The depth of modulation and the absolute RF carrier level of an amplitude-modulated
video signal are automatically adjusted. For adjustment of the depth of modulation,
a sync tip of the video signal is sampled, corrected and normalized to a reference
level, e.g., a 50% video level. A reference pulse is inserted into the video signal,
e.g., in a sync pulse or in lines 22 and/or 23 of the vertical blanking
interval. The reference pulse is sampled and compared to the normalized sync tip
pulse to determine an error. The error is converted to an adjustment signal for
a charge pump which increases or decreases the depth of modulation accordingly.
For adjustment of the absolute carrier level, the insertion of a reference pulse
is not required. Instead, a reference value is stored in a memory and retrieved
for comparison with the corrected sync tip pulse. An error term is computed and
converted to an adjustment signal for a charge pump which increases or decreases
the absolute carrier level accordingly. Several modulation circuits can share a
common microprocessor controller.