Dictionary of Video Television Technology

336 Pages·2002·1.57 MB·English

by  Keith Jack, Vladimir Tsatsoulin

Dictionary of Video
and Television Technology
Newnes is an imprint of Elsevier Science.
Copyright © 2002, Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.
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Printed in the United States of America
Dictionary of Video
and Television Technology
Keith Jack
Vladimir Tsatsulin
An imprint of Elsevier Science
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CONTENTS
Preface............................................................................................................. vii
About the Authors......................................................................................ix
#.............................................................................................1
A ............................................................................................3
B...........................................................................................22
C...........................................................................................39
D ..........................................................................................75
E.........................................................................................100
F.........................................................................................113
G ........................................................................................129
H ........................................................................................135
I..........................................................................................146
J .........................................................................................159
K ........................................................................................161
L.........................................................................................164
M .......................................................................................176
N ........................................................................................193
O........................................................................................199
P.........................................................................................205
Q........................................................................................224
R.........................................................................................227
S.........................................................................................239
T.........................................................................................271
v
U ........................................................................................289
V ........................................................................................292
W .......................................................................................311
X ........................................................................................316
Y ........................................................................................317
Z.........................................................................................319
APPENDIX A: Associations.................................................321
APPENDIX B: Standards Organizations...............................325
vi
PREFACE
Just a few short years ago, the applications for video were fairly confined—
analog broadcast and cable television, analog VCRs, analog settop boxes
with limited functionality, and simple analog video capture for PCs. Since
that time, a tremendous and rapid conversion to digital video has taken
place, with consequent changes in broadcast standards and technologies.
“Convergence” is the buzzword that has come to mean this rapid coming
together of various technologies that were previously unrelated. Today we
have:
• DVD and SuperVCD players and recorders, with entire movies being
stored on one disc, with newer designs supporting progressive scan
capability for even higher video quality.
• Digital VCRs and camcorders, that store digital audio and video on
tape.
• Digital settop boxes, which interface the television to the digital cable,
satellite, or broadcast system. Many also now support interactivity,
datacasting, sophisticated graphics, and internet access.
• Digital televisions, which receive and display digital TV broadcasts,
either via cable, satellite, or over-the-air. Both standard-definition
(SDTV) and high-definition (HDTV) versions are available.
• Game consoles, with high-definition graphics and powerful process-
ing, and with the newer systems supporting DVD playback and
internet access.
vii
• Video editing on the PC, using real-time MPEG decoding, fast MPEG
encoding, and other powerful techniques.
• Digital transmission of content for broadcast, cable and satellite sys-
tems, with the conversion to HDTV underway.
This is a complex and ever-changing field and there is a need for a refer-
ence that documents the evolving terminology, standards, and acronyms.
The Dictionary of Video and Television Technology contains the most up-to-
date terms and their usage. The book is a valuable reference for engineers
working in the fields of analog and digital video, broadcast personnel, tech-
nicians, or anyone charged with the task of understanding, using, or
implementing video and television signals. We hope this companion vol-
ume to the popular Video Demystified, 3rd Edition proves just as valuable to
those creating and working with the converging technologies of the 21st
century.
viii
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Keith Jack has architected and introduced to market over 25 multimedia
ICs for the PC and consumer markets. Currently director of product mar-
keting for Sigma Designs, Inc., he is working on next-generation digital
video and audio solutions. He has a BSEE from Tri-State University in Angola,
Indiana, and holds two patents for video processing.
Vladimir Tsatsulin is a retired military officer with an electronics engineer-
ing degree from MVIZRU Military Academy. Following his retirement from
the military, he worked as a TV technology professor at “Elektrons” state
company in Riga, Latvia and later was a member of the expert group that
developed a TV and PC database for the Invention Machine Co. Today
Tsatsulin is a technical writer and translator for the Belorussian State Univer-
sity of Informatics and Electronics in Minsk, Belarus. He is co-author of The
English-Russian Dictionary on Television and Audio/Video Equipment, a stan-
dard reference now in its third edition.
ix
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