Offscreen Memory
An area of memory used to preload images so that they can be quickly drawn to the screen. Offscreen memory refers to all of the remaining video memory not taken up by the front buffer, which holds the contents of the display screen currently visible.
OpenGL®
Short for “Open Graphics Library,” this is an industry standard for cross- platform 3D graphics development. It consists of a large number of functions that can be called upon in various programs, such as games, CAD, and
PAL
An acronym for “Phase Alternating Line”, the name for a video broadcast standard used in much of Europe (except France), most of Asia, the
Pipeline
In relation to computer graphic processors, refers to the number of separate arithmetic units available for rendering the output on a display. In general, more pipelines available on a graphical processor means there are more 3D rendering capabilities available, increasing overall 3D performance.
Pixel
All computer images are made up of tiny dots. Each individual dot is called a pixel, a word created from the term “picture element.” A pixel is the smallest indivisible unit of a digital image and can be only a single color. The size of the pixel depends on how the display resolution has been set. The smallest size a pixel can be is determined by the display’s dot pitch, which is measured in millimeters (mm).
