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Glossary
Aspect Ratio The ratio between the width and h eight of the TV picture on the screen. In a normal T V set the aspect
ratio is 4 to 3 (4:3). The n ew aspect ratio in HDTV is 16:9 which resemble s the aspect ratio in a movie
theatre (Widescreen). N ew TV systems support both 4: 3 and 16:9 aspect ratio and can automatica lly
switch between them.
Audio Video (A/V) A term often used when discussi ng a channel on a TV receiver or on video equipment , which has been
especially designed to accept VCR audio -video signals. This channel automatically ac tivates special circuitry
within the TV set to prevent picture d istortion and skewing. It is also used for audio-video proce ssors,
which handle both types of signa ls.
ATSC ATSC: Advanced Television Systems Committee. For med to establish technical standard s for advanced
television systems, including d igital high definition television (H DTV).
CVBS Composite Video B aseband Signal. In broadcast television t his refers to the video signal, including the co -
lour information and syncs.
Component Video
Input (Y Pb Pr)
Component Video Input is a type of con nection that uses a cinch-type connect or to allow set top boxes
or analog DVD players to connect a signal to the T V. By offering the cinch-type input (Y PbPr) the primary
colors, red, green and blue are connecte d from a set top box directly into the TV allowing for the sig nal to
display on the screen.
DTV Digital television. Generic t erm that refers to all digital television for mats, including high-definitio n
television (HDTV) and s tandard-definition television ( SDTV).
DOLBY Digital Dolby Digital - Six-channel digi tal audio standard that is part of the U. S. digital television standard; al so
called AC-3 or Digital 5.1. The channels consist of fron t left, front right, front center, surround or rear lef t,
surround or rear right, and a separa te subwoofer.
Digital Tuner A digit al tuner serves as the decoder required to receive and di splay digital broadcasts. It can be included
inside TV sets or via a set-top box .
HDTV The generally agreed upon definiti on of HDTV is approximately twice the vertica l and
horizontal picture resolution of t oday’s NTSC TV, which essentially makes the picture twice as sh arp.
HDTV also has a screen ratio of 16:9 a s compared with most of today’s TV screens, which have a screen
ratio of 4:3. HDTV of fers reduced motion artifacts (i.e. gh osting, dot crawl), and offers 5.1 independent
channels of CD-qualit y stereo surround sound, (also referred to as AC-3) .
NTSC National televi sion system committee. The organizat ion that developed the analog television standa rd
currently in use in the U.S., Ca nada, and Japan. Now generally used to refe r to that standard. The NTSC
standard combines blue, red, and gre en signals modulated as an AM signal with an FM sig nal for audio.
Progressive Scan In Progressive Scanning all the horizontal scan lines are scanned on to t he screen at one time. The Digital
TV and HDTV Standards accept bo th Interlaced Scan and Progressive Scan broadcas t and display methods.
Resolution Resolution: A measurement of the f inest (smallest) detail that is visib le in a video image. TV Resolutions
may be expressed as number of pixels in an ima ge; or more commonly,
As Total Number of (horizontally scanned ) Lines used to create the image.
Standard Digital TV Resolu tions:
SDTV: 480i - The picture is 70 4x480 pixels, 480p - The picture is 704 x480 pixels.
HDTV: 720p - The picture is 1280x7 20 pixels, 1080i - The picture is 1920x1080 pi xels,
1080p - The picture is 1920x108 0 pixels.
SPDIF SPDIF (Sony and Philips Digi tal Interconnect Format) is highly recommende d for high quality digital sound
output.