Acronyms & Definitions

[JU1CYFRU1T]

Tip - I type the item I'm looking for, followed by "acronym" into my favourite search engine and it usually gets me the answer.

Here's a link to HDTV Acronyms

Here's a link to Chatroom Acronyms

Here's another good Acronym Finder

Before we get to the acronyms, here are a couple of useful definitions:

macroblocking - The "squares" that you sometimes see on digital programming (HD or SD) when there is too much compression of the signal, or a lot of movement on screen. (Created by MPEG limitations (compression) in HD and compression on SD digital). (sometimes described as a "game of Tetris" on your TV, when you're not playing the game... )These do not go away with increased signal strength. See the sample image of macroblocking at the bottom of this post.

pixellation- The "squares" that you can sometimes see on digital channels, but they differ from macroblocking. These are "colourful" (red, green or black etc "very hard" blotches) caused by a borderline signal strength. These go away with increased signal strength, the picture goes away with decreased signal strength.


Some of the more popular acronyms:

8VSB - 8-level Vestigial Sideband Modulation (ATSC standard for OTA)
AC-3 - Audio Code 3
ADC - Analog to Digital Conversion
AM - Amplitude Modulation
AR - Acoustic Research
ATSC - Advanced Television Systems Committee
BEV - Bell ExpressVu
bps - bits per second (also b/s)
Bps - Bytes per second (8 bits per Byte)
BNC - Bayonet Neill-Concelman (A connector named after the two gentlemen)
BUD - Big Ugly/Useful Dish
CATV - Cable TV (Community Antenna TV)
CAB - Canadian Association of Broadcasters
CD - Compact Disc
CD-R - Recordable CD
CD-ROM - Computer Data CD
CD-RW - Rewritable CD
CG - Computer Graphics
CPU - Central Processing Unit
CRT - Cathode Ray Tube (Direct View TV)
CRTC: Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
DAB - Digital Audio Broadcasting
DAC - Digital to Analog Conversion
DAT - Digital Audio Tape
dB - decibel (a measure of sound level, loudness)
DBS - Direct Broadcast Satellite
DD - Dolby Digital
DIY - Do it Yourself
DLP - Digital Light Processing (Texas Instruments)
DMD - Digital Micromirror Device (used in DLPs)
DSP - Digital Signal Processing
DTS - Digital Theater System (similar to Dolby Digital)
DTV - Digital Television
DVD - Digital Video/Versatile Disc
DVI - Digital Video/Visual Interface
DVR - Digital Video Recorder (same as a PVR)
ECM - Electronic Counter Measures (satellite receiver disable)
EDTV - Enhanced Definition TeleVision (480P)
EPG - Electronic Programme Guide (see also IPG)
FAQ - Frequently Asked Question(s)
FM - Frequency Modulation
GTA - Greater Toronto Area
HBO - Home Box Office (US Movie Channel)
HD - High Definition (720P, 1080i, 1080P)
HDD - Hard Disk Drive
HDCP - High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection
HDMI - High-Definition Multimedia Interface
HDTV - High Definition Television
HTIB - Home Theater In a Box (DD5.1 Receiver/Speakers and/or DVD)
HTPC - Home Theatre Personal Computer
Hz - Hertz (cycles per second) kilo (1,000) mega (1,000,000), giga, etc.
IEEE - Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers
IEEE 1394 - Firewire, I-Link interface
IPG - Interactive Programme Guide (see also EPG)
IR - Infrared (used for remote controls)
IRD - Integrated Receiver Decoder
IRE - Institute of Radio Engineers
ISF - Imaging Science Foundation (TV Calibration)
IT - Information Technology
LCD - Liquid Crystal Display
LCoS - Liquid Crystal on Silicon
LD - Laserdisc
LED - Light Emitting Diode
LFE - Low Frequency Effects (signal for subwoofer)
LNB - Low Noise Block (Downconverter for Satellite Dishes)
MD - Minidisc
MP3 - MPEG-1 Layer 3 audio encoding
MPEG - Moving Picture Experts Group
NAB - National Association of Broadcasters
NTSC - National Television Systems Committee
OAR - Original Aspect Ratio (1.33:1, 1.85:1, 2.35:1 are some standards)
OFC - Oxygen Free Copper
OFHC - Oxygen Free High Conductivity Copper
OS - Operating System
OTA - Over The Air
P&S - Pan and Scan
PAL - Phase Alternation Line (European TV)
PAP - Picture alongside Picture
PCM - Pulse Code Modulation
PIP - Picture in Picture
POP - Picture outside of Picture (side by side PIP)
POD - Point Of Deployment (PCMCIA-like device on new HDTVs)
PPV - Pay Per View
PQ - Picture Quality
PS - Progressive Scan
PVR - Personal Video Recorder (see also DVR)
QAM - Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (binary data over Cable)
RAM - Random Access Memory
RF - Radio Frequency (some remotes are RF, instead of IR)
RGB - Red Green Blue (TV CRTs) (also type of connection)
ROM - Read Only Memory
RPTV- Rear Projection Television
SA - Scientific Atlanta (Maker of STBs)
SACD - Super Audio Compact Disc (Sony)
SAP - Secondary Audio Programme
SD - Standard Definition (480i)
SDTV - Standard Definition Television
SKU - Stock Keeping Unit (inventory, piece of equipment)
S/N - Signal to Noise Ratio
SPL - Sound Pressure Level
*C - Star Choice
SPDIF - Sony Phillips Digital Interface (Coax for digital sound)
STB - Set top box (Cable, Satellite or OTA)
S-VHS - Super VHS (about 400 lines resolution)
SVM - Scan Velocity Modulation
SVOD - Subscription Video on Demand
THD - Total Harmonic Distortion
TMN - The Movie Network (Canadian)
UPS - Uninteruptable Power Supply
USB - Universal Serial Bus
VCR - Video Cassette Recorder
VGA - Video Graphics Array (480 x 640)
VHS - Video Home System (about 240 lines resolution)
VTR - Video Tape Recorder
VOD - Video On Demand
WS - Widescreen
XGA - eXtended Graphics Array (768 x 1024)
Y - Luminance
Y/C - Luminance + Chrominance (S-Video)
YCbCr - Digital Luminance + Colour Difference
YPbPr - Analogue Luminance + Colour Difference (Component Video)

*Do you have updates for this FAQ? Post a note in our "Feedback" forum in the "Update for FAQ" and we will make the changes.*

(This FAQ was originally posted at HDTVoice and has been reprinted here with permission)