Resolution

This specification is another indicator of the quality of image produced by a camera system. Resolution refers to the degree of ability of a system to resolve the image. In other words, this refers to how clear an image can a system produce. The clarity of an image is a function of how many lines it is broken into. This breaking down of image into lines of information decides the resolution of the system. Hence, it becomes evident that more the lines of resolution, more the lines of information and thus more the clarity of image. It should be noted that a camera system has its own resolution whereas TV monitor has its own. The overall resolution of the system is whichever is lesser of the two mentioned above.

To process the image, it is split in two different ways, i.e. in horizontal scan lines and in scan vertical lines. The space between adjacent scan lines (horizontal as well as vertical) are filled in by averaging on both the sides. This should make it clear that to obtain the image as it is without much averaging, we have to have a large number of lines and more the lines, lesser the approximation and hence truer the image. Since the chip is of limited size, the lines cannot be infinite. Also, to increase the number of lines, they have to be more densely packed. Constant research is put into increasing the number of lines. But it should be noted that of the two lines, one can be changed by the manufacturer but not the other one. The one that is under manufacturer’s control is vertical lines on horizontal plane (Horizontal Resolution). The Vertical Resolution (horizontal lines on vertical plane) is constant depending upon the transmission system used. There are two types of scanning formats, namely NTSC and PAL. NTSC format is used in western countries and has a fixed horizontal resolution of 525 lines and input voltage of 110V whereas in countries like India, PAL format is used which has a fixed vertical resolution of 625 lines and input voltage of 220V.

Horizontal resolution is a function of design of the camera system and varies with each and every manufacturer. All companies strive to have more number of resolution lines in their system as it speaks volumes about their image quality.