"ACE" Convertor Controls

Front View of ACE, Showing Controls. File Size 41k

8Mbit Memory. Timebase Corrector. Full 4:2:2 True "S" Processing

INTRODUCTION

ACE Convertor is the most flexible video standards converter, timebase corrector and aspect ratio converter on the market today, designed to be connected between any video source playing video in any world standard and up to four VCRs or TVs for viewing or recording. Mains powered via a 13A plug top adaptor, ACE Convertor can be used for colour decoding and Conversion from other world TV standards and for its wide range of correction and Zoom / Aspect Ratio Conversion facilities. Home Cinema owners will find ACE Convertor perfect for standards or aspect ratio conversion, video zoom, copy enhancement, correcting playback deficiencies and adjusting colour rendering. ACE Convertor can also be used during normal Linear Editing or for Computer Editing where it will increase productivity by providing Real Time correction of a wide variety of video faults during editing or capture and also optimise the quality of your final product. If the standard product does not do exactly what you need then please see our Special Versions page.

The following descriptions explain the main purpose of each control and there is also a 'Useful Tips' section in the Instruction Manual where some interesting and useful combinations are suggested. Our Example Screens and the IOV FOCUS Review show some of the effects which can be achieved. Please see the Performance and Specifications page for full technical details of performance and connections.

Click on any Control Group in the Picture Above to go Directly to its Description.

Fade/Standard Controls:

STANDARD: These four push buttons control the operating mode of the ACE Convertor. Standards Conversion options, Timebase Correction and even a Direct Mode where Output Standard automatically matches Input Standard are available. Converted Output Standards are set using the four push buttons as shown in the table (input standard setting is automatic):
Please note the ACE Convertor automatically senses the input standards and you only need to set the output standard.

Format	Version	Fields	Colour	STANDARD		STANDARD
Format	Version	Fields	Colour	PAL	NTSC	60	3.58
PAL	BDGHIN (UK etc)	50Hz	4.43MHz	IN	OUT	OUT	OUT
	Pseudo PAL	60Hz	4.43MHz	IN	OUT	IN	OUT
	M	60Hz	3.58MHz	IN	OUT	IN	IN
	Combination-N	50Hz	3.58MHz	IN	OUT	OUT	IN
NTSC	M (USA etc)	60Hz	3.58MHz	OUT	IN	IN	IN
	N	50Hz	3.58MHz	OUT	IN	OUT	IN
	-	50Hz	4.43MHz	OUT	IN	OUT	OUT
	-	60Hz	4.43MHz	OUT	IN	IN	OUT
SECAM	BDGKL	50Hz	4MHz FM	IN	IN	Any Position

FADE: This button initiates an Automatic Fade if Manual is Not Selected. Pressing it IN will cause the picture to fade to black. Releasing the button to OUT will cause the picture to be restored by a reverse fade.

AUDIO: With this button pressed IN the Audio can be faded along with the Video fade.

MANUAL: This button selects between the Automatic Fade and the Manual Fade:

SPEED/MANUAL: With the MANUAL button left OUT this control adjusts the speed of the Automatic Fade from approximately 1 to 5 seconds. With the button IN this control allows Manual fading. See Specials Page for other uses of AUDIO and MANUAL buttons and SPEED/MANUAL control.

Colour Controls:

SATURATION: This control allows you to adjust the level of colour in the picture from zero, i.e. Black and White only, up to twice the normal colour level.

BALANCE: This control alters the colour balance of coloured areas without affecting white balance and is especially useful for correcting any residual faults in skin tone when white balance has been corrected. This is important as White Balance alone does NOT cure All colour faults. The ACE is unique in offering both.
NOTE: When the video input source is NTSC this control automatically acts as a HUE control.

<-SHIFT->: After recording and video processing you will often find that the colour seems to 'bleed' out of the coloured areas. This is caused by faults in the video processing which can move the colour sideways compared to the black and white parts of the picture and is particularly evident with multiple generation copies. This control allows the colour part of the picture to be moved horizontally left and right to line up the colour properly and eliminate the colour bleed.
Vertical Colour Shift is provided by the COLOUR SHIFT ^ Control to cure colour droop.

White Balance:

RED, GREEN and BLUE: These controls affect the colour of the white areas and all of the lighter parts of the picture. They allow correction of white balance colour faults caused when a camcorder does not properly compensate for colour of lighting, to match video from different camcorders or to compensate for deficiences in any video production. Contrast, brightness and colour saturation are not affected. These controls can also be used creatively to add tints, create sepia effects etc. or to create blank screens of almost any colour to separate sections of your video, as fully described in the ACE Instruction Manual.

Video Controls:

CONTRAST & BRIGHTNESS: These operate like those on your TV except that they probably have a wider range. Together they can correct many exposure faults and help create a wide variety of special effects.

Special Effects:

SHARPNESS: This control allows the sharpness, or detail, of the picture to be corrected to compensate for losses in copying etc. A wide range of Both Boost and Cut are provided to cover all eventualities. On the ACE this control gives a beautifully symmetrical improvement to the sharpness of edges, unlike some units.

DIGITISE: As this control is turned clockwise it gradually decreases the number of colour and brightness levels in the picture, resulting in an increasing paint effect. At its most effective position the brightness levels are only black and white with no shades of grey. Colour levels are similarly restricted. Used at intermediate settings this control can convert a normal picture into something similar to a cartoon with bold colours in blocks. This control also allows you to clean up your own captions and in combination with other controls allows you to add background or foreground colour to simple hand drawn or printed black & white captions. NOTE: This becomes the Zoom / Aspect Ratio Conversion control if these features are enabled. (See Zoom Page)

Left Hand Push Buttons:

BYPASS: Depressing this button will cancel ALL settings Except the Rear INPUT SELECT, and the Red BYPASS LED will light as a warning. Pressing this button IN allows you to compare the effect you have created to the original signal i.e. to compare the difference 'Before' and 'After' processing.

INVERT OPTION: Pressing this button allows you to cycle through the options in order: Normal / Negative / Colour Invert / Video Invert. In Negative Mode it is possible to view colour negatives, assuming you have a slide converter and film strip holder or can improvise. With Colour Inverted, green turns into purple, blue into yellow and skin tone a ghastly blue colour. Ideal to turn people into monsters! With Video Inverted, black parts of the picture go white and vice-versa. With Normal Colour this can have a quite pleasing but spooky effect. The White Balance and Colour Balance controls provided on the ACE are essential for colour correction of negatives. NOTE: This becomes the Left/Right Mirror Imaging control on the "M" Special Version. (See Special Versions Page)

COLOUR SHIFT ^: Pressing this button allows you to cycle through the Vertical Colour Shift range of 0 to +3 lines and back to 0, to get rid of 'colour droop' often resulting after several generations of copying.

Right Hand Push Buttons:

TEST SELECT: Pressing this button allows you to cycle through the test patterns in order: Normal/Colour Bars/Blue Screen/Red Screen. The Broadcast standard Colour Bar Test Pattern and the Red and Blue Blank Screens can be used to check your own equipment performance, to check your TV’s Contrast, Brightness and Colour Saturation settings and as a professional lead in to a video programme, especially if this is to be sent to be copied.

OUTPUT TYPE: Pressing this button allows you to cycle through 4 output combinations on the "S" Video Output & SCART Connectors, allowing access to "S" or Dual Composite Video on the "S" Output Socket and to RGB or YUV on the SCART Socket.

POWER: The operation of this button will come as no surprise. It must be IN for normal operation!

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