Character generator

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about video technology. For hardware character generators in computing context, see text mode. For the Internet service, see Character Generator Protocol. For Chinese character generator, see Chinese character description languages. For other uses, see Character generation (disambiguation).
An Aston Ethos hardware character generator

A character generator, often abbreviated as CG, is a device or software that produces static or animated text (such as

keying into a video
stream. Modern character generators are computer-based, and they can generate graphics as well as text.

History

A. B. Dick 990 System, were among the earliest character generators for broadcast television.[3] CBS Laboratories later developed the more advanced Vidifont system in preparation for the 1968 US presidential elections, where a rapid method of all-electronic character generation was required so that news outlets could identify unexpected interviewees on the spot.[3] A similar generator using analogue electronics, Anchor, was developed by the BBC in 1970[4] and used in the general election later that year.[5][6]

Usage

In the television business in

genericized trademarks
.

Character generators are primarily used in the broadcast areas of

television news presentations, given that the modern character generator can rapidly (i.e., "on the fly") generate high-resolution, animated graphics for use when an unforeseen situation in a broadcast dictates an opportunity for breaking news coverage—for example, when, in a football game, a previously unknown player begins to have what looks to become an outstanding day, the character generator operator can rapidly build a new graphic using the template "shell" of a similarly designed graphic. The character generator is one of many technologies used to meet the demands of live television, where events on the field or in the newsroom
dictate the direction of the coverage. As character generator development has progressed, the distinction between hardware and software generators has become less distinct as new platforms and operating systems evolve to meet the live television consumer's expectations.

Methods

Before character generators were available, the primary method of adding titles to video images was to dedicate one camera to shooting white letters on a black background, which then was combined with the video from a live-action camera to form what appeared to be a single image with white letters seemingly superimposed over it. In fact, to this day (and despite the fact that this technology is long-since antiquated by the modern CG) some directors of live TV continue to order the

television advertising (also included in CG output) which then generates revenue
for the television network.

Although the distinction between hardware and software CGs is becoming less evident as technology advances, and as consumer-grade computing equipment becomes more graphically sophisticated, it remains easiest to view CGs as either hardware- or software-dependent.

Hardware character generators

Hardware character generator for home and semiprofessional use (1994; operated by a pen on a drawing area)
Creation of a title with the above shown hardware character generator (1994; the menu displayed on the TV screen is controlled by the pen movement on the drawing area)

Hardware character generators are used in

alpha channel
to determine which areas of the CG video are translucent.

Software character generators

Software CGs run on standard off-the-shelf computer hardware and are often integrated into

non-linear editing system (NLE). Some stand-alone character generator products are available, however, for applications that do not even attempt to offer text generation on their own, as high-end video editing
software often does, or whose internal CG effects are not flexible and powerful enough. Some software CGs can be used in live production with special software and computer video interface cards. In that case, they are equivalent to hardware generators.

See also

References

  1. ^ "CK1414 Symbolray character generating cathode ray tube data sheet" (PDF). Raytheon Company components division, industrial components operation. 15 April 1966. Retrieved 29 July 2017.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ University of North Texas - Automatic Typographic-Quality Typesetting Techniques: A State-of-the-Art Review
  3. ^ a b Stanley Baron (2008-12-14). "IEEE Global History Network - First-Hand:Inventing the Vidifont: the first electronics graphics machine used in television production". IEEE.
  4. ^ BBC Engineering, Number 84, October 1970, pp15-19
  5. ^ BBC Election 1970 - Part 1, 42:49
  6. ^ BBC Election 1970 - Part 1, 43:24
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