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Glossary
Brightness. The balance of light and dark shades in an image.
Composite video. A type of video signal that encodes
colours, luminance and sychronization information so it can
be carried in one signal.
Contrast. A measure of the luminance differences between
the highlights and shadows of an image. In a high-contrast
image, light areas are very bright and dark areas are very dark.
NTSC. A 525-line video broadcast format developed by the
National Television Standards Committee. NTSC is widely
used in North America, Mexico and Japan.
PAL (Phase Alternation by Line). A 625-line video
broadcast format used in Western Europe, India, China,
Australia, New Zealand and parts of Africa.
Resolution. A measure of the amount of detail contained in
an image. Resolution can be measured in dots per inch or in
pixels. Image sharpness and clarity improve as resolution
increases.
RGB. Red Green Blue
S-Video. A type of video signal which transmits luminance
and colour separately.
SECAM (Système Electronique pour Couleur Avec
Mémoire). A 625-line TV system used in France, Eastern
Europe, Russia and parts of Africa.