BASIC TERMS
AUDIO/VIDEO RECEIVER:
A STEREO RECEIVER WHICH ALSO INCLUDES VIDEO SWITCHING, SURROUND SOUND DECODING AND SURROUND AMPLIFICATION. (SEE: RECEIVER... )
A/B SWITCH:
A DEVICE WITH TWO OR MORE INPUTS AND ONE OUTPUT. THE SWITCH ALLOWS SELECTION OF WHICH SIGNAL IS TO BE PASSED ON TO OUTPUT.
CHROMINANCE (C):
THE COLOR PORTION OF A VIDEO SIGNAL.
DECIBEL (dB):
THE MINIMUM CHANGE IN SOUND INTENSITY THE HUMAN EAR CAN DISTINGUISH.
DIGITAL SOUND PROCESSING (DSP):
ADDITIONAL PROCESSING MODE WHICH MIMICS THE ACOUSTICS OF DIFFERENT ENVIROMENTS SUCH AS CONCERT HALLS, JAZZ CLUBS, AND STADIUMS.
DOLBY DIGITAL (AC-3):
THE NEW MULTICHANNEL DIGITAL FORMAT USED IN CINEMAS AND IN CONSUMER HOME THEATER PRODUCTS. THIS FORMAT IS CURRENTLY USED BY LASERDISC, HDTV, AND DVD.
DOLBY PRO-LOGIC:
THE MOST WIDELY ACCEPTED STANDARD FOR SURROUND SOUND IN HOME THEATER, CREATED BY DOLBY LABS. THIS DECODING SPECIFIES LEFT, CENTER, AND RIGHT FRONT CHANNELS; AND ONE REAR SURROUND CHANNEL WHICH IS MONAURAL.
DYNAMIC HEADROOM:
THE ABILITY OF AN AMPLIFIER TO PROVIDE MORE THAN ITS RATED POWER FOR VERY SHORT PERIODS OF TIME. AN AMPLIFIER RATED AT 100 WATTS PER CHANNEL WITH 3dB OF DYNAMIC HEADROOM CAN BRIEFLY PRODUCE 200 WATTS PER CHANNEL.
DYNAMIC RANGE:
THE RANGE BETWEEN THE LOUDEST AND SOFTEST SOUNDS A SOUND FORMAT OR SYSTEM CAN REPRODUCE PROPERLY.
F-CONNECTOR:
THE MOST COMMON CONNECTION TYPE, THIS CONNECTOR ACCEPTS RADIO-FREQUENCY (RF) SIGNALS FROM AN ANTENNA, CABLE, OR VIDEO SOURCE. (SEE: RF SIGNAL... )
FIXED AUDIO OUTPUTS:
THE AUDIO SIGNAL IS FIXED AT A PRESET LEVEL, SO YOU CAN CONTROL THE TV VOLUME BY USING THE RECEIVERS VOLUME CONTROL. (SEE:VARIABLE AUDIO OUTPUTS... )
FREQUENCY RESPONSE:
THE FREQUENCY RANGE AT WHICH AN AUDIO COMPONENT CAN ACCURATELY REPRODUCE ITS INPUT.[NOTE: HUMANS CAN HEAR FROM 20HZ TO 20,000HZ]
HERTZ (HZ):
THE BASIC UNIT OF MEASURE OF FREQUENCY. ONE HERTZ EQUALS ONE CYCLE PER SECOND.
HIFI VCR:
A VCR CAPABLE OF DECODING AND OUTPUTING A STEREO SIGNAL FROM SOURCE MATERIAL.
LUMINANCE (Y):
THE BRIGHTNESS PORION OF A VIDEO SIGNAL.
MPEG:
MOTION PICTURES EXPERTS GROUP.THE WORLD STANDARD FOR COMPRESSION AND DECOMPRESSION OF DIGITAL VIDEO INFORMATION.
RCA AUDIO JACKS:
THESE CONNECTIONS ACCEPT THE LEFT AND RIGHT POTIONS OF A STEREO AUDIO SIGNAL. THEY ARE RED AND WHITE IN COLOR , ABOUT A QUARTER OF AN INCH ACROSS.(SEE:RCA VIDEO JACKS... )
RCA VIDEO JACK:
THIS CONNECTION ACCEPTS A VIDEO SIGNAL FROM ANY CONSUMER VIDEO COMPONENT. IT IS YELLOW IN COLOR, ABOUT A QUARTER OF AN INCH ACROSS. (SEE:RCA AUDIO JACKS... )
RECEIVER:
A COMBINATION OF A TUNER AND AMPLIFIER
RESOLUTION:
PICTURE SHARPNESS, MEASURED IN SCAN LINES. **AN OFTEN EXAGGERATED SPEC.**
RF SIGNAL:
THIS SIGNAL CARRIES BOTH VIDEO AND AUDIO TOGETHER. THE SIGNAL MUST PASS THROUGH A TUNER BEFORE IT CAN BE SENT TO A PICTURE TUBE.
S-VIDEO JACK:
A SPECIAL 5 PIN CONNECTOR THAT SEPERATES THE (Y) LUMINANCE AND (C) CHROMINANCE PORTIONS OF A VIDEO SIGNAL SO THAT THEY DO NOT INTERFERE WITH EACH OTHER. USE OF THESE CONNECTIONS HELP REALIZE THE FULL POTENTIAL OF A HIGH RESOLUTION VIDEO SOURCE SUCH AS Hi-8, S-VHS VCR, OR LASERDISC PLAYER.
SIGNAL SPLITTER:
A DEVICE USED TO TAKE ONE INPUT SIGNAL AND DISTRIBUTE IT TO TWO OR MORE OUTPUTS.
SOUNDSTAGE:
THE SPATIAL PERCEPTION OF THE SOUND IMAGE CREATED BY YOUR SPEAKERS.
THX:
CERTIFICATION PROGRAM FOR SURROUND SOUND EQUIPMENT. A TRADEMARK OF LUCASFILM LTD,THIS PROGRAM SETS SPECIAL SOUND PROCESSING AND QUALITY STANDARDS FOR SOUND SYSTEMS. THE GOAL FOR HOME THX COMPONENTS IS THAT WHEN USED TOGETHER, THEY VIRTUALLY DUPLICATE MOVIE THEATER SOUND.
TOTAL HARMONIC DISTORTION (THD):
A MEASUREMENT OF AMPLIFIER ACCURACY, IT INDICATES THE PRESENSE AND AMOUNT OF INTERNALLY GENERATED NOISE.
VARIABLE AUDIO OUTPUTS:
THIS ARRANGEMENT LETS YOU ADJUST THE SYSTEMS VOLUME BY USING THE TV'S REMOTE CONTROL.(SEE: FIXED AUDIO OUTPUTS... )
SPEAKER TERMS
ACOUSTIC SUSPENSION:
SPEAKER DESIGN THAT USES A SEALED, AIRTIGHT ENCLOSURE.
BASS:
THE LOWER RANGE OF AUDIO FREQUENCIES, UP TO APPROXIMATELY 500HZ.
BASS REFLEX:
SPEAKER DESIGN THAT USES A PORT (A HOLE IN THE BOX TUNED TO A SPECIFIC FREQUENCY) TO PRODUCE MORE BASS OUTPUT IN THE "TUNED" FREQUENCY RANGE.
IMPEDANCE:
THE AMOUNT OF RESISTANCE TO CURRENT, RATED IN OHMS. (SEE: OHM... ) WHEN REFERING TO A LOUDSPEAKER, A UNIT WITH A LOWER IMPEDANCE RATING PUTS GREATER DEMANDS ON THE POWER AMPLIFIER.
MID-RANGE:
THE MIDDLE RANGE OF AUDIO FREQUENCIES, UP TO APPROXIMATELY 500HZ.
OHM:
THE BASIC UNIT OF MEASURE FOR IMPEDANCE. (SEE: IMPEDANCE... )
POWER HANDLING:
INDICATES HOW MUCH POWER CAN BE USED SAFELY TO DRIVE A SPEAKER.
SENSITIVITY:
EXPRESSED IN DECIBELS (dB) IT INDICATES HOW EFFICIENTLY A SPEAKER CONVERTS AMPLIFIER POWER INTO SOUND.
SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL (SPL):
MEASUREMENT OF VOLUME (LOUDNESS) IN DECIBELS.
SPEAKER FREQUENCY RESPONSE:
INDICATES THE RANGE OF FREQUENCIES A SPEAKER REPRODUCES IN A REFLECTION-FREE TEST CHAMBER. REMEMBER THAT A ROOMS ACOUSTICS AND FURNISHINGS GREATLY AFFECT THIS MEASUREMENT.
SUBWOOFER:
A LOUDSPEAKER DEDICATED TO PRODUCING VERY LOW BASS FREQUENCIES. THIS IS A DESIRABLE FEATURE FOR HOME THEATER OWNERS WHO WANT TO DUPLICATE THE THUNDERING BASS PORTION OF A SOUNDTRACK, SUCH
AS THOSE USED IN ACTION FILMS.
TREBLE:
THE UPPER RANGE OF AUDIO FREQUENCIES, ABOVE APPROXIMATELY 4000HZ.
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