FREE TV AUSTRALIA OPERATIONAL PRACTICE OP-20 1. SCOPE ...

FREE TV AUSTRALIA OPERATIONAL PRACTICE OP-20
FILM TO TAPE TRANSFERS Issue 1
June 1986
Page 1 of 11
1. SCOPE
This document recommends the format and technical characteristics for programs transferred
from film to PAL 25.4mm ‘C’ format Videotape.
The basic film transfer requirement is PAL Telecine to PAL Videotape at 25 frames per
second. Film scanning hardware should be either a flying spot or CCD equipment. The
resultant videotape should be only one generation removed from the final compiled master.
The resultant software should be of broadcast quality and capable of being transmitted
without any further processing of picture or sound - this implies:
a) A programmed telecine transfer of satisfactory and consistent scene by scene
picture quality.
b) A sound recording of suitable quality and dynamic range appropriate for
television broadcast (Appendix A.2.2 Audio)
2. TAPE FORMAT
2.1 The tape format is 25.4mm helical-scan, non-segmented field EBU format 'C' as
described in the applicable section of EBU Technical Information sheet No. 7.
2.2 Stereo program sound should be supplied with left channel on Track 1 and right
channel on Track 2. Monaural programs should be supplied with two track mono,
Tracks 1 and 2.
2.3 EBU timecode should be carried as a VITC on lines 18 (331) and 20 (333) of the
vertical interval and longitudinal time code on Audio Track 3 in accordance with
EBU technical document 3097 Edition 3.
2.4 The pre-program test section should be in accordance with Free TV Australia
Operational Practice OP 10.
3. PROGRAM MATERIAL
3.1 Program original material should be from the highest quality source available; where
possible this should be 35mm positive film for the image and separate magnetic tape
for the audio.
Mediums for transfer in order of preference are:
a) 35mm - Interpositive and Separate Magnetic Sound.
b) 35mm - Low Contrast. Release Print with Separate Magnetic Sound.
c) 35mm - Low Contrast. Release with Optical Sound.

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June 1986
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d) 35mm - Projection Contrast. Release Print.
e) Other material by prior arrangement.
3.2 If material was originally produced with stereo sound, a stereo transfer should be
provided. The stereo mix should be equivalent to that on a stereo variable area 2 track
master (i.e. centre and surround information contained within stereo left and right
tracks to produce a "phantom" centre channel).
3.3 A composite audio mix should be provided, not separate M and E and dialogue tracks.
3.4 Any horizontal and vertical instability of the image should not be less than 0.1% of
picture height. The rate of picture movement should not be subjectively annoying.
Any variation from this should be infrequent and of short duration.
The film print should be clean and free of both surface and printed dirt and should be
free of emulsion or base side damage.
4. VIDEO FORMAT
4.1 Video signals shall be 625 line/50 field per second PAL format, with sync. and
blanking in accordance with CCIR recommendation 472-1 and the specification given
in CCIR Report 624-1 which apply to color video signals for use in PAL B, G, H or I
television systems.
4.2 Insertion Test Signals (ITS) should originate at the Telecine and should not be deleted
at any stage i.e. they should appear on the release copy. ITS signals on lines 17 and
330 should be those recommended by the CCIR for international program exchange
viz:
Line 17 - Luminance bar, 2T pulse, composite 20T pulse, 5 riser luminance
staircase without subcarrier.
Line 330 - Luminance bar, 2T pulse, 5 riser staircase with subcarrier.
5. AUDIO FORMAT
5.1 Mono. audio material should be recorded on both Tracks 1 and 2. Recordings with
dissimilar audio on Tracks 1 and 2 are not desirable (except stereo).
5.2 Stereo shall be recorded with the left channel on Track 1 and the right channel on
Track 2. Left and right channels shall be recorded in phase from line up signals to
end of program.
5.3 Program audio should not be companded except by prior arrangement in which case it
should Dolby A.

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FILM TO TAPE TRANSFERS Issue 1
June 1986
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5.4 The audio recording must be in sync. with the vision (limit ± 1 frame).
5.5 0dBmOs alignment level must be equivalent to a flux level of 100nWb/M.
6. TAPE MACHINE COMPATIBILITY
Compatibility of record/replay machines requires the following:
6.1 The tape must be recorded under conditions such that it can be satisfactorily replayed
on any 25.4mm 'C' format machine aligned to its manufacturer's specifications.
6.2 The record machine shall use video heads designed for the EBU 'C' format.
6.3 The color frame pulse must appear on Field 1.
6.4 The first four broad segments of the vertical sync. must be recorded. The RF
envelope should be flat and of high amplitude.
6.5 Relative phase error between audio Tracks 1 and 2 should not exceed 5° at 3KHz and
30° at 15 KHz.
7. SUBJECTIVE PICTURE AND SOUND QUALITY
Luminance Quality
7.1 Picture black level should appear to be correct, free of noticeable black crushing,
compression or clipped dark areas.
7.2 Low key scenes should have sufficient contrast and APL (average picture level) to
appear acceptable under normal viewing conditions.
7.3 Picture white areas, where detail is required, should appear normal and free of
noticeable highlight compression.
7.4 Transient response should be crisp and clean, free of noticeable horizontal and
vertical pre-shoot, over-shoot, smear, ringing, echoes (ghosts) and afterglow errors.
8. SOUND QUALITY
8.1 Overall sound quality should be pleasing and free of noticeable noise or spurious
signals (e.g. hum, buzz, distortion, wow, flutter, distortion or excessive sibilants).
(See Appendix E.)
8.2 Tonal balance, bass to mid range to treble, should be pleasing and believable.
8.3 Stereo program should have correct left-right relationship between picture and sound.

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June 1986
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8.4 Left and right stereo audio channels should be in-phase from beginning to end of tape.
9. MONITORING AND CONTROL
This section specifies the conditions of monitoring which will be used to assess the program
technical quality.
9.1 The color monitor will be at least 50cm diagonal in size and mounted in an
illuminated surround in accordance with EBU/SMPTE recommendations. The
monitor will be grade 1 PAL monitor with a picture tube using standard EBU
phosphors.
9.2 The monitor will be adjusted for grey scale tracking so as to produce illuminant D
(6,500K) from black to white. A known optical source of illuminant D will be used as
a reference for calibration, e.g. a "Grafikon" source.
9.3 The monitor will be adjusted to produce 25 foot lamberts brightness on peak white
signal. The black brightness will be set with a PAL "Pluge" or similar signal. The
chroma level will be set accurately by use of a test signal intended for that purpose
(e.g. Philips PM5544 test pattern)
9.4 The illuminated surround will be of a size and will produce illuminant D at a
brightness level as recommended by EBU/SMPTE. The monitor will be viewed at a
distance of approximately 5 times the picture height.
9.5 If dual standard monitors are used for monitoring the PAL signal, care will be
exercised in the line up of the black brightness. (The PAL signal does not employ
7 1/2 IRE units of set up. Reference black in PAL is zero IRE.)
Audio Monitoring:
The audio will be monitored in a quiet environment using two separate loudspeaker systems.
One will be a quality sound monitor, the other representative of a home receiver. The audio
will be monitored at an appropriate sound level so as to be consistent with the home
environment.
10. ASSESSMENT OF QUALITY
The technical quality will be assessed in accordance with the following criteria:
10.1 The whites (highlights) and deep shadows should be neutral at approximately
illuminate D, i.e. zero sub-carrier at highlights and deep shadows.
10.2 The shadow detail should be maximised consistent with the overall graduation
characteristics. On an average scene, this will tend to distribute the video content
evenly over the black and white range. The telecine should be able to maintain its
minimum gamma value law over a contrast range of at least 150 to 1. (Care of the

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telecine optical system is important in maintaining good contrast handling and stable
black levels.)
10.3 The overall color balance of normal scenes should produce the impression of scenes
illuminated by light of approximately illuminate D. The skin tones should always be
of a believable hue and a believable level of saturation irrespective of what racial
group is being portrayed. As a guide the average Caucasian skin tone tends to have
the hue and amplitude of the positive burst vector of a PAL signal.
10.4 Contour correction. The pictures should have the appearance of subtle sparkle or
crispness due to just the right amount of contour correction - the vertical and
horizontal edges should be equal and not exaggerated. It is possible to trade a small
amount of film grain to achieve the above subtle sparkle or crispness.
10.5 Monochrome material should have no color tint.
11. TELECINE PERFORMANCE
11.1 The telecine performance should not be less than that indicated in A4. The two
following paragraphs refer to flying spot scanners.
11.2 The scanning tube should be free of all blemishes as per the specification for Rank
Cintel 1855 X 3 tubes.
11.3 The after glow corrector should be correctly aligned, with no noticeable neutral or
color streaking.
11.4 The horizontal aperture corrector setting should give at least 100% depth of
modulation at 400 lines*. The contour correction should be set subjectively - with a
minimum amount of coring used and little visible enhancement of film grain. The
amounts of vertical and horizontal contour correction should be equal.
11.5 Anamorphic transfers require that the horizontal corrector be reset for at least 100%
depth of modulation at 600 lines* on the SMPTE resolution test film (TV 35-AR).
11.6 Auto color balance devices should not be employed.
11.7 Additional down stream noise reduction devices should not be used.
11.8 Limited AGC may be used so that densities between 0 and 0.5 will reproduce at 100%
video level - however, the action of these circuits should be subtle.
11.9 Correct framing and full frame height and geometry should be maintained throughout
the program.

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June 1986
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Note:
Horizontal blanking and picture geometry should be achieved at the Telecine chain and not
by any downstream digital video processing.
12. ANAMORPHIC TRANSFERS
12.1 The picture height should be set such that image occupies the full active vertical scan.
The horizontal width should then be set for correct geometry.
12.2 Panning and scanning of anamorphic prints should be pre-programmed. Visible
picture disturbances caused by rapid panning should be minimised.
* The resolution test film needs to be calibrated to allow for optical film losses.
13. PROGRAM FORMAT
13.1 Where possible, programs should be recorded continuously on a single tape with a
maximum reel size of 29.85 cm (120 mins).
13.2 Feature material should be recorded continuously without breaks.
13.3 Material produced with built-in commercial breaks should be transferred with normal
fade to black and immediate return to the next segment. Any integrations (e.g. "place
commercial here") or sponsor credits should be deleted.
13.4 Color burst should be present on all video tapes, whether the program material is
color or monochrome.
13.5 In general, the following should be avoided as they may result in rejection:
a) Lack of continuity from one reel to the next reel e.g. overlapping of scenes.
b) Tape dropouts that cannot be corrected by a dropout compensator circuit.
c) Film edits or joins which cause a disturbance to the picture stability.
d) Tape edits which do not maintain color frame continuity or control track and
color frame pulse continuity.
e) Tearing, jitter and/or other synchronisation defects.
f) Visible streaking or afterglow.
g) Changes of framing position during program time.

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h) Scratches, sprocket marks, dirt accumulation in the gate mechanism or on the
face of the scanning tube.
i) Chroma/burst phase errors greater than 10ø.
j) Noticeable audio distortion, especially in the sibilant area; noticeable wow or
flutter.
k) Out of focus or "soft" images.
l) Excessive telecine flare.
m) Titles outside of safe title area.
n) Over enhanced picture edges.
o) Poor transient response.
14. DOCUMENTATION
14.1 The tape box, reel and clapper shall be labelled in accordance with Free TV Australia
Operational Practice OP13.
14.2 A cue sheet should be supplied showing times of segments and overall time in
timecode notation. The cue sheet should also indicate any problems or unusual
characteristics of the transfer.
Appendix A
This is not part of OP20 but is included to facilitate its use.
A.1 PROBLEMS EXPERIENCED
Some of the standard problems on material supplied to Free TV Australia members which we
wish to overcome are:
A.1.1 The use of photoconductive telecines.
A.1.2 The use of standards converted film transfers.
A.1.3 Soft pictures (focus).
A.1.4 Poor shadow detail.
A.1.5 Color in blacks and highlights.
A.1.6 Blacks clipped into blanking or, black level too high (e.g. NTSC set up).

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A.1.7 Poor rendition of skin tones.
A.1.8 Lack of telecine grading or inconsistent grading.
A.1.9 Incorrect LF response, smear, badly adjusted afterglow.
A.1.10 Incorrect HF response (ringing and overshoot).
A.1.11 Noise due to excessive tape generations.
A.1.12 Under enhanced pictures.
A.1.13 Incorrect blanking.
A.1.14 Compatibility problems between record/replay machines, e.g. tension and/or
guide problems.
A.1.15 Incorrect aspect ratio of picture.
A.1.16 Worn/damaged film.
A.1.17 Severe shading or fogging (usually blue) due to CRI process.
A.2 TRANSFER REQUIREMENTS
A.2.1 Video
Program video luminance levels should comply with the following (waveform
monitor in LUM Position and IRE graticule).
Maximum significant white 100 IRE = 700 mV
Maximum specular white 103 - 105 IRE = 721 - 735 mV
(clipping level)
Maximum excursion of black transients 0 IRE - Blanking Level
Blanking level 0 IRE
Sync. level -43 IRE
Sync. and burst p-p amplitude 43 IRE = 300 mV
Pre-program color bars should be used to set up tape playback video levels.
The chroma amplitude, should be set by adjusting the green bar to the
blanking level.

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June 1986
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A.2.2 Audio
Chroma phase errors should be nulled on the yellow bar as a standard practice.
Peak level determined by a quasi-peak program meter (not VU meter) shall
not exceed 9dB above 0dbm0s (100nWb/M).
Average levels shall be adjusted to maintain program audio as close to
0dBm0s as possible without noticeable use of compression or limiting.
Level continuity should be such that no sudden change in average level greater
than 3dB occurs within a continuous sequence, unless the change is for artistic
effort.
The dynamic range of the recorded signal should be suitable for the home
environment. The audio should be continuously adjusted or moderately
compressed to achieve the above.
With respect to compression the following is offered as a guide.
For a typical stereo theatrical sound track where music and effects average
0VU, dialogue at -8VU and ambience at -20VU, set the compressor threshold
at approximately -4VU with a compression ratio not greater than 2:1. Attack
and release times should suit the material in question.
A.3 TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE
A.3.1 Video
Measurements on the release videotape made using the ITS signals should
demonstrate compliance with the following:
K Factor (2T pulse and bar) maximum error 2%
K Factor (20T) maximum error 2%
Signal-to-noise ratio (unweighted) better than 43dB
Low frequency linearity maximum error 2%
Differential gain maximum error 4%
Differential phase max.error at 4.43MHz 4°
Relative chrominance/luminance delay not more than 50nS
Moire (on line up section color bars) better than -35dB

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ITS signal level 100IRE = 700mV
Picture horizontal blanking (onprogram) 11.8uS-12.3uS
Preferable 12uS
Vertical blanking(on program) 25H + 12uS
Chroma phase error (on program) less than 10°
A.4 The film scanning equipment should be capable of meeting the following
specifications.
A.4.1 Telecine Video/Audio Channel Performance Specifications
Video
Pulse and Bar Response 1% K rating on 2T pulse and bar. Measured with
500mV signals on a 100mVu pedestal.
Frequency Response ±1.0dB from 100KHz to 5.5MHz. Measured with
500mV signal on a 100mVupedestal.
Blanking Rise and fall times 0.3uS ñ 0.1uS.
S/N Red not less than -40 dB
Green not less than -47 dB
Blue not less than -38 dB
Luminance not less than -47 dB
Measured at a gamma of 0.4, zero aperture correction, N.D. of 1 in gate: dB ratio
being 0.7V /rms noise voltage.
Coherant Noise Better than -50dB
White shading 3% RGB maximum, differential shading better than 1% R-G B-G
interfield 1% maximum.
Log masking should be used such that the Kodak T.A.F. reproduces with the colors in
the correct hue, and saturation between 50% and 75%, when viewed on a PAL
vectorscope set to 75% saturation.

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A.4.2 Audio
Distortion 0dBm0s +8dBm0s
30Hz less than 0.3% 0.3%
100Hz less than 0.2% 0.2%
1KHz less than 0.2% 0.2%
5KHz less than 0.2% 0.2%
Distortion SMPTE 35mm/16mm 1000Hz/400Hz film 5% maximum using p35-sl,
p16-sl respectively.
Frequency response
50Hz - 8KHz ±2dB 35mm
50Hz - 7KHz ± 2dB 16mm
70Hz - 9KHz ± 2dB Magnetic(COMMAG)
Wow 0.1%rms 35mm 0.1%rms 16mm
Flutter 0.1%rms 35mm 0.1%rms 16mm
S/N better than 55 dB