Digital-HDTV Glossary

Defining 'Tech-Speak' Terms

DBS, DLP, DTCP, DTLA, Bandwidth, Interlaced Scanning, Bit Rate... What are they talking about? Welcome to the Digital-HDTV Glossary - All the HDTV Definitions you need:

The HDTV Glossary can help in your search for Digital HDTV Information. As you continue seeking an understanding of Digital TV and HDTV, you will quickly find yourself confronting the alien language of technology - or "Tech-Speak." And High Definition Digital TV has more than its fair share of tech-speak words.

You may find it handy to "bookmark" the 'HDTV Glossary' - or add it to your favorites file - for convenient future reference.

AC-3
The 5.1-channel sound system specified in the Standard for Digital-HDTV. Also known as "Dolby Digital," AC-3 delivers CD-quality digital audio and provides five full-bandwidth channels for front left, front right, center, surround left and surround right speakers, plus an LFE (low frequency effect) subwoofer, for a total of 5.1 channels.

Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC)
The ATSC is the committee responsible for developing and establishing Digital-HDTV Standards; as well as all (18) formats of Digital TV.

A/D
Analog to digital conversion (or converter). Used at transmission end of broadcast.

Addressable Resolution
The highest resolution signal that a display device (TV or monitor) can accept.

Caution: Consumers should be aware however, that although a particular device (Digital-HDTV) is able to receive the resolution, it may not be capable of displaying it.

Analog TV
Analog TV is the NTSC Standard for traditional television broadcasts. Analog signals vary continuously, representing fluctuations in color and brightness.

Artifacts
Unwanted visible effects in the picture created by disturbances in the transmission or image processing, such as 'edge crawl' or 'hanging dots' in analog pictures, or 'pixelation' in digital pictures.

Aspect Ratio
Refers to the width of a picture relative to its height. If an NTSC picture is 4 feet wide, it will be 3 feet high; thus it has a 4:3 aspect ratio. HDTV has a 16:9 aspect ratio.

ATSC
See Advanced Television Systems Committee.