Jargon Buster

Technical jargon demystified.

Accelerating anode
Takes the electrons produced by a cathode and accelerates them before firing them at the back of a phosphor-coated screen

Active-matrix LCD
An LCD screen utilising TFT panels

Anamorphic
A true widescreen version of a film contains extra information on the disc that triggers a widescreen set into displaying a wider version of the picture compared to the standard 4:3 ratio picture

Betamax
A home video system developed by Sony in the 1970s. Widely regarded as superior to VHS

Blu-ray
A rival to HD DVD, offering more storage capacity but still delivering high-definition movies. Already launched (as recorders) in Japan, but still some way off for the rest of the world

Cathode
Produces electrons in a cathode ray tube

Component video output
Three sockets that deliver a superior video signal from a DVD player to a TV

CRT
Cathode Ray Tube. The conventional TV format, where electrons are fired at a phosphor-coated screen to generate images.

DiVX
A video-compression format that can squeeze video files to a fraction of their normal space, allowing near-DVD quality movies to be downloaded from the internet and stored on a CD

DLP chip
An array of microscopic mirrors that are used to generate a TV picture in a DLP projector or rear-projection TV

Dolby Digital
A multi-channel sound format that delivers audio to a home cinema speaker system

DTS
A rival sound format to Dolby Digital that does the same job. Opinion is divided on which is the superior format

DVD
Digital Versatile Disc. Can be DVD Video or DVD-Audio discs

DVD-Audio
A high-quality, multi-channel sound format offering significant improvement over CD, but requiring a compatible player and amplifier

DVD-R/+R
Write-once recordable DVD discs

DVD-RAM
DVDs that can be re-recorded an estimated 100,000 times. DVD-RAM discs usually come in a protective plastic caddy, increasing their lifespan

DVD-RW/+RW
DVDs that can be re-recorded an estimated 1,000 times

D-VHS
Digital VHS. Superior to regular VHS, but much more expensive

DVI
Digital Visual Interface, a digital video-only input or output

EP
Extended Play. A recording mode that fits 2.5 times as much programming on to a VHS tape as SP mode. Also used with DVD recorders, usually to denote a recording level that fits six hours on to a single DVD

Finalised
A recordable DVD disc that has been ‘closed’, rendering it more compatible with other DVD players

FireWire
A high-quality, high-speed digital AV connection, usually used for connecting a digital camcorder to a recording device

Focusing anode
Focuses the electrons produced by the cathode into a tight beam to excite a single pixel at a time on a phosphor-coated screen

Front-projector
A projector that works just like one in a cinema, throwing a potentially huge image onto a screen at the other end of a room

HDCP
High-bandwidth Digital Copy Protection. Intended to stop us from running off high-quality pirate copies of HD programming, it will be used on the Sky HD platform so your TV will need it.

HD DVD
A high-definition version of DVD technology, due to launch in the US in late 2005

HDMI
High Definition Multimedia Input – also known as the ‘digital Scart’, it carries video and audio signals in digital form

Hi8
A compact cassette format used in camcorders, delivering high picture quality

High-definition
A superior delivery format for TV that presents more lines of detail, resulting in a much sharper, more detailed image. Due to launch in the UK on Sky in 2006.

Integrated amplifier
An amplifier that includes a decoder and power amp in one case

Interlaced
A process by which a single frame of a TV signal is presented in two halves, known as ‘fields’

LCD TV
A television display that uses liquid crystals rather than light-emitting phosphors to create an image

Liquid crystals
Crystals that react to an electrical current, shifting their alignment and either letting light through, or blocking it out

LP
Long Play. A recording mode that fits twice as much programming on to a VHS tape as SP mode. Also used with DVD recorders, usually to denote a recording level that fits four hours on to a single DVD

NTSC
The TV system used in the US. Most relatively new UK televisions can display an NTSC signal

Phosphor
A substance that generates light when excited by an energy source

Pixel
A ‘picture element’, the little dots that make up an image on a screen

Plasma
A state of being distinct from gas, where the electrical characteristics of a gas have been changed due to the application of heat or other energy source

Plasma TV
A flatscreen TV that utilises plasma to stimulate phosphors, rather than a stream of electrons (as in a CRT TV)

Playlist editing
Changing the playback order on a recordable DVD disc without altering the original material

Polarised
Allowing light to pass through in only one direction

Priming
The application of a low-level current to a gas cell to speed up response time when that cell is activated

Progressive scan
A method by which image detail on a TV picture is enhanced by showing both halves of a single frame at the same time, as opposed to showing only half a frame at a time

Rainbow effect
An optical illusion caused by the colour wheel inside a DLP projector or rear-projection TV. Only visible to some

Rear-projection TV
A TV that uses a projector inside a case to deliver an image on to a screen

Receiver
An amplifier that also includes a radio tuner

Response time
The time it takes for a cell to go from inactive to active and back to inactive. The lower the figure the better

Rewriteable
A DVD that can be recorded and re-recorded on many times

RGB
A video signal format that offers better picture quality than a standard video connection. Requires RGB-capable Scart inputs and outputs

Satellite
A small speaker that only produces mid- to high-frequency sounds

Scart
An audio-visual cable that carries pictures and sound from a DVD player or VCR to a TV

Screen Burn
A ghost-like image that is permanently displayed on a screen, usually due to a logo that has been left onscreen for hours at a time

SP
Standard Play. The normal recording speed of a VCR. Also used in DVD recorders, usually to denote a recording level that fits two hours on to a single DVD

Steering coils
Coils of copper wiring in a cathode ray tube that are used to create magnetic fields and move the electron beam vertically and horizontally across the TV screen

S-VHS
Super VHS. A superior (and more expensive) version of the VHS format

TFT
Thin film transistors – tiny switching transistors and capacitors that allow perfectly accurate targeting of pixels on an LCD screen

Transistor
A small electronic device used in a circuit as an amplifier, detector, or switch

Vertical Helical Scan
The method by which a VCR records information on to tape using an offset video drum

VHS
Originally ‘Vertical Helical Scan’, this evolved into ‘Video Home System’ as the technology caught on. Invented by the Victor Company of Japan (JVC) in the 1970s

Video 2000
A little-known double-sided home video system developed by Philips and Grundig in the late 1970s

Video mode
A format for DVD-RW discs that limits editing options but boosts compatibility with other DVD players

Viewing angle
The range within which a watchable image is retained. Stray outside the viewing angle and the picture begins to fade

Vacuum tube
Also known as thermionic valves. Similar in appearance to a light bulb, they have a filament that, when heated, releases electrons into the vacuum. Used in amplifiers, they are becoming increasingly rare

VR mode
A recording mode for DVD-RW discs that allows for non-linear editing

Write-once
A DVD that can be recorded on only once