Marantz PMD910 manual Glossary, Dts, MP3

Glossary

Analog audio

An electrical signal that directly represents sound. Compare this to digital audio which can be an electrical signal, but is an indirect representation of sound. See also Digital audio.

Aspect ratio

The width of a TV screen relative to its height. Conventional TVs are 4:3 (in other words, the screen is almost square); widescreen models are 16:9 (the screen is almost twice as wide as it is high).

Chapter (DVD-Video)

Just as a book is split up into several chapters, a title on a DVD disc is usually divided into chapters. See also Title.

Digital audio

An indirect representation of sound by numbers. During recording, the sound is measured at discrete intervals (44,100 times a second for CD audio) by an analog-todigital converter, generating a stream of numbers. On playback, a digital-to- analog converter generates an analog signal based on these numbers. See also Sampling frequency and Analog audio.

Dolby Digital

The maximum 5.1 channels of audio used in the surround system (Surround Digital) for movie theaters is digital data compressed by the third generation algorithm encoder.

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In order to enjoy Dolby Digital discs, this unit’s digital output jack (either coaxial or optical) must be connected to the digital input jack of an AV amplifier or Dolby Digital decoder to enjoy the sound of Dolby Digital soundtracks.

DTS

DTS stands for Digital Theater System. DTS is a surround system different from Dolby Digital that has become a popular surround sound format for movies. In order to enjoy the benefits of DTS encoded discs, the digital output jack (either coaxial or optical) of this player needs to be connected to an AV amplifier or receiver or to a DTS decoder to be able to enjoy the surround sound of DTS audio. DTS audio is not output from the analog audio outputs.

Dynamic range

The difference between the quietest and loudest sounds possible in an audio signal (without distorting or getting lost in noise). Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks are capable of a very wide dynamic range, delivering dramatic cinema-like effects.

File extension

A tag added to the end of a filename to indicate the type of file. For example, “.mp3 ” indicates an MP3 file.

Interraced video

A methord of displaying a picture in which odd-numbered lines are updated in one pass, then even-numbered lines updated in the next. See also Progressive scan video.

MP3

MP3 (MPEG1 audio layer 3) is a compressed audio file format. Files are recognized by their file extension “.mp3” or “.MP3”.

MPEG video

The video format used for Video CDs and DVDs. Video CD uses the older MPEG-1 standard, while DVD uses the newer and much better quality MPEG-2 standard.

Multi-session

A CD-R/RW that contains two or more ‘sessions’. Each session is a complete recording process, so each session is read as a complete disc. This player can only read the first session on a disc.

Optical digital output

A jack that outputs digital audio in the form of light pulses. Connect components with optical digital jacks using a special optical cord, available from good audio dealers.

PCM (Pulse Code Modulation)

The most common system of encoding digital audio, found on CDs and DAT. Excellent quality, but requires a lot of data compared to formats such as Dolby Digital. For compatibility with digital audio recorders (CD, MD and DAT) and AV amplifiers with digital inputs. See also Digital audio.

PBC (PlayBack Control) (Super VCD / Video CD only)

A system of navigating a Super VCD / Video CD through on- screen menus recorded onto the disc. Especially good for discs that you would normally not watch from beginning to end all at once-karaoke discs, for example.

Progressive scan video

Also called non-interlaced video, this method of displaying a picture updates all the lines in one pass, resulting in one pass, resuiling in a more stable, flicker-free image than interlaced video (for a given scanning rate). See also interlaced video.

Regions (DVD only)

These associate discs and players with particular areas of the world. This unit will only play discs that have compatible region codes. You can find the region code of your unit by looking on the rear panel. Some discs are compatible with more than one region (or all regions).

Sampling frequency

The rate at which sound is measured to be turned into digital audio data. The higher the rate, the better the sound quality, but the more digital information is generated. Standard CD audio has a sampling frequency of 44.1kHz, which means 44,100 samples (measurements) per second. See also Digital audio.

Title (DVD-Video only)

A collection of chapters on a DVD-Video disc.

Track

Audio CDs and Super Video CDs / Video CDs discs all use tracks to divide up the content of a disc. The DVD-Video equivalent is called a chapter. See also Chapter.

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