Glossary:
Confused about some of the terms related to home theater and HDTV? Here's a list of the most common ones, along with an easy-to-understand definition. If you're still unsure of what a specific term means after reading our definition, please call or come by Ken's!
1080i
Refers to a TV picture that is broadcast or shown on a screen using 1,080 lines of pixels that are scanned in an interlacing manner in which every other line is scanned/illuminated before the skipped lines are scanned/illuminated.1080p
Refers to a TV picture that is broadcast or shown on a screen using 1080 lines of pixels that are scanned in a progressive manner in which each line is scanned one after the other.480i
Refers to a TV picture that is broadcast or shown on a screen using 480 lines of pixels that are scanned in an interlacing manner in which every other line is scanned/illuminated before the skipped lines are scanned/illuminated.480p
Refers to a TV picture that is broadcast or shown on a screen using 480 lines of pixels that are scanned in a progressive manner in which each line is scanned one after the other.5.1
Refers to sound systems having five full-range channels (usually left front, center, right front, right rear, and left rear) plus a low-frequency effects channel. A 5.1-channel system will typically have six speakers total. Dolby Digital and DTS are both examples of 5.1-channel surround sound formats.6.1
Refers to sound systems having six full-range channels (the same as in a 5.1-channel system but with the addition of a center back channel) plus a low-frequency effects channel. A 6.1-channel system will typically have seven or eight (if two are used for the center back as recommended by THX) speakers. Dolby Digital Surround EX and DTS-ES are both examples of 6.1-channel formats.7.1
Refers to sound systems with seven, discrete full-range channels plus a low-frequency effects channel. Some manufacturers of A/V receivers refer to their equipment as 7.1-channels when they include two discrete amplifiers for dual center back speakers. Although this is a good thing in terms of having available amplifier power, in reality no current surround encoding formats provide 7.1 discrete channels of information -- but, hey, there's always tomorrow! (Some companies refer to 7.1 when they mean 6.1 instead. The 2 speakers in the back are both playing the same information.)720p
Refers to a TV picture that is broadcast or shown on a screen using 720 lines of pixels that are scanned in a progressive manner in which each line is scanned one after the other.Aspect Ratio
A television's aspect ratio is the relationship of the horizontal dimension (the width of the screen) to the vertical dimension (the height). It can be expressed as a ratio of whole numbers (4:3 or 16:9) or a ratio using fractional numbers for the width compared to the height of one unit (1.33:1 or 1.78:1). Images with wider aspect ratios tend to engage more of your peripheral vision and draw you deeper into the theatrical experience.Crossover
(as used in a speaker or a separate stand alone unit)
A device, either passive (as in a speaker) or active (as in a processor) that directs particular frequencies to particular drivers or speakers.Digital Video Recorder (DVR)
A Digital Video Recorder is like a VCR, but with a hard drive and without the hassles of videotapes or timers.Think "tape-less" VCR and more. Digital Video Recorders record shows digitally and save them to a hard drive. All recorded programs are listed on your TV screen for playback in any order.DLP™
Invented by Texas Instruments, the Digital Light Processing(TM) technology refers to a sophisticated combination of a light source, a projection lens, and a Digital Micromirror Device (known as the DMD chip) that contains over a million tiny, hinged mirrors used to reflect an image on to a screen. On this chip, each mirror corresponds to one pixel in the projected image.Dolby™ Digital
Dolby Laboratories' method of encoding and decoding channels of audio for movies and music. Can be a single channel of sound all the way up to 7 channels (6.1).Dolby™ Digital Surround EX
Co-developed by Dolby and THX, Surround EX adds a center back channel to the five main channels of audio in Dolby Digital-sometimes referred to as 6.1 channels, the .1 being the LF (Low Frequency) effect channel sent to the subwoofer.Dolby™ ProLogic
Dolby Laboratories' matrix method of encoding four tracks of audio information (left front, right front, center front, and rear) into two channels and then playing them back through a Dolby ProLogic decoder.Downconvert
A generic term used to describe when a DTV tuner creates a lower resolution image (SDTV, for example) from a higher resolution one (HDTV, for example).DTS
(competitor to Dolby Digital 5.1)
Digital Theater Systems name for a method of encoding channels of audio for movies and music. Can be a single channel of sound all the way up to 7 channels (6.1).DTS-ES
An extension of DTS to incorporate a center rear channel of audio information (6.1 total), similar to Dolby Digital EX and DTS-ES Discrete.DTV
Short for Digital TV. When used to refer to a TV broadcast, DTV can mean any one of 18 different broadcast variations approved by the FCC. When used to refer to a television, DTV can mean any one of three different levels of television.DVD
Short for Digital Versatile Disc. If you don't have a DVD player by now, you should.EDTV
Short for Enhanced Definition TV. This type of television must be able to display images at scanning rates higher than 480p but not as good as HDTV. It must also include a DTV tuner capable of receiving all 18 DTV broadcast formats.EDTV Monitor
An Enhanced Definition TV without an included DTV tuner.Field
The moving video images you see on television are composed of lots of still images. In an interlace system, half of the lines (every other one) in the picture are active for 1/60th of a second. Then the system switches and activates the skipped lines for the next 1/60th of a second. Each of these "half" images is known as a field.Frame
An image on a TV screen using all of the lines. In an interlace system, two fields (1/60th of a second) combine to make one frame (one 1/30th of a second).Front Projection TV
A type of television that projects an image onto a screen or wall in front of the projector.HDTV
Short for High Definition TV. This type of television must be able to display images at scanning rates of either 720p or 1080i. It must also be able to display these images in a 16:9 aspect ratio and include a DTV tuner capable of receiving all 18 DTV broadcast formats.HDTV Monitor
An HDTV without an included DTV tuner.Interlace Scan
The process of creating an image on a screen by scanning or illuminating every other line in the image before going back and scanning or illuminating the skipped lines.In-wall speaker
A speaker that is mounted in the wall or ceiling of a home or office.LCD TV
A television that uses an Liquid Crystal Display panel to create an image. Some examples are LCD flat panel TVs, LCD-based rear projection TVs, and LCD-based front projection TVs.Line Doubler
Usually an outboard device, although sometimes built in to a high-scan capable TV, that adds additional scanning lines to images composed of fewer scanning lines (like NTSC images).Macro
When referring to remote controls or home automation, a "macro" is a sequence of commands that are sent to your system ("receiver power on", "select DVD input", "select Dolby Digital", "DVD power on", "DVD play", "dim the room lights", etc.) as the result of touching one button.Midrange
The range of frequencies that lie between midbass and the high frequencies.MP3
The name of the file extension and also the name of the type of file for MPEG, audio layer 3. Layer 3 is one of three coding schemes (layer 1, layer 2 and layer 3) for the compression of audio signals. Layer 3 uses perceptual audio coding and psychoacoustic compression to remove all superfluous information (more specifically, the redundant and irrelevant parts of a sound signal. The stuff the human ear doesn't hear anyway). Because MP3 files are small, they can easily be transferred across the Internet.Multi-room
A term that refers to having the same sound or pictures in more than one room of your home.Multi-zone
A term that refers to the ability to have different sound or pictures in more than one room of your home at the same time.Networking
The linking of a number of devices, such as computers, workstations, printers, and AV gear into a network (system) for the purpose of sharing resources.Progressive Scan
The process of creating an image on a screen by scanning or illuminating each line in the image one after the other.Rear Projection TV
A type of television in which the image is projected onto a screen from behind.SDTV
Short for Standard Definition TV. This type of television must be capable of displaying a DTV image using 480 lines scanned progressively. It must also include a DTV tuner capable of receiving all 18 DTV broadcast formats.SDTV Monitor
An SDTV without the included DTV tuner.Structured Wiring
A method of wiring a home for audio, video, telephone, and computer using a centrally located, often modular panel.Subwoofer
A speaker specifically designed to reproduce the lowest frequencies in music and movies.THX
THX is the trade name of Lucasfilm Limited's high-fidelity sound reproduction system for theatrical movie theaters, screening rooms, home theaters, and car audio systems. THX was developed by George Lucas's company in 1983 to ensure that the soundtrack for the third Star Wars film would be accurately reproduced in the best venues.The THX system is not a recording technology, and it does not specify a sound recording format; all digital and all analog sound formats can be "shown in THX." THX is mainly a quality assurance system.Tweeter
A part of a full-range loudspeaker that's designed to reproduce the higher frequencies.Upconvert
Typically used to describe the process by which a DTV tuner or HDTV creates additional scanning lines for an image that starts with fewer scanning lines. This is sometimes referred to as line doubling.Woofer
A part of a full-range loudspeaker that's designed to reproduce the lower frequencies.
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