Video Equipment for Intelligence Imagery Processing

摘要

This report discusses the applicability of broadcast-quality television components for intelligence imagery acquisition, processing, and storage. The quality of 525-line imagery, stored on and replayed from three videotape recording formats is analyzed: 1-inch Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers (SMPTE)-C, broadcast format; 3/4-inch SMPTE-E, U-Matic format, and 1/2-inch SMPTE-L, Betacam format. One-half-inch, L-format equipment, although not quite equal to the professional broadcast-C format performance, is much superior to 3/4-inch U-Matic and should be considered a strong candidate as an acquisition source for intelligence imagery. Emergence of cameras using solid-state charge-coupled device (CCD) imagers offers low-light-level sensitivity, plus image-dimensional stability and accuracy under field conditions. These advantages are not achievable with image-tube cameras. The new cameras should provide superior images for mono and stereo mensuration. Keywords: Video recording; Video resolution; Video mensuration; Video image processing.