Half-duplex - See Full-duplex.
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) - HTML is the set of "markup" symbols or codes inserted in a file intended for display in web browser. The markup tells the browser how to display the page's words and images for the user.
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).
Infrared (IR) - Infrared radiation is radiation at a longer wavelength than visible light, which means it cannot be seen by the naked human eye. As infrared radiation can be detected as heat, this can be shown on a screen or captured by a digital camera, with hotter objects showing up brighter against colder surroundings (e.g. a human body against a colder background).
As color cameras can "see" infrared radiation as well as visible light, these cameras are equipped with an IR-cut filter, to prevent distortion of the colors the human eye can see. To use the camera in very dark locations or at night, this filter can be removed, to allow infrared radiation to hit the image sensor and thus produce images.
An infrared lamp can be used for improved illumination for night surveillance, whilst not producing any extra visible light.
Inputs/Outputs (I/Os) - The digital I/Os on, for example, a network camera can be used to connect any device that can toggle between an open and a closed circuit.
If, for example, a door switch is used as an input device, opening the door could trigger the upload of video images and the sending of notification messages.
An output might, for example, be used to automatically start a siren when there is a motion detection trigger.
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
