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Aspect Ratio

The easiest way to explain aspect ratio is to say that it is the width of an image divided by the height. For example, a traditional TV has an aspect ratio of 4:3, or 1.33:1. HDTV uses an aspect ratio of 16:9, or 1.78:1, which is a widescreen format.

Brightness

Brightness is measured in candelas per square meter (cd/m²). Usually the higher the brightness the better, although the ability to display grey scales all the way to black, is a consideration.

CRT

The Cathode Ray Tube is the technology used in traditional computer monitors and televisions. It is essentially an electronic vacuum that uses a focused beam of electrons to excite phosphors on the inside of the screen surface. There are two main types of CRT technologies - shadowmask and aperture grille. LCD has become more popular due to compact design, no electromagnetic and ionizing radiation, lower power consumption and no screen flicker.

Component Video (YpbPr)

Superior to S-video and composite video, three connectors (red, green & blue RCA jacks) that transmit component video signals.

Composite Video

An analog video signal in which all colour information and sometimes audio signals, are transmitted together. This is the type of signal used by TV's in the United States.

The Composite Video Connector

Contrast Ratio

Contrast ratio is the basically the difference in light intensity between the brightest white and the darkest black. A high contrast ratio is desirable as it allows better colour reproduction without sacrificing dark black.

DRM

Digital Rights Management is used to describe a technology that controls access and usage of digital data (such as software, music, film etc).

DVB

The Digital Video Broadcasting project is an organization that develops open standards for digital television. DVB systems distribute data by satellite, cable, terrestrial television and terrestrial television for handhelds.

DVB-C

DVB-C is the acronym for Digital Video Broadcasting - Cable. and is the most widely used digital TV broadcasting method via digital cable networks.

DVB-H

DVB-H stands for Digital Video Broadcasting - Handhelds and is basically an extension of the DVB-T standard for items such PDA's laptops and mobile phones.

DVB-MHP

DVB-MHP stands for Digital Video Broadcasting - Multimedia Home Platform, official standards for interactive television and related interactive home entertainment. The MHP allows reception of interactive Java-based applications such as games, information services, shopping and email, via the television.

DVB-S

DVB-S is Digital Video Broadcasting - Satellite. Is it used via satellites serving different continents with network feeds and also for direct broadcast satellite services such as Sky TV.

DVB-T

DVB-T stands for Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial. It will be the digital broadcasting method via terrestrial networks in Europe in the switch over from analog to digital transmission. To receive new digital TV signals with interactive services, a TV with build-in tuner supporting DVB-T is all that is required.

DVD

DVD stands for Digital Versatile Disc. Resembling compact discs, DVD is an optical disc storage format used for data storage such as movies with high video and sound quality.

DVI

Digital Video Interface was created by the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG) as is the only widespread standard that includes analog and digital transmission options via the same connector. It was designed to optimize the image quality of digital display products and to eliminate signal degradation. DVI has three options, depending on which signal needs to be operated:

DVI-D (digital only), DVI-A (analog only), DVI-I (digital and analog)

EDTV

Enhanced Definition Television is generally the term for video with picture quality better than NTSC or PAL broadcasts but that which is not sharp enough to be of the HDTV standard. The analog interlace system was never intended for large format displays as pictures can appear jagged and so EDTV adopts progressive scan, whilst still using 480 lines. This is commonly referred to as 480p or 525p if we include the interframe time gap. EDTV is a huge improvement over the interlaced analog systems and SDTV.

Frames per second (fps).

Also referred to as framerate, this is the measurement of how many frames are displayed per second.

HD Compatible

HD Compatible can accept HDMI signals but it does not have the physical resolution requirements of 720 vertical lines that HD Ready products do.

HD-Ready

Introduced by EICTA, the European Information Communications and Consumer Electronics Technology Industry Associations, High-definition ready is the official term for products with the ability to receive and display high definition broadcastings.

HDCP

High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection is a form of Digital Rights Management developed by Intel to protect digital entertainment content via Digital Video Interface (DVI) of High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) connections. HDCP encrypts the transmission of digital content between the video source or transmitter and the digital display or receiver. HDCP is not designed to prevent copying or recording of digital content but to protect the integrity of content as it is being transmitted.

HDMI

HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) is an uncompressed digital audio/video interface. It provides a link between any source and receiver; sources such as a DVD player or video recorder and receivers such as a digital television or monitor. HDMI supports standard, enhanced, or high-definition video, plus multi-channel digital audio on a single cable. It transmits all ATSC HDTV standards and supports 8-channel digital audio, with bandwidth to spare to accommodate future enhancements and requirements. The standard Type A HDMI connector is also backwards compatible with single link DVI-D.

The Type A HDMI Connector

HDTV

High-definition television is a new specification for the broadcast of TV signals with a higher resolution than standard formats such as NTSC, SECAM and PAL. HDTV is currently broadcast digitally using an aspect ratio of 16:9.

In the context of HDTV, the standard broadcast formats are referenced by the number of vertical lines in the display resolution and whether progressive scan or interlaced fields are used, e.g.

HDTV standard formats:
720p is 1280 x 720 pixels, progressive
1080i is 1920 x 1080 pixels, interlaced
1080p is 1920 x 1080 pixels, progressive

Currently there are no broadcast systems equipped for 1080p, although it is now the digital standard for filming. The idea of HDTV is to improve picture quality - by increasing resolution, more detail can be displayed and the image becomes sharper and more defined. Other factors affecting the image quality is whether the signal is progressive or interlaced - please see these topics for further information.

IPS

In Plane Switching is an LCD Technology was developed to improve on poor viewing angles and colour reproduction of TN technology. IPS employs pairs of electrodes at the sides of each cell, running the electric field horizontally through the material. This approach keeps liquid crystals parallel to the front of the panel, increasing viewing angle. The downside to this technology was that response time suffered and it was very expensive. Super-IPS was later introduced with improved response times and colour reproduction.

Interlace

A single image displayed on TV or a computer monitor is essentially a frame divided into horizontal scan lines. The way the frame is scanned can either be interlaced or progressive. All current analog TV systems are interlaced which means that alternate rows of each frame are displayed, followed by the remaining rows. Each half of the frame is called a field so field one will display lines 1, 3, 5 and so on and then field two will display lines 2, 4, 6 and so on. The two fields are displayed quickly enough so that the human eye is tricked into seeing only one image.

LCD

A liquid crystal display is basically a flat glass substrate made up of pixels that are laid in front of a light source or reflector. Each pixel is made up of a layer of liquid crystals between two electrodes and polarizing filters. When in a relaxed state, the crystals arrange themselves in a helix or 'twist', allow light to pass through. When charged, they align themselves and the result is that light cannot pass through, resulting in an unlit pixel.

Letterbox

Because movies are often shot in a widescreen format and not all TV's are widescreen, the process of letterboxing is used to reduce the size of the visuals to keep the original aspect ratio that the movie was filmed in. This method ensures that the movie is shown as the makers intended and that frames are not cropped, as in the pan and scan process. This process does mean that 'black bars' which are unused areas of the screen are visible at the top and bottom of the image - giving what we now term the LTBX effect.

Linux

All our MIRAI and CHIMEI monitors are LINUX compatible.

MVA

Multi Vertical Alignment was developed as a compromise between IPS and TN technology. It achieved relatively fast response times, high contrast and wide viewing angles but at the cost of colour reproduction, brightness and affordability.

Mono

Meaning Monaural, sound is reproduced using a single channel. Stereo replaced mono in most entertainment applications, although mono is still the standard for radiotelephone, telephone networks and induction loops for use with hearing aids.

NTSC

NTSC is the colour TV standard developed in the U.S. in 1953 by the National Television System Committee. NTSC is used within the United States, Canada, Japan and various Asian countries. The rest of the world uses either PAL or SECAM standards. NTSC runs on 525 lines per frame (visible 480) and has a vertical frequency of 60Hz. NTSC's frame rate is 29.97 frames per second.

PAL

PAL or phase alternating line is one of three colour systems, along with NTSC and SECAM, used in broadcast television systems. Developed in the 1960's it is used in most western European countries, Australia and some African and Asian countries. PAL has a better resolution than NTSC having 625 lines per frame although the rate of 25 frames per second is slightly lower.

PIP

Picture in Picture mode allows the user to display a smaller window within another larger window. It is ideal for video editing and streaming news content. Two independent tuners or external equipment are required to supply the large and the small picture.

PVA

Patterned Vertical Alignment was developed along the lines of MVA technology but offered wider viewing angles and high contrast ratios.

Pan and Scan

Pan and scan is a procedure for creating 4:3 versions of film images that have originally been created in widescreen format (16:9). Areas of the film are usually cropped in order for it to fit perfectly within the 4:3 screen of a traditional television. Pan and scan is often unpopular because the cropping element can remove a large proportion of the original image.

Pixel

Short for picture element, a pixel is a single point of an image. LCD monitors have what is called a native resolution which is a perfect match to how many pixels there are on the screen e.g. a native resolution of 1024 x 768 will have 1024 pixels horizontally and 768 pixels vertically. Pixels on a colour LCD monitor are made up of sub pixels of Red, Blue and Green (RGB).

Progressive Scan

Progressive scan is the method of displaying images where each line of a frame is drawn in sequence instead of alternate rows, as in the interlace method. Rows 1, 2, 3 and so on are displayed in one go with the result being a sharper image than when the interlace method is used. Progressive scan is used for most CRT computer monitors and it is increasingly common in high end television equipment in order to receive and transmit HDTV progressive signals.

RF

Short for radio frequency, RF refers to any frequency within the electromagnetic spectrum associated with radio wave propagation. When an RF current is supplied to an antenna, an electromagnetic field is created which is then able to propagate through space. Many wireless technologies are based on RF field propagation.

Resolution

The resolution of a monitor or TV describes the number of pixels being shown on the display. It is referred to as the number of horizontal pixels by the number of vertical pixels e.g. 1280 x 1024. The higher the resolution, the more information can be displayed on the screen.

Common display resolutions are:

VGA Video Graphics Array 640 x 480
SVGA Super Video Graphics Array 800 x 600
XGA Extended Graphics Array 1024 x 768
SXGA Super Extended Graphics Array 1280 x 1024
UXGA Ultra extended Graphics Array 1600 x 1200
QXGA Quad Extended Graphics Array 2048 x 1536

Common widescreen display resolutions are:

WXGA Wide Extended Graphics Array 1280 x 800
WSXGA Wide Ultra Extended Graphics Array 1680x1050
WUXGA Wide Ultra Extended Graphics Array 1920x1200

S-Video

Separate Video or Super Video is an analog video signal that divides video information into two separate signals: one for colour (Chrominance), and the other for brightness (luminance). S-Video produces better image quality that composite video which carries all signals over one wire.

The S-Video connector

SCART

SCART is a standard that originated in France and is used to easily connect AV equipment such as TV's, DVD and video players and games consoles. SCART carries composite, S-Video, RGB video and stereo audio input/output over in a single connector. SCART is the most commonly used AV connection method in Europe.

The SCART Connector

SDTV

SDTV simply stands for Standard DePnition Television and is the 480 interlaced (480i) format for digital, as opposed to the analogue 480i of PAL, SECAM and NTSC.

SECAM

SECAM is the colour TV standard introduced in France in the early 1960's. Sequential Couleur Avec Memoire or Sequential Colour with Memory is also used in former French colonies and eastern European countries. SECAM uses the same bandwidth as PAL but transmits colour information sequentially. SECAM runs on 625 lines per frame (visible 575) with the same frame rate as PAL, 25 frames per second.

SRS-WOW

SRS WOW improves audio dynamics and perception of low frequency bass. A panoramic three dimensional audio image that extends the sound field in both vertical and horizontal planes gives the perception of additional 'phantom' speakers and provides the listener with the impression that they are listening to a real Dolby surround sound system.

STB

A Set Top Box connects to a television and converts signals into content that is then displayed as viewable images on the screen.

Stereo

Commonly known as stereo, stereophonic sound is to create a natural sound by using more than one independent audio channel through a symmetrical configuration of speakers. The popular interpretation of stereo is usually 2 channel, using a left and right speaker.

Super MVA Technology

Whilst MVA was originally developed mainly by Fujitsu, CMO implemented a Super MVA version of the technology that increased the viewing angle to an incredible 170°, achieved faster response times and also managed to attain high brightness and good colour reproduction.

TFT

Thin Film Transistor. Used in LCD display technology where each pixel is controlled by one to four transistors. TFT LCD's are often referred to as active matrix displays.

TN+Film

Twisted Nematic is the most common type of TFT LCD technology. When no voltage is applied, the chains of liquid crystal molecules are twisted to 90°, allowing light to pass through the molecules. When voltage is applied, the liquid crystals rotate and polarized light is absorbed by a special filter. TN is not only the most common TFT LCD technology, but also the cheapest. TN is a good technology for achieving keen response times and whilst viewing angles were compromised in early development, a special film has now been added to the panel surface to significantly extend the viewing angles.

Tr/ Tf (Time raise / Time fall)

This means the response time of an LCD panel is mentioned as the time when the emitted light from one transistor (pixel) is going from black to white and from white to black.

So for example a response time of 5 miliseconds will mentioned as : Tr +Tf = 5ms.

USB 1.1

Short for Universal Serial Bus it was designed to enable peripherals and portable devices to be quickly connected using Plug-and-Play and to enable the host controller to connect up to 127 devices. USB connects peripherals such as mice, keyboards, scanners, digital cameras and printers.

The USB Connector

USB 2.0

Also referred to as Hi-Speed USB, USB 2.0 is an external bus that supports data rates up to 480Mbps. USB 2.0 is an extension of USB 1.1. USB 2.0 is fully compatible with USB 1.1 and uses the same cables and connectors.

Widescreen

Widescreen refers to an image or film that has a wider aspect ratio than the traditional TV and computer display format of 4:3 (meaning the screen is a ratio of 4 units wide to three units tall. Also expressed as 1.33:1).In general, an aspect ratio of 1.66:1 is considered widescreen

full HDTV

Full HDTV, also referred to as true HDTV and 1080p, is a television display technology that surpasses the video quality and sharpness of the original high-definition television (HDTV) technology, providing an image resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels.

The original HDTV technology offers vertical resolution that ranges from 720 lines with progressive scanning (720p) to 1080 lines with interlaced scanning (1080i). Full HDTV provides 1080 lines with progressive scanning (sometimes referred to as 1080p). In these specifications, the numeral indicates the number of horizontal lines in the complete raster, the p stands for progressive scanning (where each scan displays every line in the image raster sequentially from top to bottom), and the i stands for interlaced scanning (where each scan displays alternate lines in the image raster, and two complete scans are therefore required to display the entire image).