Glossary of Terms

Aspect Ratio
The relationship between width and height of a television set. 4:3 (1.33:1) represents a conventional television and most television programming whereas 16:9 (1.78:1) is the format for new widescreen televisions and accompanying programming. Most Cinema releases are in 1.85:1 or 2.35:1 format, hence the existence of borders even on widescreen televisions.

Bandwidth (pixel. Freq.)
In monitor terms it is the amount of pixels that can be displayed per second

Cd/m2
Candelas per square metre also called NIT: The term for luminous (surface) intensity of a light source

Composite video
This is the worst way you can hook the DVD player up to your television, whereas RGB and S-VIDEO splits the signal up into its components a composite signal is exactly that - composite. When a television displays a composite signal, it uses its comb filter to process the image and then separate the colours, a stage bypassed and not required by RGB or S-VIDEO.

DAB
Digital Audio Broadcasting: This is digital radio that both the BBC and independent stations are starting to use. It offer vastly improved sound and a choice of many more stations.

Digital audio
This refers to the coaxial and optical outputs on the rear of the player that send the digital audio stream (either Dolby Digital, DTS or PCM) to the amplifier.

Digital outputs
Digital Outputs are what send the Dolby Digital or DTS encoded audio track to a suitable amplifier. There are two types - coaxial or optical.

Dolby Digital (AC-3)
AC-3 provides six separate discrete audio channels: left, right and center front, right and left surround and a low frequency woofer as a listener option. Dolby AC-3 is the first perceptual coding scheme designed specifically to code multichannel digital audio. It divides sizes optimised with respect to the frequency selectivity of human hearing. This makes it possible to sharply filter coding noise and reduce data consumption while delivering dynamic theatre quality sound. Unlike Dolby surround, AC-3 is entirely discrete and features five full frequency (20-20KHz) channels and one low frequency effects i.e.: subwoofer (20-120Hz) channel. DVD players with AC-3 audio will still be compatible with Pro-Logic surround and two channel stereo systems.

Dolby Digital 5.1
This refers to on-board Dolby Digital decoding. In order to enjoy Dolby Digital tracks there must be a decoder in the audio system - be it as part of the amplifier, as a separates unit or as part of the DVD player. Those with Dolby Pro-Logic systems that are upgradeable can use these players to take advantage of Dolby Digital soundtracks.

Dolby Prologic
This is the English and pan-European name for Dolby Surround, an analogue format for surround sound where there is no digital connection necessary, just normal stereo (phono) outputs/inputs. The amplifier on the receiving end must be capable of Dolby Pro Logic decoding. The main difference between this and Dolby Digital is that the rear speakers are in mono (both output exactly the same) and there is no dedicated subwoofer channel. Of surround sound televisions actually sold the majority are of Pro-Logic standard though most offer little hope of upgrade ability.

DTS Digital Theatre Systems
Coherent Acoustics is a six-channel (5.1) audio system designed to deliver a higher-resolution multi-channel audio experience. DTS utilises a perceptually transparent audio compression algorithm and a higher data rate (up to 1.5 mbps) to produce warm, natural, and rich sound from Compact Discs and film-based entertainment alike.

DVD -Audio
This is a new audio format which offers multichannel surround sound music

Energy Star
A program established by the EPA as a partnership with the computer industry to promote the introduction of energy-efficient personal computers, which help reduce air pollution caused by power generation. To comply, a monitor must consume less than 30 watts of power in its lowest power state

LNB (low noise block)
This device is mounted on the arm of a satellite dish and is used to amplify and convert satellite signals into frequencies sent to the receiver.

NICAM
CD-quality digital stereo television sound which is transmitted along-side the picture

PAL
Phase Alternate Line. The television system used in the UK and most parts of Europe.

Region coding
DVD discs around the globe are sold with a different regional coding depending on the area of the world. For example, American discs are region 1 whereas English and Japanese discs are region 2. This is a full list of the different regions Region 0: All areas of the world Region 1: United States and Canada Region 2: Japan, Europe, South Africa, Middle East Region 3: Southeast Asia, East Asia, Hong Kong Region 4: Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central America, South America, Mexico, Caribbean Region 5: Former Soviet Union, Indian Subcontinent, Africa, North Korea, Mongolia Region 6: China Region 7: Unused Region 8: Special International Venues (e.g. airplanes, cruise ships, etc)

SCART
The large rectangular shaped objects on the rear of most European televisions are a form of television input that can operate in a variety of ways - a composite, RGB or S-Video signal can be passed through a SCART cable depending on what type of SCART socket you have on your television. With a suitable TV SCART also allows auto-switching when the connected device (e.g. DVD player) is activated.

Six-channel input
Many DVD players now have built in Dolby Digital decoders.To take advantage of these they need to be connected to a home cinema amplifier with a six channel input(one input for each surround sound channel)

SVGA
Super Video Graphics Array

TFT. LCD.
The flat screen televisions and monitors we sell, are known as TFT's because these displays use TFT (Thin Film Transistor) technology, where each screen pixel is controlled by between 1 and 4 transistors, and the rows and columns of pixels are turned off and on by transistor grids. This improves on passive matrix technology by eliminating image ghosting (where a faint double-image appears) and quickening response speeds, delivering a smoother, more responsive and ultimately better quality picture.

USB
Short for Universal Serial Bus, an external bus standard that supports data transfer rates of 12 MBPS (12 million bits per second). Peripheral devices, such as mice, modems, and keyboards etc can be connected. USB also supports Plug-and-Play installation and hot plugging, which is plugging hardware in while the PC is on.