Progressive Video
Progressive video represents each picture as a complete frame rather than fields from successive capture times.
Read 1080p50 as a 1080-line progressive picture sequence with 50 complete pictures per second. Every output frame contains all its picture rows. The next complete frame begins 20 ms later.
| Example | Complete pictures per second | Interval between pictures |
|---|---|---|
| 1080p24 | 24 | 41.667 ms |
| 1080p50 | 50 | 20 ms |
| 2160p60 | 60 | 16.667 ms |
Integer-rate examples. Their 1000/1001 alternatives are separate exact timing values.
The temporal unit is a complete captured frame. A moving edge can appear at one position in frame A and another in frame B, rather than occupying alternating rows from two successive field captures inside one displayed picture.
This makes each progressive frame a direct input to scaling and display processing. Its rows do not first need to be reconstructed from two native interlaced motion times.
Progressive pictures in segmented transport
Some studio systems carry a progressive picture as progressive segmented frame (PsF). They divide frame A's alternating rows into a top-shaped segment and a bottom-shaped segment:
| Transport segment | Where its rows came from |
|---|---|
| A-top | Alternating rows of captured frame A |
| A-bottom | Remaining rows of captured frame A |
| B-top | Alternating rows of captured frame B |
| B-bottom | Remaining rows of captured frame B |
Joining A-top and A-bottom reconstructs A. Both segments belong to the same progressive frame, so weaving them does not combine two different field motion times.
Native interlaced capture differs: successive fields describe successive moments. Joining them without motion handling can put an object's old position on one set of rows and its new position on the other.
That distinction determines the appropriate reconstruction. PsF segments are paired to recover a complete frame; native interlaced fields need temporal handling for progressive output. The transport's field-shaped appearance alone does not tell those two jobs apart.