Sea Technology

SEP 2014

The industry's recognized authority for design, engineering and application of equipment and services in the global ocean community

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www.sea-technology.com September 2014 / st 15 image sensors operate on the same basic technologies regardless of their resolution, and as a result have very similar performance per unit area. The reduced sensing area of smaller pixels results in proportionally reduced light sensitivity and poorer signal-to-noise ratio com- pared to the larger pixels of an equivalent size but lower resolution sensor. If a typical one-third-inch-class, standard-defnition imager is used as the basis of comparison, its array of 6.35 by 7.40 micrometer pixels produces a low-noise, well-exposed image with 1 lux of scene illumination. For the same exposure target, a high-defnition im- ager in the same one-third-inch class with an array of 2.8-by-2.8-micrometer pixels requires more than four times as much scene illumination or proportionally T hrough advancements in technology, the tools to ex- plore and work in the depths of the seas have brought humanity closer and closer to these spaces. Remote video technology, which has become ubiquitous in the subsea industry, is among the key technologies that have enabled humans to effectively explore the oceans and operate vehicles at depths beyond the practical reach for manned missions. High-defnition (HD) video solutions offer a substantially higher quality of information than previous video technologies, enabling operators to make better decisions and operate more effectively. Along with improved quality, HD video presents new challenges for operators and system integrators at nearly every level of the subsea imaging system. Understanding how these challenges affect the system is key to maximizing the benefts HD video can offer. Pixel Size Matters The term high defnition refers specifcally to the resolu- tion of an image. For a given optical format of image sensor, higher resolutions are achieved by dividing the image sensor area into smaller, individual sensing areas or pixels. Typical Subsea High-Defnition Video Systems A Primer for System Integrators and Operators By Aaron Steiner • Eric Chapman (Left) Comparison between the pixel-level sensitivity of ex- ample one-third-inch-class standard-defnition and high-def- nition video sensors. The slope is proportional to sensitivity. (Above) For digital video, such as HD-SDI, received video qual- ity is unaffected by signal quality as long as the data are recov- erable. (Image Credits: Mark Whelan)

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