User Guide

322 Glossary
kbps (Kilobits per Second) Unit of measurement for data rates.
key frame MPEG video picture containing the entire contents of a single frame (or field). An
I-picture is a key frame.
kHz (Kilohertz) 1,000 cycles per second. Unit of measurement for frequencies.
letterbox Method for displaying widescreen (16:9) material on a standard (4:3) television
screen. The entire image is displayed in its proper aspect ratio across the center of the
screen. Horizontal black bars (mattes) are added to the top and bottom of the image to fill
the gaps between the image and the top and bottom edges of the screen. Compare with
pan and scan.
lossless Compression methods that do not discard any data. Compare with lossy.
lossy Compression methods that discard some data to achieve high compression levels.
M Standard abbreviation for mega (million). When used in units of measurement such as bits
or Hertz, it means one million (1,000,000 or 10
6
). When used for measuring bytes of
computer data, it means 1,048,576 or 2
20
.
MB (Megabyte) 1,048,576 (2
20
) bytes. Unit of measurement for computer data.
Mbps (Megabits per Second) Unit of measurement for data rates.
menu Screen containing buttons that link to specific locations in a DVD-Video presentation.
The viewer must select a button, then activate it to display the linked material.
MHz (Megahertz) 1,000,000 cycles per second. A unit of measurement for frequencies.
MPEG Set of standards for compressing video and audio, developed by the Moving Pictures
Expert Group. The DVD-Video standard is based on MPEG-2 video compression; the
standard also permits the use of MPEG-1 video.
multiplex To combine separate video and audio streams together into a single data stream.
Often abbreviated to “mux”.
NTSC (National Television Systems Committee) Television standard used in the United
States, Canada, Japan, and other countries. NTSC television uses 525 scan lines (480 lines
contain picture information) transmitted at 29.97 frames (59.94 fields) per second. Compare
with PA L .