Glossary of Television Terms | |
| I haven't attempted to include lengthy explanations here. Although you may not be enlightened by the expansion of an abbreviation, you will be able to search for the phrase to determine the full technical explanation. 16:9 - The aspect ratio used for widescreen television 4:3 - The aspect ratio used for conventional television AAL - ATM Adaptation Layer AD - Audio Description AES - Audio Engineering Society AFD - Active Format Descriptor Analogue Text - a term used on the Digital Spy forums to refer to the text systems broadcast on ATT API - Application Programming Interface ARC - Aspect Ratio Converter ASI - Asynchronous Serial Interface ATM - Asynchronous Transfer Mode ATT - Analogue Terrestrial Television AU - Access Unit BAT - Bouquet Association Table BBCi - The BBC's digital text system BER - Bit Error Ratio. A measure of the quality of the signal. (Lower the better.) Box - see Digibox bslbf - "bit string, left bit first" BskyB - see "Sky" CA - Conditional Access CAM - Conditional Access Module CAT - Conditional Access Table cbr - constant bit rate Coax - Coaxial cable, having a central wire core enclosed in a plastic insulating 'dielectric' tube and surrounded by a woven metal wire and/or foil shield layer with an outer protective sheath. CI - Common Interface CRC - Cyclic Redundancy Check CRT - Cathode Ray Tube DAB - Digital Audio Broadcasting Digibox - any digital TV receiver but UK usage normally restricted to a receiver for receiving Sky broadcasts. Further abbreviated to "box" with appropriate qualification such as "Sky box", "Freesat box", "FTA box" or "Freeview box" or preceeded by a manufacturer's name such as "Amstrad box". DOG - on-screen channel logo (Digitally Overlayed Graphic) DRM - 1. Digital Radio Mondial 2. Digital Rights Management DTG - Digital Television Group DTR - Digital Terrestrial receiver ("Freeview" in the UK) DTS - Decoding Time Stamp DTT - Digital Terrestrial Television DVB - Digital Video Broadcasting DVD - Digital Versatile Disc (sometimes Digital Video Disc) DVI - Digital Video Interface DVR - Digital Video Recorder DX - long distance reception EBU - European Broadcasting Union ECM - Entitlement Control Messaging (not Electronic Countermeasure!) EIT - Event Information Table EMM - Entitlement Management Message EPG - Electronic Programme Guide ERP - Effective Radiated Power (of a transmitter) ETR - European Telecommunication Report ETS - European Telecommunication Standard ETSI - European Telecommunications Standards Institute fec - forward error correction Freeview 1. The entire UK DTT system (colloquial meaning) 2. The free channels on the UK DTT system (precise/pedantic meaning) FTA - Free To Air. Programmes which are broadcast unencrypted and can be viewed on any suitable receiver without subscription charges. FTV - Free To View. Programmes which are encrypted but can be decoded by use of a specific receiver (and sometimes a viewing card) which can be bought for a one-off payment (no subscription charges). The purpose of FTV is to restrict viewing to a specific geographical area - usually to comply with licensing conditions. GOP - Group of Pictures GPS - Global Positioning Satellite HD - High Definition HDMI - High-Definition Multimedia Interface HOS - Heap of shit. Some equipment richly deserves this description IEC - International Electrotechnical Commission IDTV - Integrated Digital television IPTV - Internet Protocol Television IRD - Integrated Receiver Decoder IRN - Independent Radio News ISDN - Integrated Services Digital Network ISO - International Organisation for Standardisation LCD - Liquid Crystal Display LCN - Logical Channel Number LNB - Low Noise Block-downconverter (with amplifier). Its purpose is to convert a block of high frequencies ('microwave') to a block of lower frequencies which can be passed down a coaxial cable. Normally uses low-noise HEMTs (High Electron Mobility Transistors). LNB is often (wrongly) interpreted as "Low Noise Block" or "Low Noise Blocker".
LNC - Low Noise Converter (basically an LNB without an amplifier. Not used for domestic products). lsb - least significant bit LVDS - Low-Voltage Differential Standard LX - local reception MJD - Modified Julian Date MFN - Multi Frequency Network MHEG - the system used in the UK for digital text (Multimedia and Hypermedia Experts Group) MOD - see RFMOD MPEG - Moving Pictures Expert Group msb - most significant bit MSTS - Multi-Service Transport Stream Multiplex - a bundle of digital channels broadcast as a single entity MUX - Multiplex NDA - Non-Disclosure Agreement NICAM - Near Instantaneous Companded Audio Multiplex. A method for broadcasting stereo audio. NIT - Network Information Table NVOD - Near Video On Demand OAD - On-Air Download OFDM - Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing osd - on-screen display PAL - Phase Alternating Line. A method used for building a TV picture from transmitted 'lines' of information. PAT - Program Association Table PCR - Programme Clock Reference PDC - Programme Delivery Control PDH - Plesiochronous Digital Hierachy PES - Packetised Elementary Stream PFL - Pre-fade Listen. Facility on a mixing desk that allows the operator to listen to a piece of audio and set levels before putting the audio to air. Also referred to as 'cue' Phono - A type of connection used for audio (RCA). PID - Packet IDentifier PMT - Program Map Table Polarisation - the orientation of the electric vector of a radio wave with respect to the propagation direction.  Polarity - electrical polarity defines the direction in which electrons flow in a conductive medium. Electrons have a negative charge and always flow towards the positive pole of a circuit. The word is also used to refer to the direction of flux in a magnetic field. Some components are marked with their desired polarity to ensure that they are connected the right way round.
PPL - Phonographic Performance Ltd. Body that collects royalties in respect of music played by radio stations on behalf of record companies. PPM - Peak Program Meter. Meters on a mixing desk that monitor audio levels PPV - Pay Per View prbs - pseudo-random binary sequence PRS - Performing Right Society. Body that collects royalties in respect of music played by radio stations for artists and composers. PSB - Public Service Broadcaster PSI - Program Specific Information PSTN - Public Switched Telephone Network PSU - Power Supply Unit PTS - Presentation Time Stamp PVR - Personal Video Recorder RCA - A type of connection used for audio (Phono). RGB - 'Red, Green, Blue' - the primary colours used to make up a TV picture. It's commonly used when referring to outputs from a set-top box into a TV. QAM - Quadrature Amplitude Modulation QOS - Quality Of Service QPSK - Quaternary Phase Shift Keying RF - Radio Frequency. Often used to refer to connections carrying TV signals in the UHF band. RFMOD - RF modulator. A unit which superimposes video and audio signals onto a Radio Frequency carrier signal. rpchof - "remainder polynomial coefficients, highest order first" RS - Reed-Solomon RST - Running Status Table SCART - The standard method of connecting SD television equipment (Syndicat des Constructeurs d'Appareils Radiorécepteurs et Téléviseurs) SD - Standard Definition SDH - Synchronous Digital Hierachy SDI - Serial Digital Interface SDT - Service Description Table SDV - Serial Digital Video SECAM - A system similar to PAL (used mostly for French analogue TV transmissions). SFN - Single Frequency Network SI - Service Information Sky and BskyB - British Sky Broadcasting (company) SLA - Service Level Agreement SMS - Subscriber Management System SNR or S/R - Signal to Noise ratio SSI - Synchronous Serial Interface SSTS - Single Service Transport Stream ST - Stuffing Table STB - Set-top Box - a generic term referring to a satellite TV, terrestrial TV or cable TV receiver. Note that "set top" is a bad concept: equipment stacked on top of a TV set is prone to overheating and to picking up interference from the TV set. Electronic equipment should never be stacked, or installed in an enclosed space without good ventilation. TDT - Time and Date Table TLA - Three Letter Acronym TOT - Time Offset Table TS - Transport Stream TTX - Teletext TUTV - Top-Up TV TV - Television UHF - Ultra High Frequency (wavebands) uimsbf - unsigned integer most significant bit first UHF - Ultra High Frequency (frequency band used mostly for TV transmissions) UNI - User-Network Interface UTC - "Universal Time, Co-ordinated" vbi - vertical blanking interval vbr - variable bit rate VCI - Virtual Channel Identifier VCR - Video Cassette Recorder. Now being phased out and replaced by DVD recorders and PVRs VHF - Very High Frequency (frequency band used mostly for radio transmissions) VO - Voice-over. Typically a TV or Radio presenter or actor reading a script. VoD - Video On Demand VPI - Virtual Path Identifier WSS - Wide Screen Signalling (when on line 23) or Wide Screen Switching (as seen by the viewer). |
