Additional Information
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Dynamic range
The difference between the quietest and loudest
sounds possible in an audio signal (without
distorting or getting lost in noise). Dolby Digital
and DTS soundtracks are capable of a very wide
dynamic range, delivering dramatic cinema-like
effects.
File extension
A tag added to the end of a filename to indicate
the type of file. For example, “.mp3” indicates an
MP3 file.
Group (DVD-Audio only)
A collection of tracks on a DVD-Audio disc.
Equivalent to a DVD-Video title. See also
Title
and
Track
.
HDCP
HDCP is the acronym for High-bandwidth Digital
Content Protection.
It is an encrypting method for DVI-use images and
its purpose is the protection of image content
against illegal copying. Receiving the encrypted
signals requires a display with HDCP-compatible
DVI input.
HDMI
HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is an
interface that expands DVI for next-generation
digital audiovisual devices.
HDMI terminals can simultaneously transmit
uncompressed digital images and the digital audio
signals of Dolby Digital DTS, Linear PCM, etc.
Interlaced video
A method of displaying a picture in which odd-
numbered lines are updated in one pass, then
even-numbered lines updated in the next. See also
Progressive scan video
.
MP3
MP3 (MPEG1 audio layer 3) is a compressed
audio file format. Files are recognized by their file
extension “.mp3” or “.MP3”.
MPEG audio
An audio format used on Video CDs and some
DVD discs. This unit can convert MPEG audio to
PCM format for wider compatibility with digital
recorders and AV amplifiers. See also
PCM
.
Glossary
Analog audio
An electrical signal that directly represents sound.
Compare this to digital audio which can be an
electrical signal, but is an indirect representation
of sound. See also
Digital audio
.
Aspect ratio
The width of a TV screen relative to its height.
Conventional TVs are 4:3 (in other words, the
screen is almost square); widescreen models are
16:9 (the screen is almost twice as wide as it is
high).
Bonus Group (DVD-Audio only)
An ‘extra’ group on some DVD-Audio discs that
requires a key number to access. See also
Group
.
Browsable pictures (DVD-Audio only)
A feature of some DVD-Audio discs in which the
user can browse still pictures recorded on the disc
as the audio is played. See also
Slideshow
.
Chapter (DVD-Video, DVD-RW)
Just as a book is split up into several chapters, a
title on a DVD disc is usually divided into chapters.
See also
Title
.
Digital audio
An indirect representation of sound by numbers.
During recording, the sound is measured at
discrete intervals (44,100 times a second for CD
audio) by an analog-to-digital converter, generat-
ing a stream of numbers. On playback, a digital-to-
analog converter generates an analog signal based
on these numbers. See also
Sampling frequency
and
Analog audio
.
Dolby Digital
1
Using a maximum of 5.1 channels of audio, this
high quality surround system is used in many of
the finer movie theaters around the world.
DTS
R
DTS stands for Digital Theater System. DTS is a
surround system different from
Dolby Digital
that
has become a popular surround sound format for
movies.
