Optical fibre links for digital YUV signals

A recent CCIR recommendation established a digital coding standard for separate component video signals in television signals. The basic serial bit rate for the video signal is 216 Mbit/s. Prototype optical serial link equipment was built and tested with 1 km of optical fiber in the laboratory and an 800 m optical fiber cable installed between two studio centers. The equipment takes a component-coded video signal in parallel form, recodes it, and serializes it for transmission at a bit rate of 270 Mbits. The receiver performs the inverse process. The present limitations of optical switching technology, lack of standardization, cost and complexity of a complete electro-optic interface are the main obstacles to be overcome before this method of transmission can be widely accepted in studio centers.