Compliments of Voom satellite service for this basic copy that has been expanded.
|
(Note:
list includes many changes, edits, and additions to the Voom
Glossary, adjusted for this report.)
|
ASPECT
RATIO
Aspect ratio
is defined as the ratio of width to height of your television screen.
The newer HDTV standard aspect ratio is 16:9 while the vintage NTSC
is 4:3. Aspect ratio describes the width of the TV screen in proportion
to its height. Standard TVs have an aspect ratio of 4:3, slightly
wider than a square. Many HDTVs have an aspect ratio of 16:9, which
is closer to the aspect ratio of your local movie theater's 70mm
film format. When people talk about wide-screen TV's, they are referring
to the 16:9 aspect ratio. It fills more of your natural field of
vision and creates a more cinematic experience. Wide-screen television
is not the same as large-screen televisions that were created in
the 1980's and early 1990's to produce a larger NTSC screen.
ATSC
The Advanced
Television Systems Committee, Inc. (ATSC), is
an international, nonprofit membership organization developing voluntary
standards for the entire spectrum of advanced television systems.
Specifically, ATSC is working to coordinate television standards
among different communications media focusing on digital television,
interactive systems, and broadband multimedia communications. ATSC
is also developing digital television implementation strategies
and presenting educational seminars on the ATSC standards.
ATTC
The Advanced
Television Technology Center is a private, nonprofit
corporation organized by members of the television broadcasting
and consumer products industries to test and recommend solutions
for delivery and reception of a new U.S. terrestrial transmission
system for digital television (DTV) service, including high definition
television (HDTV).
DISPLAY STANDARDS (There
are three digital resolution standards):
There are three digital resolution standards.
Note that there is an "i" and a "p" after
each standard shown below. The "i" stands for Interlaced
and the "p" stands for Progressive,
describing the method used to scan the image on the screen. Interlaced
produces 1/2 the screen in 1/60th of a second (analog television)
while progressive refreshes the entire screen every 1/60th of
a second.
480 is the Enhanced Definition format, while the
720 and 1080 are the true high-definition (HD) formats. Wide-screen
HDTV television sets are designed to be the only ones that can
properly receive and display the HD format's unique 16:9 aspect
ratio (see Aspect Ratio above)
1080i - 1080 High-Definition TV
(HDTV) horizontal lines that are displayed in an interlaced
fashion (Figure based on computer
resolution 1922 x 1080.)
720p - 720 High-Definition TV
(HDTV) horizontal scan lines that are displayed in a progressive
fashion. (Figure based on computer
resolution 1280 x 720.)
480i - 480 Horizontal scan lines
that are displayed in an interlaced fashion, known as SDTV or
Standard Definition TV. (Figure
based on computer resolution 640 x 480.)
480p - 480 Horizontal
scan lines that are displayed progressively. This is not "High
Definition", but is instead called Enhanced Definition TV
(EDTV), the resolution that DVDs are encoded at. (Figure
based on computer resolution 640 x 480.)
Digital Video Interface
is a pure digital-to-digital interface between a source and display
unit through an output and input jack called a DVI. The DVI is for
the picture only and does not include any audio. It transmits progressive
scan in DVD and HDTV format to a wide-screen HDTV set. It's the
best HDTV picture quality choice over component and S-Video signal
inputs when an HDTV signal is being received.
Splits the video signal into separate color channels,
red, green and blue, for superior results when compared to using
an RF output signal. Transmits progressive scan DVD and HDTV. (Note:
SD Component Video uses the same cables, but does NOT transmit progressive
scan or HDTV. Still, it's a step above S-Video.)
This is a type of video signal where all information on the red,
blue and green signals are mixed together. TV's in the United
States commonly use this signal type. This is in contrast to most
computer monitors, which use RGB Video and has three separate
channels for red, green, and blue.
When looking at cable bundles, the single yellow cable is the
one that transmits the composite video information. If your television
has S-Video or component video inputs and you have a source with
the same outputs, use these instead for better picture quality.
Digital is the
best way of transmitting information when you want to eliminate
as much noise as possible from an analog signal. Instead of using
sine waves and curves to send information that may contain noise
or hiss, information is passed digitally as 1's and 0's (On and
Off), digital values assigned to each point in the sine curve.
AC Nielsen Media Research stands for Designated
Market Area, which represents
assigned demographic areas Nielsen Media Research has determined
to be where people watch TV. You can see a list of the different
DMA's at Nielsen's web site
Dolby Digital 5.1
is the standard for multichannel surround sound. It sends a digital
audio signal to 5 (the 5 in 5.1) speakers arranged throughout the
room. Five of them are full-range channels: left, center, right,
left surround and right surround. The sixth channel handles low-frequency
effects (LFE), which take up one-tenth of the bandwidth compared
to the other channels. .1 (in Dolby digital 5.1) represents the
sub-woofer needed to reproduce the deep, rich non-directional base
sound.
Digital Reality Creation
is Sony's upconverter that is built into many of their HDTV capable
TV's. DRC has received many praises since its debut in 1999!
Stands for Digital Satellite
System. It's the system you use to receive signals from
satellite providers such as VOOM.
Digital Television
(DTV) is the transmission of television signals in digital format.
Digital is superior over analog when transmitting signals. It provides
better resolution for any given bandwidth; interactive content;
superior audio quality; capacity for multicasting; compatibility
with computers along with consistent reception over a long distance.
See Receiver
DVI / HDCP stands for Digital
Video Interface and High Definition
Content Protection. Television manufacturers are trying
to use DVI/HDCP as a way of protecting copyrighted material that
is broadcast to your home. When using DVI/HDCP you will not be able
to duplicate material that is copyrighted.
Enhanced Definition Television,
which is 480p resolution. While it can be considered to be a form
of Digital TV, it is not to be confused with High Definition Television.
High Definition Copy Protection.
Take a look at the term 'DVI / HDCP' for more information.
Backed by some of the industry's biggest names,
High-Definition
Multimedia Interface
(HDMI) will enable true high-definition audio/video content for
consumers. Content providers, system operators, and consumer electronics
manufacturers are rallying behind a standard that will finally deliver
on DTV's long-awaited promises.
High-Definition Video Processor.
This is a video processor that can transform your computer into
a HD home entertainment system.
Excellent URL that describes the short version
of the history of television signals and formats, ranging from
the transmission of signals using the early mechanical television
format to quick overviews of the definitions of PAL and SECAM.
You can visit the History
of Television now provided by the Clear
lead Inc. Directory.
Home Theater Personal Computer.
This is a device many people are starting to use in place of their
Progressive Scan DVD player, Line Doubler, Video Scaler/Processor,
HDTV Tuner/STB (Set Top Box) and video game console.
This was meant to be an enabling technology that would allow
all things in your home theater to connect using this compressed
digital interface called FireWire.
Think of FireWire as a backbone
where you can connect many devices using a single port. IEEE
1394 makes allowances for 5C, which would allow original
broadcasters the ability to choose which type of copy control
they want to use. The options given to broadcasters are: Allow
copying; allow copying only once; or no copying allowed.
IEEE stands for the Institute
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and is responsible
for developing electronic standards the world over.
HDTV is scanned in two different ways, one being progressive
and the other being interlaced.
Interlaced scanning is when
the TV uses two separate passes to make a complete image on the
TV. The first pass will display the odd horizontal lines such
as 1, 3, 5, 7 and so on. On the next pass it displays the even
lines such as 2, 4, 6, 8 and so on. Since this is done so fast
the human eye sees this as being one picture instead of two. After
the second pass the third will go back to displaying the odd lines,
then even again and so on.
Letterbox is
the term used for watching a movie in its intended wide-screen format
on a regular 4:3 aspect ratio television. While the picture is wide,
it is not as wide as the actual movie version. It is also a viewable
option in the settings of some DVD movies. A black bar accompanies
this viewing format on the top and bottom of the screen and a picture
that is similar to the aspect ratio of 16:9.
This is simply a de-interlacer. For instance, it
could take a 480i picture and double it to 480p, thus taking an
interlaced image to converting it to progressive. A line
doubler can also take a 480i image and convert it to
960i, as the 240 lines being shown in 1/60 are the same as showing
480 lines at 1/60 second. Bob is a line doubling technique that
repeats the last line to create new lines. Weave is another technique
that combines one half the image (here being 240 fields) with the
previous or next 240 fields to create a single 480 line frame.
A line scaler
is a line doubler that de-interlaces the image and then scales it
up to a higher resolution. Many times scalers simply scale up to
the native resolution of your display.
Usually describes the actual resolution of the display
device. If you see native resolution
used with LCD, DLP, dILA or Plasma, this will be an exact number.
With CRT's, this number is an approximation. Either way, if you
see a Max Resolution for the display device, your device will simply
scale the image down to its native resolution. See Scaling / Doubling
for more information on that subject.
A unit
of luminance equal to 1 candle per square meter measured perpendicular
to the rays from the source (related to rear-projection TV brightness.)
NTSC is the
National Television Standards Committee
and was responsible for developing a standard protocol for broadcasting
TV signals in 1953. Not many changes have been made to this protocol
since its creation except the addition of new parameters for color
broadcasts. The NTSC broadcast has 525 horizontal scan lines, which
are drawn in an interlaced fashion. The result is one frame every
1/30 a second.
Original Aspect Ratio
(1.85, 2.35, etc.) This is the width-to-height aspect ratio. All
HDTV programming is at 16x9 OAR. If it is not, it is not considered
*true* high definition. If a signal is sent with black bars on the
top or bottom (letterbox), and is still in a 16x9 format, then it
can be considered HDTV.
Plasma Display Panel (See
Chapter 11.)
Pixels are the picture elements
that make up a.) the image on-screen and b.) the screen display.
The number of pixels determines the resolution. More pixels
means higher resolution and more detail. A 1080i HDTV image has
a resolution of 1920 pixels by 1080 pixels. A 720p HDTV image
has a resolution of 1280 x 720. Standard TV detail pales in comparison.
If you're watching an HDTV broadcast on a Plasma, LCD, or DLP
viewing formats, the screen has a fixed-pixel native resolution.
To display a 720p program in true HDTV, the screen needs a native
resolution of 1280 x 720 or higher. If the native resolution is
lower, the HDTV signal must be converted to be displayed on the
screen.
HDTV is scanned in two different ways, one being
progressive and the other being interlaced. Click
here to see an excellent animated site that explains all forms
of scanning an image.
Progressive scanning is accomplished
when each horizontal line is displayed right after the previous
one. The lines are scanned in order from top to bottom so that
it goes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and so on. This means the image is displayed
in one pass instead of two as it is done with interlaced scanning.
The benefits of a progressive image, such as the 480p that comes
from a DVD, is that the interlaced lines are removed in the case
that some people might pick up the flicker of 1/30 odd scan lines
and 1/30 of a second even scan lines that form the picture.
Also the progressive scan
seems smoother, giving the image that "rich film"
look of movies. Again the key word here is "seems,"
as the difference between interlace and progressive scans is more
an issue of esthethics than an actual techical increase in the
quality of the image.
PROMISE MODULE TECHNOLOGY
This is a unique technology developed by Mitsubishi
that enables the upgradeability of equipment to be compatible with
HDTV receiver-decoders, IEEE
1394 networking, 5C
copy protection, and HAVi
software.
The classic stereo pair of analog cables color-coded in red and
white. It's important you honor the red to red and white to white
or your left - right audio channels will be flipped
(Note: if your audio inputs are backward, audio
of a car going from left to right will not match the one on the
screen going from right to left.)
RECEIVER (Cable
Decoder Box)
In video terms, this is the same thing as a Cable Decoder Box.
This sophisticated box can provide several benefits to your television
watching based on the capability of your cable provider. The cable
box can provide all cable channels to a television set's non-cable
channel tuner by tuning the TV's tuner to channel 3 or 4, based
on the setting on the back of the cable box.
The box can also decode premium channels if you have subscribed
to the service, such as when a subscriber updates to a cable company's
movie package or HDTV channel package.
Finally, the cable box can also be used to control the volume
of the channel you are watching.
How it works:
On non-remote sets, you
would have to first set the television's manual sound to a high
level without distortion with the cable remote sound also turned
up. Then you can use the cable remote to turn the sound all
the way down.
If you here a slight hiss on
your television speaker when the cable volume is turned down
or all the way down, the manual volume on your television set
is set to high, your actually hearing the molecules of the transistors
moving electronically. Tube audio sound will not produce any
hiss.
For VHF/UHF sets
with remote volume controls, turn the volume up using the set's
remote and leave it there as you would with a manual volume control.
That should work, (may not in all cases) since most televisions
will remember the last volume setting as long as the television
has not been unplugged. When unplugged, the volume memory will
probably be forgotten.
This is the rate at which the television / monitor
refreshes the picture, interlaced or progressive scans.
Resolution describes the
number of horizontal and vertical pixels that make up the image
on-screen and the screen display itself. At best, the image you
see on an analog TV is 705 x 485 (width by height). HDTV offers
much higher wide-screen resolutions: 720p (1280 x 720) and 1080i
(1920 x 1080). In order to display true HD, you'll need to have
a 720p or 1080i signal coming into your TV, and an HDTV with a
resolution of 1280 x 720 or higher. Lower resolution screens may
be able to convert the HD signal, but will not show an actual
HDTV picture.
Example:
When you see a resolution of
640 x 480 resolution for a computer monitor, the first number
always represents the number of pixels on the horizontal axis
with the second number representing the number of pixels on
the vertical axis. The clarity of the image is in direct correlation
to the resolution vs. the size of the display.
In other words, the higher the
resolution the more detail reproduced, creating a sharper picture.
For watching VCR tapes on wide-screen televisions, you may actually
want to turn down the sharpness of the picture (using the sharpness
control) to hide the noise caused by the low resolution from
the VCR heads. Beta tapes will look better than VHS because
of the Beta's higher writing speed when the fastest recording
speed is selected.
RF signals blend the composite video signal with
the audio signal. If possible, use another connection that is strictly
dedicated to video. When you use an RF signal to view an image,
the television set's circuits have to strip out the video and audio
signal from the RF. This causes a loss in the picture and audio
quality. But by using the video output, you are bypassing this needed
conversion creating a slightly better picture and sound. Again,
if better video formats are available to you (S-Video, Component,
DVI), use them instead.
RGB stands for
Red, Green, and Blue and is a way of transmitting signals in three
separate channels - each one dedicated to each of the colors. RGB
is the opposite of 'Composite Video' because composite video
combines each of the three color signals into a single "composite
signal," which uses a single cable with RCA plugs at each
end that are color-coded yellow for input and output connections.
Standard Definition TV is
the same as 480i. It's not considered to be DTV or HDTV, instead
the regular NTSC broadcast signal all people are used to.
(The only one
who wouldn't be used to it might be Richy Rich, who may have never
seen an NTSC television set in his life using VOOM for all HDTV
channels on his HDTV television, never seeing a 4:5 aspect ratio
screen.)
Super-In-Plane-Switching
technology that helps attain wider viewing angles and color consistency.
Stands for Set-Top-Box and
is the receiver you use to decode high definition signals. STBs
are often called a 'decoder', a 'receiver', or a 'tuner'. The
term decoder is the more appropriate term as the word receiver
can often mean the stereo equipment component. The box with
today's sophisticated cable systems would be called a "Digital
Cable Decoder."
Splits the video signal into two parts: chrominance (the color
of the image) and luminance (the brightness of the image). Better
than composite video, but not as efficient as HDTV or SD component
video. Remember with an S-Video
plug you also need separate audio cables, which is also true of
video, DVI, and component video inputs. Only RF carries the audio
and video signal together, and why it is worst signal source for
picture quality.
Do not confuse this with the RF (physical-looking)
cable that comes into your home from the cable provider.
This cable usually carries a digital signal that is converted
by the decoder box to usable high-quality outputs including RF
in case you have an old television without any other kinds of
inputs.
Scanning Velocity Modulation
(SVM) will speed up or slow down how the phosphors on your CRT
television are scanned. If you leave SVM on it can bring 'ringing'
into the edges of your image and can reduce the detail of your
image by over-enhancing the lines.
Many videophiles will not buy a television if it doesn't have
the option to turn SVM off. However, most high-end televisions
have this option. It is strongly recommended to turn this feature
Off if its default is On when you get your television home. Keep
in mind you might have to do this again if your set is unplugged
with the set reverts back to its default again.
The process of taking a SDTV image and enhancing
it to look better on a high-definition monitor.
Sony's line of DTV (Digital Television) products.
A new form of modulation that should allow a single
coaxial cable to carry up to 500 HDTV Channels. The great thing
about this type of modulation is its immunity to noise and its ability
to coexist with other wavelets and with other modulation schemes
without being altered.
The term used to describe a screen that has an aspect ratio that
is wider then the NTSC 4:3 ratio. Most HDTV's and EDTV's have
an aspect ratio of 16:9. While most major motion picture screen
look like they are 16:9, 70mm film actual provides a wider image.
When motion pictures are converted for use on NTSC television
screens, the image is squeezed and cropped so it will fit the
smaller 4:3 format screen. This leaves out the far left and far
right sides of the image while slightly distorting the part that
is being seen.
If you haven't visited
our complete sample current price list by screen size, format,
price, manufacturer, and model, please click
here.
For general questions
on television trivia, have fun by visiting the Answer
Bag.
For current HDTV technology
news, you can visit Cybertheater.com.
(Note - loads slow.)
For a list of contributors
of photos, graphics, and specific information for this
non-profit report other than a URL link, click
here.
|
- 30 -
Copyright freedomisknowledge.com 2007-2008
|