AW MediaSolutions Glossary and Reference Locator
Use the links below to find meanings to terms and to learn more about each area of a Media Solutions integrated home.
Display Technologies Guide: LCD vs. Plasma – The Differences between LCD, Plasma, DLP, LCOS, D-ILA, and CRT Televisions and Displays, by Clint DeBoer
Blue-ray Disc™ – Technology provides five times larger capacity than today's DVDs
Bose® – Home Audio Component Glossary
Network and Telecommunication
top Hidden Wires – Extensive Glossary Audio, Video, and Network definitions
Phone Systems
Aspect Ratio The ratio of the width to the height of a direct-view picture or projected image. The standard aspect ratio for HDTV is currently 16:9 (rectangular, wide screen image). The National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) standard for analog television broadcasts is 4:3 (traditional square format).
Color Wheel Central to DLP® technology's unique color filtration process, the color wheel is a small spinning disk composed of red, green, and blue filters that rotates at speeds exceeding 120 revolutions per second. The DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) briefly creates an image for each color. The viewer's eye combines these images to form a complete picture.
Component In component (YPbPr or RGB) format, the video signal is separated into three components through three RCA-type jacks for even higher image quality. Component video is typically used with better DVD players and on some HDTV systems.
Composite In composite format, all video information is combined into one signal and broadcast through one RCA-type jack. It’s another low-fidelity format that should be avoided.
Contrast Ratio An image's contrast ratio is the difference between the lightest and darkest sections of the image. A large contrast ratio indicates that the projector works well despite extraneous light and can display color subtleties and a very high degree of detail. Projectors featuring DLP® technology typically deliver a higher contrast ratio than is possible with competing technologies.
CRT Projection CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) projection is a display solution widely used in televisions and computer monitors. The tube in a CRT system is a vacuum through which electrons pass, striking a phosphorescent surface on which the projected image is created. CRT projectors output three identical images in red, green and blue. These are then combined to create the final projected image.
Dolby Digital Sound System A popular 5.1-channel home theater sound system consisting of left and right surround speakers; right, left, front and center speakers; and a LFE (low-frequency effects) channel.
Digital Light Processing™ Technology / DLP® Technology DLP® technology delivers the clearest, sharpest and most accurate images in a broad range of projection and display applications including business projectors, home entertainment projectors, large screen tabletop TVs, video walls and projection systems used in commercial entertainment. DLP Cinema® technology, which delivers large screen images that are superior in many respects to film, is helping to revolutionize the movie industry.
At the core of every DLP® projection system is an optical semiconductor called the Digital Micromirror Device, or DMD, which functions as an extremely precise light switch. The DMD chip contains an array of more than a million hinged, microscopic mirrors. By switching these mirrors on and off up to several thousand times per second, a DLP® projection system can translate a digital video or graphic source into a projected image with maximum fidelity.
Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) The Digital Micromirror Device is an optical semiconductor chip populated with up to a million or more hinged, microscopic mirrors; in a DLP® projection system, these mirrors operate as optical switches to create a high resolution, full-color image.
DVI Digital Visual Interface (DVI) is the only format capable of accepting uncompressed digital data such as high-definition video, as well as signals from future digital devices.
DVD Player An integral part of many home theater systems, DVD players use digital technology for a quality viewing experience. DVD movies generally contain features including Dolby Digital Sound, several language tracks, and wide screen or normal viewing options on a single DVD.
Front Projection TV Front projection is a method of viewing that utilizes a video projector (usually mounted on the ceiling). The image is projected onto a separate unit, typically a retractable movie screen. The front projection method allows for projection onto screen sizes that exceed 300 inches. Front projection technologies include DLP® technology, CRT and LCD.
High Definition Television (HDTV) HDTV is a new television standard that uses digital signals rather than the current analog broadcast standard. HDTV signals contain over 700 horizontal lines of resolution, compared to the 525 lines of resolution that analog provides. HDTV is also geared toward a rectangular wide screen format (16:9) for a true theater-like experience.
HDTV images are digitized and compressed before signal transmission to enable their tremendous quantity of information to pass through easily. The signals are then decompressed when they reach the television. From football to sitcoms, the result is a clear, crisp picture that brings every broadcast to life with more detail and truer color than any other picture format can offer.
HDTV Antenna An HDTV antenna is necessary to pick up the digital HDTV broadcast signal.
HDTV Converter An HDTV converter enables an analog television to display digitally transmitted programming by translating HDTV broadcast signals into analog signals. However, it should be noted that the picture and sound quality associated with HDTV can only be fully experienced through a high definition digital television set.
HDTV Decoder An HDTV decoder enables your high definition television to receive channels broadcast in HDTV.
HDTV Receiver HDTV receivers pick up signals broadcast in high definition format.
Home Theater Receiver The receiver is the heart of a home theater system; it enables a projector or television to intake and translate an incoming broadcast signal for display. Most receivers consist of an amplifier, decoder, AM/FM tuner, audio/video switcher and decoder.
Home Theater System A home theater system is a combination of products configured in the home for the presentation of high-quality images and sound. Products typically found in home theater systems include a VCR, stereo television or HDTV, receiver and DVD.
LCD projection LCD or Liquid Crystal Display is widely used in portable computers, digital watches and, more recently, in home entertainment products. An LCD display consists of a liquid crystal solution suspended between two glass plates. When an electric current is passed through the liquid crystal solution, it causes the crystals to align in a certain configuration. As a result, light can pass through certain crystals and not through others, thereby producing the projected image.
Plasma Flat-panel Television This flat-panel display solution consists of millions of phosphor-coated miniature glass bubbles containing plasma. An electric current flows through the screen, causing certain plasma-containing bubbles to emit ultraviolet rays, triggering the phosphor coating to produce the proper color (red, green or blue).
Projection TV Projection TVs create a miniature picture inside the projector. In rear projection systems, the image is then shone onto a screen located within the television unit itself (direct view). Front projection systems shine their images onto an external screen that is separate from the television unit.
Rear Projection TV A method of projection that combines a projector and viewing screen into one television unit.
Resolution The resolution of an image is the total number of stacked horizontal lines that create the vertical segment of a picture. A higher resolution results in a sharper, more detailed picture. Standard television signals generally display 525 lines of resolution. HDTV signals, however, consist of over 700 lines of resolution, resulting in superior image quality.
RF RF(Radio Frequency) signals vary widely depending on your cable and satellite provider and the type of signal being broadcasted.
Subwoofer A subwoofer is an individual speaker commonly found in home theater sound systems that processes bass sounds as low as 15 hertz.
Surround Sound A sound system arrangement designed to place the listener in the center of the sound.
S-video In S-video format, color and luminance data are separated, resulting in sharper, more colorful images. This format is commonly available on S-VHS video players and DVD players.
Viewing Angle The maximum angle at which an image can be viewed from an off-center point.
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