Vesa CVT 1.2
Vesa CVT 1.2
Version 1.2
February 8, 2013
Purpose
The VESA Coordinated Video Timings (CVT) Standard is a method for generating a consistent and
coordinated set of standard formats, display refresh rates and timing specifications for computer display
products, both those employing CRT and those using other display technologies. The intention of this
standard is to give source and display manufacturers a common set of tools to enable new timings to be
developed in a consistent manner that ensures greater compatibility.
Summary
CVT defines rules and methods by which new and existing formats can be defined. Based primarily on the
VESA GTF Standard, CVT defines restrictions to pixel clock modularity, refresh rate and aspect ratio. The
standard also specifies a new equation-based method for developing Reduced Blanking timings designed for
use with non-CRT displays that can accept Reduced Horizontal Blanking times.
Intellectual Property
Copyright © 2003-2013 Video Electronics Standards Association. All rights reserved.
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this standard, the Video Electronics Standards
Association and its contributors assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, and make no warranties,
expressed or implied, of functionality or suitability for any purpose.
Trademarks
All trademarks used within this document are the property of their respective owners. EDID, E-EDID, DDC,
and VESA are trademarks of the Video Electronics Standards Association.
Patents
VESA draws attention to the fact that it is claimed that compliance with this standard may involve the use of a
patent or other intellectual property right (collectively, “IPR”) concerning CVT. VESA takes no position
concerning the evidence, validity, and scope of this IPR.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this VESA Standard may be the subject of
IPR other than any identified above. VESA must not be held responsible for identifying any or all such IPR,
and has made no inquiry into the possible existence of any such IPR.
THIS STANDARD IS BEING OFFERED WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY WHATSOEVER, AND IN
PARTICULAR, ANY WARRANTY OF NON-INFRINGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED. ANY
IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS STANDARD MUST BE MADE ENTIRELY AT THE IMPLEMENTER’S
OWN RISK, AND NEITHER VESA, NOR ANY OF ITS MEMBERS OR SUBMITTERS, MUST HAVE
ANY LIABILITY WHATSOEVER TO ANY IMPLEMENTER OR THIRD PARTY FOR ANY DAMAGES
OF ANY NATURE WHATSOEVER DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ARISING FROM THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS STANDARD.
If you have a product, which incorporates CVT, you should ask the company that manufactured your product
for assistance. If you are a manufacturer, VESA can assist you with any clarification you may require. All
comments or reported errors should be submitted in writing to VESA using one of the following methods.
• Fax : 510 651 5127, direct this note to Technical Support at VESA
• e-mail: [email protected]
Updated sections 3.3.1, 3.4.3 and 5.4 to clarify the refresh rate error calculation and timing generation for
video optimized vs. non-video optimized refresh rate
1.2 Background
The computer industry has, primarily due to the high degree of flexibility provided by continuous frequency
CRT displays, traditionally employed a very wide range of display formats and timings even within a given
individual system. This permits the system to adapt the display “on the fly” to the requirements of various
applications, and also permits the user to adapt the system to a wide range of display-device formats, sizes,
and technologies. However, to date, the development of timing standards for these various combinations of
formats and rates has not been done in any sort of coordinated manner – and so we have a number of various
standard formats which do not interoperate well, and timings which cannot all be precisely produced by any
given graphics system.
VESA first attempted to address this problem through the release of the Generalized Timing Formula (GTF)
Standard in 1996. GTF defined a process whereby a given display device and host system could
algorithmically determine a timing which would permit both to work together, reducing the need for explicit
timing specifications to cover all possible cases. The GTF method works well on paper since it relies on
being able to create a pixel frequency of infinite resolution. This, however, is not practical for real world
applications where clock generators have a finite resolution. It also does not cater for an increasing market
segment, such as “video in a window”, which requires the video timing to be precisely locked to an external
image source.
Also, due to the increasing number of non-CRT, fixed-format display types in the market, there is a need for
timing standards that specifically address the requirements of these technologies. CRT-compatible timings
require higher pixel rates than would be required by these other display technologies due to large amount of
blanking which is required for retrace. This, in most cases, represents wasted bandwidth and results in
higher-than-needed clock rates.
In addressing these needs, though, it is important to keep in mind the fact that the computer graphics systems,
which must produce video outputs to these specifications, are not infinitely flexible. In general, they cannot
produce any arbitrary number of pixels per line, synthesize any given pixel clock exactly, and so forth. In
addition, the problem of scaling information between different formats and rates says that we should not
simply generate timings and formats as independent entities. Some thought should be given to the
interoperability and compatibility within the chosen set, as well as to the ability of the graphics hardware to
produce the specified timing.
This standard represents an attempt to address these needs in a single, coordinated effort by developing a set
of rules for generating timing. The goal was to create a method by which display manufacturers and graphic
hardware vendors can develop new products with enhanced compatibility and interoperability.
1. Whether or not the format is already an established industry standard. It is not VESA’s intention to
completely rewrite the set of formats already in use within the industry, even if in many cases this set
is not optimized for interoperability (scaling, etc.). However, alternatives that do offer certain
advantages over their older counterparts may also be provided, where appropriate, in the VESA
standard set.
2. Standard formats should conform to the standard aspect ratios being used by the industry in the design
of new display devices. At present, display devices are almost without exception being produced
with physical screen dimensions providing a 4:3, 16:9, or 16:10 aspect ratio (or the portrait-format
version of these). Image formats should, therefore, be selected to match these. Exceptions will be
made only in the case of a long-established industry standard (e.g., the 1280 x 1024 format, which is a
5:4 aspect ratio), or in the case of a clear need.
3. Standard formats should be produced assuming “square” pixel aspect ratios, i.e., the number of pixels
per unit distance, as the image is to be displayed, is the same in both the vertical and horizontal
directions. Exceptions again will be made only in the case of existing, established standards (e.g., the
720x480 format used in the DVD, which is displayed as either a 4:3 or 16:9 image), but even in these
cases “square” alternatives may also be provided.
4. The number of pixels per line in any format should be chosen to fall on reasonable boundaries, as the
majority of graphics hardware does not permit programmability down to the pixel level. In other
words, arbitrary horizontal pixel counts are to be avoided, in favor of values that are multiples of an
acceptable base “character” size. In the past, this has been assumed to mean that horizontal active
counts should at a minimum be multiples of 8 pixels; for larger formats, it may even be desirable to
use larger increments. Further, these counts should be chosen so as to permit good
interoperability/scaling between the members of the standard set. For instance, the 640 x 480 and
1280 x 960 formats provide very good interoperability, due to the simple 2:1 relationship between
their pixel and line counts.
These guidelines should be considered when developing new formats as a way to limit the number of infinite
possibilities and increase compatibility and interoperability.
For the first release of this standard, the following vertical refresh rates were used to define the standard set of
timings:
• 50Hz – This is a long-established standard rate in European television production and other areas
using the PAL or SECAM television systems.
• 60Hz – This rate is a long-established standard; it is reasonably compatible with the standard
television field rate used in North America and Japan, and is expected to be one of the standard
field/frame rates used under the U.S. digital television broadcasting standard. It is also compatible
with 24 FPS film-sourced material, via the “3:2 pull-down” technique.
• 75Hz – This rate maintains good compatibility/interoperability with systems at both the 60 Hz and 50
Hz standard video rates, while providing more ergonomically acceptable performance in many
display types. A 75Hz operation is also compatible with film-sourced material produced under the
European 25 FPS standard.
• 85Hz – While not a “video-friendly” rate, 85Hz has become a defacto standard for PC displays
wishing to meet the strictest ergonomic requirements for a “flicker-free” image. At this rate, the
1.005 * 0.25MHz
= 0.64Hz
(800 * 494)
Therefore the maximum refresh rate deviation will be +/-0.64Hz, reducing as the format resolution increases.
The actual variation for 640x480 Reduced Blanking is 0.536Hz.
For CLOCK_STEP of 0.001 MHz as required by reduced blanking v2 rules errors as defined as followed:
0.001MHz
ΔRefreshRate = = 0.002812Hz
(720 * 494)
Again assuming a 0.5% tolerance on the pixel clock, the maximum deviation in the refresh rate contributed
due to the CLOCK_STEP of 0.001 MHz factor will be 0.002826Hz.
a) First the nominal refresh rate is used to calculate the horizontal and vertical blank parameters,
b) then calculate horizontal and vertical blank parameter along with required H/V active with the
target refresh rate (including 1000/1001 factor if required) is used to calculate the pixel clock.
c) The result value is then rounded to nearest 0.001 pixel clock
Using the nominal value in step (a) guarantees that the only difference in timing between a video
optimized timing vs. a non-video optimized timing for a given refresh rate is in pixel clock (i.e. all
other vertical and horizontal parameters are same).
2. Vertical Refresh Rate
The standard refresh rate for Reduced Blanking v2 timing is 60Hz however other progressive refresh
may be used depending on the application. Higher precision of the pixel clock step allows video
optimized refresh rates (i.e. 60*1000/1001Hz, 30*1000/1001Hz) to be supported with the new
version. A factor of 1000/1001 is applied to the nominal refresh rate if the video optimized target
refresh rate is required.
3. Horizontal Counts
As per rules of the Reduced Blanking v2 timings, Horizontal Timings may have a precision of 1
pixel. This allows timing for resolutions like 1366x768 to be defined with the new standard. No
longer is the Horizontal Timing, including the Horizontal Active pixels, Horizontal Total pixels, Sync
Pulse duration and “Front Porch” and “Back Porch” times required to be divisible by eight.
4. Horizontal Blanking Time
For Reduced Blanking v2 timings, the Horizontal Blanking time will in all cases are fixed to 80 clock
cycles instead of 160 clock cycles required by earlier Reduced Blanking Timing.
Note: Systems using frame rate conversion techniques to lock to external sources should use calculated CVT
parameters and the calculated CVT clock rate.
Note: Non-standard refers to an aspect ratio not defined within this document as being standard and can be
used for manufacturer-specific timings.
The 4:3 800 x 600 (formerly SVGA) format, at 480,000 pixels, is to be referred to as the “0.48M3”.
The 5:4 1280 x 1024 (formerly SXGA) format, at 1,310,720 pixels, is to be referred to as “1.31M4”.
The 15:9 1280 x 768 format, at 983,040 pixels, is to be referred to as “0.98M9”.
The 16:9 1920 x 1080 format, at 2,073,600 pixels, is to be referred to as “2.07M9”.
The 16:10 1920 x 1200 format, at 2,304,000 pixels, is to be referred to as “2.30MA”.
To avoid confusion, a way of identifying Reduced Blanking timing from standard CRT timing is also
required. This is achieved by adding an additional suffix "-R". For example:
Once the relevant set of calculations have been completed, then it is possible to derive all timing parameters.
Table 5-4: Delta between Original Reduced Blank Timing and Reduced Blank Timing V2
Constant Description Reduced Reduced
Blanking Blanking v2
CLOCK_STEP Pixel clock resolution 0.25 0.001
MIN_VBPORCH Minimum vertical back porch. Min Fixed
6 6
RB_H_BLANK Specifies the fixed number of pixel clock cycles in Fixed Fixed
the Horizontal Blanking period for Reduced 160 80
Blanking timings. Measured as the number of pixels
from the last active pixel of one line to the first
active pixel of the next line.
RB_H_SYNC Horizontal sync period for Reduced Blanking Fixed Fixed
timings, expressed as the number of pixel clock 32 32
cycles.
RB_MIN_V_BLANK Specifies the minimum vertical blanking period for Min Min
Reduced Blanking timings. Measured as the number 460 460
of lines from the last line of active video to the first
line of active video.
RB_V_FPORCH Reduced Blanking vertical front porch. Fixed Min
3 1
V_SYNC_RND Vertical sync width Variable Fixed
See Table 3-2 See Table 3-2
Refresh rate multiplier factor, for reduced blanking
v2 timing the factor is set to 1000/1001 if video 1 or
REFRESH_MULTIPLIER 1
optimized refresh rate is required, in all other cases 1000/1001
the factor is set to 1.
Note: The values listed above table are required for default reduced blank timing V2 compliance. Other
values may be used for these constants in custom implementation.
Go to http://www.vesa.org/vesa-standards/free-standards/
Click on Other VESA Standards and Documents and follow the instructions.