes are being produced in the above systems using the above
equipments and that in the development of broadcasting and other services there is an increasing
need for HDTV production installations;
g) that the use of digital technology and digital interconnection is highly desirable to reach and
maintain the level of performance required for HDTV;
h) that there are clear advantages for establishing interface specifications for HDTV
production installations,
2 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7

recommends
1 that the specifications described in this Recommendation should be used for the basic
digital coding as well for the bit-parallel and bit-serial interfaces for HDTV studio signals.

PART 1

Interfaces for HDTV signals conforming to

Recommendation ITU-R BT.709, Part 1

1 Digital representation

1.1 Coding characteristics

The signals to be digitized should comply with the characteristics described in Recommendation
ITU-R BT.709, Part 1.

1.2 Construction of digital signals

See Part 2, § 1.2.

TABLE 1
Digital coding parameters

Value
Item Parameter
1125/60/2:1 1250/50/2:1
1 Coded signals Y, CB, CR or R, G, B These signals are obtained from gamma pre-corrected signals, namely
EY′ , ECB
′ , ECR
′ or E R′ , EG
′ , E B′
Also see Recommendation ITU-R BT.709, Part 1
2 Sampling lattice Orthogonal, line and picture repetitive
– R, G, B, Y
3 Sampling lattice Orthogonal, line and picture repetitive, co-sited with each other and with
alternate Y samples. The first active colour-difference samples are co-
– CB, CR sited with the first active Y sample
4 Number of active lines 1035 1152
5 Sampling frequency (1)
– R, G, B, Y (MHz) 74.25 72
6 Sampling frequency (1) Half of luminance sampling frequency
– CB, CR
7 Number of samples/line
– R, G, B, Y 2200 2304
– CB, CR 1100 1152
8 Number of active samples/line
– R, G, B, Y 1920
– CB, CR 960
 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 3

TABLE 1 (end )

Value
Item Parameter
1125/60/2:1 1250/50/2:1
9 Position of the first active Y, CB, CR 192 T 256 T
sampling instants with respect to the
analogue sync timing reference OH (2) (see
Fig. 6)
10 Coding format Uniformly quantized PCM for each of the video component signals 8 or
10 bit/sample 10 bit preferable
11 Quantization level assignment (3)
– Video data 1.00 through 254.75
– Timing reference 0.00 and 255.75 (4)
12 Quantization levels (5)
– Black level R, G, B, Y 16.00
– Achromatic level CB, CR 128.00
– Nominal peak
– R, G, B, Y 235.00
CB, CR 16.00 and 240.00
13 Filter characteristics See Recommendation ITU-R BT.709
(1) The sampling clock must be locked to the line frequency. The tolerance on frequency is ±0.001% for 1125/60/2:1 and
±0.0001% for 1250/50/2:1, respectively.
(2) T denotes the duration of the luminance sampling clock or the reciprocal of the luminance sampling frequency.
(3) To reduce confusion when using 8-bit and 10-bit systems together, the two LSBs of the 10-bit system are read as two fractional
bits. The quantization scale in an 8-bit system ranges from 0 to 255 in steps of 1, and in a 10-bit system from 0.00 to 255.75 in
steps of 0.25. When 8-bit words are presented in a 10-bit system, two LSBs of zeros are to be appended to the 8-bit words.
(4) In the case of a 8-bit system, eight MSBs are used.
(5) These levels refer to precise nominal video levels. Signal processing may occasionally cause the signal level to deviate outside
these ranges.

2 Digital interface
The interface provides a unidirectional interconnection between a single source and a single
destination. The data signals are in the form of binary information and are coded accordingly:
– video data (8-bit or 10-bit words);
– timing reference and identification codes (8-bit or 10-bit words except for 1250/50/2:1,
which use 10-bit words only);
– ancillary data (see Recommendation ITU-R BT.1364).

2.1 Video data

Y, CB, CR signals are handled as 20-bit words by time-multiplexing CB and CR components. Each
20-bit word corresponds to a colour-difference sample and a luminance sample. The multiplex is
organized as:
(CB1 Y1) (CR1 Y2) (CB3 Y3) (CR3 Y4) ...
where Yi indicates the i-th active sample of a line, while CBi and CRi indicate the colour-difference
samples of CB and CR components co-sited with the Yi sample. Note that the index “i” on
colour-difference samples takes only odd values due to the half-rate sampling of the colour-
difference signals.
4 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7

The data words corresponding to digital levels 0.00 through 0.75 and 255.00 through 255.75 are
reserved for data identification purposes and must not appear as video data.
For 1125/60/2:1, R, G, B signals are handled as 30-bit words in addition to the above 20-bit words
for Y, CB, CR signals.

2.2 Video timing relationship with analogue waveform

The digital line occupies m clock periods. It begins at f clock periods prior to the reference
transition (OH) of the analogue synchronizing signal in the corresponding line. The digital active
line begins at g clock periods after the reference transition (OH). The values for m, f and g are listed
in Table 2. See Fig. 6 and Table 2 for detailed timing relationships in the line interval.
The start of digital field is fixed by the position specified for the start of the digital line. See Fig. 1
and Table 3 for detailed relationships in the field interval.

TABLE 2
Line interval timing specifications

Value
Symbol Parameter
1125/60/2:1 1250/50/2:1

Interlace ratio 2:1

Number of active Y samples per line 1920

Luminance sampling frequency (MHz) 74,25 72

a Analogue line blanking (µs) 3.771 6.00

b Analogue active line (µs) 25.859 26.00

c Analogue full line (µs) 29.630 32.00

d Duration between end of analogue active 0-6 24

video and start of EAV (T)
e Duration between end of SAV and start of 0-6 24
analogue active video (T)
f Duration between start of EAV and 88 128
analogue timing reference OH (T)

g Duration between analogue timing 192 256

reference OH and end of SAV (T)
h Video data block (T) 1928

i Duration of EAV (T) 4

j Duration of SAV (T) 4

k Digital line blanking (T) 280 384

l Digital active line (T) 1920

m Digital line (T) 2200 2304

NOTE 1 – The parameter values for analogue specifications expressed by the symbols a, b and c indicate the nominal values.
NOTE 2 – T denotes the duration of the luminance sampling clock or the reciprocal of the luminance sampling frequency.
 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 5

2.3 Video timing reference codes (SAV and EAV)

There are two timing reference codes, one at the beginning of each video data block (start of active
video, SAV) and the other at the end of each video data block (end of active video, EAV). These
codes are contiguous with the video data, and continue during the field/frame blanking interval, as
shown in Fig. 1.
Each code consists of a four-word sequence. The bit assignment of the word is given in Table 14.
The first three words are the fixed preamble and the fourth word carries the information that defines
field identification (F), field/frame blanking period (V), and line blanking period (H). In an 8-bit
implementation bits Nos. 9 to 2 inclusive are used; note in 1250/50/2:1 all 10 bits are required.
The bits F and V change state synchronously with EAV at the beginning of the digital line.

The value of protection bits, P0 to P3, depends on the F, V and H as shown in Table 15. The
arrangement permits one-bit errors to be corrected and two-bit errors to be detected at the receiver,
but only in the 8 MSBs, as shown in Table 16.
6 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7

TABLE 3
Field interval timing specifications

Digital line number

Symbol Definition
1125/60/2:1 1250/50/2:1

Number of active lines 1035 1152

L1 First line of field No. 1 1

L2 Last line of digital field blanking No. 1 40 44

L3 First line of field No. 1 active video 41 45

L4 Last line of field No. 1 active video 557 620

L5 First line of digital field blanking No. 2 558 621

L6 Last line of field No. 1 563 625

L7 First line of field No. 2 564 626

L8 Last line of digital field blanking No. 2 602 669

L9 First line of field No. 2 active video 603 670

L10 Last line of field No. 2 active video 1120 1245

L11 First line of digital field blanking No. 1 1121 1246

L12 Last line of field No. 2 1125 1250

NOTE 1 – Digital field blanking No. 1 denotes the field blanking period that is prior to the active video of field No. 1, and digital
field blanking No. 2 denotes that prior to the active video of field No. 2.

2.4 Ancillary data

See Part 2, § 2.4.

2.5 Data words during blanking

See Part 2, § 2.5.

3 Bit-parallel interface
For the system of 1125/60/2:1, the bits of the digital code words which describe the video signal are
transmitted in parallel by means of 20 or 30 shielded conductor pairs. The 20 conductor pairs are
used for the transmission of the signal set consisting of luminance Y and time-multiplexed
colour-difference CB/CR components. The 30 conductor pairs are used for the transmission of R, G,
B signals or Y, CB/CR components with an additional data stream (auxiliary channel). An additional
shielded conductor pair carries the synchronous clock at 74.25 MHz.
For the 1250/50/2:1 system, the bits of digital code words that describe the video signal are
transmitted in parallel by means of 20 signal pairs, where each pair carries a stream of bits, 10 pairs
for luminance data and 10 pairs for time-multiplexed colour-difference data. The 20 pairs can also
carry ancillary data. A 21st pair provides a synchronous clock at 36 MHz.
Data signals are transmitted in non-return-to-zero (NRZ) form in real time (unbuffered).

3.1 Clock signal and clock-to-data timing relationship

For the system of 1125/60/2:1, the transmitted clock signal is a square wave, of which positive
transitions occur midway between the data transitions as shown in Fig. 8 and Table 4.
 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 7

For 1250/50/2:1, the transmitted clock signal is a 36 MHz square wave of unity mark/space ratio,
the transitions of which are coincident with the transition of the data (see Fig. 2). A logical high
state of the clock is concurrent with Y and CB data samples and a logical low state with Y and CR
data samples, as shown in Fig. 2 and Table 4.

TABLE 4
Clock signal specifications

Value
Parameter
1125/60/2:1 1250/50/2:1
Sampling frequency for Y, R, G, B 74.25 72
signals (MHz)
Clock period Tck 1/(2200 fH) 1/(1152 fH)
Nominal value (ns) 13.468 27.778
Clock pulse width, t 0.5 Tck
Tolerance ±0.11 Tck (nominal)
Clock jitter Within ±0.04 Tck Within ±0.5 ns
from the average time of transition over one field in interlace systems,
and over one frame in progressive systems
Data timing, Td 0.5 Tck 0.25 Tck
Tolerance ±0.075 Tck (nominal)
NOTE 1 – fH denotes the line frequency.
NOTE 2 – Values are specified at the sending end (source).
8 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7

3.2 Electrical characteristics of the interface

The interface employs 21 line drivers and line receivers, in the case of the transmission of Y and
CB/CR components. Each line driver has a balanced output and the corresponding line receiver has a
balanced input. For 1125/60/2:1, the interface employs 31 line drivers and line receivers, in the case
of R, G and B components or Y, CB/CR with an additional data stream (auxiliary channel).
Although the use of ECL technology is not mandatory, the line driver and receiver must be ECL
10 k compatible for 1125/60/2:1, and ECL 100 k compatible for 1250/50/2:1, i.e. they must permit
the use of ECL for either drivers or receivers.
The receiver must sense correctly the data when a random signal produces conditions represented
by the eye diagram of Fig. 3.

TABLE 5
Line driver characteristics

Value
Item Parameter
1125/60/2:1 1250/50/2:1

1 Output impedance (Ω) 110 maximum 100 maximum

2 Common mode voltage (1) (V) –1.29 ± 15% –1.3 ± 15%

3 Signal amplitude(2) (V) 0.6 to 2.0 p-p 0.8 to 2.0 p-p

4 Rise and fall times (3) ≤ 0.15 Tck < 3 ns

5 Difference between rise and fall times ≤ 0.075 Tck ≤ 1.0 ns

NOTE 1 – Tck denotes the clock period (see Table 4).

(1) Measured relative to ground.
(2) Measured across a resistive load having the nominal impedance of the assumed cables, that is 110 Ω for 1125/60/2:1, and
100 Ω for 1250/50/2:1.
(3) Measured between the 20% and 80% points across a resistive load having the nominal impedance of the assumed cable.

TABLE 6
Line driver characteristics

Value
Item Parameter
1125/60/2:1 1250/50/2:1

1 Input impedance (Ω) 110 ± 10% 100 ± 10%

2 Maximum input signal voltage (V) 2.0 p-p

3 Minimum input signal voltage (mV) 185 p-p

4 Maximum common mode voltage (1) (V) ±0.3 ±0.5

5 Differential delay Tmin (2) 0.3 Tck 4.5 ns

NOTE 1 – Tck denotes the clock period (see Table 4).

(1) Comprising interference in the range DC to line frequency (fH).
(2) Data must be correctly sensed when the differential delay between the received clock and data is within this range (see Fig. 3).
 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 9

FIGURE 3
Idealized eye diagram corresponding
to the minimum input signal level

3.3 Mechanical characteristics

3.3.1 Connector
The interface uses a multi-contact connector. Connectors are locked by two screws on the cable
connectors and two threaded bolts on the equipment. Cable connectors employ pin contacts and
equipment connectors employ socket contacts. Shielding of the connectors and cables is mandatory.
For 1125/60/2:1, a 93-contact connector is used. Contact assignments are indicated in Tables 20
and 21. The mechanical specifications for the connectors are shown in Figs. 11, 12 and 13.
For 1250/50/2:1, a 50-contact type D subminiature connector is used. Contact assignments are
indicated in Table 7 and Fig. 4 (for information, suggested contact assignment for a printed circuit
board (PCB) header are shown in Fig. 5).
3.3.2 Interconnecting cable
For 1125/60/2:1, two types of multichannel cable, either 21 or 31 channels, can be used in
accordance with the transmission signal set (see Table 21). The cable consists of twisted pairs with
an individual shield for each pair. It also contains an overall shield. The nominal characteristic
impedance of each twisted pair is 110 Ω. The cable shall possess the characteristics that satisfy the
conditions of the eye diagram shown in Fig. 3 up to a maximum cable length of 20 m.
For 1250/50/2:1, a cable with 21-channel balanced conductor pairs is used. The nominal
characteristic impedance of each conductor pair is 100 Ω. Cable length up to 30 m may be
employed when a high-quality cable is used.
10 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7

TABLE 7
Connector contact assignment for 1250/50/2:1

Signal Signal Signal

Contact line Contact line Contact line

1 Clock A (CKA) 34 Clock B

2 GND 18 GND 35 GND

3 Data 9A (D9A) 19 GND 36 Data 9B

4 Data 8B 20 Data 8A 37 Data 7A

5 Data 6A 21 Data 7B 38 Data 6B

6 Data 5B 22 Data 5A 39 Data 4A

7 Data 3A 23 Data 4B 40 Data 3B

8 Data 2B 24 Data 2A 41 Data 1A

9 Data 0A 25 Data 1B 42 Data 0B

10 GND 26 GND 43 GND

11 Data 19A 27 GND 44 Data 19B

12 Data 18B 28 Data 18A 45 Data 17A

13 Data 16A 29 Data 17B 46 Data 16B

14 Data 15B 30 Data 15A 47 Data 14A

15 Data 13A 31 Data 14B 48 Data 13B

16 Data 12B 32 Data 12A 49 Data 11A

17 Data 10A 33 Data 11B 50 Data 10B

NOTE 1 – Data 9-Data 0 represent each bit of the luminance signal (Y ), and Data 19-Data 10 that of
time-multiplexed colour-difference signal (CR/CB ). The suffix 19 to 0 indicates the bit number (bit 19
denotes MSB for CR/CB and bit 9 MSB for Y ). A and B correspond to the terminals A and B of Fig. 9,
respectively.
 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 11

4 Bit-serial interface

4.1 Data format

The bit-serial data consists of video data, video timing reference codes, line number data, error
detection codes, ancillary data and blanking data. Each data has a word-length of 10 bits, and is
represented as parallel data before serialization. Two parallel streams (i.e. luminance data Y and
colour-difference data CB/CR) are multiplexed and serialized in accordance with § 4.2.
4.1.1 Video data
The video data should be 10-bit words representing Y, CB /CR of the video systems defined in § 1.
4.1.2 Video timing reference codes
The video timing reference codes, SAV and EAV have the same format as that defined in § 2.
4.1.3 Line number data
The line number data is composed of two words indicating the line number. The bit assignment of
the line number data is shown in Table 22. The line number data should be located immediately
after EAV.
4.1.4 Error detection codes
See Part 2, § 4.1.4.
4.1.5 Ancillary data
See Part 2, § 4.1.5.
12 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7

4.1.6 Blanking data

See Part 2, § 4.1.6.

4.2 Transmission format

See Part 2, § 4.2.
4.2.1 Word-multiplexing
The two parallel streams should be multiplexed word by word into a single 10-bit parallel stream in
the order of CB, Y, CR, Y, CB, Y, CR, Y ... (see Fig. 14 and Table 8).

TABLE 8
Data stream timing specifications (see Fig. 14)

Value
Symbol Parameter
1125/60/2:1 1250/50/2:1
T Parallel clock period (ns) 1000/74,25 1000/72
Ts Multiplexed parallel data clock period T/2
m Digital line in parallel data stream 2200 2304
k Digital line blanking in parallel data 280 384
stream
n Ancillary data or blanking data in parallel 268 372
data stream
ms Digital line in multiplexed parallel data 4400 4608
stream
ks Digital line blanking in multiplexed 560 768
parallel data stream
ns Ancillary data or blanking data in 536 744
multiplexed parallel data stream

4.2.2 Serializing
See Part 2, § 4.2.2.
4.2.3 Channel coding
See Part 2, § 4.2.3.
4.2.4 Serial clock
Table 9 specifies the serial clock frequencies, which are twenty times the frequency of the parallel
clock (see Table 4).

TABLE 9
Serial clock frequency

Value
Parameter
1125/60/2:1 1250/50/2:1

Serial clock frequency (GHz) 1.485 1.400

4.2.5 Bit-serial digital check field

See Part 2, § 4.2.5.
 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 13

4.3 Coaxial cable interfaces

See Part 2, § 4.3.
4.3.1 Line driver characteristics (source)
See Part 2, § 4.3.1.
4.3.2 Line receiver characteristics (destination)
See Part 2, § 4.3.2.
4.3.3 Transmission line characteristics
See Part 2, § 4.3.3.
4.3.4 Connector
See Part 2, § 4.3.4.

4.4 Optical fibre interfaces

See Part 2, § 4.4.

PART 2

Interfaces for HDTV signals conforming to

Recommendation ITU-R BT.709, Part 2

This part specifies digital interfaces for the systems listed in Table 10. For the 60, 30 and 24 Hz
systems, picture rates having those values divided by 1.001 are also included. Parameter values for
these systems are presented in parentheses.

TABLE 10
HDTV systems based on CIF (see Recommendation ITU-R BT.709, Part 2)

Capture
System (Hz) Transport

60/P 60 progressive Progressive

30/P 30 progressive Progressive
30/PsF 30 progressive Segmented frame
60/I 30 interlace Interlace
50/P 50 progressive Progressive
25/P 25 progressive Progressive
25/PsF 25 progressive Segmented frame
50/I 25 interlace Interlace
24/P 24 progressive Progressive
24/PsF 24 progressive Segmented frame
14 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7

1 Digital representation

1.1 Coding characteristics

The signals to be digitized should comply with the characteristics described in Recommendation
ITU-R BT.709, Part 2.

1.2 Construction of digital signals

Digital representation of R, G, B, Y, CR and CB may be obtained using the following relationship.
Further study is required in terms of conversion between the data obtained with 8-bit and 10-bit
quantization.

Rd = [ Int { ( 219 × D ) × E R′ + ( 16 × D ) + 0.5 } ] / D

Gd = [ Int { ( 219 × D ) × EG′ + ( 16 × D ) + 0.5 } ] / D
Bd = [ Int { ( 219 × D ) × E B′ + ( 16 × D ) + 0.5 } ] / D
Yd = [ Int { ( 219 × D ) × EY′ + ( 16 × D ) + 0.5 } ] / D
CBd = [ Int { ( 224 × D ) × EC′ B + ( 128 × D ) + 0.5 } ] / D
CRd = [ Int { ( 224 × D ) × EC′ R + ( 128 × D ) + 0.5 } ] / D

where D takes either the value 1 or 4, corresponding to 8-bit or 10-bit quantization respectively;
EG′ , E B′ , E R′ and EY′ denote analogue R, G, B and luminance signals that have been normalized to
span the range 0.0 to 1.0, while EC′ R and EC′ B denote analogue colour-difference signals that have
been normalized to span the range – 0.5 to +0.5.

2 Digital interface
The interface provides a unidirectional interconnection between a single source and a single
destination. The data signals are in the form of binary information and are coded accordingly:
– video data (8-bit or 10-bit words);
– timing reference and identification codes (8-bit or 10-bit words);
– ancillary data (see Recommendation ITU-R BT.1364).

2.1 Video data

Y, CB and CR signals are handled as 20-bit words by time-multiplexing CB and CR components.
Each 20-bit word corresponds to a colour-difference sample and a luminance sample. The multiplex
is organized as:
(CB1 Y1) (CR1 Y2) (CB3 Y3) (CR3 Y4) ...
where Yi indicates the i-th active sample of a line, while CBi and CRi indicate the colour-difference
samples of CB and CR components co-sited with the Yi sample. Note that the index i on
colour-difference samples takes only odd values due to the half-rate sampling of the colour-
difference signals.
The data words corresponding to digital levels 0.00 through 0.75 and 255.00 through 255.75 are
reserved for data identification purposes and must not appear as video data.
R, G, B signals are handled as 30-bit words in addition to the above 20-bit words for Y, CB, CR
signals.
 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 15

TABLE 11
Digital coding parameters

System
Item Parameter
60/P 30/P 30/PsF 60/I 50/P 25/P 25/PsF 50/I 24/P 24/PsF

1 Coded signals Y, CB, CR or R, G, B These signals are obtained from gamma pre-corrected signals, namely EY' , EC
' , EC
' or ER' , EG
' , EB' . Also see
B R
Recommendation ITU-R BT.709, Part 2

2 Sampling lattice
– R, G, B, Y Orthogonal, line and picture repetitive

3 Sampling lattice
– CB, CR Orthogonal, line and picture repetitive, co-sited with each other and with alternate (1) Y samples

4 Number of active lines 1080

5 Sampling frequency (2) (MHz)

– R, G, B, Y 148.5 74.25 148.5 74.25 74.25
(148.5/1.001) (74.25/1.001) (74.25/1.001)

– CB, CR (3) 74.25 37.125 74.25 37.125 37.125

(74.25/1.001) (37.125/1.001) (37.125/1.001)

6 Number of samples/line
– R, G, B, Y 2 200 2 640 2750
– CB, CR 1100 1320 1375

7 Number of active samples/line

– R, G, B, Y 1920
– CB, CR 960

8 Position of the first active Y, CB, CR sampling

instants with respect to the analogue sync
timing eference OH(4) (see Fig. 6) 192 T
16 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7
TABLE 11 (end )

System
Point Parameter
60/P 30/P 30/PsF 60/I 50/P 25/P 25/PsF 50/I 24/P 24/PsF

9 Coding format Uniformly quantized PCM for each of the video component signals 8- or 10-bit/sample

10 Quantization level assignment (5)

1.00 through 254.75
– Video data 0.00 and 255.75 (6)
– Timing reference

11 Quantization levels (7)

16.00
– Black level R, G, B, Y 128.00
– Achromatic level CB, CR
– Nominal peak 235.00
– R, G, B, Y 16.00 and 240.00
– CB, CR

12 Filter characteristics See Recommendation ITU-R BT.709

(1) The first active colour-difference samples are co-sited with the first active Y sample.
(2) The sampling clock must be locked to the line frequency. The tolerance on frequency is ±0.001%.
(3) CB, CR sampling frequency is half of luminance sampling frequency.
(4) T denotes the duration of the luminance sampling clock or the reciprocal of the luminance sampling frequency.
(5) To reduce confusion when using 8-bit and 10-bit systems together, the two LSBs of the 10-bit system are read as two fractional bits. The quantization scale in an 8-bit system ranges from
0 to 255 in steps of 1, and in a 10-bit system from 0.00 to 255.75 in steps of 0.25. When 8-bit words are treated in 10-bit system, two LSBs of zeros are to be appended to the 8-bit words.
(6) In the case of 8-bit system, eight MSBs are used.
(7) These levels refer to precise nominal video levels. Signal processing may occasionally cause the signal level to deviate outside these ranges.
 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 17

2.2 Video timing relationship with analogue waveform

The digital line occupies m clock periods. It begins at f clock periods prior to the reference
transition (OH) of the analogue synchronizing signal in the corresponding line. The digital active
line begins at g clock periods after the reference transition (OH). The values for m, f and g are listed
in Table 12. See Fig. 6 and Table 12 for detailed timing relationships in the line interval.

For interlace and segmented frame systems, the start of digital field/segment is fixed by the position
specified for the start of the digital line. See Fig. 7a) and Table 13a) for detailed relationships in the
field/segment interval.

For progressive systems, the start of the digital frame is fixed by the position specified for the start
of the digital line. See Fig. 7b) and Table 13b) for detailed relationships in the frame interval.

2.3 Video timing reference codes SAV and EAV

There are two timing reference codes, one at the beginning of each video data block SAV and the
other at the end of each video data block EAV. These codes are contiguous with the video data, and
continue during the field/frame/segment blanking interval, as shown in Fig. 7.
18 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7

TABLE 12
Line interval timing specifications

Symbol Parameter Value

60/P 30/P 30/PsF 60/I 50/P 25/P 25/PsF 50/I 24/P 24/PsF
Number of active Y samples per line 1920
Luminance sampling frequency (MHz) 148.5 74.25 148.5 74.25 74.25
(148.5/ (74.25/1.001) (74.25/1.001)
1.001)
a Analogue line blanking (T) +12 +12 +12
280 280 280
–0 –0 –0
b Analogue active line (T) +0
1920
–12
c Analogue active line (T) 2200 2640 2750
d Duration between end of analogue active video 0-6
and start of EAV (T)
e Duration between end of SAV and start of 0-6
analogue active video (T)
f Duration between start of EAV and analogue 88 528 638
timing reference OH (T)
g Duration between analogue timing reference OH 192
and end of SAV (T)
h Video data block (T) 1928
i Duration of EAV (T) 4
j Duration of SAV (T) 4
k Digital line blanking (T) 280 720 830
l Digital active line (T) 1920
m Digital line (T) 2200 2640 2750
NOTE 1 – The parameter values for analogue specifications expressed by the symbols a, b and c indicate the nominal values.
NOTE 2 – T denotes the duration of the luminance clock or the reciprocal of the luminance sampling frequency.
Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 19
20 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7

Each code consists of a four-word sequence. The bit assignment of the word is given in Table 14.
The first three words are fixed preamble and the fourth word carries the information that defines
field identification (F), field/frame blanking period (V), and line blanking period (H). In a 8-bit
implementation bits Nos. 9 to 2 inclusive are used.
The bits F and V change state synchronously with EAV at the beginning of the digital line.
The value of protection bits, P0 to P3, depends on the F, V and H as shown in Table 15. The
arrangement permits one-bit errors to be corrected and two-bit errors to be detected at the receiver,
but only in the 8 MSBs, as shown in Table 16.

TABLE 13
a) Field/segment interval timing specifications for interlace
and segmented frame scanning systems

Symbol Definition Digital line number

Number of active lines 1080

L1 First line of field/segment No. 1 1

L2 Last line of digital field/segment blanking No. 1 20

L3 First line of field/segment No. 1 active video 21

L4 Last line of field/segment No. 1 active video 560

L5 First line of digital field/segment blanking No. 2 561

L6 Last line of field/segment No. 1 563

L7 First line of field/segment No. 2 564

L8 Last line of digital field/segment blanking No. 2 583

L9 First line of field/segment No. 2 active video 584

L10 Last line of field/segment No. 2 active video 1123

L11 First line of digital field/segment blanking No. 1 1124

L12 Last line of field/segment No. 2 1125

NOTE 1 – Digital field/segment blanking No. 1 denotes the field/segment blanking period that is prior to the active video of
field/segment No. 1, and digital field/segment blanking No. 2 denotes that prior to the active video of field/segment No. 2.

b) Frame interval timing specifications for progressive systems

Symbol Definition Digital line number

Number of active lines 1080

L1 First line of frame 1

L2 Last line of digital frame blanking 41

L3 First line of active video 42

L4 Last line of active video 1121

L5 First line of digital frame blanking 1122

L6 Last line of frame 1125

 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 21

TABLE 14
Bit assignment for video timing reference codes

Bit number
Word
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
(MSB) (LSB)

First 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Second 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Third 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Fourth 1 F V H P3 P2 P1 P0 0 0

Interlace and F = 1 during V = 1 during field/segment H = 1 in EAV

segmented frame field/segment blanking
system No. 2 = 0 in SAV
= 0 elsewhere
= 0 during
field/segment
No. 1

Progressive system F=0 V = 1 during frame blanking H = 1 in EAV

= 0 elsewhere = 0 in SAV

NOTE 1 – P0, P1, P2, P3 in the fourth word are the protection bits (see Table 15).

TABLE 15
Protection bits for SAV and EAV

SAV/EAV bit status Protection bits

Bit 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
(fixed) (F) (V) (H) (P3) (P2) (P1) (P0) (fixed) (fixed)

1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0

1 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0

1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0

1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0

1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0

1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0

1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0
22 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7

TABLE 16
Error corrections using protection bits (P3-P0)

Received Received bits 8-6 for F, V and H

bits 5-2
for P3-P0
000 001 010 011 100 101 110 111

0000 000 000 000 – 000 – – 111

0001 000 – – 111 – 111 111 111

0010 000 – – 011 – 101 – –

0011 – – 010 – 100 – – 111

0100 000 – – 011 – – 110 –

0101 – 001 – – 100 – – 111

0110 – 011 011 011 100 – – 011

0111 100 – – 011 100 100 100 –

1000 000 – – – – 101 110 –

1001 – 001 010 – – – – 111

1010 – 101 010 – 101 101 – 101

1011 010 – 010 010 – 101 010 –

1100 – 001 110 – 110 – 110 110

1101 001 001 – 001 – 001 110 –

1110 – – – 011 – 101 110 –

1111 – 001 010 – 100 – – –

NOTE 1 – The error correction applied provides a DEDSEC (double error detection – single error
correction) function. The received bits denoted by “–” in the table, if detected, indicate that an error has
occurred but cannot be corrected.

2.4 Ancillary data

Ancillary data may optionally be included in the blanking intervals of a digital interface according
to this Recommendation. The ancillary signals should comply with the general rules of Recommen-
dation ITU-R BT.1364.
The horizontal blanking interval between the end of EAV and the start of SAV may be employed to
convey ancillary data packets.
Ancillary data packets may be conveyed in the vertical blanking interval between the end of SAV
and the start of EAV as follows:
− in a progressive system during lines 7 through 41 inclusive;
− in an interlaced system during lines 7 through 20 inclusive and lines 569 through 583
inclusive;
 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 23

− on any line that is outside the vertical extent of the picture as noted above and that is not
employed to convey vertical blanking interval signals that can be represented in the
analogue domain through direct (D/A) conversion (such as digital vertical interval time
code (D-VITC)).

2.5 Data words during blanking

The data words occurring during digital blanking intervals that are not used for the timing reference
codes (SAV and EAV), or for ancillary data (ANC) are filled with words corresponding to the
following blanking levels, appropriately placed in the multiplexed data:
16.00 for Y, R, G, B signals
128.00 for CB /CR (time-multiplexed colour-difference signal).

3 Bit-parallel interface
The bits of the digital code words which describe the video signal are transmitted in parallel by
means of 20 or 30 shielded conductor pairs. The 20 conductor pairs are used for the transmission of
the signal set consisting of luminance Y and time-multiplexed colour-difference CB /CR components.
The 30 conductor pairs are used for the transmission of R, G, B signals or Y, CB /CR components
with an additional data stream (auxiliary channel). An additional shielded conductor pair carries the
synchronous clock at 148.5 MHz (148.5/1.001 MHz) for 60/P and 50/P, and 74.25 MHz
(74.25/1.001 MHz) for the other systems.
Data signals are transmitted in NRZ form in real time (unbuffered).

3.1 Clock signal and clock-to-data timing relationship

The transmitted clock signal is a square wave, of which positive transitions occur midway between
the data transitions as shown in Fig. 8 and Table 17.
24 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7

TABLE 17
Clock signal specifications

Value
Parameter
60/P 30/P 30/PsF 60/I 50/P 25/P 25/PsF 50/I 24/P 24/PsF

Sampling frequency for Y, R, G, B signals (MHz) 148.5 74.25 148.5 74.25 74.25
(148.5/1.001) (74.25/1.001) (74.25/1.001)

Clock period, Tck 1/(2200 fH) 1/(2640 fH) 1/(2750 fH)

Nominal value (ns) 6.734 13.468 6.734 13.468 13.468

(6.741) (13.481) (13.481)

Clock pulse width, t 0.5 Tck

Tolerance ±0.11 Tck

Clock jitter Within ±0.04 Tck

from the average time of transition over one field/segment in interlace and segmented frame systems, and over
one frame in progressive systems

Data timing, Td 0.5 Tck

Tolerance ±0.075 Tck

NOTE 1 – fH denotes the line frequency.

NOTE 2 – Values are specified at the sending end (source).
 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 25

3.2 Electrical characteristics of the interface

The interface employs 21 line drivers and line receivers, in the case of the transmission of Y and
CB /CR components. Each line driver has a balanced output and the corresponding line receive has a
balanced input. The interface employs 31 line drivers and line receivers, in the case of R, G and B
components or Y, CB /CR with an additional data stream (auxiliary channel).
Although the use of ECL technology is not mandatory, the line driver and receiver must be
ECL 10 k compatible for the systems using the synchronous clock at 74.25 MHz (74.25/1.001 MHz),
i.e., they must permit the use of ECL for either drivers or receivers.
The receiver must sense correctly the data when a random signal produces conditions represented
by the eye diagram of Fig. 10.

TABLE 18
Line driver characteristics

Item Parameter Value

1 Output impedance (Ω) 110 maximum

2 Common mode voltage(1) (V) –1.29 ± 15%

3 Signal amplitude(2) (V) 0.6 to 2.0 p-p

4 Rise and fall times(3) ≤ 0.15 Tck

5 Difference between rise and fall times ≤ 0.075 Tck

NOTE 1 – Tck denotes the clock period (see Table 17).

(1) Measured relative to ground.
(2) Measured across a resistive load having the nominal impedance of the assumed cables, that is 110 Ω.
(3) Measured between the 20% and 80% points across a resistive load having the nominal impedance of the assumed cable.

TABLE 19
Line receiver characteristics

Item Parameter Value

1 Input impedance (Ω) 110 ± 10

2 Maximum input signal voltage (V) 2.0 p-p

3 Minimum input signal voltage (mV) 185 p-p

4 Maximum common mode voltage(1) (V) ±0.3

5 Differential delay Tmin(2) 0.3 Tck

NOTE 1 – Tck denotes the clock period (see Table 17).

(1) Comprising interference in the range DC to line frequency (fH).
(2) Data must be correctly sensed when the differential delay between the received clock and data is within this range (see Fig. 10).
26 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7
 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 27

3.3 Mechanical characteristics (see Note 1)

3.3.1 Connector
The interface uses a multi-contact connector. Connectors are locked by two screws on the cable
connectors and two threaded bolts on the equipment. Cable connectors employ pin contacts and
equipment connectors employ socket contacts. Shielding of the connectors and cables is mandatory.
A 93-contact connector is used. Contact assignments are indicated in Tables 20 and 21. The
mechanical specifications for the connectors are shown in Figs. 11, 12 and 13.
NOTE 1 – For new designs, bit-serial interface described in § 4 is preferred.

TABLE 20
Connector contact assignment

Con- Signal Con- Signal Con- Signal Con- Signal Con- Signal Con- Signal
tact line tact line tact line tact line tact line tact line

1 Clock A 17 GND 33 Clock B

2 XD 9A 18 GND 34 XD 9B 49 YD 4A 64 GND 79 YD 4B
3 XD 8A 19 GND 35 XD 8B 50 YD 3A 65 GND 80 YD 3B
4 XD 7A 20 GND 36 XD 7B 51 YD 2A 66 GND 81 YD 2B
5 XD 6A 21 GND 37 XD 6B 52 YD 1A 67 GND 82 YD 1B
6 XD 5A 22 GND 38 XD 5B 53 YD 0A 68 GND 83 YD 0B
7 XD 4A 23 GND 39 XD 4B 54 ZD 9A 69 GND 84 ZD 9B
8 XD 3A 24 GND 40 XD 3B 55 ZD 8A 70 GND 85 ZD 8B
9 XD 2A 25 GND 41 XD 2B 56 ZD 7A 71 GND 86 ZD 7B
10 XD 1A 26 GND 42 XD 1B 57 ZD 6A 72 GND 87 ZD 6B
11 XD 0A 27 GND 43 XD 0B 58 ZD 5A 73 GND 88 ZD 5B
12 YD 9A 28 GND 44 YD 9B 59 ZD 4A 74 GND 89 ZD 4B
13 YD 8A 29 GND 45 YD 8B 60 ZD 3A 75 GND 90 ZD 3B
14 YD 7A 30 GND 46 YD 7B 61 ZD 2A 76 GND 91 ZD 2B
15 YD 6A 31 GND 47 YD 6B 62 ZD 1A 77 GND 92 ZD 1B
16 YD 5A 32 GND 48 YD 5B 63 ZD 0A 78 GND 93 ZD 0B
NOTE 1 – XD 9-XD 0, YD 9-YD 0, and ZD 9-ZD 0 represent each bit of the component signals. The suffix 9 to 0 indicates the bit
number (bit 9 denotes MSB). A and B correspond to the terminals A and B of Fig. 9, respectively. The relationship between XD,
YD, ZD and component signals are specified in Table 21.
NOTE 2 – The shield of each pair uses the ground contact (GND) located between A and B contacts for the signal, e.g., contact
No. 17 is used for the shield of the clock signal. The overall shield of the cable is electrically connected to connector hood, which is
grounded to the frame of the equipment.

3.3.2 Interconnecting cable

Two types of multi-channel cable, either 21 or 31 channels, can be used in accordance with the
transmission signal set (see Table 21). The cable consists of twisted pairs with an individual shield
for each pair. It also contains an overall shield. The nominal characteristic impedance of each
twisted pair is 110 Ω. The cable shall possess the characteristics that satisfy the conditions of the
eye diagram shown in Fig. 10 up to a maximum cable length of 20 m for the system using the
synchronous clock at 74.25 MHz (74.25/1.001 MHz), and 14 m for the systems using the
synchronous clock at 148.5 MHz (148.5/1.001 MHz).
28 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7

TABLE 21
Transmission signal set and signal line assignment

Signal line assignment

Transmission Component Cable
signal set
10-bit system 8-bit system

Y, CR/CB Y XD 9-XD 0 XD 9-XD 2

CR/CB ZD 9-ZD 0 ZD 9-ZD 2 21 pairs

Y, CR/CB Y XD 9-XD 0 XD 9-XD 2

with auxiliary
channel CR/CB ZD 9-ZD 0 ZD 9-ZD 2

Auxiliary channel YD 9-YD 0 YD 9-YD 2 31 pairs

G XD 9-XD 0 XD 9-XD 2

R, G, B B YD 9-YD 0 YD 9-YD 2

R ZD 9-ZD 0 ZD 9-ZD 2
Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 29
30 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7

4 Bit-serial interface

4.1 Data format

The bit-serial data consists of video data, video timing reference codes, line number data, error
detection codes, ancillary data and blanking data. Each data has a word-length of 10 bits, and is
represented as parallel data before serialization. Two parallel streams (i.e. luminance data Y and
colour-difference data CB /CR) are multiplexed and serialized in accordance with § 4.2.
4.1.1 Video data
The video data should be 10-bit words representing Y, CB /CR of the video systems defined in § 1.
4.1.2 Video timing reference codes
The video timing reference codes, SAV and EAV have the same format as that defined in § 2.
 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 31

4.1.3 Line number data

The line number data is composed of two words indicating the line number. The bit assignment of
the line number data is shown in Table 22. The line number data should be located immediately
after EAV.

TABLE 22
Bit assignment of the line number data

b9 b8 b7 b6 b5 b4 b3 b2 b1 b0
Word (MSB) (LSB)

LN0 Not b8 L6 L5 L4 L3 L2 L1 L0 R R

LN1 Not b8 R R R L10 L9 L8 L7 R R

L0 (LSB)-L10 (MSB): line number in binary code.

R: reserved (set to zero).

4.1.4 Error detection codes

The error detection codes, cyclic redundancy check codes (CRCC), which are used to detect errors
in active digital line, EAV and line number data, consist of two words and are determined by the
following polynomial generator equation:

EDC(x) = x18 + x5 + x4 + 1

Initial value of the codes is set to zero. The calculation starts at the first word of the digital active
line and ends at the final word of the line number data. Two error detection codes are calculated,
one for luminance data (YCR) and one for colour-difference data (CCR). The bit assignment of the
error detection codes is shown in Table 23. The error detection codes should be located immediately
after the line number data.

TABLE 23
Bit assignment for error detection codes

b9 b8 b7 b6 b5 b4 b3 b2 b1 b0
Word (MSB) (LSB)

YCR0 Not b8 CRCC8 CRCC7 CRCC6 CRCC5 CRCC4 CRCC3 CRCC2 CRCC1 CRCC0

YCR1 Not b8 CRCC17 CRCC16 CRCC15 CRCC14 CRCC13 CRCC12 CRCC11 CRCC10 CRCC9

CCR0 Not b8 CRCC8 CRCC7 CRCC6 CRCC5 CRCC4 CRCC3 CRCC2 CRCC1 CRCC0

CCR1 Not b8 CRCC17 CRCC16 CRCC15 CRCC14 CRCC13 CRCC12 CRCC11 CRCC10 CRCC9

NOTE 1 – CRC0 is the MSB of error detection codes.

4.1.5 Ancillary data

The ancillary data should comply with general rules of Recommendation ITU-R BT.1364.
32 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7

4.1.6 Blanking data

The blanking data words during digital blanking intervals that are not used for SAV, EAV, the line
number data, the error detection codes and the ancillary data, should be filled with the 10-bit words
corresponding to the following quantization levels:
– 16.00 for Y data
– 128.00 for CB /CR data.

4.2 Transmission format

The two parallel data streams are transmitted over a single channel in bit-serial form after
word-multiplexing, parallel-to-serial conversion and scrambling.
4.2.1 Word-multiplexing
The two parallel streams should be multiplexed word by word into a single 10-bit parallel stream in
the order of CB, Y, CR, Y, CB, Y, CR, Y ... (See Fig. 14 and Table 25).
4.2.2 Serializing
The LSB of each 10-bit word in the word-multiplexed parallel stream should be transmitted first in
the bit-serial format.
4.2.3 Channel coding
The channel coding scheme should be scrambled NRZ inverted (NRZI). The serialized bit stream
should be scrambled using the following generator polynomial equation:

G(x) = (x9 + x4 + 1) (x + 1)

The input signal to the scrambler shall be positive logic. (The high voltage represents data 1 and the
lowest voltage represents data 0.)
4.2.4 Serial clock
Table 24 specifies the serial clock frequencies, which are twenty times the frequency of the parallel
clock (see Table 17).

TABLE 24
Serial clock frequency

Value
Parameter
60/P 30/P 30/PsF 60/I 50/P 25/P 25/PsF 50/I 24/P 24/PsF

Serial clock 1.485 for 1.485 1.485 for 1.485 1.485

frequency (GHz) dual-link (1.485/1.001) dual-link (1.485/1.001)
operation operation

2.97 for 2.97 for

single-link single-
operation link
operation
(2.97/1.001)
 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 33

4.2.5 Bit-serial digital check field

Digital test signals suitable for testing cable equalization and phase locked loop (PLL) lock-in are
described in Annex 1.
 34 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7

TABLE 25
Data stream timing specifications (see Fig. 14)

Value
Symbol Parameter
60/P(1) 30/P 30/PsF 60/I 50/P(1) 25/P 25/PsF 50/I 24/P 24/PsF

T Parallel clock period (ns) 1000/148.5 1000/74.25 1000/148.5 1000/74.25 1000/74.25

(1001/148.5) (1001/74.25) (1001/74.25)

Ts Multiplexed parallel data clock period T/2

m Digital line in parallel data stream 2200 2640 2750

k Digital line blanking in parallel data stream 280 720 830

n Ancillary data or blanking data in parallel data stream 268 708 728

ms Digital line in multiplexed parallel data stream 4400 5280 5500

ks Digital line blanking in multiplexed parallel data stream 560 1440 1660

ns Ancillary data or blanking data in multiplexed parallel data 536 1416 1456
stream

(1) Parameter values for these systems are under study.

 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 35

4.3 Coaxial cable interfaces

The coaxial cable interfaces consist of one source and one destination in a point-to-point
connection. The coaxial cable interfaces specify the characteristics of line driver (source), line
receiver (destination), transmission line and connectors.
4.3.1 Line driver characteristics (source)
Table 26 specifies the line driver characteristics. The line driver should have an unbalanced output
circuit.

TABLE 26
Line driver characteristics

Item Parameter Value

1 Output impedance 75 Ω nominal

2 DC offset(1) 0.0 V ± 0.5 V

3 Signal amplitude(2) 800 mVp-p ± 10%

4 Return loss ≥ 15 dB(3), ≥ 10 dB(4)

5 Rise and fall times(5) < 270 ps (20% to 80%)

6 Difference between rise and fall time ≤ 100 ps

7 Output jitter(6) f1 = 10 Hz
f3 = 100 kHz
f4 = 1/10 of the clock rate
A1 = 1 UI (UI: unit interval)
A2 = 0.2 UI
(1) Defined by mid-amplitude point of the signal.
(2) Measured across a 75 Ω resistive load connected through a 1 m coaxial cable.
(3) In the frequency range of 5 MHz to fc/2. (fc: serial clock frequency)
(4) In the frequency range of fc/2 to fc.
(5) Determined between the 20% and 80% amplitude points and measured across a 75 Ω resistive load. Overshoot of the
rising and falling edges of the waveform shall not exceed 10% of the amplitude.
(6) 1 UI corresponds to 1/fc. Specification of jitter and jitter measurements methods shall comply with Recommendation
ITU-R BT.1363 – Jitter specifications and methods for jitter measurement of bit-serial signals conforming to
Recommendations ITU-R BT.656, ITU-R BT.799 and ITU-R BT.1120.
Output amplitude excursions due to signals with a significant dc component occurring for a horizontal line
(pathological signals) shall not exceed 50 mV above or below the average peak-peak signal envelope. (In effect, this
specification defines a minimum output coupling time constant.)
36 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7

4.3.2 Line receiver characteristics (destination)

Table 27 specifies the line receiver characteristics. The line receiver should have an unbalanced
input circuit. It must sense correctly the received data when connected to a line driver operating at
the extreme voltage limits permitted by § 4.3.1, and when connected through a cable having the
worst condition permitted by § 4.3.3.

TABLE 27
Line receiver characteristics

Item Parameter Value

1 Input impedance 75 Ω nominal

2 Return loss ≥ 15 dB(1), ≥ 10 dB(2)

±2.5 Vmax DC

3 Interfering signal < 2.5 Vp-p Below 5 kHz

< 100 mVp-p 5 kHz to 27 MHz

< 40 mVp-p Above 27 MHz

(1) In the frequency range of 5 MHz to fc/2.
(2) In the frequency range of fc/2 to fc.

4.3.3 Transmission line characteristics

Relevant specifications are given in Table 28.

TABLE 28
Transmission line characteristics

Item Parameter Value

1 Transmission loss(1) ≤ 20 dB at 1/2 clock frequency ≤ 30 dB at ½ clock frequency for

for 1.485 Gbit/s operation 2.97 Gbit/s operation

2 Return loss ≥ 15 dB(2), ≥ 10 dB(3)

3 Impedance 75 Ω nominal
(1) Loss characteristics of f .
(2) In the frequency range of 5 MHz to fc/2.
(3) In the frequency range of fc/2 to fc.

4.3.4 Connector
The connector should have the mechanical characteristics conforming to the standard BNC type
(IEC 61169-8 (2007-2))* – Part 8: Sectional specification – RF coaxial connectors with inner

* NOTE – IEC 61169-8 (2007-2) is available in electronic version at the following address:
http:/www.itu.int/md/R03-WP6A-C-0145/en.
 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 37

diameter of outer conductor 6.5 mm (0.256 in) with bayonet lock-characteristic impedance 50 Ω
(type BNC), Annex A (Normative) Information for interface dimensions of 75 Ω characteristic
impedance, and for a usable frequency range of up to 3.5 GHz.

4.4 Optical fibre interfaces

Optical interfaces should use single mode optical interfaces only and should comply with general
rules of Recommendation ITU-R BT.1367 – Serial digital fibre transmission system for signals
conforming to Recommendations ITU-R BT.656, ITU-R BT.799 and ITU-R BT.1120.
To make use of this Recommendation the following specifications are necessary:
Rise and fall times: < 270 ps (20% to 80%)
Output jitter (see Note 1): f1 = 10 Hz
f3 = 100 kHz
f4 = 1/10 of the clock rate
A1 = 0,135 I UI
A2 = 0,135 UI
Input jitter needs to be defined. Input jitter is measured with a short cable (2 m).
NOTE 1 – Specification of jitter and jitter measurements methods shall comply with Recommen-
dation ITU-R BT.1363.

4.5 Bit-serial interface for 60/P and 50/P dual-link operation

The interface consists of two unidirectional interconnections between one device and another. The
interconnections carry the data corresponding to the high definition television signal and associated
data. The two interconnections are referred to as link A and link B. The term “link” is intended to
define a serial bit stream formatted according to the specification in § 4. The total data rate of the
dual-link interface is 2.970 Gbit/s or 2.970/1.001 Gbit/s.
4.5.1 Source sample numbering
Each line of the Y component consists of 2 640 (50/P) or 2 200 (60/P) total samples, and each line
of CB and CR components consists of 1 320 (50/P) or 1 100 (60/P) total samples, as shown in
Table 11. The samples are designated 0-2 639 or 0-2 199 for Y component and 0-1 319 or 0-1 099
for CB and CR components, and the individual samples are designated by suffixes such as sample
Y135 or sample CB429.
4.5.2 Interface data streams and multiplex structure
The video data is divided into two data streams conveyed through link A and link B. The serial data
stream of one link contains two channels, first channel (Y channel) and second channel (CB/CR
channel). Data is mapped into these channels. The term “channel” is intended to define how the first
and second channels of the link are utilized.
Mapping of the data created by the 4:2:2 picture sampling structure is shown in Figs. 15 and 16.
Each line of the source picture is alternately mapped between link A and link B of the dual-link
interface.
38 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7

4.5.3 Timing reference signals and line numbers

The F (field/frame), V (vertical), H (horizontal), P3, P2, P1, P0 (parity) bits and the interface line
numbers of link A and link B shall be as shown in Figs. 15 and 16.
NOTE 1 − Buffering having a minimum duration of one horizontal line is required by this process at each
interface, making a minimum transmission delay of two horizontal lines.
NOTE 2 − Figure 15 shows how the luminance and colour-difference signals are multiplexed within a
transmission package.

Fig. 15 shows the 4:2:2 progressive data structure.

Total words per Total words of active Word number

Frame rate transmission image data per
package transmission package
a b c d
60
2200 1920 1920 2196 0 1919
(60/1.001)
50 2640 1920 1920 2636 0 1919
 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 39

4.5.4 Signal timing considerations

The timing difference between link A and link B should not exceed 40 ns at the source.
4.5.5 Link A and link B identification
Link A and link B shall be identified by the payload identifier in conformance with
Recommendation ITU-R BT.1614 associated with the definition in Table 29. Link A shall be
channel 1 and link B shall be channel 2 in the specification.
40 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7

TABLE 29
Payload identifier definitions for 1920 × 1080 video payloads on
dual link high definition digital interfaces
Bits Byte 1 Byte 2 Byte 3 Byte 4
Interlaced (0) or
Bit 7 1 Progressive (1) Reserved Reserved
transport
Channel assignment
Interlaced (0) or of dual link
Bit 6 0 Reserved
Progressive (1) picture
Ch1 (0) or Ch2 (1)
Bit 5 0 Reserved Reserved Reserved
Bit 4 0 Reserved Reserved Dynamic range
100% (0h), 200%
(1h),
Bit 3 0 400% (2h),
Reserved (3h)
Bit 2 1 Picture rate Sampling structure Reserved
Bit 1 1 Bit depth
8-bit (0h), 10-bit (1h),
Bit 0 1 12-bit (2h),
Reserved (3h)

4.5.6 Ancillary data

The ancillary data shall be mapped into the blanking area of link A and link B, and shall be in
conformance with Recommendation ITU-R BT.1364. The ancillary data mapping onto link A shall
be prior to the mapping onto link B.
4.5.7 Audio data
The audio data shall be mapped into the ancillary data space of link A and link B, and shall be in
conformance with Recommendation ITU-R BT.1365. The audio data mapping onto link A shall be
prior to the mapping onto link B.
– Example 1: When 12 channels of audio data are mapped onto the dual link interface, all of
the 12 channels shall be mapped onto link A – it is prohibited to map 8 channels onto
link A and 4 channels onto link B.
– Example 2: When 20 channels of audio data are mapped, 16 channels shall be mapped onto
link A and 4 channels shall be mapped onto link B.
4.5.8 Time code
The time code shall be mapped into the ancillary data space of link A and link B, and shall be in
conformance with Recommendation ITU-R BT.1366. The time code mapping onto link A shall be
prior to the mapping onto link B.
4.5.9 Applications of the dual-link bit-serial digital interface
Appendix 1 shows some HDTV applications of the dual-link high definition bit-serial digital
interface for other signal formats.
 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 41

Appendix 1
to Part 2

Applications of the dual-link high-definition serial digital interface

The dual-link high-definition serial digital interface can also be used to convey HDTV source signal
formats listed in Table 30.

TABLE 30
HDTV source signal format
Signal format sampling Pixel bit
Frame/field rates
structure depth
4:4:4 (RGB)
10 bit
4:4:4:4 (RGB + A)
30, 30/1.001, 25, 24, and
4:4:4 (RGB) 12 bit 24/1.001 Hz progressive and
4:2:2 (YCBCR) 12 bit segmented frame

4:4:4 (YCBCR) 60, 60/1.001, and 50 Hz fields

10 bit interlaced
4:4:4:4 (YCBCR + A)
4:4:4 (YCBCR) 12 bit
NOTE 1 – The “A” component is an auxiliary component which is user defined
dependent upon the application. In the case when the A component is used for non-
picture data, the bit depth of the auxiliary signal is constrained to 8 bits maximum.

1 4:4:4 (RGB) and 4:4:4:4 (RGB + A) 10-bit signals of 30/P, 30/PsF, 60/I, 25/P, 25/PsF,
50/I, 24/P and 24/PsF systems

1.1 Source sample numbering

Each line of the G, B, R and A components consists of 2 750, 2 640 or 2 200 total samples as shown
in Table 11. The samples are designated 0-2 749, 0-2 639, or 0-2 199 and the individual samples are
designated by suffixes such as sample G135 or sample B429.

1.2 Interface data streams

Link A data stream contains all the G component samples plus the even-numbered (0, 2, 4, etc.)
samples from the B and R components. Link B data stream contains the odd-numbered (1, 3, 5, etc.)
samples from the B and R components plus all the A component samples (see Fig. 17).
42 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7

Pixel bit Total words per Total words of active image Word number
Frame/field rates
depth transmission package data per transmission package a

60 or 60/1.001 fields,
10 bit 2200 1920 2199
30 or 30/1.001 frames

50 fields,
10 bit 2640 1920 2639
25 frames

24 or 24/1.001 frames 10 bit 2750 1920 2749

 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 43

1.3 Multiplex structure

The video data words shall be conveyed in the following order: (see Fig. 18)
Link A data stream: B0, G0, R0, G1, B2, G2, R2, G3 ...
Link B data stream: B1, A0, R1, A1, B3, A2, R3, A3 ...

1.4 Auxiliary signal

Use of the auxiliary (A) signal is application dependent.
If the auxiliary signal is not present, the default value of the auxiliary component shall be set to 64h.
If the auxiliary signal is used for conveying picture information, the raster format and frame/field
rate shall be the same as the RGB components carried on the interface. If the auxiliary signal is used
for conveying non-picture information, data words of the auxiliary signal shall be 8-bit maximum.
Data values 000h to 003h and 3FCh to 3FFh shall not be permitted.

2 4:4:4 (RGB) 12-bit signals of 30/P, 30/PsF, 60/I, 25/P, 25/PsF, 50/I, 24/P and 24/PsF
systems

2.1 Source sample numbering

Each line of the G, B, and R components consists of 2 750, 2 640 or 2 200 total samples as shown in
Table 11. The samples are designated 0-2 749, 0-2 639 or 0-2 199 and the individual samples are
designated by suffixes such as sample G135 or sample B429. The samples are 12-bit quantized,
which may be done according to the digital encoding equations in Recommendation
ITU-R BT.1361. The most significant 10 bits of the 12-bit samples are designated by suffixes such
as sample G135:2-11 or sample B429:2-11, and the least significant 2 bits of 12-bit samples are
designated by suffixes such as sample G135:0-1 or sample B429:0-1. The least significant 2 bits of
the R, G and B signals are mapped to the 1st channel of link B, and are designated by suffixes such
as RGB135:0-1. The n-th bit of R, G and B signals is designated by a suffix such as G:n. The
RGB:0-1 data structure is defined in § 2.3.

2.2 Interface data streams

Link A data stream contains the most significant 10 bits of all the G component samples, plus the
most significant 10 bits of the even-numbered (0, 2, 4, etc.) samples in the B and R components.
Link B data stream contains the most significant 10 bits of odd-numbered (1, 3, 5, etc.) samples in
the B and R components, plus the least significant 2 bits from all the samples in the R, G and B
components (see Fig. 19).
44 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7

Total words per

Pixel bit Total words of active image Word number
Frame/field rate transmission
depth data per transmission package a
package

60 or 60/1.001 fields,
12 bits 2200 1920 2199
30 or 30/1.001 frames

50 fields,
12 bits 2640 1920 2639
25 frames

24 or 24/1.001 frames 12 bits 2750 1920 2749

 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 45

2.3 RGB:0-1 onto first channel of link B data mapping

Mapping of the least significant 2 bits from R, G and B onto the first channel of link B is shown in
Table 31.

TABLE 31
RGB:0-1 onto first channel of link B mapping structure
Bit number
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
Word
(MSB) (LSB)
___
B8 EP G:1 G:0 B:1 B:0 R:1 R:0 Res Res
MSB: most significant bit.
LSB: least significant bit.
Bit 8 is the even parity for Bit 7 through Bit 0.
Bit 9 is the complement of Bit 8.
Bit 0 and Bit 1 are the reserved bits (reserved bits shall be set to 0 until defined).

2.4 Multiplex structure

The video data words shall be conveyed in the following order: (see Fig. 20)
Link A data stream: B0:2-11, G0:2-11, R0:2-11, G1:2-11, B2:2-11, G2:2-11, R2:2-11, G3:2-11 ...
Link B data stream: B1:2-11, RGB0:0-1, R1:2-11, RGB1:0-1, B3:2-11, RGB2:0-1, R3:2-11,
RGB3:0-1 ...

3 4:2:2 (YCBCR) 12-bit signals of 30/P, 30/PsF, 60/I, 25/P, 25/PsF, 50/I, 24/P and 24/PsF
systems

3.1 Source sample numbering

Each line of the Y component consists of 2 750, 2 640 or 2 200 total samples and each line of the CB
and CR components consists of 1 375, 1 320, or 1 100 total samples, as shown in Table 11. The
samples are designated 0-2 749, 0-2 639 or 0-2 199 for Y component and 0-1 374, 0-1 319 or 0-1 099
for CB and CR components, and the individual samples are designated by suffixes such as sample
Y135 or sample CB429. The samples are 12-bit quantized, which may be done according to the
digital encoding equations in Recommendation ITU-R BT.1361. The most significant 10 bits of the
12-bit samples are designated by suffixes such as sample Y135:2-11 or sample CB429:2-11, and the
46 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7

least significant 2 bits of 12-bit samples are designated by suffixes such as sample Y135:0-1 or
sample CB429:0-1. The least significant 2 bits of the Y, CB and CR signals are mapped to the first
channel of link B, and are designated by suffixes such as YCBCR135:0-1 and Y136:0-1. The n-th bit
of Y, CB and CR signals is designated by a suffix such as Y:n. The YCBCR:0-1 and Y:0-1 data
structure is defined in § 3.3.

3.2 Interface data streams

Link A data stream contains the most significant 10 bits of all the Y component samples plus the
most significant 10 bits of all the even-numbered CB, CR components samples. Link B data stream
contains the least significant 2 bits of Y, CB, CR components samples at even-numbered sample
points, and the least significant 2 bits of Y (only) at odd-numbered sample points, plus the A
component (see Fig. 21).

3.3 YCBCR:0-1 and Y:0-1 onto first channel of link B data mapping
Mapping of the least significant 2 bits from the even-numbered samples of Y, CB and CR, and the
least significant 2 bits from the odd-numbered samples of Y (only), onto the first channel of link B,
is shown in Tables 32 and 33 and Fig. 22.

TABLE 32
YCBCR:0-1 onto first channel of link B mapping structure
Bit number
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
Word
(MSB) (LSB)
___
Bit8 EP Y:1 Y:0 CB:1 CB:0 CR:1 CR:0 Res Res
MSB: most significant bit.
LSB: least significant bit.
Bit 8 is the even parity for Bit 7 through Bit 0.
Bit 9 is the complement of Bit 8.
Bit 0 and Bit 1 are the reserved bits (reserved bits shall be set to 0 until defined).

TABLE 33
Y:0-1 onto 1st channel of link B mapping structure
Bit number
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
Word
(MSB) (LSB)
___
Bit8 EP Y:1 Y:0 Res Res Res Res Res Res
MSB: most significant bit.
LSB: least significant bit.
Bit 8 is the even parity for Bit 7 through Bit 0.
Bit 9 is the complement of Bit 8.
Bit 0 and Bit 1 are the reserved bits (reserved bits shall be set to 0 until defined).
 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 47

Pixel bit Total words per Total words of active image Word number
Frame/field rate
depth transmission package data per transmission package a

60 or 60/1.001 fields,
12 bit 2200 1920 2199
30 or 30/1.001 frames

50 fields,
12 bit 2640 1920 2639
25 frames

24 or 24/1.001 frames 12 bit 2750 1920 2749

48 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7

3.4 Multiplex structure

The video data words shall be conveyed in the following order: (see Fig. 22)
Link A data stream: CB0:2-11, Y0:2-11, CR0:2-11, Y1:2-11, CB2:2-11, Y2:2-11, CR2:2-11,
Y3:2-11 ...
Link B data stream: A0, YCBCR0:0-1, A1, Y1:0-1, A2, YCBCR2:0-1, A3, Y3:0-1 ...

3.5 Auxiliary signal

See § 1.4.

4 4:4:4 (YCBCR), 4:4:4:4 (YCBCR + A) 10-bit signals of 30/P, 30/PsF, 60/I, 25/P, 25/PsF,
50/I, 24/P and 24/PsF systems

4.1 Source sample numbering

Each line of the Y, CB, CR and A component consists of 2 750, 2 640 or 2 200 total samples. The
samples are designated 0-2 749, 0-2 639, or 0-2I199 and the individual samples are designated by
suffixes such as sample Y135 or sample CB429.

4.2 Interface data streams

Link A data stream contains all the Y component samples plus the even-numbered (0, 2, 4, etc.)
samples from the CB and CR components. Link B data stream contains the odd-numbered (1, 3,
5, etc.) samples from the CB and CR components plus all the A component samples (see Fig. 23).
 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 49

Pixel bit Total words per Total words of active image Word number
Frame/field rates
depth transmission package data per transmission package a

60 or 60/1.001 fields,
10 bit 2200 1920 2199
30 or 30/1.001 frames

50 fields,
10 bit 2640 1920 2639
25 frames

24 or 24/1.001 frames 10 bit 2750 1920 2749

50 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7

4.3 Multiplex structure

The video data words shall be conveyed in the following order: (see Fig. 24)
Link A data stream: CB0, Y0, CR0, Y1, CB2, Y2, CR2, Y3 ...
Link B data stream: CB1, A0, CR1, A1, CB3, A2, CR3, A3 ...

4.4 Auxiliary signal

See § 1.4.

5 4:4:4 (YCBCR) 12-bit signals of 30/P, 30/PsF, 60/I, 25/P, 25/PsF, 50/I, 24/P and 24/PsF
systems

5.1 Source sample numbering

Each line of the Y, CB, and CR components consists of 2 750, 2 640 or 2 200 total samples. The
samples are designated 0-2 749, 0-2 639 or 0-2 199 and the individual samples are designated by
suffixes such as sample Y135 or sample CB429. The samples are 12-bit quantized, which may be
done according to the digital encoding equations in Recommendation ITU-R BT.1361. The most
significant 10 bits of the 12-bit samples are designated by suffixes such as sample Y135:2-11 or
sample CB429:2-11, and the least significant 2 bits of 12-bit samples are designated by suffixes such
as sample Y135:0-1 or sample CB429:0-1. The least significant 2 bits of the Y, CB and CR signals are
mapped to the 1st channel of link B, and are designated by suffixes such as YCBCR135:0-1. The n-th
bit of Y, CB and CR signals is designated by a suffix such as Y:n. The YCBCR:0-1 data structure is
defined as per § 3.3.

5.2 Interface data streams

Link A data stream contains the most significant 10 bits of all the Y component samples, plus the
most significant 10 bits of the even-numbered (0, 2, 4, etc.) samples in the CB and CR components.
Link B data stream contains the most significant 10 bits of odd-numbered (1, 3, 5, etc.) samples in
the CB and CR components, plus the least significant 2 bits from all the samples in the Y, CB and CR
components (see Fig. 25).
 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 51

Pixel bit Total words per Total words of active image Word number
Frame/field rate
depth transmission package data per transmission package a

60 or 60/1.001 fields,
12 bit 2200 1920 2199
30 or 30/1.001 frames

50 fields,
12 bit 2640 1920 2639
25 frames

24 or 24/1.001 frames 12 bit 2750 1920 2749

52 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7

5.3 Multiplex structure

The video data words shall be conveyed in the following order: (see Fig. 26)
Link A data stream: CB0:2-11, Y0:2-11, CR0:2-11, Y1:2-11, CB2:2-11, Y2:2-11, CR2:2-11,
Y3:2-11 ...
Link B data stream: CB1:2-11, YCBCR0:0-1, CR1:2-11, YCBCR1:0-1, CB3:2-11, YCBCR2:0-1,
CR3:2-11, YCBCR3:0-1 ...

Appendix 2
to Part 2

Alternative HDTV applications of the 2.97 Gbit/s single link

The 2.97 Gbit/s (nominal) serial digital interface can also be used to convey HDTV source signal
formats listed in Table 30.
The mappings of the signals defined in Table 30 are to be found in Appendix 1 to Part 2. In order to
use the same mappings for the single-link application the following process is required:

1 Dual-link to single-link conversion

This conversion is transparent and reversible.

1.1 Link A, link B multiplexing

To maintain the transparent conversion between single and dual-link operation the following rule
should apply, dual-link A data is multiplexed with dual-link B data as shown in Fig. 27.
 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 53

Annex 1

Bit-serial digital checkfield for use in

the HDTV digital interfaces

1 Scope
This Annex specifies digital test signals suitable for evaluating the low-frequency response of
equipment handling HDTV serial digital video signals. Although a range of signals will produce the
desired low-frequency effects, two specific signals are defined to test cable equalization and PLL
lock-in, respectively. In the past, these two signals have been colloquially called “pathological
signals.”

2 General considerations
Stressing of the automatic equalizer is accomplished by using a signal with the maximum number
of ones or zeros, with infrequent single clock period pulses to the opposite level. Stressing of
the PLL is accomplished by using a signal with a maximum low-frequency content; that is, with a
maximum time between level transitions.
54 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7

2.1 Channel coding of the serial digital signal defined in this Recommendation utilizes
scrambling and encoding into NRZI accomplished by a concatenation of the two following
functions:

G1 (x) = x9 + x4 + 1 G2 (x) = x + 1

As a result of the channel coding, long runs of zeros in the G2 (x) output data can be obtained when
the scrambler, G1 (x), is in a certain state at the time when the specific words arrive. That certain
state will be present on a regular basis; therefore, continuous application of the specific data words
will regularly produce the low-frequency effects.
2.2 Although the longest run of parallel data zeros (40 consecutive zeros) will occur during the
EAV/SAV timing reference sequence (TRS) words, the frequency with which the scrambling of the
TRS words coincide with the required scrambler state to permit either stressing condition is low. In
the instances where this coincidence occurs, the generation of the stressing condition is so time
limited that equalizers and PLLs are not maximally stressed.
2.3 In the data portions of digital video signals (excluding TRS words in EAVs or SAVs, and
ANC data flag words), the sample values are restricted to exclude data levels 0.00 to 0.75 and
255.00 to 255.75 (000h to 003h and 3FCh to 3FFh in 10-bit hexadecimal representation and 00.0h to
00.Ch and FF.0h to FF.Ch, in 8.2 hexadecimal notation) (see Note 1). The result of this restriction is
that the longest run of zeros, at the scrambler input, is 16 (bits), occurring when a sample value of
128.00 (200h or 80.0h) is followed by a value between 1.00 (004h or 01.0h) and 1.75 (007h or 01.Ch).
This situation can produce up to 26 consecutive zeros at the NRZI output, which is (also) not a
maximally stressed case.
NOTE 1 – Within this Annex, the contents of digital word are expressed in both decimal and hexadecimal
form. In decimal form, the eight MSBs are considered to be an integer part while the two additional bits are
considered to be fractional parts. In hexadecimal form, both 10-bit hexadecimal and 8.2 hexadecimal
notation are used. For example, the bit pattern 1001000101 would be expressed as 145.25, 245h or 91.4h.
2.4 Other specific data words in combination with specific scrambler states can produce a
repetitive low-frequency serial output signal until the next EAV or SAV affects the scrambler state.
It is these combinations of data words that form the basis of the test signals defined by this Annex.
2.5 Because of the Y/C interleaved nature of the component digital signal, it is possible to
obtain nearly any permutation of word pair data values over the entire active picture area by
defining a particular flat colour field in a noise-free environment. Certain of these permutations of
word pair data values will produce the desired low-frequency effects.

3 Checkfield data
3.1 Receiver equalizer testing is accomplished by producing a serial digital signal with
maximum d.c. content. Applying the sequence 192.00 (300h or C0.0h), 102.00 (198h or 66.0h)
continuously to the C and Y samples (respectively) during the active line will produce a signal of 19
consecutive high (low) states followed by one low (high) state in a repetitive manner, once the
scrambler attains the required starting condition. Either polarity of the signal can be realized,
indicated by the level of the 19 consecutive states. By producing approximately half of a field of
continuous lines containing this sequence, the required scrambler starting condition will be realized
on several lines, and this will result in the generation of the desired equalizer testing condition.
 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 55

3.2 Receiver PLL testing is accomplished by producing a serial digital signal with maximum
low-frequency content and minimum high-frequency content (i.e., lowest frequency of level
transitions). Applying the sequence 128.00 (200h or 80.0h), 68.00 (110h or 44.0h) continuously to the
C and Y samples (respectively) during the active line will produce a signal of 20 consecutive high
(low) states followed by 20 low (high) states in a repetitive manner, once the scrambler attains the
required starting condition. By producing approximately half of a field of continuous lines
containing this sequence, the required scrambler starting condition will be realized on several lines,
and this will result in the generation of the desired PLL testing condition.
3.3 Because the equalizer test works by producing a serial digital signal with a bias, steps must
be taken to ensure that both polarities of bias are realized. To change the polarity of the bias from
one frame to the next, the sum total of all the bits in all the data words in all the lines in a video
field must be odd.
To ensure that the polarity of the bias can change often, a single Y sample data word in the signal is
changed from 120.00 (198h or 66.0h) to 100.00 (190h or 64.0h) (a net change of 1 data bit), once
every other frame. This causes the bias polarity to alternate at a frame rate regardless of whether the
original frame bit sum is even or odd. The data word in which the value substitution is made is the
first Y sample in the first active picture line of every other frame. The specific word and line for
each signal format is listed in Table 34 as the polarity control word.
3.4 The sequence 192.00 (300h or C0.0h), 102.00 (198h or 66.0h) and 128.00 (200h or 80.0h),
68.00 (110h or 44.0h) applied to C and Y samples results in shades of purple and gray, respectively.
Reversing the C and Y ordering for each of these two sequences results in lighter and darker shades
of green, respectively. Table 34 illustrates one ordering of each of the two sequences, but either
ordering of the data values for each sequence is permitted by this Annex.
If the ordering described in § 3.1 is reversed, then the polarity control word described in § 3.3 is
changed to 128.00 (200h or 80.0h). The polarity control word in either case is located at the first Y
sample in the first active picture line in the field(s) specified in § 3.3.

4 Serial digital interface (SDI) checkfield

Distribution of data in the SDI checkfield is shown in Fig. 28 for the signal standards. Specific
distributions of sample values are shown in Table 34. In each field, the line where the signal
transitions from the equalizer test signal data pattern to the PLL test signal data pattern is specified,
is given as a range of lines, rather than as a single specific line. Although the specific line selected
within the specified range is not technically significant, the transition point should be consistent
from frame-to-frame and from field-to-field (in the case of interlaced signal formats).
56 Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7

TABLE 34
SDI checkfield sample values

Part 1 Part 2
System 1125/60/2:1 1250/50/2:1 60/I, 30/PsF, 60/P, 30/P,
50/I, 25/PsF, 50/P, 25/P,
24/PsF 24/P
Number of active Y 1920
samples per line
Number of active lines 1035 1152 1080
First line 41 (field 1) 45 (field 1) 21 (field/segment 1) 42
603 (field 2) 670 (field 2) 584 (field/segment 2)
Last line (range) 295-302 329-335 287-293 578-585
(field 1) (field 1) (field/segment 1)
858-865 954-960 850-856
(field 2) (field 2) (field/segment 2)
Equalizer Data values(1) Samples
test signal
192.00 CB 0 ... 3836
102.00 Y 1 ... 3837
192.00 CR 2 ... 3838
102.00 Y 3 ... 3839
Polarity
control word (Every other frame)
Data value(1),(2) Line 41 Line 45 Line 21 Line 42
100.00 Y Sample 1 Sample 1 Sample 1 Sample 1
First line 296-303 330-336 288-294 579-586
(range)(3) (field 1) (field 1) (field/segment 1)
859-866 955-961 851-857
(field 2) (field 2) (field/segment 2)
Last line 557 (field 1) 620 (field 1) 560 (field/segment 1) 1121

PLL 1120 (field 2) 1245 (field 2) 1123 (field/segment 2)

test signal Data values(1) Samples
128,00 CB 0 ... 3836
68,00 Y 1 ... 3837
128,00 CR 2 ... 3838
68,00 Y 3 ... 3839
(1) The ordering of data values for each of the pairs of sample values may be reversed. If the ordering of the samples is
reversed from the ordering in this Table, then the polarity control word value is (128.00 Y ) (see § 3.4).
(2) The polarity change word is a substitution of the first active picture area Y sample, made in the first active picture line
of every other frame (see § 3.3).
(3) A range of line numbers for transitioning between the two test patterns is provided. The transition point within these
ranges must be consistent across all fields (see § 4).
Rec. ITU-R BT.1120-7 57