Jargon Buster

1080i

A HDTV resolution that has 1080 lines of vertical resolution using the interlaced format. A HD Ready TV must be able to display this format. The HDTV mode assumes widescreen aspect ratio 16:9.

16:9

This is the aspect ratio for widescreen TVs. HDTV is broadcast in 16:9 and increasingly standard definition digital TV is being shown in this format.

4:3

This is the traditional, non-widescreen, aspect ratio for TVs. This is being phased out in favour of the 16:9 widescreen format.

5.1 Digital Sound

This is a system for surround sound that uses 5 speakers positioned around the viewer to produce surround sound similar to in the cinema. A subwoofer is also present for bass sounds.

720p

The short name for a category of HDTV modes: A HDTV resolution that has 720 rows displayed using the progressive scan format. A HD Ready TV must be able to display this format.

1080p/720p

A progressive high definition TV format with an image resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and 1280 x 720 pixels respectively. The highest quality available.

480p/576p

Progressive versions of standard NTSC (National Television Systems Committee) and PAL video signals. Used in countries that use PAL and SECAM.

Access Point

Wireless communication device that allows the users to connect to a Wi-Fi Network.

Add-In

Extra features available in most Microsoft applications.

ADSL

Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line is a technology that converts an ordinary household telephone line into an internet connection and is around ten times faster than a regular 56K modem. This is what most broadband connections use, the other connection type being cable.

AGP

Accelerated Graphics Port - A PC interface used for extremely fast 3D graphics facilities, ideal for video games.

Analogue

Refers to the normal television broadcasts received over an aerial. All systems before digital TV are considered analogue.

Anamorphic

This is a method that is used with some widescreen (16:9) images to eliminate the black lines that are sometimes present. If you viewed an anamorphic image on a standard screen (4:3) the image would appear to be stretched vertically. Also refers to the related technique for maximising picture quality in DVD video recordings.

APS

Advanced Photo System - a photographic film format which allows the user to chose from three different picture sizes. With an APS reprints can be ordered from index prints, these are thumbnail representations of photos, and supplied with all developed film.

Aspect Ratio

The aspect ratio refers to the height and width of a screen or image. The standard widescreen format as used in HDTV is 16:9, the traditional 'non-widescreen' format is 4:3. If the aspect ratio of the image and screen are not the same then black lines may appear at the edges unless the image is anamorphic.

AV

Shorthand for "audio/visual" any piece of home electronics that can display an image or play sound, such as TV or CD player.

Bandwidth

Bandwidth is the measurement of the maximum amount of data that can be transferred over a connection at any one time.

Bluetooth

A technology that allows devices to communicate wirelessly, it provides a way to connect and exchange data between devices like PDAs, laptops, PCs, printers, digital cameras etc.

Blu-Ray

A new format that delivers high definition on DVD sized discs.

CD-R

Compact Disc Recordable - Can be written once and stores music or data.
Size: 700 MB
Speed: 52x

CD-ROM

Compact Disc Read Only Memory - A type of optical disc used for storing large quantities of data. The most common size is 700 MB but it can be up to 1GB. A single CD-ROM has the storage capacity of 700 floppy disks, enough memory to store about 300,000 text pages. All CD-ROMs have a standard size and format. The information on a CD-ROM can only be read it can not be written over.

CD-Recordable drives are often sold with three different speed ratings, one speed for write-once operations, one for re-write operations, and one for read-only operations. The speeds are typically listed in that order; i.e. a 12x/10x/32x CD drive can, CPU and media permitting, write to CD-R disks at 12x speed (1.76 megabytes/s), write to CD-RW discs at 10x speed (1.46 megabytes/s), and read from CD discs at 32x speed (4.69 megabytes/s).

CD-RW

Compact Disc Rewritable - Can write and erase data. A rewritable optical disc. A CD-RW recorder can rewrite 700 MB of data to a CD-RW disc roughly 1000 times. CD-RW recorders can also write CD-R discs. Except for the ability to completely erase a disc, CD-RWs act very much like CD-Rs and are subject to the same restrictions; i.e., they can be extended, but not selectively overwritten, and writing sessions must be closed before they can be read in CD-ROM drive or players.

Combo Drive

The Combo Drive is the cheaper and more basic of the two CD-ROM drives currently. It can read and burn (write) CDs and can read DVDs.

Computer Case

A container for the main computer parts; usually constructed from steel, aluminium or plastic. ATX is the most popular case size (form factor). Smaller cases are becoming increasingly popular as well. The different computer cases available are:

• Desktop
• Rack Mount
• Mini Tower
• Midi Tower
• Full Tower

CPU

Central Processing Unit, this is the heart of a computer, the faster it is the better the PC is likely to be.

CRT

Cathode Ray Tube - a glass tube based technology used to produce an image in most TV sets and computer monitors except LCD or plasma. While the quality of the picture of a CRT TV has historically regarded as better than LCD TVs this advantage is reducing.

DAB

Digital Audio Broadcasting, transmitting radio programming in a digital rather than analogue format.

Digital Camera

A camera that uses computer memory to store images rather than on light-sensitive film.

Digital Zoom

Digital zoom allows even greater magnification than an optical zoom by expanding each of the dots, but the quality of the image is affected.

Dolby Digital

A surround sound format developed by Dolby; up to six channels of sound, five for normal sound one for the subwoofer. This format also supports mono and stereo usages as well.

DTS

Digital Theatre Systems - a digital movie soundtrack format on some DVD movies. A multi-channel digital surround sound format used for in-movie sound for film and DVD.

DVB-T

The digital television standard which is used by Freeview, this includes standard and high definition formats.

DVD-ROM

A DVD-ROM is a relatively new type of optical disc which can hold a minimum capacity of 4.7 GB, enough for a full length film. DVD-ROM drives are compatible with CD-ROMs.

DVD-R/DVD+R

DVD-R: more storage capacity than a CD-R, it can be written to once only. It is supported by most DVD players.

DVD+R: divergent from the DVD-R format, hybrid drives that can handle both are called DVD±RW. There is not yet a single format for recordable DVDs.

DVD-RAM

DVD-Random Access Memory. Highly reliable format as the discs have built in error control and defect management system. It is considered better for general data storage, back up and archival than other DVD technologies.

DVD-RW

A rewritable optic disc with the same storage capacity to a DVD-R, this standard can be written to multiple times. It is comparable with the CD-RW standard, playable on around 75% of conventional DVD players and increasingly used for video recorders.

DVD+RW

Competing format with DVD-RW, hybrid drives called DVD±RW are popular as there is not yet a single standard for recordable DVDs.

DVD+R DL/DVD-R DL

DVD Recordable Dual-Layer - can be written once, a derivative of the DVD+R and DVD-R formats it is almost double the total capacity of a single layer disc. Discs can only be created using DVD+RW DL and Super Multi drives.

DVD±RW

A DVD drive that can accept both the common recordable DVD formats, it handles both common re-writable disc types.

DVI

Digital Visual Interface, this is a connection for HDTV. Unlike HDMI this does not carry any sound so a different cable would need to be used. Converters can be used between DVI and HDMI although no sound will be transmitted.

EPG

An Electronic Program Guide. This provides a guide to programs similar to what is in TV magazines; these can be used to set reminders so that you do not miss your favourite program.

Flash memory

A type of memory that retains its contents after the computer has been switched off.

Flatbed

A type of scanner that resembles a small photocopier.

Flat panel display

Slim monitors used similar to LCDs found in notebook computers, designed for use with desktop PCs.

Firewall

A firewall can be a piece of software or hardware (home users tend to use software) it prevents unauthorized access to a computer over a network, such as the Internet.

FireWire

A super-fast link between your PC and devices, this is also called IEEE1394.

Full duplex

A full duplex is the ability of a device such as a modem or sound card to send and receive data simultaneously.

Freeview

Free-to-view digital TV, accessed by purchasing a Freeview box.

Gameport

The D shaped socket found on most soundcards. This is used to connect game controllers and also doubles as a MIDI interface.

GB

Gigabyte - a measure of storage capacity usually for hard disks. 1 GB = 1024 MB.

Gbit/s

Gigabits per second. A measure of data transfer rate.

GHz

Gigahertz, a measure of the speed of a processor inside a PC.

GPS

Global Positioning System - network of satellites orbiting the earth, used to pinpoint an exact position on the planet, used in car satellite navigation and handheld GPS devices.

Graphics Card

The part of the computer that displays the image you see on the computers monitor. Some are more advanced than others, featuring connections for video recorders or other similar devices.

Hard Disk

A high capacity disk drive fitted in almost all PCs and to store both applications and the documents and files they create.

Hard Drive

A mass storage device; size is measured in bytes a hard drive typically stores 40GB - 800GB of data.

Hardware

Hardware describes the physical components of a computer for example the keyboard, mouse and monitor.

HDCP

High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection, this is a copy protection system that prevents High Definition content being copied. HDCP is carried through the DVI or HDMI cable and is a requirement for the HD Ready logo.

HDMI

Combines video and audio into a digital interface for DVD players, digital TV players etc.

HD Ready

A TV that is High Definition Ready is capable of showing a high definition picture. The HD Ready logo shows that the TV can display the picture and has the right connections to be used with high definition DVD players and HD set-top boxes.

HDTV

High Definition TV, this is a range of standards for digital TV broadcasts that have higher resolutions than standard definition TV. The main two formats are 720p and 1080i, both offer highly improved picture quality and will often have 5.1 surround sound included.

HDMI

High Definition Multimedia Interface, this is a connection that is used for HDTV. This can be used for both HD pictures and the 5.1 sound. Converters can be used between DVI and HDMI although no sound will be transmitted.

IDTV

Integrated Digital TV. This shows that the TV has a built in digital tuner so that a STB is not required.

Integrated HDTV

A television with a built in HDTV receiver.

Interlaced

Interlaced formats only show half the total horizontal lines in each frame. This means all the even numbered lines will be drawn top to bottom in one frame, and all the odd numbered lines in the next. Interlaced formats are not as high quality as progressive scan formats at the same resolution.

IR

Infrared. An interface that allows you to transmit data via infrared light waves, allowing data to be transferred cordlessly between devices with infrared ports.

KB

Kilobyte, measure of capacity of a storage device. One kilobyte is equal to 1024 bytes.

Kb/s

Short for kilobit per second, which is a measure of data transfer or modem speed. A kilobit is 1000 individual bits of computer data.

LAN

Describes a network covering a small local area such as a home or an office.

Laser Printer

A type of printer that produces high-quality text and graphics using a laser beam.

LCD

Liquid Crystal Display - individually controllable light-emitting crystals, used to create low power, slim display panels. This is a type of display that is used to create slim displays; the other main types of TVs are CRT and Plasma.

LightScribe

An optical disc recording technology that uses coated recordable CD and DVD media to produce laser-etched labels.

MB

Megabyte - a measurement of storage capacity, usually for computer memory. 1 MB equals 1024 KB.

Mb/s

Short for megabytes per second, a measure of data transfer speed.

Memory Cards

Often used as a way of storing data which can be removed in digital cameras and palmtop computers these are small cards that can store many megabytes of computer data or documents.

MPEG

Moving Pictures Experts Group. A method of compressing digital video.

MP3

MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 - a compressed audio file, many DVD decks are compatible with MP3 tunes that have been burnt onto CD. Currently, the most popular digital encoding compression format, its popularity has secured its dominant position for the foreseeable future.

Network

A network is a way of connecting several computers and peripherals so that they can share data. A network can be built wirelessly or physically.

Network Adapter

A network adapter is the socket for connecting a PC to an office network or broadband Internet connections.

Network Interface Card

Each PC on a network needs a network interface card, into which the network cable is plugged. Most can transfer data at 100Mbits (fast ethernet) per second (100 million bits per second) but 1000Mbit (Gigabit) cards are becoming more common.

Notebook

Also known as a laptop this is a portable computer, usually around the size of an A4 notebook.

Optical Drives

An optical drive is a device for storing electronic data. There are five types of optical drive:

• CD-ROM
• DVD-ROM
• CD RW
• Combo drive
• DVD±RW

Palmtop

A PDA or small computer about the size of a pocket calculator.

Pixel

Pixel is from the shortening of 'picture element' and is the smallest bit of a picture. The image on a TV is created from thousands of individual pixels. HDTV has more than four times as many pixels as standard definition TV which means that it has a much clearer picture.

Plasma

This is a type of display that uses a thin layer of Plasma between two panels to create a picture. Plasma TVs are slim displays like LCDs and are mainly used for large display, above 42 inches.

Progressive Scan

A progressive scan format will draw all the horizontal lines in the picture in one frame. This leads to a crisper image, although requires a higher quality screen to display.

PVR/DVR

A Personal Video Recorder/Digital Video Recorder, these are set top boxes that use a hard drive to record TV programs. They are often within a unit that adds further features such as a DVD recorder or a TV tuner, this allows for features such as pausing live TV.

RAID

A system which uses multiple hard drives to share of replicate data among the drives. Depending on the type of RAID used this can improve performance and fault tolerance.

RAM

Random Access Memory - an area of a computer used for data storage while the PC is switched on. The more memory a computer has the faster it will seem and the more things it can process at the same time. Information stored using RAM will be lost when the pc is switched off.

Rambus

A design of memory found in Pentium 3 and Pentium 4 systems, designed to offer very high performance.

RCTC

Rewritable Consumer Time Code- Keeps track of recording length on camcorders and video recorders.

RDS

Radio Data System - A feature of many radios particularly in cars which allows radio programmes to be interrupted with local traffic reports and also to display the name of the radio station.

Real Player

The software required to play RealAudio and RealVideo files streamed over the Internet. A basic version can be downloaded for free and a more sophisticated one can be bought online.

Real time

Real time is something that takes place on a computer at the same speed as it would in real life.

Removable Storage Device

Disk drives that use high capacity disks which can be removed and stored remotely. Examples include Iomega Zip and Jaz products although the most popular at this time is a USB pen drive.

Reservoir

In relation to an inkjet printer the reservoir is the part that holds the ink. In some inkjets the reservoir is replaceable while in others it is combined with the print head in order to create a single disposable unit.

RGB

A colour picture created on a monitor by combining a value for red, green and blue channels to determine the colour of each individual pixel

RIMM

Rambus Inline Memory Module - A "stick" of RDRAM, used in Pentium 3 and Pentium 4 systems with suitable motherboards.

RJ-11

Registered Jack 11 - A small plug and socket used by modems to connect to a telephone socket. A converter plug is needed before an RJ-11 cable can be plugged into a standard UK telephone socket.

RMS

Root Mean Squared. RMS is used to compare different models of speakers through measuring the power output.

ROM

Read Only Memory - any memory that can be read but not written to. ROM is often used to store basic system information and instructions which cannot be changed.

Router

A computer networking device, a router forwards information onto its destination across a network through connecting it to more than one computer and/or to the Internet.

RTC

Real Time Clock; keeps track of the current time on a PC. As it is battery powered it keeps track of time while the system is switched off.

RTF

Rich Text Format. Developed and owned by Microsoft this is a file format used to transfer documents between different word-processing programs.

Scart

A 21-pin connector for two-way traffic of video and audio signals.

STB

A Set Top Box. Any external box that includes a digital tuner for either standard or high definition formats. Coverts signal to viewable images.

Subwoofer

A subwoofer is speaker that is dedicated to reproducing low, bass sounds. This fills out the lower end of the sound and adds more rumble to low noises. These bass frequencies are typically 20Hz - 200Hz. The 1 in a 5.1 surround sound system. Only 1 subwoofer is required because human ears cannot detect the direction of bass frequencies.
2.1: speaker set up consisting of two front speakers and a subwoofer
5.1: True surround sound with a pair each of front and rear speakers - a centre speaker and a subwoofer.

Super Multi

Super Multi is an informal term used to describe a type of DVD recorder that writes DVD-R/-RW, DVD+R/+RW and DVD-RAM formats.
This term was coined by LG and is now officially protected by LG.

S-video

A high quality video connection that carries brightness and colour information separately.

S/PDIF

Sony/Philips Digital Interface. This is the standard for transferring digital audio information between devices and stereo components. Commonly found on such things as DVD players and sound cards, sockets can be both optical and electrical.

Tablet PC

A notebook PC which has a touch sensitive screen that can be written on like using a writing pad.

TCP/IP

Transmission control protocol/internet protocol. Also known as the Internet protocol suite it is the set of communications protocol to used to transfer data and information from one internet-connected computer to another.

TFT

Thin Film Transistor. This is the technology used on such things as computer monitors and digital cameras to create a thin and flat colour screen. These screens provide a very high quality, displaying clear and bright images to the user.

Universal Serial Bus (USB)

A USB is a standard which allows external components such as scanners and printers to be connected to a PC quickly and easily. It also supports plug and play, and devices can be added or removed with your PC switched on.

USB

Universal Serial Bus, a PC connection commonly used for transmitting audio files and PC data.

USB 2.0

USB 2.0 is the successor to the USB and is predominantly used for MP3 players and external disk drives. It is also backwardly-compatible to USB, it offers transfer speeds of up to 240 Mbps compared to 12 Mbps of USB.

USB Hub

A USB Hub allows for several USB devices to be connected to a PC. It is a device that can be external or built-in which has several USB ports. It connects to your PC and then serves a relay station, allowing you to add multiple devices to your PC.

Video Capture Card

A Video Capture Card is an expansion card for PCs to receive television signals. It also allows PCs to record full-motion video sequences to disk using television receivers and video recording equipment such as camcorders.

Video Card

Used to controls visual output. Processes image data and outputs it to your monitor graphics card. For gamers the faster the better, for home & office use all are capable. If a graphics card is too slow the motion can blur, freeze & the colours can change. There are three types of connection in use at this time:

• PCI - This is the oldest and slowest of the three connections and there are not many cards avaiable for this. All computers will have this connection
• AGP - This connection offers 8x transfer data at 2 GB/s.
• PCI Express - PCI-E is the newest standard and offers 16x transfer data at 4GB/s.

Video Memory

Video memory is the memory installed on a PC's graphics card. It is used to generate the on-screen image and the more memory on the card, the higher the possible graphics resolution and the more colours that can be displayed. 16MB should be considered the minimum standard today.

Video Phone

A telephone with a camera and a screen to enable the user to have a conversation using both audio and moving video images.

Video8

A lower quality version of the Hi-8 video standard used in low band camcorders.

VOB

A file format used on DVDs.

VGA

A standard monitor connection for PCs.

WAV

WAV is an audio file used for recording music and other sounds to disk. As they can be compressed WAV files can be very large.

Webcam

A real time camera designed to connect to your PC. Its images can be accessed over the Internet, through instant messaging or a PC video calling application. It can be used to record video clips which you can send by email, or transmit images directly over the Internet.

Wi-Fi

Describes the underlying technology of wireless local area networks, a Wi-Fi device can connect to a network when in proximity of an access point. Wi-Fi devices include computers, PDAs and telephones.

WMA

Windows Media Audio - a compressed digital music format.

Woofer

A type of loudspeaker driver that reproduces low audio frequencies, though not the very deepest bass tones. These may be played back through of subwoofer.

x2

A technology developed by US Robotics to allow modems to receive at up to 56Kbs.

XG

Sound card developed by Yamaha it is an extension to the MIDI standard. It increases the number of available instruments from 128 to 600. It allows for more effects and voices and for samples to be played with greater realism.