YPbPr

YPbPr, commonly known as component video, is an analog color-encoding system used to transmit video as three separate signals: Y for luminance, Pb for blue-difference chroma, and Pr for red-difference chroma. Y carries brightness detail; Pb and Pr carry color information as differences relative to luminance. This separation reduces artifacts and preserves color resolution compared with composite video.

The three signals are carried on three cables—typically Y is green, Pb is blue, and Pr is red—and are decoded by a display that recombines them to form the full color image. YPbPr is the analog counterpart of the digital YCbCr color space; many devices also present digital equivalents or convert between formats. The exact transfer coefficients depend on the standard in use (for example, the BT.601/BT.709 families used for SD and HD systems).

YPbPr became widely used in consumer electronics during the 1980s through the early 2000s, particularly for DVD players, set-top boxes, and game consoles, because it offered high image quality without the artifacts common to composite video and with lower bandwidth than RGB. It has largely been supplanted by digital interfaces such as HDMI, but component video remains available on some equipment and legacy setups, especially where separate cables and analog signals are acceptable.

See also: YCbCr, RGB, HDMI, NTSC, PAL.