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Glossary
Linear PCM audio
PCM stands for "Pulse Code Modulation". Linear PCM
is the usual method for digitally encoding audio with-
out compression, and is used for the audio tracks on
DVD VIDEO discs. Audio CDs, etc.
MP3
MP3 (MPEG 1 audio layer 3) is a compressed audio
file format.
Files are recognized by the file extension "MP3" or
"MP3".
MPEG
MPEG stands for "Moving Picture Experts Group"
NTSC (National Television System Committee)
The initials stand for National Television Standards
Committee.
This is the committee that established the standards
for television systems in the United States. The NTSC
standard broadcasts 525 or 480 lines of resolution
per second, and 30 frames per second of refresh
rate, 60 Hz field frequency. NTSC TV system is widely
used in USA, Canada, Latin America and Taiwan etc.
PAL (Phase Alternation by Line)
PAL (Phase Alteration Line) is the color television
broadcast standard throughout the Western Europe
(except in France, where SECAM is the standard),
Australia, China, Singapore and Malaysia etc. It has
625 lines of vertical resolution per second and 25
frames per second refresh rate, 50 Hz field frequen-
cy.
S-Video
A video signal which improves picture quality over
standard composite connections. Used on Super
VHS, DVD, high end TV monitors, etc.
Track
SVCD, VCD, Audio CD discs use tracks to divide up
the content of a disc.
Progressive Scan video
Progressive displays, such as Progressive CRT, LCD,
DLP/D-ILA projectors and the new HDTV-ready TVs,
can show progressive scanned images as opposed
to interlaced images. In order to do this, the display
must scan at a higher rate, 2x the speed of NTSC.
Because scanning takes place at twice the speed,
an entire frame can be drawn in the same amount of
time it takes an interlaced system to draw a single
field. As described earlier, interlaced display shows
60 fields per second. With progressive displays, each
"field"is a complete picture including all scan lines,
top to bottom, hence it is referred to as a frame.
However, even though 60 frames are displayed per
second, only 24 of those are unique if the source is
film based. The benefits of a progressive display are
no flicker, scan lines are much less visible(permitting
closer seating to the display), and they have none of
the artifacts for the interlaced display, as long as the
source material is progressive in nature (film or a
progressive video camera).
