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GLOSSARY
157
A2 STEREO
The official audio standard for analog
television broadcasting in Australia. It is a
technique of implementing stereo or dual-
mono audio for NTSC and PAL video. One
FM subcarrier transmits a L+R signal, and a
second FM subcarrier transmits a R signal
(for stereo) or a second L+R signal. Also
known as Zweiton Stereo.
A-B REPEAT
The player will loop (repeat) a portion of a
disc between two designated points.
AC-3
See Dolby.
ACOUSTIC TRANSFORM ACOUSTIC
CODING (ATRAC)
"Technology that compresses audio data
discarding the information that is
undetectable by the human ear whilst
preserving CD-quality sound.
•ATRAC: Achieves approximately 80%
compression rate in comparison to original
sound file. The original technology
employed by MiniDisc.
•ATRAC3: Improves upon ATRAC by
achieving approximately 90% compression.
The technology employed by MiniDisc Long
Play (MDLP).
•ATRAC3 Plus: Further improves upon
ATRAC by achieving approximately 93%
compression, with improved fidelity over
standard ATRAC3.
ACTIVE BLACK PANEL (ABP)
In standby mode, the unit is camouflaged as
a flat black panel. In display mode, the panel
puts on a brilliant colourful light show, also
giving you access to most functions. In
operational mode, the motorised panel
swings out revealing the full control panel
and slots for discs.
ADVANCED DYNAMIC SOUND
GENERATOR (ADSG)
Selectively improves the bass and treble
segment of your music. Unlike other
technologies that cause unwanted phase
change in the mid-range section, ADSG
produces natural sound effect without
introducing distortion.
ALTERNATING CURRENT (AC)
An electrical current which, unlike Direct
Current (DC), reverses flow direction at
regular intervals, measured in cycles per
seconds or Hertz. The Australian standard is
230V, 50Hz.
AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARDS
INSTITUTE (ANSI)
A standards-setting, non-governmental
organisation that develops and publishes
standards for voluntary use in the United
States.
AMPLITUDE MODULATION (AM)
A technique for transmitting radio signals.
See also Medium Wave (MW).
ANALOG TO DIGITAL CONVERTER
(ADC OR A/D)
This is the process of converting analog
signal to digital signal. The accuracy
depends on the sampling frequency and the
number of bits used to describe the levels.
ANSI LUMEN
A standard measurement of light output.
ARTIFACT
Defect commonly occurring in digital video
resembling pixelation of the video image.
ASPECT RATIO
The relationship of width and height. When
an image is displayed on different screens,
the aspect ratio must be kept the same to
avoid either vertical or horizontal stretching.
4:3: The picture aspect ratio of traditional
video.
16:9: The picture aspect ratio that
approximates that of 35mm film. Also
known as Widescreen.
2.35:1: The picture aspect ratio of some 35
and 70mm film.
AT ATTACHMENT PACKET
INTERFACE (ATAPI)
A hardware and software specification that
documents the interface between a host
computer and CD-ROM drives using the
ATA bus.
AUDIO FREQUENCY MODULATION
(AFM)
The audio recording technology used in
Video 8 and Hi8 Handycam camcorders.
AUDIO VIDEO INTERLEAVED (AVI)
A multimedia file format for storing sound
and moving pictures in RIFF format
developed by Microsoft. An AVI file can use
different codecs and formats so there is no
set format for an AVI file.
AUTOMATIC FOCUS (AF)
"Senses the distance between camera and
subject, and adjusts the lens focus
accordingly.
•AF Illuminator: Emits a orange light, making
it possible to focus on an object that is
normally difficult in a dark place.
•Hologram AF: An enhanced technology
that emits a red laser pattern for further
improved low light focusing.
AUTOMATIC GAIN CONTROL (AGC)
A system to control the gain, or the increase
in the amplitude of an electrical signal from
the original input to the amplified output,
automatically.
AUTOMATIC LEVEL CONTROL (ALC)
See Automatic Gain Control (AGC).
AUTOMATIC MUSIC SENSOR (AMS)
Automatically locates the beginning of the
current or following selection.
AUTOMATIC RECORD LEVEL (ARL)
See Automatic Gain Control (AGC).
AUTOMATIC VOLUME LIMITING
SYSTEM (AVLS)
Delivers you maximum acoustics without
sound leak — all at volume levels that won’t
damage your ears. Playback will not exceed
preset volume limits, which means that even
when you are on the move, volume will not
accidentally increase to an uncomfortable
level.
BALANCE
The relative loudness between the left and
right channel signals.
BARCUS-BERRY ELECTRONICS
(BBE)
Reduces audio distortion, adding a longer
delay time to lower frequencies so that
higher frequencies are transmitted
simultaneously, thereby neutralising the
distortion effect.
BASIC INPUT/OUTPUT SYSTEM
(BIOS)
A set of routines that works closely with the
hardware to support the transfer of
information between elements of the
system, such as memory, disks, and the
monitor. Although critical to performance,
the BIOS is usually invisible to the end user;
however, programmers can access it.
BASS REFLEX
A popular type of loudspeaker enclosure in
which an open port at the front or rear baffle
allows internal air pressure to reinforce bass
response.
BEST TUNING MEMORY (BTM)
Automatically selects and stores the stations
with the strongest signals, in order of
frequency.
BI PIXEL IP CONVERSION
Used to convert standard (interlaced) video
into a progressive signal which can be
displayed by a panel display device (plasma
etc). Responds to changes in PAL video
signal content by employing proprietary
algorithms to handle the challenging task of
processing video originated content, which
reduces motion artifacts for smoother image
reproduction.
BIT ERROR RATE (BER)
The ratio of received bits that are in error
relative to the total number of bits received.
It is used as a measure of noise induced
distortion in a digital bit stream. BER is
expressed as a power of ten.
BIT RATE
The digital equivalent of bandwidth, bit rate is
measured in bits per second (bps). It is used
to express the rate at which the
compressed bit stream is transmitted. With
a higher bit rate, more information can be
carried.
BLOCK NOISE REDUCTION
Suppresses vertical edge distortions for a
smoother, more natural DVD picture.
BLUETOOTH
A standard for wireless connectivity. It is
designed to eliminate cables between
portable consumer devices such as cellular
phones, laptop computers, PDAs and many
other electronic products.
Basic Imaging Profile (BIP): A unified
standard for image data transfer.
BUS POWERED
Power is supplied through the computer to
the external device, eliminating the need for
a power supply.
CD SYNCRO RECORDING
Simplifies making MiniDiscs from compatible
Sony CD players by releasing from
Record/Pause mode when the CD player
goes into Play.
CD TEXT
CD Text gives you valuable information with
CD text compatible software. Album name,
artiste description, and song title can be
easily accessed from the display.
CHARGED COUPLED DEVICE (CCD)
A semiconductor device that can produce
an electrical output analogous to the
amount of light striking each of its elements.
CCD sensors are used in both motion video
and still video cameras.
CINEMA BLACK MODE
Lamp wattage output is reduced along with
fan noise. Cinema Black Mode increases
blackness, extends lamp life and is ideal for
viewing film sources.
COAXIAL DIGITAL
An coaxial digital line allows you to transfer
sound in lossless, digital quality.
CODED ORTHOGONAL FREQUENCY
DIVISION MULTIPLEXING (COFDM)
Coded OFDM (COFDM) adds forward error
correction to the OFDM method, which is
the modulation technique used for digital TV
in Europe, Japan and Australia.
CODER-DECODER (CODEC)
Hardware or software that converts analog
sound, speech or video to digital code and
vice versa (analog to digital — digital to
analog). Video codecs are generally broken
into two categories: low bandwidth codecs
that operate at 56kbps to 384kbps, and
high bandwidth codecs that operate at
384kbps and above.
COLOUR SLOW SHUTTER
Slows down shutter speed to record full
colour detail in low light situations.
COLOUR TEMPERATURE
A measure of the colour of a light source
relative to a black body at a particular
temperature, expressed in degrees Kelvin
(°K). Low colour temperatures have a red-
yellow tone; daylight has a high colour
temperature (approximately 6000°K) and
appears bluish.
COMB FILTER
Improves NTSC video signals by adjusting
the horizontal scanning lines within a frame.
COMPACT DISC (CD)
"Optical digital disc storage that
encompasses audio, video, and computer
data.
•CD Digital Audio (CDDA): 44.1kHz audio, 80
minutes capacity.
•CD Recordable (CD-R): Write-once media,
700MB capacity, optimised for data use.
•CD ReWritable (CD-RW): Re-writable
media, 700MB capacity, optimised for data
use.
•CD Read-only Memory (CD-ROM): Pre-
recorded media, 700MB capacity,
optimised for data use.
•CD Interactive (CD-i): Provides audio, digital
data, still graphics, and limited-motion
video.
•CD plus Graphics (CD+G): Provides audio
and still graphics. Primarily used for
karaoke.
•China Video Disc (CVD): Precursor to
SVCD. MPEG-2 352x480 NTSC, 352x576
PAL, 44.1kHz audio, approximately 45
minutes capacity.
•Super Video CD (SVCD): MPEG-2
480x480 NTSC, 480x576 PAL, 44.1kHz
audio, approximately 45 minutes capacity.
•Video CD (VCD): MPEG-1 320x240 NTSC,
320x288 PAL, 44.1kHz audio, 70 minutes
capacity.
COMPONENT VIDEO
A video system containing three separate
colour component signals, either
red/green/blue (RGB) or chroma/colour
difference (YCbCr, YPbPr, YUV) delivering
enhanced detail and purity.
COMPOSITE VIDEO BASEBAND
SIGNAL (CVBS)
An analog video signal in which the
luminance and chrominance components
are combined (by frequency multiplexing),
along with sync and burst. Also known as
CVBS.
CONSTANT ANGULAR VELOCITY
(CAV)
A buffer memory mechanism that prevents
its portable audio equipment from skipping
under most conditions. The technology
recovers laser position 10 times faster than
previous designs; so it can withstand the
impact of jogging (and other sports).
CONSTANT BIT RATE (CBR)
A uniform transmission rate.
CONTENT SCRAMBLING SYSTEM
(CSS)
An encryption scheme designed to protect
copyrighted material that resides on a disc
by periodically scrambling the data using
encryption keys.
CONTRAST RATIO
The measurement of the difference in light
intensity between the brightest white and
the darkest black.
CONTROL A1
Multifunctional data bus system for better
communication between Sony audio
components.
CONTROL L
See LANC.
D-BASS
Delivers dynamic, powerful bass
reproduction, with 3 bass boost steps for
adjustment of the bass enhancement level.
DECIBEL (DB)
The logarithmic unit of measurement to
compare the relative intensity of acoustic or
electrical signal, equal to one-tenth of a Bel,
named for American inventor Alexander
Graham Bell (1847 to 1922).
DEPTH OF FIELD
The distance between the first object in
focus and the last object in focus within a
scene as viewed by a particular lens. Depth
of field is affected by choice of lens, focal
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