Unit 2 Graphics Systems

2.1. Video Display Devices

Video Display Device means an electronic device with an output surface that displays moving graphical
images or a visual representation of image sequences or pictures, showing a number of quickly changing
images on a screen in fast succession to create the illusion of motion.

A video display device may use, but is not limited to, a cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal display
(LCD), gas plasma, digital light processing, or other image projection technology. The primary output
device in a graphics system is a video monitor. The operation of most video monitors is based on the
standard cathode-ray tube (CRT) design, but several other technologies exist and solid-state monitors
may eventually predominate.

2.1.1. Refresh CRT

CRT (Cathode ray tube) monitors look like a television and normally used with non-portable computer
system. This types of monitor uses a large vacuum tube, called CRT.

Basic operation of CRT

 A beam of electrons emitted by an electron gun passes through focusing and deflection system that
direct the beam of electrons emitted by an electron gun passes through focusing and deflection
system that direct the beam towards specified position on phosphor coated screen.
 The phosphor then emits a small spot of light at each position connected by the electron beam.
 Because the light emitted by the phosphor fades very rapidly some method is needed for
maintaining the screen picture. One way to keep the phosphor glowing is to redraw the picture
repeatedly by quickly directing the electron beam back over the same points. This type of display is
called refresh CRT.
 The picture can be redrawn in two ways
o Raster scan:
o Random scan display:

2.1.2. Color CRT

Shadow mask method

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 Raster scan system are use shadow mask methods to produce a much more range of colors than
beam penetration method. In this, CRT has three phosphor color dots. One phosphor dot emits
a red light, second emits a green light and third emits a blue light. This type of CRT has three
electrons guns and a shadow mask grid, three electrons beams are deflected and focused as a
group onto the shadow mask which contains a series of holes. When three beams pass through
a hole in shadow mask they activate dot triangle of 3 colors. The colors we can see depend on
the amount of excitation of red, green and blue phosphor. A white area is a result of all three
dots with equal intensity while yellow is produced with green and red dots and so on.

Advantages
 Produce realistic images
 Produce different colors
 Shadows scenes

Disadvantages
 Low resolution
 Expensive
 Electron beam directed to whole screen

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 Beam Penetration method

Random scan monitors use the beam penetration method for displaying color picture. In this,
the inside of CRT screen is coated two layers of phosphor namely red and green. A beam of slow
electrons excites only the outer red layer, while a beam of fast electrons penetrates red layer
and excites the inner green layer. At intermediate beam speeds, combinations of red and green
light are emitted to show two additional colors- orange and yellow.

Advantage: Less expensive

Disadvantages: Quality of images is not as good as comparable with other methods four colors
are allowed only.

2.1.3. LCD

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 Light spreads out in waves that vibrate in all directions.
 A polarizing filter allows to pass only that light waves that are vibrating more or less horizontally.
 In layer of liquid crystal cells the graphics adapter of PC applies a varying electrical charge to some of
the cells and no charge at all to other cells. In cells to which the current is applied molecules that
make a liquid crystal material react to the charge by forming spiral. The more the charge the more
molecules are twisted.
 Polarized light entering the cells from the rear is twisted along the spiral path of the molecules. The
light passing through cells that have no charge remains unchanged but cells that received charge
twist to some degree between 0 and 90 depending on the amount of charge.
 The light emerging from each of the liquid crystal cells passes through one of the 3 color filters-red,
green, blue- that are arranged close to each other.
 The colored beam of light passes through a second polarizing filter which allows to pass light waves
that are vibrating more or less vertically.
 Because the filter is not entirely precise some of the light wave that passed through the cell with
partial charge ass through the filter while others are blocked.
 The light that was not twisted at all when it passed through the liquid crystal is now blocked
completely.
Advantage of LCD
 Low cost
 Low weight
 Small Size
 Low power consumption

2.1.4. Direct View Storage Tube

 In raster scan display we do refreshing of the screen to maintain a screen image.

 DVST gives alternative method for maintaining the screen image.
 DVST uses the storage grid which stores the picture information as a charge distribution just
behind the phosphor coated screen.
 DVST consists two electron guns a primary gun and a flood gun.
 A primary gun stores the picture pattern and the flood gun maintains the picture display.
 A primary gun emits high speed electrons which strike on the storage grid to draw the picture
pattern.

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  As electron beam strikes on the storage grid with high speed, it knocks out electrons from the
storage grid keeping the net positive charge.
 The knocked out electrons are attracted towards the collector.
 The net positive charge on the storage grid is nothing but the picture pattern.
 The continuous low speed electrons from flood gun pass through the control grid and are
attracted to the positive charged area of the storage grid.
 The low speed electrons then penetrate the storage grid and strike the phosphor coating
without affecting the positive charge pattern on the storage grid.
 During this process the collector just behind the storage grid smooth out the flow of flood
electrons.
Advantage of DVST
 Refreshing of CRT is not required.
 Very complex pictures can be displayed at very high resolution without flicker.
 Flat screen.
Disadvantage of DVST
 They do not display color and are available with single level of line intensity.
 For erasing it is necessary to removal of charge on the storage grid so erasing and redrawing
process take several second.
 Erasing selective part of the screen cannot be possible.
 Cannot used for dynamic graphics application as on erasing it produce unpleasant flash over
entire screen.
 It has poor contrast as a result of the comparatively low accelerating potential applied to the
flood electrons.
 The performance of DVST is somewhat inferior to the refresh CRT.

2.2. Raster scan and Random Scan Display

Raster scan display
Raster scanning is a technique for generating or recording a video image by means of a line-by-line
sweep. Television and printers are using raster scan methods. Most common graphics monitor using CRT
are raster scan displays. In them, the electron beam is swept from top to bottom, one row at a time. As
electron beam moves across each row, the beam intensity is turned on or off to create pattern. This
scanning is also known as non-interlaced scanning. Picture definition is stored in memory are called as
refresh buffer or frame buffer. It has intensity values for all the screen points. These values are then
retrieved and painted on screen one row at a time

After the beam makes one horizontal sweep across the screen, the electron streams is turned off until it
moves to left edge of the screen at a point just below previous scan line.

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Interlaced Raster Scan display

 Some display adapters scans only every other line in each pass. This process is called interlacing.
Sometimes interlacing causes the screen to flicker.
 Interlacing is a technique used in video and image processing, primarily in television and video
displays, to make the transmission of video data more efficient, especially at lower bandwidths.
 In traditional interlaced video, each frame of the video is split into two fields. The first field
contains all the odd-numbered lines (1, 3, 5, etc.) of the image, while the second field contains
the even-numbered lines (2, 4, 6, etc.). These two fields are transmitted one after the other, but
at a rate that gives the appearance of a full frame being shown at the original frame rate.
 The main goal is to reduce the bandwidth required to transmit video. Since each field contains
only half of the total lines in the frame, it takes less time and data to send the image, giving the
illusion of a smoother image without requiring the full frame to be transmitted at once.
 Hence 30 frames/sec refresh rate appears like 60 frames/sec.

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Random scan display

Electron beam is directed only to the parts of the screen where a picture is drawn. Random scan display
draws one line at a time. For this reason they are also called vector displays or stroke writing or
calligraphic display.

Random scan system uses an electron beam which operates like a pencil to create a line image on the
CRT. The image is constructed out of a sequence of straight line segments. Each line segment is drawn
on the screen by directing the beam to move from one point on screen to the next, where each point is
defined by its x and y coordinates. After drawing the picture, the system cycles back to the first line and
design all the lines of the picture 30 to 60 time each second. When operated as a random-scan display
unit, a CRT has the electron beam directed only to the parts of the screen where a picture is to be
drawn. Random-scan monitors draw a picture one line at a time and for this reason are also referred to
as vector displays (or stroke-writing or calligraphic displays). A pen plotter operates in a similar way and
is an example of a random-scan, hard-copy device (Fig: 1.12). Refresh rate on a random-scan system
depends on the number of lines to be displayed. Picture definition is now stored as a set of line-drawing
commands in an area of memory referred to as the refresh display file. Random scan systems are
designed for line drawing applications and can-not display realistic shaded scenes. Since picture
definition is stored as a set of line-drawing instructions and not as a set of intensity values for all screen
points, vector displays generally have higher resolution than raster systems. Also, vector displays
produce smooth line drawings because the CRT beam directly follows the line path.

Base of Difference Raster Scan System Random Scan System

Electron Beam The electron beam is swept across the The electron beam is directed only to the

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 screen, one row at a time, from top to parts of screen where a picture is to be
bottom. drawn.

Resolution Its resolution is poor because raster Its resolution is good because this system
system in contrast produces zigzag produces smooth lines drawings because
lines that are plotted as discrete point CRT beam directly follows the line path.
sets.
Picture Definition Picture definition is stored as a set of Picture definition is stored as a set of line
intensity values for all screen points, drawing instructions in a display file.
called pixels in a refresh buffer area.
Realistic Display The capability of this system to store These systems are designed for line-
intensity values for pixel makes it well drawing and can't display realistic shaded
suited for the realistic display of scenes.
scenes contain shadow and color
pattern.
Draw an Image Screen points/pixels are used to draw Mathematical functions are used to draw
an image. an image.

2.3. Raster Graphics and Vector Graphics

In computer graphics, a raster graphics image, or bitmap, is a dot matrix data structure representing a
generally rectangular grid of pixels, or points of color, viewable via a monitor, paper, or other display
medium. Raster images are stored in image files with varying formats. A bitmap correspond bit -for-bit
with an image displayed on a screen, generally in the same format used for storage in the display's video
memory, or maybe as a device-independent bitmap. A bitmap is technically characterized by the width
and height of the image in pixels and by the number of bits per pixel (a color depth, which determines
the number of colors it can represent).

Vector graphics is the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or
polygon(s), which are all based on mathematical expressions, to represent images in computer graphics.
Vector graphics are based on vectors (also called paths, or strokes) which lead through locations called
control points. Each of these points has a definite position on the x and y axes of the work plan. Each
point, as well, is a variety of database, including the location of the point in the work space and the
direction of the vector (which is what defines the direction of the track). Each track can be assigned a
color, a shape, a thickness and also a fill.

Difference between Raster Graphics and Vector Graphics

1) Raster graphics are composed of pixels, while vector graphics are composed of paths. A raster
graphic, such as a gif or jpeg, is an array of pixels of various colors, which together form an image. A
vector graphic, such as an .eps file or Adobe Illustrator file, is composed of paths, or lines, that are either
straight or curved.
2) The data file for a vector image contains the points where the paths start and end, how much the
paths curve, and the colors that either border or fill the paths.
3) Because vector graphics are not made of pixels, the images can be scaled to be very large without
losing quality. Raster graphics, on the other hand, become "blocky," since each pixel increases in size as

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the image is made larger. This is why logos and other designs are typically created in vector format the
quality will look the same on a business card as it will on a billboard.
2.4. Concepts of various objects: Point, Line, Circle, Ellipse and Polygons
Point: It is the most basic graphical element which can be defined by a pair of coordinates in a 2D plain.

AS in the figure Point A has been positioned in the XY-plane and (x1, y1) is the position of point A. It
implies that the A is located at x1 distance in X direction and at y1 distance in Y direction from the origin
(0,0). Where the (x 1,y 1) is known as the coordinates of point A.

Line:A line is made of a set of points which is extended in opposite directions infinitely.

A line in computer graphics refers to line segment, which is portion of line. A line segment has two end
points.

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Circle:A circle is the set of all points in a plane that are equidistant from a given point called the center
of the circle. The line segment from the center of the circle to any point on the circle is a radius of the
circle.

Ellipse: An ellipse is the locus of points in a plane, the sum of whose distances from two fixed points is a
constant value. The two fixed points are called the foci of the ellipse. The Major Axis is the longest
diameter. It goes from one side of the ellipse, through the center, to the other side, at the widest part of
the ellipse. And the Minor Axis is the shortest diameter (at the narrowest part of the ellipse). The major
axis is the line segment going through the farthest points on an ellipse. The minor axis is the segment
going through the closest.

Polygon: Will be discussed in Unit 4

Important Terms

 Pixel
Each screen point is called as pixel or pel (Picture Element). Intensity of pixel depends on
capability of raster. If there is monochromic system than each screen point will be either on or
off. So one bit per pixel is needed to store intensity of screen points. If color system is there then
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 more number of bits per pixel will be required to store the intensity values. High quality systems
can have 24 bits per pixel which will require several megabytes of frame buffer .
 Bitmap
For a system having one bit per pixel, frame buffer is called as bitmap.
 Pixmap
For a system having multiple bits per pixel, frame buffer is called as pixmap.
 Refresh Rate
In raster scan display refreshing is done at rate of 60 to 80 frames per second or more. Refresh
rates is measured in cycles per second or Hertz. Cycle corresponds to one frame. E.g. if refresh
rate is 60 frames per second then it is called as 60 Hz.
 Horizontal Retrace
At the end each line, the electron beam return to left side of the screen. The return to the left of
the screen after refreshing each scan line is called as horizontal retrace.
 Vertical Retrace
At the end of each frame, the beam returns to top left corner of the screen to start for next
frame and is called as vertical retrace.
 Interlacing
It is the method of incrementally displaying a visual on a CRT. On some raster scan system,
interlaced refresh procedure is used. In this each frame is displayed in two passes. In the first
pass, the beam sweeps across alternate scan line from top to bottom. Then after vertical
retrace, the beam sweeps remaining scan lines.

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