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Brief Technical Glossary
MPEG-4
A further development of MPEG-2 with even
higher data compression, intended for HDTV
transmissions.
NID
The channel identifi cation number is also referred
to as the Network ID or NID.
OSD - On-Screen Display
Displays by the receiver on the TV screen
(e.g. main menu)
OTR
One Touch Recording
PAL
Analogue TV standard
Pay TV
Television channels available on subscription (e.g.
Sky). Encrypted transmitters which can only be
decrypted by using the appropriate smart card.
As a rule these services are subscription-only.
PCMCIA
Standard for internal decoder interface for pay-TV
PID
The PID (Packet Identifi cation) number is an
identifi
cation number for video signals and
audio signals in the digital data stream of
DVB-MPEG-2 signals. The receiver uses the PID
number to create a unique assignment for the
video and audio data transmission. The PCR PID
is the identifi cation number for the synchronization
signal. The PID-PCR is normally identical to
the video PID. For programmes broadcast in
multiple languages, the audio PID can be entered
manually to assign a different language to the TV
programme. After the PID is entered, the digital
receiver automatically selects the audio data
identifi ed by the PID number from the data stream
and assigns it to the video signal.
PIN
Personal Identifi
cation Number For this unit
the PIN is a four-digit numeric code which must
be entered to unlock the unit to allow access to
certain functions and channels.
PIP
Picture-in-Picture function
QAM - Quadrature Amplitude Modulation
Digital modulation process with phase shift keying,
which is used for transmissions in cable networks.
Receiver
Receiver
RGB
Video signal made up of three individual colour
signals (red, green, blue)
Scart cable
21-pin connecting cable (e.g. receiver/TV)
Smartcard
Card from Pay-TV provider to decode its channels
Standby
Standby mode
Symbol rate
The symbol rate describes the quantity of data
that is transmitted per second. The symbol rate
is measured in MSymbols/s and is equal to the
number of symbols received per second.
Time-shift function
Time-shifted playback
Timer function
Clock function for pre-programmed switch on and
off times
UPnP
Stands for "Universal Plug and Play". For further
information, go to "www.upnp.org".
VCR/PVR connection
Connection for an external recorder (such as a
video or DVD recorder)
Video bit rate
The video bit rate describes the quantity of data
from the digitised video signal that is transmitted
per second.
Viterbi rate
The Viterbi rate (code rate, error rate) characterises
the error protection used by the programme
provider. The DVB standard provides the following
values: 1/2 - 2/3 - 3/4 - 5/6 - 7/8
