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16:9
Refers to the aspect ratio of movie screen and widescreen DTV formats used in all HDTV
(High Definition TV) and some SDTV (Standard Definition TV). The ratio is 16 arbitrary
units of width for every 9 arbitrary units of height.
4:3
The aspect ratio of traditional National Television Systems Committee (NTSC) TV screens.
The ratio refers to four units of width for every three units of height.
720p
Refers to a picture that is 1,280 vertical pixels by 720 horizontal pixels. The “p” stands for
progressive scanning. Progressive scanning offers a smoother picture as 720 horizontal
lines are scanned progressively or in succession in a vertical frame repeated 30 times a
second.
Anamorphic
video
Refers to video images that are “squeezed” or “stretched” (depending on whether the
video is being upconverted or downconverted) to fit a video frame. When 16:9
anamorphic video is displayed on a 4:3 screen size (downconvert), the images will appear
unnaturally tall and narrow.
Aspect Ratio
A ratio of screen width to height. It may be traditional 4:3 or 16:9 widescreen.
ATSC
An acronym for Advanced Television Systems Committee, which is responsible for
developing and establishing Digital-HDTV Standards. It is also the name of the DTV
system used by broadcasters in the U.S.
Barn Doors
When a 4:3 image is viewed on a 16:9 screen, the viewer sees black bars on the sides of
the screen, sometimes referred to as “barn doors.”
Codec
A short term used for both “Compressor-decompressor” and “Coder-decoder.” In terms of
Final Cut Pro and most editing and graphics applications, codec generally means
“Compressor-decompressor”, which, whether hardware or software, converts video and
audio signals to and from a compressed digital format. (“Coder-decoder” is generally a
device that converts analog video and audio signals into a digital format for transmission,
and also converts digital signals back into an analog format; depending on the
application, it can also have alternate meanings.)
Crossconvert
Refers to format conversion from one video standard to a similar video standard, such as
720p HD to 1080i HD.
Decoder
See “codec.” A device or program that translates encoded data into its original format (i.e.,
it decodes the data.).
Deinterlacing
The process of converting an interlaced-scan video signal (where each frame is split into
two sequential fields) to a progressive-scan signal (where each frame remains whole).
Advanced de-interlacers include a feature called 3-2 pulldown processing. Sometimes
de-interlacing is referred to as "line-doubling."
Downconvert
Refers to format conversion from a higher resolution input standard to a lower one. For
example, converting a 1080 input to a 525 display (HD to SD).
DTV (Digital
Television)
DTV stands for Digital Television. It refers to all digital television formats and standards
established by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC). Two basic DTV
standards are HDTV (high-definition television) and SDTV (standard-definition television)
