Premiere Pro has a vectorscope and waveform monitors (YC Waveform, YCbCr Parade, and RGB Parade) to help you output a video program that meets broadcast standards and also assist you in making adjustments based on aesthetic considerations, such as color corrections.
For decades, video production and duplication facilities have used waveform monitors and vectorscopes to accurately evaluate video levels—specifically, color and brightness.
A vectorscope measures the chrominance (color components) of a video signal, including hue and saturation. A vectorscope maps a video’s color information onto a circular chart.
The traditional waveform monitor is useful in measuring the brightness, or luminance component, of a video signal. In Premiere Pro, the waveform monitors can also display chrominance information. The waveform monitor works something like a graph. The horizontal axis of the graph corresponds to the video image from left to right. Vertically, the waveform displays the luminance levels, and optionally, the chrominance levels.
Andrew Devis shows how to find and understand the Vectorscope in Premiere Pro in this video tutorial on the Creative Cow web site.
Andrew Devis shows how to find and understand the YC Waveform Monitor in Premiere Pro in this video tutorial on the Creative Cow web site.
Jeff Sengstack explains how to work with the YC Waveform Monitor and the Vectorscope in his article, “Streamlining Color Correction in Premiere Pro” on the Pro Video Coalition web site.
Maxim Jago introduces the Waveform Monitor for color adjustments in Adobe Premiere Pro in this video on the video2brain web site.
View a scope
You can view a vectorscope, YC waveform, YCbCr Parade, and an RGB Parade scope either individually or grouped in the Reference Monitor, Program Monitor, or Source Monitor.
Vectorscope
The Vectorscope displays a circular chart, similar to
a color wheel, that shows the video’s chrominance information. Saturation
is measured from the center of the chart outward. Saturated, vivid
colors produce a pattern some distance from the center of the chart,
while a black-and-white image produces only a dot at the center
of the chart. The particular color, or hue, of the image determines
the direction (angle of the pattern). Small target boxes 
indicate
where fully saturated magenta, blue, cyan, green, yellow, and red
(present in a color bars test pattern) should appear. In NTSC video,
chrominance levels should not exceed these target areas.
- A.
- Target boxes
- B.
- Image profile
The Vectorscope has the following controls:
- Intensity
- Adjusts the brightness of the pattern display. It does not affect the video output signal.
- 75%
- Default position. Use to check video input in which standard 75% intensity bars, like those in Premiere Pro, are used.
- 100%
- Shows the entire range of video signal chrominance. Use with video input containing 100% intensity bars.
YC Waveform
The YC Waveform displays a graph showing the signal intensity in the video clip. The horizontal axis of the graph corresponds to the video image (from left to right) and the vertical axis is the signal intensity in units called IRE (named for the Institute of Radio Engineers).
The YC Waveform displays luminance information as a green waveform. Bright objects produce a waveform pattern (bright green areas) near the top of the graph; darker objects produce a waveform toward the bottom. For NTSC video in the United States, luminance levels should range from 7.5 to 100 IRE (sometimes referred to as the legal broadcast limit). Japan’s implementation of NTSC standards permits a luminance range from 0 to 100 IRE. Generally, luminance and chroma values should be about the same and distributed evenly across the 7.5 to 100 IRE range.
The YC Waveform also displays chrominance information as a blue waveform. The chrominance information is overlaid upon the luminance waveform.
You can specify whether the YC Waveform displays both luminance and chrominance information, or just luminance information. For a video on reading a waveform monitor, see www.adobe.com/go/vid0238.
- A.
- IRE units
- B.
- Luminance (green) waveform
- C.
- Chrominance (blue) waveform
- D.
- Range of signal components
The YC Waveform has the following controls:
- Intensity
- Adjusts the brightness of the waveform display. It does not affect the video output signal.
- Setup (7.5 IRE)
- Displays a waveform that approximates the final analog video output signal. Deselecting this option displays the digital video information.
- Chroma
- Displays both chrominance in addition to luminance information. Deselecting this option displays only the luminance.
YCbCr Parade
The YCbCr Parade scope displays waveforms representing levels of the luminance and color difference channels in the video signal. The waveforms appear in a graph one after another.
The Intensity control adjusts the brightness of the waveforms. It does not affect the video output signal.
- A.
- Values
- B.
- Y (luminance) waveform
- C.
- Cb waveform
- D.
- Cr waveform
- E.
- Range of signal components
RGB Parade
The RGB Parade scope displays waveforms representing the levels of the red, green, and blue channels in a clip. The waveforms appear in a graph one after another, in parade fashion. This scope is useful for viewing the distribution of the color components in a clip. The levels of each color channel are measured proportionately to each other using a scale of 0 to 100.
The Intensity control adjusts the brightness of the waveforms. It doesn’t affect the video output signal.
- A.
- Values
- B.
- R waveform
- C.
- G waveform
- D.
- B waveform
- E.
- Range of signal components
