Resource Center: How to Speak A/V
Have you come across a technical term or abbreviation you're not familiar with? We can help!
(continued)
|
Entries starting with: macro: On a camera or camcorder, a lens or zoom setting that is optimized for extreme close-ups; on a remote control, a series of operations programmed to be executed with just one button push. macroblocking: see artifact, blocking. Macrovision: A set of alterations of a standard video signal designed to prevent copying it or, failing that, to severely degrade the quality of any copies made. DVD players usually apply two types of Macrovision processing to their outputs, “pseudo pulse” and “color striping,” via circuitry enabled by instructions on the copy-protected disc. matrix: A type of circuit commonly used in surround sound encoders and decoders to squeeze three or more channels of information into two or to extract multiple channels from an encoded two-channel signal; also used to describe similar circuits that can synthesize an ambience channel from a nonencoded stereo recording. The term “matrix” derives from the mathematics involved. See Dolby Digital Surround EX, DTS-ES, Dolby Pro Logic, Dolby Surround. MDLP: A long-playing version of the MiniDisc format utilizing the ATRAC3 codec to provide more than 5 hours of stereo recording time per disc. media adapter: see media receiver. media receiver: A component attached to a TV or stereo system to retrieve digital music, photos, or video stored on a computer or media server through a wired or wireless network; also called a media adapter. media server: A hard-disk-based component that stores music, photos, or video and makes them available to a TV or stereo system either directly or through a wired or wireless network. Also see client, media receiver, and server. mega (M): The metric prefix for million. megabyte (MB): 1,048,576 (220) bytes; a measure of digital information-storage capacity. megachanger: A CD or DVD changer that holds 50 to 400 or more discs at a time in a jukebox-like mechanism. MemoryStick: A flash-memory format developed and promoted by Sony. MicroMV: A digital camcorder format using MPEG-2 compression that records an hour of video on a tiny cassette about the size of an audio microcassette. microphone: A device that converts sound to an electrical signal; see cardioid microphone and shotgun microphone. microprocessor: An integrated circuit containing a complete central processing unit (CPU) of a computer. A microcomputer is a complete computer (comprising a CPU, memory, and input/output circuitry) on a single IC chip. midbass: The segment of the audio frequency spectrum covering sounds produced in the upper-bass and lower-midrange regions. midrange: The segment of the audio frequency spectrum between the bass and treble, which includes most of the fundamental tones of the human voice and of most musical instruments; it runs from approximately 150 or 200 Hz to around 3 kHz. midrange driver: A speaker driver designed to reproduce frequencies from 200 Hz or so up to 2 to 3 kHz. MiniDisc (MD): A magneto-optical digital audio record/playback format based on the ATRAC family of codecs; more than 5 hours of audio information can be stored on and retrieved from a 2[1/2]-inch magneto-optical disc housed in a caddy like those used for computer floppy disks. MD is not compatible with any other disc format. MiniDV: The most popular digital camcorder format, providing 1 hour of recording time in standard mode on a tape cassette that’s smaller than those used in the 8mm system. All MiniDV cams have an i.Link (a.k.a. FireWire) digital connection to send programs or images to a DTV, DVD recorder, or a computer; the same port can also transfer material between camcorders. mode: A recording-quality setting on a DVD or hard-disk recorder; also a type of surround sound processing, whether it involves plain decoding of a format like Dolby Digital or ambience/sound-field generation. See ambience, recording mode, surround sound. monitor: In audio, a speaker used in recording or other professional applications; in video, the term can refer to any display device, including TVs, but is often used specifically to denote one without tuning functions. mono (monaural or monophonic): A recording or signal containing one channel of audio. In a component, it indicates that only one channel is handled, as in a mono power amplifier. MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor): A type of field-effect transistor, used both in power amplifiers and in digital integrated circuits (such as microprocessors). mosquito noise: An area of “busyness,” like a cloud of mosquitoes, around sharp edges or corners in a video image; caused by inferior encoding or by too low of a bit rate; see artifact. MP3: The common term for the audio codec officially known as MPEG-1 Layer 3. Originally used for sound data in computer-related applications and now popular for music files ripped from CDs or downloaded from the Internet and played on a computer or portable digital device; also see mp3PRO and MPEG-2. mp3PRO: An enhancement of the MP3 format that’s claimed to be twice as efficient, enabling a 64-kbps file to sound comparable to a 128-kbps MP3 file. MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group): A committee of engineers and scientists formed to issue standards for reduced-bit-rate digital audio and video. MPEG-2: The standard reduced-bit-rate audio/video encoding scheme for digital TV, DVDs, and certain digital satellite transmissions. MPEG-4: An advanced data-encoding standard for audio and, especially, video that’s more efficient than MPEG-2. Also see H.264. muddy: A subjective term describing reproduced sound, usually in the bass, that isn’t as clear as it should be. multichannel: An audio system or component using more amplifier/speaker channels than a stereo pair; see 5.1-channel, 6.1-channel, home theater system, Dolby Digital, Dolby Surround, Dolby Pro Logic, DTS, SDDS. multichannel analog input: A connection consisting of six or more RCA jacks that allows the hookup of a source component supplying a decoded surround sound output, such as a DVD-Audio or Super Audio CD player or some DVD-Video players. MultiMediaCard (MMC): A flash-memory format used in many MP3 players. multipath: When a broadcast radio or TV signal reaches the receiving antenna over two or more paths of differing lengths (“multiple paths”), usually because it has been reflected from buildings or other objects between the transmitter and the receiver. The resulting interference causes distortion on FM and “ghosts” on standard TV, and may prevent reception of digital TV signals altogether. multiplex (MPX): Two or more channels transmitted on a single carrier so that they can be independently recovered by the receiver. Usually, as in TV and stereo FM, this is achieved by means of subcarriers, signals on the main carrier that are themselves modulated by other signals. multiroom system: A system that directs music or video programs from one or more sources to secondary listening/viewing spaces, or zones. Abbreviations |
|
|
