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802.11b
A specification for a wireless LAN that operates in the 2.4GHz range and provides a data transmission rate of 11Mbps using spread spectrum technology. This specification was known as Wi-Fi but the term now applies to 802a and 802g as well.
802.11g
A specification for a wireless LAN that operates in the 2.4GHz frequency range and provides a data transmission rate, over short distances, of 54Mbps using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) technology.
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A Rated
A-rated energy efficiency means a low level energy consumption. A-rated wash performance allows a uniquely designed curved spray arms distribute water with exceptional precision and effectiveness leaving no area unshowered, ensuring perfect results time after time.
Aspect Ratio
The numbers for the aspect represent the ratio for the width of a fullscreen or widescreen format in relation to its height. The standard television picture is 4 units wide by 3 units high or ratio 4:3, this is also expressed as 1.33:1 meaning that the width is one and third times the size of the height. It is this second, decimal, method which is used the most.
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Bluetooth
A wireless computing and telecommunications specification that defines how mobile personal computing devices work with each other and with regular computers and phone systems within a close range.
Browning Grill
The grill is ideal for browning and crisping. It can be used by itself or combined with the microwave function for even quicker cooking
Brownout
Refers to a reduction of voltage on the system. This effectively dims the lights.
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Carl Zeiss Lens
Specialst lens manufacturer providing superior lens quality.
CD-R
CD-R is a write once only compact disc.
Chest Freezer
A freezer that opens from the top. This type operates with more energy efficiency, but may make items harder to access.
Coaxial Cable
This cable is typically used to connect TV to its video source. Coaxial Cable consists of a small copper wire or tube, surronded by an insulating material and another conductor with a larger diameter, normally copper braid or a conductive tube. The cable is jacketed for mechanical and electrical protection
Convection Oven
Combines fan-forced hot air with conventional radiant heat cooking elements to speed cook time and allow more food to be cooked at one time. Food is cooked at lower temperatures and still browns.
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Digital Optical Out
All DVD players include at least one digital audio output for sending the Dolby Digital or DTS bitstream to a compatible decoder (which is usually built into an A/V receiver). Digital data transfer offers extremely wide bandwidth, immunity to RF interference, and an easy one-cable connection. The two most common types of digital output are coaxial and optical. Although a coaxial digital jack looks like a standard RCA-type audio jack, both coaxial and optical jacks require special cables to connect to the digital input of your Dolby Digital/DTS-equipped receiver.
Digital Zoom
Digital Zoom increases the standard (optical) zoom by 2x, 4x or even 12x. This is done by digital memory and thus a very high zoom may cause unwanted grain or noise to appear.
Dolby Digital
A discrete multichannel digital audio standard offering enhanced sonic realism. Dolby Digital is normally associated with 5.1-channel surround sound. Though this channel configuration is common, it is only one of several possible variations — a "Dolby Digital" soundtrack can mean anything from 1 to 5.1 channels.
Dolby Digital Decoder
Some DVD players have built-in Dolby® Digital decoders, which allows the 6 channels (front right, center & left plus rear right & left plus subwoofer) of sound to be decoded and then passed on to a receiver with 6-channel inputs. All Dolby® Digital decoders can also decode Dolby® ProLogic sound tracks.
DTS
DTS (Digital Theater Systems) is a different digital audio format also offering 5.1 channels of surround sound abilities, and has been added to the DVD specification as an optional audio format. Some experts say that it sounds better because there is less compression than Dolby Digital, but on most home systems it would be hard to tell the difference. Whether it's better or not, there are only a handful of Region 2 DTS-encoded DVDs available at the moment, although the number is increasing slowly.
Although DTS offers more realistic audio, the soundtrack does take up more space on a disc compared to a Dolby Digital Soundtrack. However, there is still ample space available on the disk to add such features as trailers, commentaries and documentaries.
Unfortunately some DTS-encoded DVDs may be released with fewer (or different) extras than the non-DTS versions. This is simply the decision of the producer of the disc, and not usually the result of space limitations.
DVD RAM
DVD-RAM enables a 'time slip' function allowing you to watch the start of a programme while still recording the rest of it.
DVD-R playback
DVD-R: Stands for DVD Recordable. They usually offer 4.7 GB of free space. They can be recorded onto only once and hold up to 6 hours of material.
DVD-RW playback
DVD-RW: Stands for DVD Rewritable. These discs can be recorded on, erased and re-recorded on up to 1,000 times. They hold about 2 hours of material recorded at a high-quality level.
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Fasttext
A quicker way to access Teletext information by using the red, green, yellow and blue buttons on the remote control
Flat Screen
There are 3 major advantages of a pure flat screen: Less on screen reflections, less distortion in the corners of the picture and you can watch these TVs from a much wider viewing angle.
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HD Ready
High Definition Television (HD) uses the latest technology to bring clearer and sharper television pictures. A television carrying the 'HD Ready' label meets the requirements for displaying HD signals.
HDMI CONNECTION
HDMI (High Definition Multi-media Interface) is an industry standard interface. HDMI supports standard, enhanced, or high-definition video, plus multi-channel digital audio on a single cable.
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IDTV
Receives all of the Freeview channels without the need for a separate adaptor. These include BBC Three, BBC Four, BBC News 24, Sky News, Sky Sports News, ITV2, The Hits, CBBC, CBeebies plus digital radio channels. The TV also has a standard analogue tuner as well.
Image Stabiliser
Reduces camera shake whilst filming. Especially useful when on maximum zoom.
Intranet
A restricted access network that works like the internet but is not. Usually owned and managed by a corporation, an Intranet enables a company to share its resources with its employees without confidential information being made available to everyone with internet access
IP Address
Internet Protocol address. This address is a 32 bit, unique string of numbers that identifies a computer, a printer, or another device on the internet. The IP address consists of a quartet of numbers separated by periods.
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MAC address
Media Access Control address is a unique numeric identifier assigned to each device connected to an Ethernet network. It is used for data transmission and security functions
Microwave Capacity
In most cases, capacity is the measurement of the interior of the appliance, usually in cubic feet. Use the dimensions for comparison. Manufacturers use different terms to define capacity, one extra large appliance may not be the same as another.
Microwave sizing is generally:
Compact (less than 0.8 cubic feet)
Mid-size (0.8 to 1.2 cubic feet)
Full-size (1.2 cubic feet and larger)
Mini DV
Digital Video (DV) format gives superb picture and sound quality with PC connectability.
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Opitcal Zoom
Zoom lenses operate with many glass elements that are moved into different arrangements as you push the zoom button. Changing the space between glass elements changes the focal length. This system is called optical zoom because the focal length is changed using the actual glass lens elements. A 16:1 zoom will bring objects 16 times closer than what you'd normally see.
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Progressive Scan
The TVs all of us have been watching all our lives create a picture using a process called Interlace Scan, which creates the image in two interlaced fields; first the odd lines (1, 3, 5, etc.) and then the even lines (2, 4, 6, etc.). Progressive Scan, which is found on computer monitors and an ever-increasing number of digital TVs, creates a picture as a single image, scanning all the lines in succession (1, 2, 3, etc.). Pictures created using the Progressive Scan technique look sharp and crisp. Although all DVD players equipped with a Progressive Scan output also have Interlace Scan outputs, to use the Progressive Scan feature your TV must be capable of creating a picture using the Progressive-Scan method.
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RAM
Random Access Memory. When an application is run it is called from the permanent storage area such as hard drive, floppy disk, or CD-ROM, and moved into the RAM where, it sends requests to the CPU. Using faster memory can speed up information process time in a computer.
Regional Coding
There are 6 Regions assigned to the release of DVDs worldwide. Why?
It is not in the studio's best interest to release a DVD title simultaneously to a worldwide marketplace, as the theatrical release date of a film varies from country to country - this in itself is a topic for much discussion! Therefore, one country's DVD releases often occur close to another countries theatrical release date.
To stop consumers from watching DVDs prior to their country's theatrical release date, regional coding has been imposed.
The regions are:
Region 0: No Restriction: Worldwide availability, plays on all machines.
Region 1: Canada, USA, US Territories.
Region 2: Europe, Middle East (including Egypt).
Region 3: Southeast Asia, East Asia (including Hong Kong).
Region 4: Central America, South America, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Caribbean.
Region 5: Russian Federation, Africa (not Egypt), North Korea, Mongolia.
Region 6: China.
There are also two other, commercially unavailable Region codes:
Region 7: Reserved. Often used for airlines.
Region 8: Reserved.
RJ-11
Registered Jack 11. Standard telephone connector which has a tab that snaps into the socket and must be pressed to be removed from telephone or socket. Usually houses two wires but is capable of housing up to four.
RJ-45
Registered Jack 45. Connectors used to connect computers to LANs or phones with many lines. It is able to house up 8 wires that is twice as many wires as the RJ-11.
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SD Multi Media Card
Secure Digital Media Format. Used to Store images taken using the Digital Camera option on the camcorder, or when storing camera images in general.
SVCD Playback
The ability to playback discs recorded in the Super Video CD format.
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TCP/IP
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. TCP/IP is the method by which data is sent across the internet. These two protocols were developed by the U.S. military to allow computers to talk to each other over long distance networks
Twin Scart Facility
Two Scart connections available so that you can connect your DVD Player to more than one other device, i.e TV, VCR, A/V Receiver or any other supported device.
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UPS
Uninterruptable Power Supply. This will keep your item plugged into run running on battery for a certain length of time when the mains power is out.
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Wi-Fi
Wireless Fidelity. Wi-Fi originally referred to the 802.11b specification for wireless LANs, but it is now used to describe any of the 802.11 wireless networking specifications.
Widescreen
A widescreen television has an Aspect Ratio of 16:9 (or 1.78:1). Widescreen is the original size of the theatrical presentation, filmed in various aspect ratios, the format was first introduced around 1950.
In widescreen 'Letterboxed' versions it is normal to see a black strip at the top and bottom of the screen, although its thickness depends on the aspect ratio. The only exception is that if the picture is mastered in the ratio 1.78:1 when the widescreen will be filled.
Two of the most common aspect ratios are 1.85:1 and 2.35:1 which measure the width of the picture in relation to its height. Therefore, the wider the screen (or higher the decimal number), the thicker the black bars will be.
WLAN
Wireless Local Area Network. A wirelessly connected Local Area Network
WPA
Wi-Fi Protected Access. WPA is a security specification for the 802.11 standards replacing the less effective WEP. It uses 802.1x and EAP to restrict network access, and it uses its own encryption called Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) to secure the data during transmission.
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XD Cards
Uses the Fuji and Olympus XD Card memory format.
