One of two primary color spaces used to represent digital component video (the other is RGB). The difference between YCbCr and RGB is that YCbCr represents color as brightness and two color difference signals, while RGB represents color as red, green and blue. In YCbCr, the Y is the brightness (luma), Cb is blue minus luma (B-Y) and Cr is red minus luma (R-Y). See
component video.
YCbCr Is Digital
MPEG compression, which is used in DVDs, digital TV and Video CDs, is coded in YCbCr, and digital camcorders (MiniDV, DV, Digital Betacam, etc.) output YCbCr over a digital link such as FireWire or SDI. The ITU-R BT.601 international standard for digital video defines both YCbCr and RGB color spaces. See
chroma subsampling.
YPbPr Is Analog
YPbPr is the analog counterpart of YCbCr. It uses three cables for connection, whereas YCbCr uses only a single cable (see
YPbPr). See
YUV,
YUV/RGB conversion formulas and
ITU-R BT.601.