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15 Glossary

B

Bit rate
Bit rate is the num ber of bits that are
conveyed or processed per u nit of time. The
bit rate is usually m easured in some multi ple
of bits per second (k ilobits per second: kb ps).
The term bit rat e is a synonym for data
transfer rate (or sim ply data rate).

C

Compression
In audio terms, th is is a process of temporar ily
or permanently r educing audio data for mor e
efcient stor age or transmission . A temporary
reduction in le s ize is called ‘non-lossy ’
compression, and n o information is lost. A
permanent red uction in le size (such as wit h
MP3 les) is called ‘lossy ’ compression, and
involves discarding u nnecessary inform ation
which is irretr ievably lost.

D

Decibel (dB)
A unit of measure use d to express relative
difference in power o r intensity of sound.

F

FM (Frequency Modula tion)
In radio broadca sting: a method of modula tion
in which the freque ncy of the carrier vol tage
is varied with th e frequency of the modula tion
voltage.
Frequency Response
Is the range of frequ encies that a speaker
reproduces, lowes t frequency to the hig hest.
While the optimal nor mal is 20-20,000 Hz
(Hertz), the r ange of human hearing for
individuals is of ten much more restr icted.
A good full-range s peaker system however,
reproduces as much of t his range as possible
to cover all variations . Individual drive rs are
limited to reprod uce only that part of the
spectrum for wh ich they were made, so thei r
response is limited , but still a necessar y point
to consider when desig ning a complete sound
system.
FullSound
FullSound™ is an innovati ve technology
designed by Philips. F ullSound™ faithfully
restores sonic d etails to compressed
music, enhancing it t o provide a full sound
experience wit hout any distorti on.

L

LCD (Liquid Crystal Di splay)
Probably the most co mmon way to show
visual informatio n on non-computer
electronic equ ipment.
Lossless compression
A system for reduci ng the number of data bit s
(density) in a musical sig nal without corrup ting
the original.

M

MP3
A le format with a sou nd data compression
system. MP3 is th e abbreviation of Motion
Picture Expe rts Group 1 (or MPEG -1) Audio
Layer 3. With the M P3 format, one CD-R o r
CD-RW can contai n about 10 times more
data than a regula r CD.
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