A Technical Introduction to Digital Video (Hardcover)

by Charles A. Poynton (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Not a programming or a recipe book, this is a complete reference that presents the fundamental concepts and processes development of digital video projects. This book is designed for technical people not already video experts who need to design, build and program--hardware and software--systems that include video.

From the Publisher
Poynton, who has won awards for his work integrating video and computing, has written an interesting and enlightening reference on the basic concepts and processes essential for successful design and development of digital video projects. Featuring 200 line drawings and photographs as well as 12 pages of four-color artwork, this book will prove indispensable for technical people who are not video experts.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons; 1 edition (January 17, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047112253X
• ISBN-13: 978-0471122531
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #784,921 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is almost perfect!, June 9, 2000

By	James Song "jamsong" (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book does a great job of explaining video concepts. You will love how Poynton starts with the basics, explains them, builds and then gets down to the nitty gritty (even down to the mathematical formulas). This book is complete & consistent.

It's perfect for technical folks who didn't know much about digital video (that was me) but needed a detailed understanding & explanation. I also think it's great for intermediate-advanced because they can always use this book as a reference. A co-worker of mine who is a video expert looked through it and was impressed. He wished there was a book like this back when he was learning.

It would have been nice if there was a section on digital video compression though.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you deal with computer graphics or video, this book is strongly recommended., June 18, 1998

By A Customer

An excellent reference book. Covers a variety of computer graphics as well as analog and digital video topics. Includes a very good chapter on filtering and sampling, giving an in depth explanation of aliasing effects. I recommended this book in one of my recent JavaWorld "Media Programming" columns.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This should be THE digital video textbook, June 10, 2002

By	Coronakwl (Glendale, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

This book is packed with technical information about the digital video format. Extremely detailed and thorough, it is a must-have for anyone with a serious interest in digital video. The chapters on digitized compression and image capture are priceless from the aspect of digital editing. However, because the information is so technical it is not a good book for a beginner who is still learning how to operate his or her camera.