Iran University of Science and Technology,

E-Learing Center,
Fall 2008 (1387)

Chapter 4
Color in Image and Video
4.1 Color Science
4.2 Color Models in Images
4.3 Color Models in Video
Fundamentals of Multimedia, Chapter 4

4.1 Color Science

Light and Spectra
• Light is an electromagnetic wave. Its color is characterized by the wavelength content
of the light.
(a) Laser light consists of a single wavelength: e.g., a ruby laser produces a bright,
scarlet-red beam.

(b) Most light sources produce contributions over many wavelengths.

(c) However, humans cannot detect all light, just contributions that fall in the
“visible wavelengths”.

(d) Short wavelengths produce a blue sensation, long wavelengths produce a red
one.

• Spectrophotometer: device used to measure visible light, by reflecting light from a

diffraction grating (a ruled surface) that spreads out the different wavelengths.

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• Figure 4.1 shows the phenomenon that white light contains all
the colors of a rainbow.

Fig. 4.1: Sir Isaac Newton’s experiments.

• Visible light is an electromagnetic wave in the range 400 nm to

700 nm (where nm stands for nanometer, 10−9 meters).

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• Fig. 4.2 shows the relative power in each wavelength interval for
typical outdoor light on a sunny day. This type of curve is called a
Spectral Power Distribution (SPD) or a spectrum.

• The symbol for wavelength is λ. This curve is called E(λ).

Fig. 4.2: Spectral power distribution of daylight.

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Human Vision
• The eye works like a camera, with the lens focusing an image onto the retina
(upside-down and left-right reversed).

• The retina consists of an array of rods and three kinds of cones.

• The rods come into play when light levels are low and produce a image in
shades of gray (“all cats are gray at night!”).

• For higher light levels, the cones each produce a signal. Because of their
differing pigments, the three kinds of cones are most sensitive to red (R),
green (G), and blue (B) light.

• It seems likely that the brain makes use of differences R-G, G-B, and B-R, as
well as combining all of R, G, and B into a high-light-level achromatic
channel.

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Spectral Sensitivity of the Eye

• The eye is most sensitive to light in the middle of the visible spectrum.

• The sensitivity of our receptors is also a function of wavelength (Fig. 4.3

below).

• The Blue receptor sensitivity is not shown to scale because it is much smaller
than the curves for Red or Green — Blue is a late addition, in evolution.
– Statistically, Blue is the favorite color of humans, regardless of nationality — perhaps for
this reason: Blue is a latecomer and thus is a bit surprising!

• Fig. 4.3 shows the overall sensitivity as a dashed line — this important curve
is called the luminous-efficiency function.
– It is usually denoted V (λ) and is formed as the sum of the response
curves for Red, Green, and Blue.

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• The rod sensitivity curve looks like the luminous-efficiency function V (λ)
but is shifted to the red end of the spectrum.

• The achromatic channel produced by the cones is approximately

proportional to 2R+G+B/20.

Fig. 4.3: R,G, and B cones, and Luminous Efficiency curve V(λ).

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• These spectral sensitivity functions are usually denoted

by letters other than “R,G,B”; here let’s use a vector
function q(λ), with components

q (λ) = (qR(λ), qG(λ), qB(λ))T (4.1)

• The response in each color channel in the eye is

proportional to the number of neurons firing.

• A laser light at wavelength λ would result in a certain

number of neurons firing. An SPD is a combination of
single-frequency lights (like “lasers”), so we add up the
cone responses for all wavelengths, weighted by the
eye’s relative response at that wavelength.
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• We can succinctly write down this idea in the

form of an integral:

R = ∫E(λ) qR(λ) dλ

G = ∫E(λ) qG(λ) dλ

B = ∫E(λ) qB(λ) dλ (4.2)

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Image Formation
• Surfaces reflect different amounts of light at different
wavelengths, and dark surfaces reflect less energy than light
surfaces.

• Fig. 4.4 shows the surface spectral reflectance from (1) orange
sneakers and (2) faded blue jeans. The reflectance function is
denoted S(λ).

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Fig. 4.4: Surface spectral reflectance functions S(λ) for objects.

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• Image formation is thus:

– Light from the illuminant with SPD E(λ) impinges on a

surface, with surface spectral reflectance function S(λ), is
reflected, and then is filtered by the eye’s cone functions
q (λ).

– Reflection is shown in Fig. 4.5 below.

– The function C(λ) is called the color signal and consists

of the product of E(λ), the illuminant, times S(λ), the
reflectance:

C(λ) = E(λ) S(λ).

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Fig. 4.5: Image formation model.

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• The equations that take into account the image

formation model are:

R = ∫E(λ) S(λ) qR(λ) dλ

G = ∫E(λ) S(λ) qG(λ) dλ

B = ∫E(λ) S(λ) qB(λ) dλ

(4.3)
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Camera Systems
• Camera systems are made in a similar fashion; a studio
quality camera has three signals produced at each pixel
location (corresponding to a retinal position).

• Analog signals are converted to digital, truncated to integers,

and stored. If the precision used is 8-bit, then the maximum
value for any of R,G,B is 255, and the minimum is 0.

• However, the light entering the eye of the computer user is

that which is emitted by the screen—the screen is essentially
a self-luminous source. Therefore we need to know the light
E(λ) entering the eye.

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Gamma Correction
• The light emitted is in fact roughly proportional to the voltage raised
to a power; this power is called gamma, with symbol γ.

(a) Thus, if the file value in the red channel is R, the screen emits light
proportional to Rγ, with SPD equal to that of the red phosphor paint
on the screen that is the target of the red channel electron gun. The
value of gamma is around 2.2.

(b) It is customary to append a prime to signals that are gamma-

corrected by raising to the power (1/γ) before transmission. Thus
we arrive at linear signals:

R → R′ = R1/γ ⇒ (R′)γ → R
(4.4)

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• Fig. 4.6(a) shows light output with no gamma-

correction applied. We see that darker values
are displayed too dark. This is also shown in
Fig. 4.7(a), which displays a linear ramp from
left to right.

• Fig. 4.6(b) shows the effect of pre-correcting

signals by applying the power law R1/γ; it is
customary to normalize voltage to the range
[0,1].
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Fig. 4.6: (a): Effect of CRT on light emitted from screen

(voltage is normalized to range 0..1). (b): Gamma correction
of signal.
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• The combined effect is shown in Fig. 4.7(b). Here, a ramp is

shown in 16 steps from gray-level 0 to gray-level 255.

Fig. 4.7: (a): Display of ramp from 0 to 255, with no gamma

correction. (b): Image with gamma correction applied

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Color-Matching Functions
• Even without knowing the eye-sensitivity curves of Fig.4.3, a
technique evolved in psychology for matching a combination of
basic R, G, and B lights to a given shade.

• The particular set of three basic lights used in an experiment are

called the set of color primaries.

• To match a given color, a subject is asked to separately adjust the

brightness of the three primaries using a set of controls until the
resulting spot of light most closely matches the desired color.

• The basic situation is shown in Fig.4.8. A device for carrying out such
an experiment is called a colorimeter.

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Fig. 4.8: colorimeter experiment.

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• The amounts of R, G, and B the subject selects to match each

single-wavelength light forms the color-matching curves.
These are denoted r ( ), g ( ), b ( ) and are shown in Fig. 4.9.

Fig. 4.9: CIE RGB color-matching functions r ( ), g ( ), b ( ) .

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CIE Chromaticity Diagram

• Since the r ( ) color-matching curve has a negative
lobe, a set of fictitious primaries were devised that lead
to color-matching functions with only positives values.

(a) The resulting curves are shown in Fig. 4.10; these are
usually referred to as the color-matching functions.

(b) They are a 3 × 3 matrix away from r , g , b curves, and

are denoted
x ( ), y ( ), z ( ) .

(c) The matrix is chosen such that the middle standard color-
matching function y ( ) exactly equals the luminous-
efficiency curve V(λ) shown in Fig. 4.3.
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International Commission on Illumination
(usually known as the CIE for its French name
Commission internationale de l'éclairage)

Fig. 4.10: CIE standard XYZ color-matching functions x ( ), y ( ), z ( ) .

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• For a general SPD E(λ), the essential “colorimetric”

information required to characterize a color is the set of
tristimulus values X, Y, Z defined in analogy to (Eq.
4.2) as (Y == luminance):

X   E ( ) x ( ) d 
Y   E ( ) y ( ) d 
Z   E ( ) z ( ) d  (4.6)

• 3D data is difficult to visualize, so the CIE devised a 2D

diagram based on the values of (X, Y, Z) triples implied
by the curves in Fig. 4.10.

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• We go to 2D by factoring out the magnitude of vectors (X, Y, Z); we

could divide by X 2  Y 2  Z 2 , but instead we divide by the sum X +
Y + Z to make the chromaticity:

x = X/(X +Y +Z)
y = Y/(X +Y +Z)
z = Z/(X +Y +Z) (4.7)

• This effectively means that one value out of the set (x, y, z) is
redundant since we have

x  y  z  X  Y  Z 1 (4.8)
X Y  Z

so that

z=1−x−y (4.9)

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• Effectively, we are projecting each tristimulus vector (X, Y, Z) onto

the plane connecting points (1, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0), and (0, 0, 1).
• Fig. 4.11 shows the locus of points for monochromatic light

Fig. 4.11: CIE chromaticity diagram.

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(a) The color matching curves each add up to the

same value — the area under each curve is the
same for each of x ( ), y ( ), z ( ) .

(b) For an E(λ) = 1 for all λ, — an “equi-energy

white light”— chromaticity values are (1/3, 1/3).
Fig. 4.11 displays a typical actual white point in
the middle of the diagram.

(c) Since x, y ≤ 1 and x + y ≤ 1, all possible

chromaticity values lie below the dashed
diagonal line in Fig. 4.11.
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• The human eye has three

types of color sensors.
• A full plot of all visible
colors is a three-
dimensional figure.
• The concept of color can be
divided into two parts:
brightness and chromaticity.
• The CIE XYZ color space:
• Y parameter: a measure of
the brightness or luminance
of a color.
• The chromaticity of a color:
two derived parameters x
and y.
• CIE xyY color space.
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Color Monitor Specifications

• Color monitors are specified in part by the white point
chromaticity that is desired if the RGB electron guns are all
activated at their highest value (1.0, if we normalize to [0,1]).

• We want the monitor to display a specified white when R′=G′=B

′=1.

• There are several monitor specifications in current use (Table

4.1).

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Table 4.1: Chromaticities and White Points of Monitor Specifications

White Point Blue Green Red

yW xW yb xb yg xg yr xr System

0.3162 0.3101 0.08 0.14 0.71 0.21 0.33 0.67 NTSC

0.3291 0.3127 0.070 0.155 0.595 0.310 0.340 0.630 SMPTE

0.3291 0.3127 0.06 0.15 0.60 0.29 0.33 0.64 EBU

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Out-of-Gamut colors
• For any (x, y) pair we wish to find that RGB triple
giving the specified (x, y, z): We form the z values
for the phosphors, via z = 1 − x − y and solve for
RGB from the phosphor chromaticities.

• We combine nonzero values of R, G, and B via

 xr xg xb   R   x 
 
yb  G    y  (4.10)
 yr yg
 zr zg zb   B   z 


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• If (x, y) [color without magnitude] is specified,

instead of derived as above, we have to invert the
matrix of phosphor (x, y, z) values to obtain RGB.

• What do we do if any of the RGB numbers is

negative? — that color, visible to humans, is out-
of-gamut for our display.

1. One method: simply use the closest in-gamut color

available, as in Fig. 4.13.

2. Another approach: select the closest complementary

color.

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Fig. 4.13: Approximating an out-of-gamut color by an in-gamut one. The out-of-gamut

color shown by a triangle is approximated by the intersection of (a) the line from
that color to the white point with (b) the boundary of the device color gamut.

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• Grassman’s Law: (Additive) color matching is linear.

This means that if we match color1 with a linear
combinations of lights and match color2 with another
set of weights, the combined color color1+color2 is
matched by the sum of the two sets of weights.

• Additive color results from self-luminous sources, such

as lights projected on a white screen, or the phosphors
glowing on the monitor glass. (Subtractive color
applies for printers, and is very different).

• Fig. 4.13 above shows the triangular gamut for the

NTSC system, drawn on the CIE diagram — a monitor
can display only the colors inside a triangular gamut.

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• Gamut of the CIE

RGB primaries and
location of primaries
on the CIE 1931 xy
chromaticity diagram.

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White Point Correction

• Problems:

(a) One deficiency in what we have done so far is that we need to be

able to map tristimulus values XYZ to device RGBs including
magnitude, and not just deal with chromaticity xyz.

(b) Table 4.1 would produce incorrect values:

– E.g., consider the SMPTE specifications. Setting R = G = B = 1 results

in a value of X that equals the sum of the x values, or 0.630 + 0.310 +
0.155, which is 1.095. Similarly the Y and Z values come out to 1.005
and 0.9. Now, dividing by (X + Y + Z) this results in a chromaticity of
(0.365, 0.335), rather than the desired values of (0.3127, 0.3291).

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• To correct both problems, first take the white

point magnitude of Y as unity:

Y (white point) = 1(4.11)

• Now we need to find a set of three correction

factors such that if the gains of the three
electron guns are multiplied by these values we
get exactly the white point XYZ value at R = G
= B = 1.
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• Suppose the matrix of phosphor chromaticities xr, xg, ... Etc.

in Eq. (4.10) is called M . We can express the correction as a
diagonal matrix D = diag(d1, d2, d3) such that

XYZwhite ≡ M D (1, 1, 1)T (4.12)

• For the SMPTE specification, we have (x, y, z) = (0.3127,

0.3291, 0.3582) or, dividing by the middle value — XYZwhite
= (0.95045, 1 , 1.08892). We note that multiplying D by (1,
1, 1)T just gives (d1, d2, d3)T so we end up with an equation
specifying (d1, d2, d3)T:
X  0.630 0.310 0.155   d1 
Y   0.340 0.595 0.070   d 
     2
 Z  white  0.03 0.095 0.775   d3  (4.13)

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• Inverting, with the new values XYZwhite specified as above, we

arrive at

(d1, d2, d3) = (0.6247, 1.1783, 1.2364) (4.14)

These are large correction factors.

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XYZ to RGB Transform

• Now the 3 × 3 transform matrix from XYZ to RGB is taken to be

T = M D (4.15)

even for points other than the white point:

X  R
Y  T G 
    (4.16)
 Z   B 
• For the SMPTE specification, we arrive at:
 0.3935 0.3653 0.1916 
T   0.2124 0.7011 0.0866  (4.17)
 0.0187 0.1119 0.9582 
• Written out, this reads:
X  0.3935·R  0.3653·G  0.1916·B
Y  0.2124·R  0.7011·G  0.0866·B
(4.18)
Z  0.0187·R  0.1119·G  0.9582·B

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Transform with Gamma Correction

• Instead of linear R,G,B we usually have nonlinear, gamma corrected R
′, G′, B′ (produced by a camcorder or digital camera).

• To transform XY Z to RGB, calculate the linear RGB required, by

inverting Eq. (4.16) above; then make nonlinear signals via gamma
correction.

• Nevertheless this is not often done as stated. Instead, the equation for
the Y value is used as is, but applied to nonlinear signals.

(a) The only concession to accuracy is to give the new name Y ′ to this new
Y value created from R′, G′, B′.

(b) The significance of Y ′ is that it codes a descriptor of brightness for the

pixel in question.

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• Following the procedure outlined above, but with the

values in Table 4.1 for NTSC, we arrive at the
following transform:
X  0.607·R  0.174·G  0.200·B
Y  0.299·R  0.587·G  0.114·B
Z  0.000·R  0.066·G  1.116·B
(4.19)

• Thus, coding for nonlinear signals begins with encoding

the nonlinear-signal correlate of luminance:

Y ′ = 0.299·R′+0.587·G′+0.114·B′ (4.20)

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L*a*b* (CIELAB) color Model

• Weber’s Law: Equally-perceived differences are proportional to
magnitude. The more there is of a quantity, the more change there
must be to perceive a difference.

• A rule of thumb for this phenomenon states that equally-perceived

changes must be relative — changes are about equally perceived if
the ratio of the change is the same, whether for dark or bright lights,
etc.

• Mathematically, ΔΙwith intensity I, change is equally perceived so long

as the change Ι is a constant. If it’s quiet, we can hear a small
change in sound. If there is a lot of noise, to experience the same
difference the change has to be of the same proportion.

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• For human vision, the CIE arrived at a different

version of this kind of rule — CIELAB space.
What is being quantified in this space is
differences perceived in color and brightness.

• Fig. 4.14 shows a cutaway into a 3D solid of

the coordinate space associated with this color
difference metric.

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Fig. 4.14: CIELAB model.

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• CIELAB:

E  ( L) 2  (a) 2  (b) 2 (4.21)

(1/3)
Y 
L  116    16
 Yn 
 X (1/3)  Y (1/3) 
a  500     
 X n   Yn  

 Y (1/3)  Z (1/3)  (4.22)

b  200      
 Yn   Z n  
with Xn, Yn, Zn the XYZ values of the white point. Auxiliary definitions are:

  2  2  b
chroma  c  (a )  (b ) , hue angle  h  arctan 
a

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More Color Coordinate Schemes

• Beware: gamma correction or not is usually ignored.

• Schemes include:
a) CMY — Cyan (C), Magenta (M) and Yellow (Y) color model;

b) HSL — Hue, Saturation and Lightness;

c) HSV — Hue, Saturation and Value;

d) HSI — Hue, Saturation and Intensity;

e) HCI — C=Chroma;

f) HVC — V=Value;

g) HSD — D=Darkness.

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4.2 Color Models in Images

• Colors models and spaces used for stored, displayed, and printed images.

• RGB Color Model for CRT Displays

1. We expect to be able to use 8 bits per color channel for color that is accurate
enough.

2. However, in fact we have to use about 12 bits per channel to avoid an aliasing
effect in dark image areas — contour bands that result from gamma correction.

3. For images produced from computer graphics, we store integers proportional to

intensity in the frame buffer. So should have a gamma correction LUT between
the frame buffer and the CRT.

4. If gamma correction is applied to floats before quantizing to integers, before

storage in the frame buffer, then in fact we can use only 8 bits per channel and
still avoid contouring artifacts.

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Subtractive color: CMY color Model

• So far, we have effectively been dealing only with
additive color. Namely, when two light beams
impinge on a target, their colors add; when two
phosphors on a CRT screen are turned on, their
colors add.

• But for ink deposited on paper, the opposite

situation holds: yellow ink subtracts blue from
white illumination, but reflects red and green; it
appears yellow.
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1. Instead of red, green, and blue primaries, we need primaries that

amount to -red, -green, and -blue. I.e., we need to subtract R, or G,
or B.

2. These subtractive color primaries are Cyan (C), Magenta (M) and
Yellow (Y) inks.

Fig. 4.15: RGB and CMY color cubes.

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Transformation from RGB to CMY

• Simplest model we can invent to specify what ink density to lay down
on paper, to make a certain desired RGB color:

 C  1  R 
 M   1  G 
     (4.24)
 Y  1  B 

Then the inverse transform is:

 R  1  C 
G   1   M 
     (4.25)
 B  1  Y 

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Undercolor Removal: CMYK

System
• Undercolor removal: Sharper and cheaper printer colors:
calculate that part of the CMY mix that would be black,
remove it from the color proportions, and add it back as real
black.

• The new specification of inks is thus:

K  min{C , M , Y } (4.26)
C  C K 
M   M  K 
   
 Y   Y  K 

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• Fig. 4.16: color combinations that result from combining primary

colors available in the two situations, additive color and subtractive
color.

Fig. 4.16: Additive and subtractive color. (a): RGB is used to specify
additive color. (b): CMY is used to specify subtractive color

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Printer Gamuts
• Actual transmission curves overlap for the C,
M, Y inks. This leads to “crosstalk” between
the color channels and difficulties in predicting
colors achievable in printing.

• Fig. 4.17(a) shows typical transmission curves

for real “block dyes”, and Fig.4.17(b) shows
the resulting color gamut for a color printer.

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Fig. 4.17: (a): Transmission curves for block dyes. (b):

Spectrum locus, triangular NTSC gamut, and 6-vertex
printer gamut
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4.3 Color Models in Video

• Video Color Transforms

(a) Largely derive from older analog methods of coding color for TV. Luminance
is separated from color information.

(b) For example, a matrix transform method similar to Eq. (4.9) called YIQ is
used to transmit TV signals in North America and Japan.

(c) This coding also makes its way into VHS video tape coding in these countries
since video tape technologies also use YIQ.

(d) In Europe, video tape uses the PAL or SECAM codings, which are based on
TV that uses a matrix transform called YUV.

(e) Finally, digital video mostly uses a matrix transform called YCbCr that is
closely related to YUV

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YUV Color Model

(a) YUV codes a luminance signal (for gamma-corrected signals) equal to Y ′ in Eq.
(4.20). the “luma”.

(b) Chrominance refers to the difference between a color and a reference white at the
same luminance. → use color differences U, V:

U = B′ − Y′ , V = R′ − Y′ (4.27)

From Eq. (4.20),

Y    0.299 0.587 0.114   R 
    G  
U
     0.299 0.587 0.886   (4.28)
 V   0.701 0.587 0.114   B 
   
(c) For gray, R′ = G′ = B′, the luminance Y′ equals to that gray, since 0.299+0.587+0.114
= 1.0. And for a gray (“black and white”) image, the chrominance (U, V ) is zero.

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(d) In the actual implementation U and V are rescaled to have a more convenient maximum and
minimum.

(e) For dealing with composite video, it turns out to be convenient to contain the composite signal
magnitude Y   U 2 within
 V 2 the range −1/3 to +4/3. So U and V are rescaled:

U = 0.492111 (B′ − Y′)

V = 0.877283 (R′ − Y′) (4.29)

The chrominance signal = the composite signal C:

C = U·cos(ωt) + V ·sin(ωt) (4.30)

(f) Zero is not the minimum value for U, V . U is approximately from blue (U > 0) to yellow (U < 0) in
the RGB cube; V is approximately from red (V > 0) to cyan (V < 0).

(g) Fig. 4.18 shows the decomposition of a color image into its Y′, U, V components. Since both U and V
go negative, in fact the images displayed are shifted and rescaled.

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Fig. 4.18: Y ′UV decomposition of color image. Top image (a)

is original color image; (b) is Y ′; (c,d) are (U, V)

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YIQ Color Model

• YIQ is used in NTSC color TV broadcasting. Again, gray pixels generate zero (I, Q)
chrominance signal.

(a) I and Q are a rotated version of U and V .

(b) Y ′ in YIQ is the same as in YUV; U and V are rotated by 33°:

I = 0.492111(R′ − Y ′) cos 33° − 0.877283(B′ − Y ′) sin 33°

Q = 0.492111(R′ −Y ′) sin 33°+0.877283(B′ −Y ′) cos 33° (4.31)

(c) This leads to the following matrix transform:

Y    0.299 0.587 0.114   R  
     
 I   0.595879 0.274133 0.321746   G 
 Q   0.211205 0.523083 0.311878   B  (4.32)
   

(d) Fig. 4.19 shows the decomposition of the same color image as above, into YIQ components.

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Fig.4.19: I and Q components of color image.

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YCbCr Color Model

• The Rec. 601 standard for digital video uses another color space, YCbCr, often simply written YCbCr
— closely related to the YUV transform.

(a) YUV is changed by scaling such that Cb is U, but with a coefficient of 0.5 multiplying B′. In some software
systems, Cb and Cr are also shifted such that values are between 0 and 1.

(b) This makes the equations as follows:

Cb = ((B′ − Y′)/1.772)+0.5

Cr = ((R′ − Y′)/1.402)+0.5 (4.33)

(c) Written out:

 Y    0.299 0.587 0.114   R    0 

    G    0.5 (4.34)
C
  
b   0.168736  0.331264 0.5    
Cr   0.5 0.418688 0.081312   B  0.5
 

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(d) In practice, however, Recommendation 601 specifies

8-bit coding, with a maximum Y′ value of only 219, and
a minimum of +16. Cb and Cr have a range of ±112 and
offset of +128. If R′, G′, B′ are floats in [0.. + 1], then
we obtain Y ′, Cb, Cr in [0..255] via the transform:

 Y    65.481 128.553 24.966   R   16 

    G   128
C
 b    37.797  74.203 112     (4.35)
Cr   112 93.786 18.214   B 
   128
 

(f) The YCbCr transform is used in JPEG image

compression and MPEG video compression.

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