Techno-babble. Technical sites and even advertisements shout about exciting innovations and new products. But no one ever told you WHAT these names and words meant. How can you communicate with salespeople who don’t speak plain English? There is so much jargon. Several words can mean the same thing. These pages offer definitions for different terms commonly used in home entertainment.

We regularly cover a word that might have more than one meaning or takes a bit more explanantion. Other words you can look up in theGlossary

You can speed up your learning or get more clarification by purchasing the book, “The Home Electronics Survival Guide: The Simple Guide to understanding and hooking up TVs, HDTVs, DVDs, DVRs, Home Theater and more”,

This month's

TECHNO-BABBLE: Electronics Jargon Defined

“Resolution” (You might hear "480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p" etc.)

A TV picture is made up of thousands of picture elements. Groups of 3 dots in red, green and blue. Each group of three make up one picture element (“pics. el.” for short which is known as “pixel”). These tiny dots light up in different colors and hues which you see and your mind puts them together to create a picture. The number of horizontal and vertical lines of pixels usually describes the resolution.

Why is it important to understand resolution? How is the term used correctly? When should you care about the numbers and when should you ignore them?

Other featured definitions:

Convergence

Previously unrelated devices now merged in one device or now able to communicate and work together.
Examples include: Cameras on cell phones & computers that send picture and sound to TVs, DVRs, DVDs etc.

Component, Device or Source

We have lots of names for the equipment in our living room that attaches to the TV or home theater. These are just some of the ways we refer to them.