Technical information

Hass Effect Also known as the Precedence Effect. The human ears do not rely
solely on different loudness’s to determine the direction from which a sound is
coming; they also use timing. It is often the case that timing trumps loudness. If
the same sound arrives from two different directions, the ear will tend to identify
the direction of the source as that of the first sound to arrive, even if the other
sound, arriving a few milliseconds later, is significantly louder. This is why it is
important to properly adjust the time alignment of surround speaker systems.
This effect is also made use of in high quality sound reinforcement systems in
concert halls, since by delaying the sound coming from speakers near the back of
the hall, it can be made to sound as though the high volume coming from those
reinforcing speakers is actually coming from the front of the hall.
HDCD High Definition Compatible Digital. An encoding/decoding system intended
to improve the resolution of CDs (and other digital audio sources) while retaining
full CD compatibility. It is said to provide performance equivalent to a PCM system
with a resolution of 20 bits, whilst retaining CD's bit depth of 16 bits.
HDCP High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection. An encryption protocol
developed by Intel and accepted for DVD use by the DVD Forum. This encrypts
digital video output in real-time solely for the purpose of decrypting at the other
end of a DVI or HDMI cable. It provides for two DVI-equipped devices to conduct a
handshake, establish an encryption key, and then feed the video signal at full
resolution in uncompressed digital format. HDCP supports high definition video
signals as well. This system is supposed to protect against high quality digital
video copying.
HDMI High-Definition Multimedia Interface. A new connection standard for feeding
signals from sources to output devices in digital format. This carries both
uncompressed digital video (in a form compatible with DVI) and uncompressed
digital audio. Suitable encryption protocols are implemented on both (that for the
video is HDCP) to resist digital copying. It has a huge bandwidth (up to 5 gigabits
per second) allowing it to carry even 1080i video and, at the same time, up to
eight channels of 24 bit, 192kHz digital audio. Plus it handles interaction between
equipment, easing the way towards true single-remote-control of all devices. From
a user perspective, though, it will mean that a DVD player need be connected to a
home theatre receiver with just one cable (rather than the up to twelve currently:
analogue audio x 6, digital audio x 1, component video x 3, S-Video x 1, composite
video x 1). The receiver will then, presumably, provide a DVI output to on-forward
the video to the display device.
HDTV High Definition Television. Offers resolutions of 720 or 1080 lines
compared to the 480 or 576 visible lines of analogue or Standard Definition
Television (SDTV). Three HDTV formats are currently on the market - 720p,