Numeric

2:3 Pulldown

A method derived from telecine units that converts the 24 fps of film to 60 fps for video. This is achieved by repeating the first movie frame twice, the next movie frames is repeated 3 times and so on, which results in the 24 frame rate being converted to 60 fps for video playback

3:2 Pulldown

An archaic and strictly less accurate reference, to what is really 2:3 pulldown.

720p

720p is the shorthand name for a category of video modes. The "p" stands for progressive scan, i.e. non-interlaced, the 720 for a vertical resolution of 720 lines, usually with a horizontal resolution of 1280 pixels and an aspect ratio of 16:9; that is high-definition television. If not implied by context, the frame rate in hertz is given after the letter. The five frame rates in common use are 24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 Hz

1080i

1080i is the shorthand name for a category of video modes. The "I" stands for interlaced, the 1080 for a vertical resolution of 1080 lines, usually with a horizontal resolution of 1920 pixels and an aspect ratio of 16:9; that is high-definition television. If not implied by context, the field rate (not the frame rate) in hertz is given after the letter. The two field rates in common use are 50 and 60 Hz

Alphabetic

Aspect Ratio

Is the ratio of image width to image height. Common motion-picture ratios are 1.85:1 and 2.35:1. Television screens are usually 1.33:1 (also known as 4:3), which is similar to the Academy standard for films in the '50s. HDTV is 1.78:1, or 16:9. When widescreen movies (films with aspect ratios wider than 1.33:1) are displayed on 1.33:1 televisions, the image must be letterboxed, anamorphically squeezed, or panned-and-scanned to fit the screen.

ATSC

Advanced Television System Committee. The ATSC is responsible for providing standards for high definition TV and standard definition TV. In the context of this article, ATSC refers to the digital TV standard for over-the-air digital TV signal.

AVC

Advanced Video Coding - based on MPEG-4. see H.264

Blu-Ray

Blu-ray Disc is a next-generation optical disc format meant for high definition video (HD) and high density data storage, and is one of two competing standards for HD optical media. Its competitor is HD-DVD. Blu-ray gets its name from the shorter wavelength (405 nm) blue laser that, in addition to other techniques, allows it to store substantially more data on the same sized disc than DVD, which uses a longer wavelength (650 nm) red laser.

Component Video

A type of video system that transmits three separate signals of Luminance (Y) and the two different colour channels (R-Y and B-Y). Because these signals are sent by multiple channels verses a single composite channel, the resulting picture quality is very much improved.

Composite video

An analogue video system where signals are combined into a single channel. Both the chrominance and luminance is transmitted together. Used for analogue television signals and can be modulated onto an RF carrier.

D-ILA

Direct-Drive Image Light Amplifier technology features light from a xenon lamp reflecting off the D-ILA device and passes through the projection lens creating a high-quality image on the screen. The high pixel density of D-ILA provides outstanding light collection efficiency resulting in both higher brightness and higher resolution than conventional LCD projectors.

DLP - Digital light processing.

A micro display technology invented by Texas Instruments, DLP is based on a digital micro mirror device (DMD), a chip with millions of hinged, microscopic mirrors attached, each of which corresponds to a single pixel in the projected image. Red, green, and blue light filtered through a color wheel is directed alternately onto the DMD, which switches on and off up to 5,000 times a second. The reflected light is directed through a lens and onto a screen, creating an image. High-end HDTV projectors use a three-chip solution, with separate DMD's for green, red, and blue, and forego the color wheel.

DVI

DVI means Digital Visual Interface. DVI is a standard that defines the digital interface between digital devices such as projectors and personal computers. For devices that support DVI, a digital to digital connection can be made that eliminates the conversion to analogue and thereby delivers an unblemished image. DVI Types: DVI-A - analog only; DVI-D - digital only; and DVI-I - integrated analog and digital.

DVB

Digital Video Broadcasting - European term to describe European digital broadcasting standards for cable, satellite and terrestrial TV, based on MPEG-2 compression, defined through the Digital Video broadcasting group. The latter is an association of broadcasters, transmission companies and consumer and professional electronics manufacturers.

DV format

A record format for standard definition videocassette recorders, which can record video and audio in the digital format on compact cassettes. It has the advantage of good quality through recording in the digital form, and high compatibility with computers.

Field

In interlaced-scan video, each complete frame is split into 2 sequential fields, each of which contains half the scanning lines of the frame. One field contains the odd scanning lines, and the other field the even lines

Flat-panel display

Any ultra-thin, relatively lightweight display - especially those which can be wall-mounted. Current flat-panel displays use either plasma or LCD technology.

Frame

A frame is a complete picture image containing both the odd and even lines from two consecutive fields.

H.264

H.264, or MPEG-4 Part 10, is a high compression digital video codec standard written by the ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG) together with the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) as the product of a collective partnership effort known as the Joint Video Team (JVT). The ITU-T H.264 standard and the ISO/IEC MPEG-4 Part 10 standard (formally, ISO/IEC 14496-10) are technically identical, and the technology is also known as AVC, for Advanced Video Coding. An efficient code, which is reputed to require only half or a third the data rate to obtain the same picture quality of MPEG-2.

HDMI

A high-speed serial interface, capable of transmitting standard, enhanced, or high-definition video. The standard supports transmissions of up to 2.2 gigabits per second and resolutions up to 1920x1080p at 30Hz. All data is sent uncompressed, to minimize additional artifacts from recompression. Audio signals may also be included, and up to eight channels of 192KHz audio is supported. This 29 pin connector is more compact as well, resembling a USB connector to some degree.

HD-DVD

Short for High Definition-DVD, a generic term for the technology of recording high-definition video on a Digital Versatile Disc or DVD. HD-DVD are normally capable of storing between two and four times as much data as standard DVD. There is a competition between two main technologies: AOD (jointly developed by NEC and Toshiba) and Blu-ray (a consortium formed by Sony, Samsung, Sharp, Thomson, Hitachi, Matsushita, Pioneer + Philips, Mitsubishi and LG Electronics.)

HDTV

High-Definition Television. Is the new DTV technology, that provides more realistic images than our current standard definition system. It provides a much higher resolution that is needed for displaying high quality images on larger TV's, together with the adoption of a 16:9 aspect ratio. Resolutions initially will be 1280x720p and 1920x1080i, but the ultimate aim in years to come will be 1920x1080p. HDTV is the next generation television broadcast standard, and is a complete departure from the existing NTSC, PAL and SECAM broadcast formats.

HDV

High Definition Video (HDV) is a video format which is intended to provide the facility to record high-definition (as opposed to standard definition) MPEG-2 video on standard DV media (DV or MiniDV cassette tape).

HDV-1 format

Is based on 720 progressive recording, with a native resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels

HDV-2 format

Is based on 1080 interlaced format, with a native resolution of 1440 x 1080 pixels.

IEEE 1394 (also FireWire, i.LINK, or DTVLink)

First conceived by Apple Computer (as FireWire®), then developed by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), this high-speed 2-way connection allows easy transfer of digital data between consumer electronics gear and computers. Found on some HDTV-capable TVs, tuners, and recorders. Note that some HDTV's equipped with an IEEE 1394 port only permit playback through the connection.

Interlace scanning

A technique that presents half of the lines of picture detail in one field, then presents the other half in the next field. Two complete fields make up one frame of video. This technique is used to preserve channel size, but can create motion artifacts.

ISDB

Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting (ISDB) is the digital television (DTV) and digital audio broadcasting (DAB) format that Japan has created to allow radio and television stations there to convert to digital.

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)

Liquid Crystal Display technology is one of the methods used to create flat-panel TVs. Light isn't created by the liquid crystals; a light source (bulb) behind the panel shines light through the display. The display consists of two polarizing transparent panels and a liquid crystal solution sandwiched in between. An electric current passed through the liquid causes the crystals to align so that light cannot pass through them. Each crystal acts like a shutter, either allowing light to pass through or blocking the light. The pattern of transparent and dark crystals forms the image. LCD technology is used in direct-view, rear-projection, and front-projection TVs, and is fundamentally different from the CRT technology used in conventional TVs.

LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon)

A projection TV display technology that sandwiches a layer of liquid crystal between a cover glass and a highly reflective, mirror-like surface patterned with pixels that sits on top of a silicon chip. These layers form a micro display that can be used in rear-projection and front-projection TVs. JVC's D-ILA™ and HD-ILA™ use these LCoS-based devices.

Letterboxed video

A method for displaying the entire picture as seen in a movie theater. The resulting image width is much greater than its height. On a TV screen with standard aspect ratio (4:3), letterboxed videos appear with horizontal black bars above and below the image.

MPEG-2

MPEG-2 (1994) is the designation for a group of audio and video coding standards agreed upon by MPEG (Moving Pictures Experts Group), and published as the ISO/IEC 13818 international standard. MPEG-2 is typically used to encode audio and video for broadcast signals, including direct broadcast satellite and Cable TV. MPEG-2, with some modifications, is also the coding format used by standard commercial DVD movies.

MPEG-4

Advanced compression scheme finalized October 1998, designed to enable transmission and reception of high-quality audio and video over the Internet and next-generation mobile telephones; potentially enables mobile video phones, video e-mail, and cordless video cameras. Two major versions are MPEG-4 Simple Profile for low-resolution digital video content, usually for distribution over the Internet, and MPEG-4 AVC (Advanced Video Coding), which offers faster and higher-quality compression than MPEG-2 for HDTV content.

MXF

The Material Exchange Format, MXF, is a File Format optimized for the interchange of material for the content creation industries. MXF is a wrapper format intended to encapsulate and accurately describe one or more "clips" of Essence. These Essence "clips" may be Pictures, Sound, Data or some combination of all of these. An MXF File contains enough information to allow two applications to interchange essence without any a-priori information. The MXF metadata allows applications to know the duration of the file, what essence codecs are required, what timeline complexity is involved, and other key points to allow interchange. The key to MXF is the accurate description of the essence.

Native resolution

The resolution at which a TV or monitor is designed to display images. Image signals higher or lower than a specified native resolution must be converted to be displayed accurately. For example, a TV with a native resolution of 1080 can display 1080i images but may up convert 576i images to 1080i. In contrast, a TV with a native resolution of 576 must down convert a 1080i signal to 576i for display. CRT-based projection TVs can have more than one native resolution, but fixed-pixel displays such as LCD and DLP are limited to display one resolution and convert all others.

NTSC

Acronym for National Television Standards Committee, the FCC engineering group formed in 1940 to develop technical standards for black-and-white television (NTSC broadcasting began July 1, 1941) and color television (1953). NTSC developed the video-transmission standard used in the western hemisphere, Japan, and other Asian countries. NTSC standards are 525 lines transmitted at 30fps.

PAL

PAL, short for Phase-Alternating Line, is a colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems, used throughout the world except in most of the Americas, some East Asian countries (which use NTSC), parts of the Middle East and Eastern Europe, and France (which use SECAM, though most of them are in the process of adopting PAL). PAL was developed in Germany by Walter Bruch, working at Telefunken, and first introduced in 1967.PAL standards are 625 lines at 25fps

Pan-and-scan

The process of transferring a movie or other source material to videocassette, DVD, or broadcast so that it fits the 4:3 aspect ratio display devices. This results in a significant amount of lost picture information, particularly in the width of the image. At the beginning of a movie on videocassette, you'll usually see a disclaimer about the movie having been "...formatted to fit your TV." That means it's been converted to pan-and-scan.

Pixel

Short for "picture element." The smallest bit of data in a video image. The smaller the size of the pixels in an image, the greater the resolution.

Plasma

Gas-plasma technology is one of the methods used to create flat-panel TVs. Besides enabling thin, lightweight TVs that can be hung on the wall, plasma offers other advantages. The display consists of two transparent glass panels with a thin layer of pixels sandwiched in between (think of this layer as containing around one million tiny fluorescent bulbs - the pixels). Each pixel is composed of three gas-filled cells or sub-pixels (one each for red, green and blue). A grid of tiny electrodes applies an electric current to the individual cells, causing the gas to ionize. This ionized gas (plasma) emits high-frequency UV rays which stimulate the cells' phosphors, causing them to glow, which creates the TV image.

Progressive scanning

Is a display method where lines are scanned in order from the first to the last, and one image is produced in one scan. The 720p (progressive) high-definition standard is a progressive-scanning standard with a native resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. The advantage of progressive scanning is that a picture without flickering can be achieved.

RCA connector

Connector used for composite video, audio and component connectors. Sometimes referred to as a Phono connector.

Rear-projection TV

Typically referred to as "big-screen" TVs, these large-cabinet TVs or displays generally have built-in screens measuring at least 40". Up until a few years ago, all rear-projection TVs used three CRTs to create images. Using CRTs resulted in cabinets that were relatively heavy and bulky - nearly always designed as floorstanding units. Newer digital micro display rear-projection technologies, like DLP, LCD and LCOS make possible a more compact, lightweight "tabletop" big-screen unit.

Reverse telecine

Detects and removes the 2:3 pulldown, thereby reconstructing the original 24 fps to recreate a film. Also referred to as inverse telecine. Using 2:3 pulldown films damaged films can be captured and touched-up in an video edit suite, and then a rejuvenated version can be created using reverse telecine.

Scaler

Circuitry that converts a video signal to a resolution other than its original format. Scaling can involve up conversion or down conversion, and may also include a conversion between progressive- and interlaced-scan formats. A scaler can be built into a TV, HDTV tuner, DVD player, camcorders, vcrs or may be a standalone unit.

SDTV

Standard-definition television or SDTV refers to television systems that have a lower resolution than HDTV systems. The term is usually used in reference to digital television, in particular when broadcasting at the same (or similar) resolution as analog systems. For PAL countries the native resolution is 720 x 576 pixels, and 720 x 480 pixels for NTSC.

SECAM

Sequential Couleur Avec Memorie (sequential color with memory). The color television standard developed in France, which is used mostly in France and Eastern European countries. The system uses 625 scanning lines and a field frequency of 50 Hz. 25 frames are transmitted per second.

S-video

Is a 4 pin connector that carries luminance and colour information separately, which results in a superior performance to that of a composite signal.

Transport Stream

The bit stream formed prior to transmission of signals by multiplexing the video, audio and data as on streams. It consists of fixed length packets of 188 bytes of data.

WMVHD

Windows Media Video High Definition is a software technology by Microsoft which makes it possible to watch high definition movies in 1280 x 720 (720p) or 1920 x 1080 (1080i) resolution.

VC-1

is the informal name of the draft SMPTE standard describing a video codec based on Microsoft Windows Media Video version 9. It is reputed to require only half or a third the data rate to obtain the same picture quality of MPEG-2.

Notes: ProHD is a concept of JVC's affordable high definition solution and its format HDV. From the outset all ProHD models have been designed strictly for professional use and JVC has implemented professional features in areas such as timecode and audio.

HDV and HDV logo are trademarks of Sony Corporation and Victor Company of Japan, Limited (JVC).