IMAGE DIGITIZERS

An image digitizer is an electronic device that takes video information from any standard source (tv, video recorder, computer, camera) and converts the information to digital bits, stores the bits in the computer memory, and displays the resulting picture on the display screen. The process of converting the video picture information to digital form requires expensive high-speed analog-to-digital converters. Fig. 2-28 is a block diagram of an image digitizer called the CAT-100 which provides full-color displays and can convert an entire picture frame in 1/60 of a second. The tv frame is represented as 65,536 numbers of four bits each which are packed in pairs in the 32K-byte image memory. This system is available from Digital Graphics Systems and works with any S-100 based computer.

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Fig. 2-26. Example of output of digital plotter.

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Fig. 2-27. Solid-state digital camera features a 100 × 100-bit self-scanned charge-coupled image array.

Figs. 2-29A and 2-29B are examples of the digitized output from the CAT-100. Note the extremely accurate resolution possible with this unit.

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