HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) - HTTP is the set of rules for exchanging files (text, graphic images, sound, video, and other multimedia files) on the web. The HTTP protocol runs on top of the TCP/IP suite of protocols.
Hub - A (network) hub is used to connect multiple devices to the network. The hub transmits all data to all devices connected to it, whereas a switch will only transmit the data to the device it is specifically intended for.
IEEE 802.11 - A family of standards for wireless LANs. The
802.11standard supports 1 or 2 Mbit/s transmission on the
2.4GHz band. IEEE 802.11b specifies an 11 Mbit/s data rate on the 2.4 GHz band, while 802.11a allows up to 54 Mbit/s on the 5 GHz band.
Image compression - Image compression minimizes the file size (in bytes) of an image. Two of the most common compressed image formats are JPEG and GIF.
Interlacing - Interlaced video is video captured at 50 pictures (known as fields) per second, of which every 2 consecutive fields (at half height) are then combined into 1 frame. Interlacing was developed many years ago for the analog TV world and is still used widely today. It provides good results when viewing motion in standard TV pictures, although there is always some degree of distortion in the image.
To view interlaced video on e.g. a computer monitor, the video must first be de-interlaced, to produce progressive video, which consists of complete images, one after the other, at 25 frames per second. See also Progressive scan.
IP (Internet Protocol) - The Internet Protocol is a method transmitting data over a network. Data to be sent is divided into individual and completely independent "packets." Each computer (or host) on the Internet has at least one address that uniquely identifies it from all others, and each data packet contains both the sender's address and the receiver's address.
The Internet Protocol ensures that the data packets all arrive at the intended address. As IP is a connectionless protocol, which means that there is no established connection between the communication end-points, packets can be sent via different routes and do not need to arrive at the destination in the correct order.
Once the data packets have arrived at the correct destination, another protocol - Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) - puts them in the right order. See also TCP.
IP Address - An IP address is simply an address on an IP network used by a computer/device connected to that network. IP addresses allow all the connected computers/devices to find each other and to pass data back and forth.
To avoid conflicts, each IP address on any given network must be unique. An IP address can be assigned as fixed, so that it does not change, or it can be assigned dynamically (and automatically) by DHCP.
An IP address consists of four groups (or quads) of decimal digits separated by periods, e.g. 130.5.5.25. Different parts of the address represent different things. Some part will represent the network number or address, and some other part will represent the local machine address.
See also IP (Internet Protocol).
I-VOP - See VOP.
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) - Together with the GIF file format, JPEG is an image file type commonly used on the web. A JPEG image is a bitmap, and usually has the file suffix '.jpg' or ".jpeg." When creating a JPEG image, it is possible to configure the level of compression to use. As the lowest compression (i.e. the highest quality) results in the largest file, there is a trade-off between image quality and file size.
kbit/s (kilobits per second) - A measure of the bit rate, i.e. the rate at which bits are passing a given point. See also Bit rate.
LAN (Local Area Network) - A LAN is a group of computers and associated devices that typically share common resources within a limited geographical area.
Linux - Linux is an open source operating system within the Unix family. Because of its robustness and availability, Linux has won popularity in the open source community and among commercial application developers.
MAC address (Media Access Control address) - A MAC address is a unique identifier associated with a piece of networking equipment, or more specifically, its interface with the network. For example, the network card in a computer has its own MAC address.
Manual iris - This is the opposite to an autoiris, i.e. the camera iris must be adjusted manually to regulate the amount of light allowed to reach the image sensor.
Mbit/s (Megabits per second) - A measure of the bit rate, i.e. the rate at which bits are passing a given point. Commonly used to give the "speed" of a network. A LAN might run at 10 or 100 Mbit/s. See also Bit rate.
Monitor - A monitor is very similar to a standard television set, but lacks the electronics to pick up regular television signals.
Motion JPEG - Motion JPEG is a simple compression/decompression technique for networked video. Latency is low and image quality is guaranteed, regardless of movement or complexity of the image. Image quality is controlled by adjusting the compression level, which in turn provides control over the file size, and thereby the bit rate.
High-quality individual images from the Motion JPEG stream are easily extracted. See also JPEG.
Megapixel - See Pixel.
MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) - The Moving Picture Experts Group develops standards for digital video
