(TAKEN FROM THE HOME ELECTRONICS SURVIVAL GUIDE)

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

2.4 GHz: This is 2.4 gigahertz. A radio frequency at which many devices broadcast their wireless signal. It could be a portable phone, wireless surround speakers or even your wireless computer network.
3:2 PULLDOWN: (also called 2:3 pulldown): film movies run at 24 frames per second (see “fps”). Videotape (like TV and camcorders) run at 30 frames per second. In order to have a smooth picture, it is best to convert the film movie from 24 to 30 frames per second. This added feature on TVs and devices is done through a computer processor in the TV or device.
5.1 channel surround sound”: Audio that “surrounds” you, using 5 speakers and a low frequency effects channel (subwoofer that plays the booming lows or “bass”). The five channels are Left and right front, center channel, and surround right and surround left. The subwoofer is given .1 status.
802.11 (802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n): This is the frequency used by wireless computer routers to connect computer networks without cables. For wireless, a device must have a receiver (like a wireless “card”. 802.11 is also being used in audio and video devices to wirelessly send picture or sound to another device).
900 MHz: A radio frequency at which many devices broadcast their wireless signal. It could be a portable phone, stereo headphones or even a wireless TV.
A/B SWITCHER: An accessory used when you want to connect 2 devices to a TV with only one antenna (RF or coaxial) input. Often used with a Cable TV box and VCR. “A/B” refers to the switch between device connected to “A” and device connected to “B”. There is usually a physical switch. This switch lets the signal from the chosen device to be sent to the TV. Because most TVs now have more than one input, there is less of a need for this accessory.
A/V receiver: “Audio/Video” receiver. This is the component that amplifies the sound to be played through your speakers. Similar to a stereo receiver, in that it often has a radio “tuner” and can connect to a variety of audio components, the A/V receiver also accepts video components and the video signals from those components. This gives you the convenience of switching the input on one device rather than having to switch the video on the TV and the audio on the receiver. A/V receivers are at least surround sound receivers and are also called “home heater receivers.”
AC-3: “Audio coding 3” the original name for digital surround sound used in Home Theater. Usually it is 5.1 channel with 3 speakers in front (a left, center, and right), and 2 in back of you (surround left and surround right). The “.1” refers to the subwoofer which reproduces low frequency (bass) signals. See HDTV chapter 2 for more on digital surround sound.
ARTIFACTS: Interference in a digital picture. Usually used to refer to the boxy shapes that appear in dark areas of the TV picture or in fast moving scenes. Better TVs and DVDs have chips and processors to reduce the occurrence of artifacts. See “Line Doublers/Scalers” in HDTV chapter 2 for more information.
ASPECT RATIO: A number read as a ratio that describes the shape of a TV picture. The aspect ratio for NTSC, traditional square shaped picture is 4:3; the shape of a letterbox picture is 16x9. Widescreen pictures that retain the shape of the original movie shown in a movie theater has yet another ratio (wider and not as tall) and cinema wide has yet another.
ASSIGNABLE INPUT: Found on a/v receivers; there are a number of digital audio inputs (coaxial and/or optical audio) or component video inputs that are not dedicated to any particular component. You can “assign” a particular device to use that input. This is typically done in the a/v receiver’s set up menu.
ATSC: “Advanced Television Standards Committee”. This is digital TV including HDTV. It is the future TV standard that is set to insure that all broadcasters will send a signal and televisions and other atsc tuners can receive. NTSC is the analog standard we will soon be leaving behind, the standard of your current TV unless you have purchased an HD ready, HDTV or other digital TV.
BAND: a range of radio frequencies over which picture and sound can be sent and received. The UHF band is made up of the channels above channel 13. See Chapter 1.
BETAMAX ACT: The supreme court decision which stated that a private citizen has the right to copy movies and TV programs for personal use. See HDTV Chapter 2.
BI-DIRECTIONAL: A connection or cable capable of sending and receiving signals between devices. A bi-directional connection serves both as an input and output. iEEE1394 or firewire is an example of bi-directional cable.
BIPOLAR SPEAKERS: Speakers commonly used as surround sound rear speakers. There are two speakers in the speaker cabinet that create sound that bounces off nearby walls giving the listener a sense of being “surrounded” by non-directional sound.
BITSTREAM: flow of digital data. (Literally a stream of “bits” of digital information) some digital audio connections are labeled “bitstream”
BNC: “Bayonet Neill Councelman” connection (you will probably never hear it called that); these are professional connections that have found their way onto some HDTV monitors and HDTV tuner set top boxes. Because these connections lock on, they have a superior ability to transfer video signals. See Connections chapter 3 for pictures of BNC connectors.
BNC connectors: See “BNC”. The professional video connectors that turn to lock onto a BNC terminal. You can get adaptors to change an RCA phono connector to BNC and vice versa.
BROWNOUT: Refers to the electrical power current coming into your home. The amount of power is inconsistent and when the amount of power dips, it can cause dimming of lights or less quality in sound and picture from your home entertainment devices. The most important thing to know about brownouts, is that the power spikes (surges in) before it settles to around normal. These spikes can damage your equipment permanently. This is why it is important for all electronics to be connected to a surge protector.
BURN-IN: A faint, permanent ghostlike image of a static scene that is caused by pixels showing the same color or intensity for periods of time. Burn-in is most common on Rear Projection televisions, and is a problem being solved on Plasma TVs. To avoid burn-in, never leave a static image like a DVD menu, static backgrounds on video games, computer desktops, constant stock tickers, nor black bars to remain on your TV screen for an extended period.
CABLECARD: A card used in HDTVs which allows for Cable TV to be hooked directly into the TV without the need for a Cable TV box. The cablecard will enable the unscrambling of the signal for the know which subscription and premium channels you receive.
Cathode ray Tube: Your ol’’ TV picture tube. A cathode ray tube is a vacuum sealed picture tube that uses a cathode ray gun to shoot at the phosphors on the front glass of the tube which creates the picture. See illustrations in HDTV Chapter 2, “How TVs work.”
CENTER CHANNEL: Referring to the front speaker in surround sound that is put above or below the TV between the two front speakers. This channel carries the voice or dialogue of the surround sound.
CHANNEL (audio): The sound signal that is sent to a single speaker. In stereo there is a left channel and a right channel; in surround sound it is separated into 6 or 8 channels (5 plus the subwoofer or 7 plus the subwoofer.)
channel (when referring to a channel you tune into): The range of frequencies that bring in a picture signal, like a TV station, or channels on a walkie talkie or portable phone. The device tunes into that range and receives the picture and/or sound information. See Chapter 1 Getting the Picture.
CHROMA: The color information that makes up a color TV picture.
Coax: Short for “coaxial”. See below.
Coaxial Audio cable: A coaxial cable that carries digital sound. Commonly used between a DVD and a/v receiver or to transfer HDTV digital surround sound. Although it looks like an RCA cable, it carries digital signals for all of the audio channels rather than a single channel like an analog RCA cable. Though some people use an RCA video composite cable, you’ll assure your great sound quality by using a coaxial audio cable made to transmit the digital audio.
COAXIAL CABLE: Technically, a coaxial cable can carry different kinds of signals and is a cable that uses a single copper wire to transmit the signal (rather than many twisted wires). While the RF or “F-pin” cable exposes the wire in connecting to a device, other coaxial cables may use RCA connections. The center wire is surrounded by insulation and a braided wire to shield it from interference. (See below for definitions of “RF Cable”, “F-pin”, and “RCA Connectors.”)
COAXIAL DIGITAL CABLE: See “coaxial audio” above.
COMBINED SETUP: This refers to how you route your audio and video in a Home Theater setup. A combined setup sends the video from each of the components to the TV, and the audio from each of the components to the a/v receiver. Some purists insist that this is the best way, but it gets very confusing to use later.
COMPONENT: A piece of audio or video equipment. A device that connects to your TV and/or a/v receiver.
Component Video: The red, green and blue cables and connections used for DVDs and HDTV. Component video separates each of the red, green and blue signals as well as the luminance (grayscale brightness of colors). This results in a clearer, brighter picture.
COMPOSITE VIDEO: Also called RCA connections. A video signal is made up of chroma (color) and luminance (brightness like grayscale). A composite video cable combines the chroma and luminance into one cable (while an S-Video cable or component video cables separate the signals). (See “Chroma” and “Luminance”.)
COMPRESSION: Squeezing large digital information signals to use less storage space or bandwidth. Different kinds of video compression include Mpeg-2 or Mpeg-4. The best kind of compression is “lossless” compression that doesn’t lose information to make the signal smaller. (Mpeg 2 and Mpeg 4 are examples of “CoDecs” that are ways to perform COmpression/DECompression)
CONVERGENCE: there are two meanings for convergence. 1. Two different technologies that now work together (like computers and TVs or cell phones and cameras). 2. On Rear Projection TVs, realigning the red, green and blue CRTs so there are distinct lines without red or blue halos. See page
CRT: “Cathode Ray Tube” See above.
D SUB 15: Can refer to the RGB/VGA connection mostly used for computer monitors. See connections chapter 3 “RGB/VGA” connection.
DAC: “Digital to Analog converter.” See D/A Converter below and explanation in HDTV chapter 2.
D/A converter: Digital to Analog Converter. We see and hear in analog light and sound waves, so any signal that has been recorded digitally, must be converted back to analog for us to see and hear. That is the job of a D/A converter. There are different quality converters that can reproduce the original sound and picture more accurately than converters in bargain units.
DCR: “Digital Cable Ready.” See below.
DE-INTERLACER: Processes an incoming picture signal to a TV to create a better picture. Can determine if the original material was film or video and make adjustments that clean up artifacts and make the picture clear and clean. This is particularly important when watching a program that was originally shot on film like DVD movies and some TV shows. See HDTV chapter 2. Also see 3:2 pulldown.
DEVICE: A piece of audio or video equipment that creates sound and/or picture which is connected to your TV and/or a/v receiver. Same as “component.” May be used in menus or on remotes to mean the same as “source.”
Digital Audio: Sound that has been created in 1’s and 0’s like a computer uses and is sent from one device to another via a digital audio cable (see “coaxial audio” or “TosLink”). Digital audio can be encoded for “digital surround sound.” (See below.)
DIGITAL CABLE READY: Just like old analog TVs were “cable ready” and you could just hook up the incoming Cable TV’s RF cable to your antenna, and change channels; HDTVs are coming equipped with a Digital CableCard that then allows the TV to use its tuner to change channels and hook up directly to the HDTV Digital Cable TV without a cable box. (See “CableCard”.)
DIGITAL DECODER: Refers to the digital surround sound decoder found in DVD players and/or a/v receivers. Digital sound may have a variety of formats that must be decoded to hear as it was intended. These formats include Dolby Digital® Surround Sound, Dolby Digital EX®, dts 5.1, Dolby 6.1, DTS-ES™, DVD-Audio, and SACD.
DIGITAL LIGHT PROCESSING™: Can also be referred to as “DLP™”. Created by Texas Instruments. Refers to a kind of big screen HDTV that uses a computer chip covered in tiny mirrors which reflect onto the front screen. See HDTV chapter 2 for an explanation of how this TV works.
DIGITAL MICROMIRROR DEVICE: “DMD”; The computer chip used to create the picture in a DLP™ TV.
DIGITAL SOUND: See “digital audio”.
Digital Surround sound: See “AC-3”
Digital Visual Interface: “DVI”; see below.
DIGITAL VIDEO RECORDER: “DVR”. A device which records from another source, particularly live TV (antenna, Cable TV or Satellite), onto a hard drive similar to a computer. DVRs typically are always recording into a temporary memory which allows you to pause “live TV”
DIPOLAR SPEAKERS: If you want the sound of your back speakers to fill the room, rather than pinpointing the sound coming from behind you or the side, etc., you might be interested in di-polar speakers. Speakers with more than one driver (actual speaker in the cabinet), on opposite sides from one another. The speakers are “out of phase”; they move in opposite directions. This gives an ambient sound, filling the room and gives a sense that you are unable to tell the direction from which the sound is coming, “non-directional.” “Electrostatic” and “ribbon” speakers are also considered di-polar because they are “out of phase” and give you the impression that the sound is coming from both back and front.
DIRECT VIEW: The traditional picture tube type TV. Named direct view to refer to the picture created on the front glass in contrast to rear projection. See “CRT”.
“Discrete” channels: Refers to audio channels particularly AC-3 digital surround sound. Each channel of sound information that goes to its corresponding speaker (i.e., left front, right surround) has separate and distinct information. This allows for a sense of being surrounded by the action. (For example you hear a door close behind you on your right as it comes from that speaker.)
DLP™ Chip: The chip created by Texas Instruments used in TVs with “Digital Light Processing” see above.
DMD “Digital Micromirror Display” see above.
DOLBY DIGITAL®: See “AC-3”. Dolby Laboratories version of 5.1 surround sound, one of the most popular of the digital surround formats.
DOLBY PRO-LOGIC®: Analog surround sound that delivers 4 channels of sound—left front, right front, center, and rear surrounds. Unlike Dolby Digital where each speaker is “discrete” (see above), the surround speakers reproduce the same sound. Dolby Pro Logic® gets its information from analog stereo inputs where the a/v receiver splits the sound (see “matrixed sound”) into the four channels. In this way you can get a type of surround sound from your analog devices like your VCR or MTS stereo TV shows.
DSS/DBS “Digital Satellite System” or “Digital Broadcast Satellite” This is what Satellite TV like DirecTv and Dish network were called when they first were available.
dts: “Digital Theater Systems”. A company that creates film and video digital 5.1 surround sound. Competing format of Dolby Digital®, most a/v receivers today have both decoders to accommodate the surround sound of the DVD you are playing.
DTVLink™: Name for iEEE1394 cable — “firewire”— which can carry “5C” copy protection. See HDTV chapter 2, “Copy Protection.”
DUAL HOOKUPS OR DUAL CONNECTIONS: When you connect more than one cable to carry the signal from a component to a TV. For example when you
DUAL LNB: What you need to know is that this is a feature that you MUST HAVE on your Satellite dish if you want more than one Satellite receiver and TV on different channels. (See Tuner Chapter 1.) For those who want to know what it is...LNB stands for “low noise block”. Your dish receives the signal from the Satellite in the sky. That round white part (called the “feedhorn”) picks up the signals reflected off the dish. Each LNB can carry certain channels. When your Satellite receiver asks for a channel (tunes in to a channel), the appropriate LNB sends an amplified signal down the cable to the box. Dual LNB’s will have two coaxial outputs from the dish.
DUAL TUNER: Two tuners in one device, each able to tune into separate channels at the same time. Dual Tuner TVs often use the second tuner for Picture in Picture. Satellite and DVRs with dual tuners will record 2 programs at the same time, or record one channel while you watch another.
DVD Audio: A high quality sound format for audio only version of DVD. Can separate sound, usually music, into digital surround sound (see above). To play DVD Audio you must have a DVD player that plays the format and either the DVD player or (preferably) the a/v receiver must have a DVD Audio decoder (see 6 Channel hookup in Connections chapter 3). The receiver must have 96khz/24 bit (that’s the high quality stuff) reproduction capability (some a/v receivers made before 2000 may not be able to play DVD Audio).
DVI: “Digital Visual Interface”; a type of cable and connection that carries video signals. DVI cables can carry digital video signals (as in DVI-D), analog video signals (as in DVI-A), or digital and analog signals (as in DVI-I). The type of DVI cable and DVI connection must match. See connections and cables chapters 3 and 4.
DVR: See “Digital Video Recorder”
ETHERNET: Think “home network”. This is the cable or connection that hooks together the computers in your home and now can connect some TVs, DVRs, DVDs and other home theater devices to your home computer so that you can receive movies, photos, music and even the internet through your home theater system. See “convergence” definition at www.home-electronics-survival.com.
Fiber optic cables: Cables used to run Cable TV signals (and telephone lines) to your home via a light pulse over a glass optical cable. (Glass is used over long distances, and has a reflective material so the light beams do not interfere with neighboring fiber optic cable beams.)
FIELD: On an interlaced TV, a field is 1/2 of a frame created when the cathode ray gun (CRT) scans across the even lines of pixels (1 field), and then the odd lines of pixels (1 field). This happens at 1/60 th of a second so your eye puts the two images together and perceives a smooth moving picture. One odd and one even field make up a frame. See “FPS”, “Frame” and “Interlaced” for more explanation.
Firewire: Name for iEEE1394 coined by Apple Computers. A type of bi-directional digital cable and connection (both input and output in the same cable). Also called iLink™, or DTVLink™. See connections and cable Chapters 2 and 3 for more information.
FIXED PIXEL DISPLAY: TVs like LCD, Plasma or DLP TVs where each pixel receives individual information and appears on the screen at the same time. In contrast a CRT scans lines of pixels intermittently (see “interlaced” or “CRT”). Fixed pixel displays are always “progressive scan”. See HDTV Chapter 2 for more information.
F-PIN CABLE (or F-pin connection): An RF cable. The “f-pin” refers to the copper cable that protrudes from the end of the cable and fits into the small hole on the connection terminal. This is the cable used to bring in signal from outside sources like Satellite, Cable TV or an outdoor antenna. See “RF cable” for more information.
FPS: “Frames Per Second” (see below for “Frame”). A moving picture is made up of a number of progressive still photos shown at a fraction of a second. When viewed in succession, the pictures appear to be moving (this is called “persistence of vision”). FPS is a measurement of how many full images of a movie or video is recorded and/or reproduced on the screen in one second. Movies shot on film run at 24 fps; video is recorded at 30 fps. Because a TV set shows 30 frames per second, programs originally shot in film have a better quality when adapted to the 30 fps (see “3:2 pulldown”).
frame: Each full photo image that makes up a moving picture (see FPS above). On a progressive scan TV each frame is displayed in its entirety. On an “interlaced” TV, each frame is made up of 2 fields. Combining the even line fields and odd line fields is called “interlacing” the picture. “Frame” can also refer to all the picture displayed within the area show on your TV.
FRONT PANEL INPUTS: Jacks or connections found on the front of your TV or device. Commonly used for components that are hooked up temporarily like video game consoles, video cameras etc. May be hidden behind a spring loaded door.
FRONT PROJECTION TV: A TV that uses a projects its image onto a screen similar to the old film projectors. Projection TVs can be connected to a variety of sources like DVD, satellite or cable etc.
front surround speakerS: The left and right speaker that is put to the sides of the TV, in front of you. These speakers carry mostly the front sound affects and music.
HARD DISC RECORDER: (Also called “DVR” or “PVR.”) A device that records television programming or other sources onto a hard disc drive similar to that used in your computer. Uses a temporary memory to record a portion of all programming you are currently watching. TiVo and RePlay are types of hard disc recorders.
HD READY: “High Definition Ready”. This refers to televisions that can show ATSC but do not have a high definition tuner to receive the stations. HD ready sets need either a set top box, Satellite receiver or cable receiver to tune in to the high definition stations. To be “HD ready” a TV must be able to display a minimum of 720 lines of resolution in progressive scan (720p) and 1080 lines of resolution in interlaced (1080i). See HDTV chapter for more details.
HDCP: High Definition Copy Protection. Encoding on digital media and digital broadcasts that prevents copying a program onto VHS or DVD.
HDMI: “High definition multimedia interface” Used with HDTVs, a cable and connection that carries both digital video and digital audio signals.
HDTV: “High Definition TV”. Refers to Televisions with a high definition tuner built in and refers to the whole ATSC digital broadcasts. To be a “true” HDTV, it must be able to display a minimum of 720 lines of resolution in progressive scan (720p) and 1080 lines of resolution in interlaced (1080i). See HDTV chapter for more details.
HI-FI: High Fidelity. Highest quality reproduction of sound. Often used referring to Stereo systems when compared to single channel mono systems (particularly with VCRs; many “hi-fi” VCRs are simply stereo).
HIGH DEFINITION MULTIMEDIA INTERFACE: see “HDMI”
HOME THEATER: The addition of a surround sound system (receiver and speakers) to accompany the picture on a TV. “True” home theater would include a big screen TV but any TV can be part of a home theater. Typically you would listen to the sound from your sound system and watch the video on your TV without sound coming from your TV. (The exception is TVs that create “virtual surround sound” or can connect to speakers and use its internal speaker as the center speaker.) Can also refer to a room created in your home to mimic a theater experience that is specially sound proofed, usually dark, and set up with seats around a big screen TV. See also “surround sound.”
HOME THEATER RECEIVER: See A/V receiver.
iEEE1394: A type of bi-directional digital cable and connection (both input and output in the same cable) that started out in the computer world. iEEE1394 was created by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (“iEEE”). Also called “firewire”, iLink™, or DTVLink™. See connections and cable Chapters 2 and 3 for more information.
iLink™: Sony’s name for iEEE1394 or firewire, a bi-directional (both input and output in the same cable), digital connection that carries audio and video or sometimes just audio.
IN-LINE HOOKUP: Connecting an RF cable from the source (antenna, Cable TV or Satellite) into another component (like a VCR or DVR) and then out of the component to the next component (if there is one) and then finally, to the TV.
INPUT: A connection on a device that brings the signal in from another source. A cable connects from the output of another device (or from Cable TV or antenna) to the input of a device or the TV.
INTEGRATED TUNERS: A TV or device with the tuner built-in enabling you to change channels on that device. A TV that does not have an integrated tuner is called a “monitor.” An HDTV has an integrated tuner; “HD Ready” TVs do not have integrated tuners. VCRs, cable boxes and Satellite receivers are capable of changing channels and therefore could be said to have integrated tuners.
INTERLACED: One way a picture is received and displayed on a TV. Picture tube TVs and some Rear Projection TVs use a CRT which scans the image in even lines and then in odd lines at 1/60th of a second which when these fields are combined, become a complete picture or “frame” (see “FPS” or “frames per second.) Fixed pixel displays like LCD, Plasma and DLP™ do not scan lines and are therefore “progressive scan”. (See below.)
interconnects: Another name for a/v cables; cables that carry audio and/or video signals, gets its name because it connects between two devices.
ISF CERTIFIED-”Imaging science federation” : A company that sets a high display standard (great picture quality) and trains Home Theater and TV technicians to calibrate your TV to that standard. An ISF DVD is available for brave souls who want to adjust their own TVs. An ISF certified technician, however, will have scopes and tools to do the job more accurately. Look for this certification if you have a high end installer who is coming in to adjust your system.
JACK: The connection terminal on a device to which you plug in a cable. They come in different colors and shapes To fit different kinds of cables.
JACK PANEL, “JACK PACK”, “INPUT PANEL”: On a device you will often find many connections grouped on the back (or side of flat screens). There still may be jacks on the front or other places; the jack panel is where most of the inputs and outputs are found together.
LCD: See “Liquid crystal display”
LCoS: See “Liquid Crystal on Silicon” below.
Liquid crystal on silicon: A type of TV. This technology is similar to LCD. Because the light is not blocked by the transistor that gives the liquid crystal its information, the picture is brighter than an LCD TV.
LENTICULAR SCREEN: The front screen on rear projection TVs that has tiny ridges which produce a better picture.
LFE: “Low frequency effects”. This is the bass of a sound system or the “subwoofer”. The deep, booming, rumbling sounds.
LINE AUDIO: An audio cable and connection that carries the audio signal from one channel. For stereo that is right and left cables. For surround sound, there is a separate cable and connection for front right, front left, center, subwoofer, surround right, surround back, etc. 6 or 8 channel line audio is typically used to connect DVD players with DVD Audio (or other surround format) to an a/v receiver not equipped with that decoder.
LINE DOUBLERS : Unlike the name implies, “line doublers” do not double the actual scan lines. Instead they typically work by holding the picture for two fields (two 1/2 frames) which creates what appears to be a clearer, brighter picture and eliminates many of the jagged edges that occur during a typical interlaced signal.
LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY: “LCD”. A fixed pixel TV (each pixel appears at the same time) that can either display its picture directly (as in a flat panel LCD) or projects its image (as in the larger, LCD projection TV). For an explanation of how this works, see Chapter 2 HDTV.
LUMINANCE: Part of what makes up a color TV picture signal. The “Y” in y/c cables and connections (S-Video). The luminance is the brightness or black and white image that determines shade and hue of the picture. When combined with the Chroma (Color) you see your color TV picture. By keeping the Luminance and chroma separate, there is less processing and the picture remains clearer and brighter.
MAGNETICALLY SHIELDED SPEAKERS: See “shielded speakers”.
MATRIXED SURROUND SOUND: A code in a stereo signal that then splits the sound into 4 speaker “quadraphonic” (2 front a center and a rear speaker channel.) You can tell matrixed surround because it is hooked up with a right and left audio cable rather than a digital audio connection. See details in Connections Chapter 3 under “RCA Jacks.”
Mbps: Mega bits per second. (Also “Mbits/s”) A measurement of How many millions of digital bits (individual pieces of information) that can be sent in a second. This relates to TVs in a digital TV broadcast but is more commonly heard when discussing the speed of a DSL or Cable modem internet connection.
MULTICASTING: Broadcasting many channels in the frequencies of a particular TV station. Each ATSC digital channel can carry a wide frequency of information. When not used for the large amount of information of HDTV, a broadcaster can break up the frequencies to send out as many as 5 channels at the same time. Now you can have not only one channel of PBS but a channel for news, for children’s shows, etc. See details in HDTV Chapter 2.
NTSC: (National Television Standards Committee). Usually refers to the current analog broadcasts that come to your TV, and that your TV displays (as compared to a new, digital, or HDTV ATSC TV broadcast). When color was added to broadcasts in the 1950’s (adopted widely in the 1960s), the NTSC standards ensured that black and white televisions would not become obsolete, continuing to receive signals and display black and white pictures even though they were broadcast in color.
Optical audio: Cables and connections that carry digital sound from DVDs, HDTV or other digital sources. The digital signals travel on a fiber-optic cable as a light beam. Digital audio cables are needed for Digital surround sound like DTS™, Dolby Digital® or DVD audio.
OTA: “Over the Air”. Jargon for broadcast signals you receive by antenna.
OUTPUT: Used to describe the audio or video connection on a device from which the signal comes out to be sent to another device for recording or to a TV or home theater receiver to be displayed or heard
Pass-through: When a device can accept a signal, whether it uses it or not, and passes it through to the next device. A VCR can pass the signal from your antenna, Cable TV or Satellite even when it is not powered on. Many home theater receivers will pass through video signals to a TV. (Other home theater receivers can upgrade or “upconvert” a signal to a better picture quality before sending it out.)
PCM: “Pulse Code Modulation”-- Used to create digital sound. A method for converting analog signals to digital data. You might see this to label a coaxial digital audio connection.
PERSISTENCE OF VISION: Describes why we see movies as moving pictures. The phrase that refers to how our mind processes seeing frames, individual pictures, at a fraction of a second, then strings them together to give the illusion of movement.
PHOSPHORS: What the pixels are made of on a CRT picture tube. The phosphors light up when the electronic beam hits them.
Picture-in-Picture: A feature that brings up a little box with a picture on top of the picture screen you are watching. Picture in Picture allows you to watch two channels or sources of programming at the same time (DVD and Cable TV for example.) Often you can move the p.i.p. window around to better see the main picture behind it. A 2 tuner Picture in Picture means the TV can change channels on both pictures but it must be an antenna picture or basic analog cable (or digital cable ready).
P.I.P.: See above “Picture in Picture”
PIXEL: Gets its name from “PICture ELement”. A group of red, green and blue dots that gets picture information of brightness, hue etc to make up that tiny portion of a picture. Like the grain in a photograph. The mind combines the thousands or millions of pixels to make up the TV picture we see.
PLASMA Display: A flat panel TV that reproduces video by activating a gas filled chamber that creates the color of a single pixel. Millions of these pixels then make up a single frame of the picture on the display. Plasmas are “fixed pixel displays” (see above). See HDTV chapter 2 for more information about Plasma TVs and details of how they work.
P.O.P: “Picture out of Picture”. Like P.I.P, allows the viewer to watch more than one channel or source at the same time. One type of P.O.P. is split screen, another might have more than one screen outside the picture you were watching rather than on top of the other picture being displayed (as in P.I.P.) May be able to change the size of the separate pictures.
PROGRESSIVE SCAN: a way of reading, broadcasting, and displaying pictures where each whole frame is shown at once in contrast to interlaced which divides the frame into fields, showing odd lines of a frame then even lines of a frame. Progressive scan shows 30 whole frames per second; interlaced shows 60 fields per second (with one odd and one even field equalling one frame). Progressive scan gives a smoother, cleaner picture and usually can only be shown on digital TVs or HDTVs.
PROLOGIC® SURROUND SOUND: From Dolby laboratories. See “Dolby Pro-logic®”
RADIO WAVES: The analog electromagnetic signal that is broadcast and flows along different “frequencies” to make up the sound and picture that arrives at your TV. The different shapes of the waves create different pictures and sounds. Also see “RF”.
RCA composite cables: The yellow (video), and white and red (audio) cables that carry analog video and audio signals. Called “RCA” because RCA originally developed them. The video cable combines the black and white or “luminance”, and the color or “chroma” elements that make up an NTSC picture (In contrast to a Y/C cable that separates the luminance and chroma to create a brighter, more detailed picture).
RCA PHONO PLUG CONNECTORS: Seen on many types of cables from RCA composite and line audio to coax digital sound cables and subwoofer cables. A single tubular shaped end connector that is pushed into your components connection. See illlustrations in Chapter 4, Cables.
REAR SCREEN PROJECTION: A big screen TV that projects an image onto a mirror inside its cabinet, which then reflects the image onto the front screen where you watch the display. Typically rear projection TVs use 3 scanning CRTs. See Chapter 2 HDTV for explanation of how the Rear Projection TV works.
RF: “Radio Frequency” signal. Can refer to the TV broadcast signal that is sent to your antenna. The different TV stations are sent at different frequencies which your tuner brings in when you choose that channel. See Chapter 1 “Getting the Picture.”
RF cable: This is a coaxial cable characterized by an RF connector with a single, thin, copper cable protruding from the end (see illustrations in Chapter 4- Cables.) It is always used to bring in the signal from Cable TV, a Satellite, or an antenna. It can carry either analog or digital signals. It can also be used to connect between components that use TV signals (like a VCR, DVR, Cable TV or Satellite box) and a TV. RF Cables are used in “in-line hookups.”
RF CONNECTION: Also called the “antenna connection.” This is the connection on a TV or component that accepts the RF cable (see above.) It is characterized by its screw-on threads and a hole in the center into which the copper cable from the RF connector fits. A TV will always have at least an RF connection (unless it is older than the early 1980’s). A DVD and a home theater receiver will almost never have an RF connection.
RF MODULATOR: An accessory used when you only have an RF connection on your TV and your component uses only an RCA composite connection. The RCA composite cables are connected to the RF modulator which then connects to the TV with an RF cable via the RF (or “antenna”) connection. The RF modulator also changes the RCA composite incoming signal so that it can be received on channel 3 (or 4) of your TV.
RF Remote control: A remote control that uses an RF signal (“radio frequency signal” —see below.) to send the instructions to the TV or component. Where a typical, infrared remote control must be “seen” by the component you are trying to control, an RF remote control can be used from anywhere within the signal’s range without “line of sight.” This means you can change the channel or turn up the sound on a device that is behind the doors of a cabinet or control a device that is in the living while you are in another room like the kitchen or bathroom.
RF SIGNAL: “Radio frequency signal” sends information, a remote control command, an audio signal to wireless headphones, etc., through sound waves that are received by an antenna. Typically these signals are not strong and can only travel limited distances (you probably couldn’t change the channel on a TV at the neighbor’s house).
RG-6 cable: This refers to coaxial cable used to carry digital transmissions such as digital Satellite or Cable TV. Earlier cables used in analog Cable TV were RG-5.9. (These ratings go back to World War II and have little meaning to most of us laymen other than to know you want RG-6 for digital signals including bringing in HDTV.)
RGB: Stands for “Red, Green, Blue” which are the colors of the pixels on your TV and the color of the CRTs. The primary colors when painting are red, yellow, and blue and all other colors can be created from them. In light, the primary colors that make up all other colors is red, green and blue. Component video connections will be red, green and blue as the picture is separated into the individual color elements (See “component video for a clear explanation.)
RGB-HV: Stands for Red, Green, Blue, Horizontal, Vertical. This is a connection used in High Definition TV, often connecting a set top high definition tuner to a TV. The Horizontal and Vertical is a sync pulse needed on components that use this connection. (See Chapters 3 & 4, Connections and Cables.)
RPTV: Rear Projection TV. See “Rear Screen Projection TV”
RS-232: A digital serial connection like that found on your computer. When found on a home theater component like a DVR or a/v receiver, it is often used for one device to control the other. For example a DVR might connect to a Satellite or Cable TV box so that it can change its channel when you change the channel on the DVR.
SACD: “Super Audio CD”. An audio format used by Sony which created 5.1 channel sound used for music. A DVD player with an SACD decoder could play these CDs for high quality, digital surround sound music. Similar to DVD-Audio. SACD has been discontinued, but equipped DVD players still can play SACD in all its glory.
SET TOP BOX: Often refers to a separate tuner, particularly used for HDTV, that receives and changes the channel for a TV that does not have an “integrated tuner.” May also refer to a Cable TV box which includes a tuner to change channels.
SHIELDED SPEAKERS: Speakers designed to protect other equipment from the effects of the speakers’ magnets. Speakers use large magnets to reproduce sound. Magnets can interfere with televisions, computer monitors and computers causing color distortions and other problems. You will want to be sure any speaker placed next to a TV or computer is shielded (particularly a center speaker placed on top of a TV.)
SIGNAL: The audio and/or video information that flows in and out of your components which ultimately you see on your TV and hear from speakers (either speakers on the TV or separate home theater speakers.) The quality of the signal is altered by the quality of the connections on the component and the quality of the cable.
SIMULCAST: Broadcast in more than one way at the same time. There is various audio simulcasts where you can tune into a different sound channel to hear another language or for the sight impaired. Simulcast is commonly used today to refer to a TV station that is broadcasting a program both in analog traditional NTSC at the same time they are sending out the signal in High Definition.
SOURCE: Refers to the source of the audio and video you want to watch. Where the signal is coming from, whether it is broadcast TV, via antenna, Satellite or Cable TV; or it is another source like a DVD player playing a DVD, a DVR playing a show it has recorded, or a VCR playing a VHS tape.
SOURCE SELECTOR: This is a term used in Chapter 5, Preparation and Hookup which refers to how you will choose what you will watch and listen to on your home theater. You can choose to change between sources (change inputs) through your TV or through your home theater a/v receiver or a combination.
split pin RCA connector: A cable connector end improvement which results in better transfer of signal. An “RCA connector” where the pin is separated rather than solid, allowing for more surface connection between the cable end and the connector on the device.
split screen: 2 pictures on the screen, usually side-by-side. Split screen works like Picture in Picture but the pictures are next to each other rather than on top of each other. Some split screen TVs have a feature where you can resize one frame to be larger or smaller than the other.
SPLITTERS: An accessory that allows you to take in the signal from one RF cable and split it off into two outputs. Often used to split an analog Cable TV signal, or can be used to split a signal coming out of a cable or Satellite box where you will watch the same show on more then one TV.
STEREO: Audio that comes out of two speakers, a right and a left channel. “Stereo” might be used to refer to an audio receiver with speakers (and might even be referred to as a “stereo” even if it has surround sound.)
SUBWOOFER: The speaker that plays the low frequency sounds or “bass” in a 5.1 surround sound system (it is the .1). The subwoofer gives the sense of rumbling in a movie soundtrack.
SUPER VHS VCR: A VCR with a better quality picture that has up to 425 lines of resolution in comparison with regular VHS that has 330 maximum lines of resolution. You need to use Super VHS tapes to get the quality unless your machine has a feature to record super vhs onto regular tapes.
SURGE: A flood of power that comes through the electric power line, that can damage equipment by bringing in more power than the equipment’s components can handle. A surge often follows a power outage as the current races back into your home. See explanation under “Surge Protectors” in the “Accessories” section of the Hookup Prep and Planning Chapter 5.
SURGE PROTECTOR: An accessory that looks like a power strip but has the ability to stop a surge of power from being flooded through the electrical power cords into your devices. Some surge protectors also protect from power surges that may come through outside RF cable sources (antenna, Satellite or Cable TV) or that may come through telephone lines. See “surge” above. See explanation under “Surge Protectors” in the “Accessories” section of the Hookup Prep and Planning Chapter 5.
SURROUND SPEAKERS: Refers to the back speakers in a surround sound or 5.1 digital surround sound set up.
SURROUND BACK SPEAKERS: Refers to a speaker or speakers that are used in extended digital surround like 6.1 surround or 7.1 surround used in DTS-ES™ or Dolby Digital EX®
SURROUND SOUND: Home Theater sound where speakers are set up to surround you with sound. Surround Sound includes analog surround sound like Dolby ProLogic® or DTS Neo:6™ and it refers to digital surround sound like Dolby Digital® or dts 5.1.
SVGA, XVGA: Refers to the resolution of a VGA, computer monitor. XVGA has a higher resolution, close to that of high definition.
S-Video: A cable and connection that carries a video signal separating the black and white, and the color information that make up an analog video signal. See “y/c cable” for more details.
TERMINAL: The input or output connection on your component, TV, or a/v receiver, into which the end of a cable connects. Also called “jacks”, “inputs”, “outputs”, “connections.”
THX: THX is an audio certification created when George Lucas visited movie theaters to assure the sound of the movie “STAR WARS” was reproduced at the quality Lucas had intended. Standards were later created for home theater, and other consumer devices that create sound. THX certified equipment assures you that the equipment, and all of the speakers will sound good together, will “match”. Look for THX Select is for smaller rooms under 2000 square feet.
TIME SHIFTING: Recording a TV program so that you can watch it at a time that is convenient for you.
TosLink: A digital sound cable and connection that sends sound by light travelling over an optical cable (sometimes called Optical digital sound). Toslink uses a plastic optical fiber to run the light rather than glass. Gets its name “TosLink” because it is was invented by the manufacturer, “Toshiba.” See Chapters 3 & 4 about connections and cables for more information.
TRANSMISSIVE: A type of projection TV. A transmissive projection TV shines light through a small panel (like an LCD or LCoS chip) directly onto the screen, in contrast to a rear projection TV projects its image onto a mirror that reflect onto the screen you watch. See HDTV chapter 3 for illustrations and more explanation.
UHF band: Ultra High Frequency. Channels that are sent over the frequencies above channel 13. See Tuner chapter 1 to learn more about channels, frequencies and bands.
UPCONVERSION: Taking a lower quality signal and processing it to send or show in higher quality or resolution. Used in high definition TV to refer to a signal that is sent at a lower resolution, but is then processed to increase the resolution to be shown on HDTV. This is often done when watching an HDTV where NTSC picture resolution shows a grainy picture. Upconversion can show a better quality picture than would otherwise be seen. There are a number of ways to upconvert including “line doubling” and “scaling”. See HDTV chapter 2 for more on upconversion.
UPCONVERT: Taking a lower quality signal and processing it to resemble a better signal. As in upconversion this can happen in picture quality. Upconverting can also describe how an a/v receiver can accept a signal from an RCA composite cable and convert it to be output through an S-Video cable or component video cable (it also upconverts S-Video to component video.)
USB: “Universal Serial Bus”. A type of connection typically used to connect computers to various devices like keyboards, your mouse, external drives. Can be used in TV systems to connect a device to a wireless receiver or network card so that it can receive information from your computer.
VGA: Usually refers to a computer monitor display. Another label for the RGB connection.
VHF BAND: The range of TV broadcast frequencies that carry TV channels from channel 2 to channel 13. See Tuner Chapter 1 for more information on frequencies, bands, and channels.
VIDEO SELECTOR: An accessory into which you can plug several devices with one output to connect to the TV. This accessory is used when you have more components with RCA , S-video, or component connections than you have available inputs on your TV. Once you plug your components into the accessory, you can push a button (convenient when they come with a remote control) to change which device you want to watch.
VIEWING ANGLE: Measured in degrees, this tells you how far to the side of the TV you can view a TV and still get a good picture. Some kinds of TVs will look distorted or fade in contrast when viewed far to the side.
Wi-fi: Slang term for wireless technology.
WIRELESS: A signal sent from one device to another without connecting actual cables between them. The signal is sent via a transmitter (like a router) to an access point or a wireless network card. Also used to refer to a device or accessory that is typically connected by cables (i.e. wireless headphones or wireless speakers). See “Wireless” section of Cables Chapter 3.
Y/C (cable): Also called “S-Video”. This cable separates the “Y” or grayscaled black and white picture information called “luminance” (because it determines the brightness and hue of the colors), from the “C” or color called “chroma” which carries the information of what color each pixel will be to make up the complete picture. This separation creates a sharper, brighter picture quality because it sends the signal the way the TV station sends it and the way a traditional TV displays it.