Glossary

Reference	DVD VHS

Bitstream

This is a signal compressed and converted into digital form. It is converted back to a multi-channel audio signal, e.g., 5.1-channel, by a decoder.

CPRM (Content Protection for Recordable Media)

CPRM is technology used to protect broadcasts that are allowed to be recorded only once. Such broadcasts can be recorded only with CPRM compatible recorders and discs.

Decoder

A decoder restores the coded audio signals on DVDs to normal. This is called decoding.

MP3 (MPEG Audio Layer 3)

An audio compression method that compresses audio to approximately one-tenth of its size without any considerable loss of audio quality. You can play MP3s you have recorded onto CD-R and CD-RW.

Pan & Scan/Letterbox

In general, DVD-Video are produced with the intention that they will be viewed on a widescreen TV (16:9 aspect ratio), so images often don’t fit regular TVs (4:3 aspect ratio). 2 styles of picture,

“Pan & Scan” and “Letterbox”, deal with this problem.

Pan & Scan: The sides are cut off so the picture fills the screen.

Down-mixing

This is the process of remixing the multi-channel audio found on some discs into two channels. It is useful when you want to listen to the 5.1-channel audio recorded on DVDs through your TV’s speakers. Some discs prohibit down-mixing. If this is the case, this unit can only output the front two channels.

Dynamic range

Dynamic range is the difference between the lowest level of sound that can be heard above the noise of the equipment and the highest level of sound before distortion occurs. Dynamic range compression means reducing the gap between the loudest and softest sounds. This means you can hear dialog clearly at low volume.

Film and Video

DVD-Videos are recorded using either film or video. The unit can determine which type has been used, then uses the most suitable method of progressive output.

For PAL

≥Film is 25 frames per second.

≥Video is 50 fields per second (2 fields making up 1 frame). For NTSC

≥Film is 24 or 30 frames per second, with motion picture film generally being 24 frames per second.

≥Video is 60 fields per second (2 fields making up 1 frame).

Finalize

Aprocess that makes play of a recorded CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, etc. possible on equipment that can play such media. You can finalize DVD-R, DVD-RW (DVD-Video format) and +R on the unit. After finalizing, the disc becomes play-only and you can no longer record or edit. However, finalized DVD-RW can be formatted to become recordable.

Formatting

Formatting is the process of making media such as DVD-RAM recordable on recording equipment.

You can format DVD-RAM and DVD-RW (only as DVD-Video format) on the unit.

Formatting irrevocably erases all contents on the disc.

Frame and field

Frame refers to the single images that constitute the video you see on your TV. Each frame consists of 2 fields.

Frame	Field	Field
=		+

≥A frame still shows 2 fields, so there may be some blurring between them, but picture quality is generally better.

≥A field still shows less picture information so it may be rougher, but there is no blurring.

JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)

This is a system used for compressing/decoding colour still pictures. If you select JPEG as the storage system on digital cameras, etc., the data will be compressed to 1/10–1/100 of its original size. The benefit of JPEG is less deterioration in picture quality considering the degree of compression.

Letterbox:	Black bands appear at the top and bottom of the
	picture so the picture itself appears in an aspect ratio
	of 16:9.

Playback control (PBC)

If a Video CD has playback control, you can select scenes and information with menus displayed on the screen.

(The unit is compatible with version 2.0 and 1.1.)

Progressive/Interlace

The PAL video signal standard has 576 (or 625) interlaced (i) scan lines, whereas progressive scanning, called 576p (or 625p), uses twice the number of scan lines. For the NTSC standard, these are called 480i (or 525i) and 480p (or 525p) respectively.

Using progressive output, you can enjoy the high-resolution video recorded on media such as DVD-Video.

Your television must be compatible to enjoy progressive video. Panasonic televisions with 576 (625)/50i · 50p, 480 (525)/60i · 60p input terminals are progressive compatible.

Protection

You can prevent accidental erasure by setting writing protection or erasure protection.

Sampling frequency

Sampling is the process of converting the heights of sound wave (analog signal) samples taken at set periods into digits (digital encoding). Sampling frequency is the number of samples taken per second, so larger numbers mean more faithful reproduction of the original sound.

Thumbnail

This refers to a miniature representation of a picture used to display multiple pictures in the form of a list.

TIFF (Tag Image File Format)

This is a still picture data standard. A common format for storing high quality images on digital cameras and other devices.

VQT0P03

DVD VHS