yuv

YUV is a color encoding system used for video signals that separates image information into brightness and color components. The luma component, Y, encodes grayscale detail and brightness; the chrominance components, U and V (also called Cb and Cr in digital forms), encode color information. Separating luminance from chrominance enables technologies such as chroma subsampling and efficient compression because the human visual system is more sensitive to brightness than color.

Historically associated with analog component video (NTSC, PAL, SECAM), YUV originated as a way to transmit color information without degrading luminance. In digital workflows, the same concept is implemented as Y'CbCr, where Y' denotes gamma-corrected luma and Cb/Cr carry color differences relative to Y'. Standards such as BT.601 and BT.709 define conversion between RGB and Y'CbCr and specify typical ranges.

Applications include television broadcasting, DVD and Blu-ray formats, and modern video codecs (MPEG-2, H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC). Chroma subsampling schemes, notably 4:2:2 and 4:2:0, reduce chroma resolution to save bandwidth with little perceptual loss.

Ranges vary with context: video use limited ranges (for 8-bit samples, Y' typically 16–235, Cb/Cr 16–240); some systems use full range 0–255. Conversions between RGB and YUV/Y'CbCr depend on the standard and include formulas such as Y' = 0.299R' + 0.587G' + 0.114B', with Cb = B' − Y' and Cr = R' − Y' (scaled or offset as required).