Safe area

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Safe area is a term used in television production to describe the areas of the television picture that can be seen on television screens.

Older televisions can display less of the space outside of the safe area than ones made more recently. Flat panel screens, plasma and liquid crystal display screens generally can show most of the 'non-safe' area.

Safe area is important in television production because it is important to ensure all important parts of the picture are viewable by the majority of viewers.

In the illustration at right , the green area is referred to as the "title safe" area (note that these colors are for illustration only and do not appear on the television screens). This area will be seen by all television screens, no matter when they were made, unless the users has modified the settings. The term "title safe" originated from the fact this is where it is safe to display text such as lower thirds or full-screen graphics listing information such as telephone numbers.

The yellow area on the illustration can be seen by the vast majority of viewers. Today, most television stations and networks will place information within this area. This area can be considered the "margin" of the television screen in that picture elements are generally kept out of this area to create a buffer around the edge of the screen so elements don't butt up against the edge of the screen. For example, in this illustration, the top of the anchor's head is placed just below the yellow area. The station's logo in the lower right corner is also placed just near the edge of the yellow area.

However, the yellow area might be used if the television station wants the information to butt up against the edge of the screen. For example, many stations place tickers that run horizontally in the yellow area.

The red area is not shown on most consumer television screens, unless the user modifies the television's settings. It is generally considered safe to have elements that shouldn't be seen by the viewers placed in this area, such as the edge of the set or cables and other equipment. However, some television production personnel don't place anything in this area they don't want viewers to see because the red area is always transmitted and could potentially be seen by a viewer with the correct equipment. Television stations generally have professional-grade monitors that show the entire picture. These monitors often include white lines showing where the title safe and safe areas are located.

Since there is such a wide variety of television screens that may display pictures slightly differently, the yellow and red areas are transmitted to ensure the picture takes up the entire screen with no black area around the edges.