Composite Video

Composite video is the format of an analog television (picture only) signal before it is combined with a sound signal and modulated onto an RF carrier. Composite video is often designated by the CVBS acronym, meaning any of "Color, Video, Blank and Sync", "Composite Video Baseband Signal", "Composite Video Burst Signal", or "Composite Video with Burst and Sync". It is usually in a standard format such as 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 represent hue and saturation or chrominance, between them they carry the color information. They are first mixed with two orthogonal phases of a color carrier signal to form a signal called the chrominance. Y and UV are then combined. Since Y is a baseband signal and UV has been mixed with a carrier, this addition is equivalent to frequency-division multiplexing.