Specifications

128
• IEEE: Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers
• IEEE 1394: See FIREWIRE
©
• ILA™: Image Light Amplifier. Technology used to
increase the brightness. Designed by Hugues/JVC
®
• IMAC: MACINTOSH
®
computer from APPLE
®
• IMPEDANCE: Load signal, measured in Ohms. The
impedance of a video signal is 75 Ohms (low impe-
dance) and it has to be matched to the cable impe-
dance to avoid echo on the picture
• INFRA-RED (IR): Invisible light waves used for cord-
less transmission & to control devices. It does not
pass-trough a wall nor a door
• INTERFACE: Device or program that creates a link
between 2 different products. In Video, the interface
usually adapts the computer unit (CPU) to different
displays. It acts only on the synchronization but not on
the scanning rate (see Scan Converter). Powerful
interfaces are fully automatic and with no Dip Switches
• INTERLACED (i): Method of line interleaving that
scans the image into 2 fields (1 image = 1 frame = 2
fields). TV video standards (PAL, SECAM, NTSC) use
the interlaced method. PAL/SECAM is equivalent to
625 lines per frame which is equivalent to 2 x {312.5
lines per field}. NTSC is equivalent to 525 lines per
frame which is equivalent to 2 x {262.5 lines per field}.
However, computer sources usually use Non
Interlaced or Progressive scanning methods (1 image
= 1 frame = 1 field).
• IP: Internet Protocol (also Intellectual Property)
• IR: see Infra-red
• ISDN: Integrated Service Digital Network. High speed
Audio & Data modem (around 64 Kbit per second)
• ISO: International Standard Organization
• ITU: International Telecommunication Union.
Committee that sets Digital Broadcast Video
Standards (successor to CCIR)
J
• JACK: Coaxial type connector (6.35 mm or 3.5 mm)
usually used in Music and Audio equipment
• JITTER: Short cycle problem that can be described by
a fast up/down or left/right movement on the picture (it
could also be a short cycle problem such as a fre-
quency jitter)
• J.PEG: Joint Photographic Experts Group. Process for
compressing still and moving images (ie: Jpeg 2000)
K
• KEYER: Video Information that provides a "KEY" to
overlay and mix 2 Video images
• KEYSTONE EFFECT: Distorted image when projec-
ted onto the screen at a high vertical angle. Some
Up/down converters incorporate a powerful keystone
corrector function
• KILOHERTZ: Symbol: kHz. Equivalent to 1000 Hertz
(10
3
Hertz)
L
• LAN: Local Aera Network
• LASER DISC: See LD
• LCD: Liquid Crystal Display. Display technology using
liquid crystal cells between 2 panels of polarizing
material. The technology is used in laptop computers,
LCD panels and projectors
• LD: Audio and Video Laser Disc (Analog FM coding),
early design by RCA
®
, Philips
®
, Magnavox
®
• LETTERBOX: See Widescreen
• LEVEL: Intensity of electrical AUDIO signals.
Equivalent to contrast in Video signals
• LINE DOUBLER: Device that converts a 15 kHz
TV/Video signals into a doubled resolution format
(from 15 kHz to 31 kHz) by multiplying the number of
lines by 2. The Line Doubler fills in the black space
between the lines of the input image and, in this way,
gives to the image a better brightness and resolution.
• LINE FREQUENCY: For a display, it is the number of
scanned lines in 1 second. In SVGA, for example, the
Line Frequency is of about 37 kHz so it gives a rate of
37000 lines per second
•
LINE QUADRUPLER: Device that converts a 15 kHz
TV/Video signals into a very high resolution format by
multiplying the number of lines by 4 (60 kHz). The Line
Quadrupler fills in the space between the lines of the
input image twice as much as a Line Doubler
• LOOPTHROUGH: Pair of Input / Output connectors that
enable a signal to be inserted into a device and to be re-
connected to another device. It does not affect the
signal since it is transparent
• LP: Long Play, early Vinyl 33 RPM disc (33 Tours)
• LUMA KEY: Luminance video signal (without any
color information) dedicated to trigger an overlay by a
brightness level
•
LUMEN: Unit used in measuring the quantity of light
(LUMEN ANSI)
• LUMINANCE: The Weighted Y brightness part of a
video signal (Y= 0.3 Red+ 0.6 Green+ 0.11 Blue)
M
• MEGAHERTZ: Symbol= MHz, equivalent to 1 million
Hertz or 10
6
Hertz
• MII™: M 2. Broadcast Video Recorder, providing a
YUV output (JVC
®
/ Panasonic
®
)
• MINI DIN: See DIN
• MODEM: MODulator DEModulator. Device used in
telephony for bi-directional access
•
MONOCHROME: Image with a single color or black &
white. Nowadays, monochrome images are only used in
High Resolution applications such as in Military or
Medical environments
• MPEG: Motion Picture Expert Group. Process for com-
pressing moving pictures (i.e. M.PEG2 for TV & HDTV)
for transport or storage
• MPEG.2 (H.262): Audio & Video compression algorithm.
• MPEG.4 (H.264): high efficiency compression algo-
rithm.(MPEG & ITU group)
• MOTION: See Adaptive Motion Compensation
•
MUSE: Japanese Broadcast Transport Schema of 16/9
HDTV standard (Hi-Vision) that has been running for years
in 1135 lines / 60 Hz mode (interlaced)
• MXF: Material eXchange Format. Seems to be widely
accepted open interchange format in order to improve
the interprobability between different devices that
create and receive content
N
• NON INTERLACED: Method of scanning all the lines of
a picture (1 image = 1 frame = 1 field). E.g. for a com-
puter working in SVGA at 800 x 600 lines, it gives 600
lines per frame. For some HDTV formats, the scanning
method is the same but is called "progressive"
• NAB: National Association Broadcaster
• NEXT
®
: Early WORKSTATION with APPLE
®
“concept”
• NSCA: National Systems Contractors Association
• NTSC: National Television Standard Committee.
Television standard used in North America, Japan and
other parts of the world (South America and Asia).
NTSC has 525 horizontal and interlaced lines refres-
hed at 60 fields per second. The Chrominance subcar-
rier is of 3.58 MHz (sometimes 4.43 MHz). See also
FRAME RATE
O
• OHM: Measurement of resistance (named after Georg
Simon Ohm), shown by the  symbol. 75 Ohms is the
standard load for an RGB video signal
• OSD: On Screen Display
• OSHIDEN™: See S.Video connector
• OS/2: Operating System - 2 - IBM
®
at beginning
• OVERLAY: Action of cutting and mixing 2 or more
video pictures onto the same display
•
OVERSCAN: Opposite of UNDERSCAN. In Overscan
mode, to avoid seeing the corners and the borders, the
image is displayed about 8% bigger than in standard
(Underscan) mode. Standard TV display mode is
Overscan
P
• PAL: Phase Alternate Line. Television standard used
in Western Europe, Australia, Britain and South Africa.
A PAL picture is composed of 625 horizontal, interla-
ced lines refreshed at 50 fields per second. The
Chrominance subcarrier is of 4.43 MHz
•
PAL-M: Brazilian version of the PAL standard compo-
sed of 525 horizontal, interlaced lines refreshed at 60
fields per second. The Chrominance subcarrier is of
4.43 MHz
• PATTERN GENERATOR: Specific picture device,
enabling adjustments to be made
• PC: Personal Computer. First introduced by IBM
®
. PC,
PCXT, PCAT and others are now worldwide manufac-
turer compatible
• PERIOD: Time taken by a periodic signal to execute a
cycle. See Frequency
• PERITEL™: French word for SCART. Comes from
MATRA
®
Subsidiary company. See SCART
• PIP: Picture in Picture
• PITCH: Distance that separates 2 pixels in a display
•
PIXEL: Abbreviation for picture element. A pixel is the smal-
lest element (Black and White or Color) that makes up an
image. Pixels make up lines and columns and define the
resolution of the picture. E.g. XGA = 1024 x 768 = 1024
pixels x 768 lines = 786432 pixels per image
• POLARITY: Positive or Negative sign of a signal
•
POWER PC
®
, POWER MAC
®
: Combination of the "PC"
and "APPLE" world for a unique standards compatible
computer platform
• PROGRESSIVE: see non-interlaced
• PS/2: Personel System - 2 (IBM
®
)
• PULL DOWN (2/3): Method for transfering Film Image
(24/sec) to video (30/sec) in USA & Japan. Image
sequence is 2/3/2/3 with 2+3=5 Fields redondancy
Q
• QUADRA™: MACINTOSH
®
’s personal computer
• QUADRUPLER: see Line Quadrupler
•
Q.XGA: Super High-Resolution computer format, about
2000 x 2000
R
• RAID: Redondant Array Parallel Disks.
• RCA™ CONNECTOR: CINCH coaxial connector, usually
used for audio signal (red = right, white = left) or composite
video signal (yellow = C.Video). Sometimes called Phono
plug
• REAL TIME CONVERSION: Feature of a converter
that treats, calculates and renders an input signal to its
output in a very short time (almost instantaneously).
This operation is not visible to the naked eye.
•
REFRESH RATE: Rate for redrawing a frame on the
video image field or frame (Hz). It is the "Vertical"
Frequency rate which is related to the flicker of the pic-
ture
• REMOTE CONTROL: Device or program enabling
another device to be controlled from a distance
• RESOLUTION: Amount of horizontal and vertical
information contained in an image. Composite NTSC
is a 350 x 480 resolution and XGA (Computer) is a
1024 x 768 resolution. The higher the resolution, the
better and sharper the picture will be
• RFI: Radio Frequency Interference noise (electric
field)
• RGB: Abbreviation for Red, Green and Blue. The 3 pri-
mary colors of light that are the basic additive compo-
nents of the color television system and computer
image. The weighted sum of R,G,B signals gives a
"white" color, visible to the naked eye
•
RGB HV: RGB signal with separated Horizontal sync.
and Vertical sync.. The signal is transmitted by a 5
wires coaxial cable. It is usually used for PCs and is
compatible with most computers
• RGB S: RGB signal with composite sync. which is trans-
mitted by a 4 wires coaxial cable. Sometimes called RGB
sync.
• RNIS: Réseau Numérique Intégration Service. French equi-
valent of ISDN
• RS 170 A: North American standard for NTSC Video