Technical

Glossary

A-D

E-H

I-L

M-P

Q-T

U-X

A/V - Audio visual, or audio video. @teqgear

AC - Alternating Current. Flow Electron changes direction periodically or alternately. @teqgear

Adapter - A device used to match the electrical characteristics of two different devices so that a connection between them can be made, such as 110/220 VAC to 12 VDC adapter used for our Wireless XGA DVI Video Receivers. @teqgear

Amp - Ampere. The ampere (Symbol : A) is the SI (International System of Units) base unit of electric current. One ampere of current (I) is equal to a flow of one coulomb of charge (Q) per second of time (t) @teqgear

Amplifier - An electronic device for increasing the power of a signal. @teqgear

ASCII - ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange). ASCII is a seven-bit code with one additional eighth bit commonly used as a parity bit for error checking on communication lines. Meaning seven binary digits (a range of 0 to 127 decimal) are used to interchange the character information between communication equipment. @teqgear

Asynchronous - Asynchronous — Intermittent, not synchronized or continuous. A type of communication that allows the parties at each end to talk when they like, instead of at a prescribed time. Used in videoconferencing. @teqgear

Attenuation - Attenuation is the reduction in amplitude and intensity of a signal with respect to distance traveled through a medium. Attenuation is usually measured in units of decibels (dB). @teqgear

Audio - A signal that carries information in the audible frequency range, typically 20 Hz to 20 kHz. @teqgear

Audio frequency - The Audio frequency range within human hearing is approximately 20Hz at the low end to a high of 20kHz. @teqgear

AWG - American Wire Gauge. A U.S. measurement standard of the diameter of non-ferrous wire, which includes copper and aluminum. @teqgear

Balanced audio - Balanced audio connections are used in very long cable runs and reduce the introduction of unwanted noise. The audio signal is transmitted on three wires (or five wires for stereo pair), with two of them carrying the same signal but with opposite phase, and a third used for grounding. @teqgear

Bandwidth - The transmission capacity of an electronic pathway or an equipment such as a communications line or a video line. In a digital line, it is measured in bits per second or bytes per second. In an analog channel or in a digital channel that is wrapped in a carrier frequency, bandwidth is the difference between the highest and lowest frequencies and is measured in Hertz (kHz, MHz, GHz). The wider the bandwidth, the better the performance. @teqgear

Baud - A unit of speed in data transmission equal to one bit per second (bps). In RS-232 communication, the baud rate of the transmitting and receiving devices must be configured identically. Typical baud rates are from 2400 to 11200, where in an AV application 9600 or 19200 is common. @teqgear

Bidirectional - The ability of device to move, transfer or transmit signal in both directions. RS-232 communications are bidirectional because the devices at either end can transmit and receive. @teqgear

Binary - A numbering system using base-2. Each digit is represented by a 1 (on) or a 0 (off). @teqgear

Binary code - A code in which each allowable position has one of two possible states, commonly 0 and 1. the binary number system is one of many binary codes. @teqgear

Bit - "Binary Digit" (0 or 1) : A bit is the smallest unit of information in a computer. Binary digits are almost always used as the basic unit of information storage and communication in digital computing and digital information theory. @teqgear

BNC - Bayonet Nut Coupling . A commonly used plug and socket for audio, video and networking applications that provides a tight and secure connection. BNCs are used to connect a variety of different coaxial cable types including RGBHV and Composite Video. @teqgear

Breakaway - The ability to separate audio and video signals for switching independently. For example, the audio and video signals from one source may break away and be switched to two different destinations. This is the opposite of the term "audio follow." @teqgear

CAD - Computer Aided Design. CAD is used throughout the engineering process from conceptual design and layout, through detailed engineering and analysis of components, to definition of manufacturing methods. @teqgear

Captive screw connector - A connector that provides connections for balanced or unbalanced line level stereo audio, as well as some communications signals like RS-232 or RS-485. It also known as Phoenix connector or terminal block, @teqgear

CAT 5 - Category 5 cable with TIA/EIA standards, unshielded twisted pair type cable often used in computer networking. Also known as UTP or Twisted Pair cable. @teqgear

Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) - The cathode ray tube or CRT is the display device that was long used in most computer displays, video monitors, televisions, radar displays and oscilloscopes. @teqgear

Channel - Channel refers to the medium used to convey information from a sender (or transmitter) to a receiver. @teqgear

CMRR - Common Mode Rejection Ratio : a measure of the capability of an instrument (amlifier &/or switcher) to reject a signal that is common to both input leads. @teqgear

Coaxial cable - Coaxial cable is an electrical cable consisting of a round conducting wire, surrounded by an insulating spacer, surrounded by a cylindrical conducting sheath, usually surrounded by a final insulating layer. It is used as a high-frequency transmission line to carry a high-frequency or broadband signals. In AV application typical coaxial cables are single or 5-coxial cables known as RG59, RG6, RG174, RGBHV cable and so forth. @teqgear

Component video - A type of analog video information that is transmitted or stored as two or more separate signals. Component video can be contrasted with composite video (such as NTSC or PAL) in which all the video information is combined into a single signal such as a TV broadcast. Both three-channel systems, RGB and Y, R-Y, B-Y, (yPbPr) are component video signals. Higher quality program production is possible if the elements are assembled in the component domain. @teqgear

Composite video - The format of an analog television (picture only) signal before it is combined with a sound signal and modulated onto an RF carrier. It is usually in a standard format such as NTSC, PAL, or SECAM. It is a composite of three source signals called Y, U and V (together referred to as YUV) with sync pulses. Y represents the brightness or luminance of the picture, U and V between them carry the colour information. @teqgear

Crosstalk - Is often distinguishable as pieces of speech or signaling tones leaking from connections. If the connection is analog, twisted pair cabling can often be used to reduce the effects of crosstalk. Alternatively, the signals can be converted to digital form, which is much less susceptible to crosstalk. Crosstalk is caused by magnetic induction or capacitive coupling, and can occur with improper cable shielding. @teqgear

Current - Current is the flow of electric charge. The SI unit of electric current is the ampere (A) or milliamps (mA). It is typically printed next to the voltage rating on the equipment or power adapter. @teqgear

DA - Distribution amplifier. A signal distributor (a single input to many outputs) with the function of line driving. It can effectively resolve the signal loss of computer graphic signals as well as Audio signals caused by long distance transition. @teqgear

Data - Factual information, especially information organized for analysis or used to reason or make decisions. @teqgear

dB (Decibel) - Widely used in measurements of the loudness of sound. It is one tenth of a Bel. Describes a logarithmic ratio of two powers, voltages, or currents in terms of losses or gains. @teqgear

DC - Direct Current. The flow of electrons in one direction. @teqgear

DC offset - The change in input voltage required to produce a zero output voltage when no signal is applied to an amplifier. @teqgear

Differential gain - Unwanted variations in a video signal's chrominance subcarrier's amplitude that result from changes in the signal's DC level, usually specified between 10% and 90% of full scale. Expressed in a percentage, or a fraction of a percentage. @teqgear

Differential phase - Unwanted deviations in a subcarrier's phase due to changes in the chrominance signal's DC level, usually specified between 10% and 90% of full scale. Expressed in degrees (angular). @teqgear

Digital - A system of data or image values in the form of discrete, noncontinuous codes, such as binary. When data is in a digital format, it can be processed, stored (recorded), and reproduced easily while maintaining its original integrity. @teqgear

Digital signal - An electronic technology where a signal only has two states: off and on, most often called zero and one. In contrast, analog refers to a signal that can have a continuous range of values. @teqgear

Display device - An output device for presenting Video information. CRT, LED, LCD panel, & plasma TV are most useful for presenting video images. @teqgear

Distortion - Additional signal components not in the original signal due to non-linearities in the system or the transmission path. Expressed in ratio or dB relative to the amplitude of the test signal. @teqgear

DMM - Digital Multi-meter. A test and measurement device for voltage, amperage, resistance, and other common electrical and electronic measurement needs. @teqgear

DVD - Digital video disc or digital versatile disc. A high-capacity optical storage unit similar to a CD-ROM, but with a significantly higher storage capacity (up to 15.9 GB). DVDs are used for movies, software, and music. Most DVD players are also capable of reading CD-ROM. @teqgear

DVI - Digital Visual Interface: A standard interface to a digital display system. DVI sockets are found on some flat panel monitors and TVs, DVD players, data projectors and cable TV boxes. DVI supports High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection, which enforces digital rights management. @teqgear