The Glossary U - Z - Club CD Freaks

**platinumsword** · 11-03-2008

A work in progress

This Glossary is a concise collection of some of the terminology that you may confront; it is not intended to be a complete compendium of technical terms.

U

Uniformity

Even distribution across a given space. In video, uniformity can refer to the distribution of light (hot spotting) or color.

Unity Gain

Output that equals the input. Unity gain screen material reflects as much light as the reference material. Has an even dispersion of light.

Upconvert

In DTV, the conversion from a lower-resolution input signal to a TV capable of displaying higher resolutions, such as from an SDTV 480p signal to an HDTV 1080i native display.

V

Vertical Compression

Feature found on 4:3 TVs designed to take advantage of the extra resolution in anamorphic DVDs and other wide-screen content. Pioneered by Sony, this feature squeezes the TV raster so that the electron beam scans in a smaller area. It requires setting the DVD player to 16:9 mode, eliminates anamorphic downconversion artifacts, and ideally provides a 33 percent increase in resolution in the letterboxed image.

Vertical Frequency

In television, the number of vertical fields per second measured in hertz. NTSC has a vertical frequency of 60Hz, where as PAL has 50Hz.

Vertical Resolution

The number of horizontal lines (or pixels) that can be resolved from the top of an image to the bottom. (Think of hundreds of horizontal lines or dots stacked on top of one another.) The vertical resolution of the analog NTSC TV standard is 525 lines. Some lines are used to carry other data such as closed-captioning text, test signals, and so on, so we end up with about 480 lines in the final image. All of the typical NTSC sources, including VHS VCRs, cable, and over-the-air broadcast TV (analog), non-HD digital satellite TV, DVD players, camcorders, and so forth, have a vertical resolution of 480 lines. DTV signals have vertical resolution that ranges from 480 lines for SDTV, to 720 or 1,080 lines for HDTV.

W

Wide-Screen

Image with an aspect ratio greater than 1.33:1 or a picture wider and narrower than a standard television image. Typically refers to TVs in the 16:9 aspect ratio.

Windowbox Bars

The blank bars on the left and right of a 4:3 image when displayed on a wide-screen 16:9 display. They can often be adjusted in intensity from black to gray; gray bars help exercise CRT and plasma displays more evenly across the screen.

X

X-curve

An intentional roll-off in a theatrical system's playback response above ~2kHz at 3dB per octave. A modern convention (standardized between 1975 and 1984) specified in ISO Bulletin 2969, it is measured at the rerecording position in a dubbing stage or two-thirds of the way back in a movie theater. Pink noise should measure flat to 2kHz and then should roll-off above that. Home THX processors add this roll-off, when engaged, so that a home video soundtrack will have the same response as it would in a theatrical setting.

Y

Y Pb Pr

Luminance, two chrominance channels of blue minus luminance, red minus luminance. Technical shorthand for component video.

Y Cb Cr

Luminance, two chrominance channels of blue minus luminance, red minus luminance. Technical shorthand for component video.

Y R-Y B-Y

Luminance, two chrominance channels of red minus luminance, blue minus luminance. Technical shorthand for component video.

Z

Zone

One or more rooms powered by one or more amplifiers, which are all fed by one source. A home can be divided into multiple zones, which can play multiple sources, even though several rooms (say, the kitchen, dining room, and living room) all play the same source.

11-03-2008	#1 (permalink)
platinumsword Moderator Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 2,239	The Glossary U - Z <a href='http://adstats.cdfreaks.com/www/delivery/ck.php?n=a13febf7&cb=INSERT_RANDOM_NUMBER_HERE' target='_blank'><img src='http://adstats.cdfreaks.com/www/delivery/avw.php?zoneid=30&cb=INSERT_RANDOM_NUMBER_HERE&n=a13febf7' border='0' alt='' /></a> A work in progress This Glossary is a concise collection of some of the terminology that you may confront; it is not intended to be a complete compendium of technical terms. U Uniformity Even distribution across a given space. In video, uniformity can refer to the distribution of light (hot spotting) or color. Unity Gain Output that equals the input. Unity gain screen material reflects as much light as the reference material. Has an even dispersion of light. Upconvert In DTV, the conversion from a lower-resolution input signal to a TV capable of displaying higher resolutions, such as from an SDTV 480p signal to an HDTV 1080i native display. V Vertical Compression Feature found on 4:3 TVs designed to take advantage of the extra resolution in anamorphic DVDs and other wide-screen content. Pioneered by Sony, this feature squeezes the TV raster so that the electron beam scans in a smaller area. It requires setting the DVD player to 16:9 mode, eliminates anamorphic downconversion artifacts, and ideally provides a 33 percent increase in resolution in the letterboxed image. Vertical Frequency In television, the number of vertical fields per second measured in hertz. NTSC has a vertical frequency of 60Hz, where as PAL has 50Hz. Vertical Resolution The number of horizontal lines (or pixels) that can be resolved from the top of an image to the bottom. (Think of hundreds of horizontal lines or dots stacked on top of one another.) The vertical resolution of the analog NTSC TV standard is 525 lines. Some lines are used to carry other data such as closed-captioning text, test signals, and so on, so we end up with about 480 lines in the final image. All of the typical NTSC sources, including VHS VCRs, cable, and over-the-air broadcast TV (analog), non-HD digital satellite TV, DVD players, camcorders, and so forth, have a vertical resolution of 480 lines. DTV signals have vertical resolution that ranges from 480 lines for SDTV, to 720 or 1,080 lines for HDTV. W Wide-Screen Image with an aspect ratio greater than 1.33:1 or a picture wider and narrower than a standard television image. Typically refers to TVs in the 16:9 aspect ratio. Windowbox Bars The blank bars on the left and right of a 4:3 image when displayed on a wide-screen 16:9 display. They can often be adjusted in intensity from black to gray; gray bars help exercise CRT and plasma displays more evenly across the screen. X X-curve An intentional roll-off in a theatrical system's playback response above ~2kHz at 3dB per octave. A modern convention (standardized between 1975 and 1984) specified in ISO Bulletin 2969, it is measured at the rerecording position in a dubbing stage or two-thirds of the way back in a movie theater. Pink noise should measure flat to 2kHz and then should roll-off above that. Home THX processors add this roll-off, when engaged, so that a home video soundtrack will have the same response as it would in a theatrical setting. Y Y Pb Pr Luminance, two chrominance channels of blue minus luminance, red minus luminance. Technical shorthand for component video. Y Cb Cr Luminance, two chrominance channels of blue minus luminance, red minus luminance. Technical shorthand for component video. Y R-Y B-Y Luminance, two chrominance channels of red minus luminance, blue minus luminance. Technical shorthand for component video. Z Zone One or more rooms powered by one or more amplifiers, which are all fed by one source. A home can be divided into multiple zones, which can play multiple sources, even though several rooms (say, the kitchen, dining room, and living room) all play the same source. Last edited by platinumsword; 11-03-2008 at 06:17.

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