Glossary
Glossary
Overview of specialist terms
1080i
HDTV image signal with 1080 pixels and interlaced
display.
16:9
Cinematographic aspect ratio on widescreen displays.
720p
HDTV image signal with 1280 x 720 pixels and progres-
sive display.
CIF
Common Intermediate Format
Originally planned for converting PAL to the NTSC stan-
dard. CIF corresponds to a video resolution of 352 x 288
pixels (2CIF = 704 x 288 pixels; 4CIF = 704 x 576 pixels).
CINCH
Socket type used for analogue audio or CVBS video sig-
nals.
CVBS
Colour, Video, Blank and Sync – The simplest variation
of video signals (also known as composite video). The
image quality is comparatively low.
DDNS
Dynamic Domain Name System entry
Network service which provides and updates IP ad-
dresses of its clients in a database.
DHCP
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
Network protocol which allows the automatic connection
of devices (clients) in existing networks. DHCP servers
(e.g. Internet routers) automatically assign the IP ad-
dress, network mask, gateway, DNS server and WINS
server (when required). Only the automatic acquisition of
IP addresses must be activated for the client in this case.
Domain
Name used for the identification of websites on the Inter-
net (e.g. www.abus-sc.de).
Dual stream
Dual stream is a video transmission method. A high-
resolution recording and lower-resolution transmission
are made over the network, for example. The main
stream has a 4CIF resolution and the sub-stream has a
CIF resolution.
DVR
Digital Video Recorder – A device used for recording dif-
ferent video and audio sources (analogue, digital). The
data is compressed for recording and saved on hard disk
drives (HDD).
GIGABYTE
Unit of capacity for storage media (HDD, USB, SD/MMC
cards).
H.264
(MPEG-4 AVC) – Standard method for the highly-efficient
compression of video signals. Used on Blu-ray discs or
video conference systems, for example.
HDD
Hard Disk Drive
Digital data storage on computers or DVRs.
HDVR
Hybrid DVR – DVR used for recording analogue cameras
and network cameras.
http
Hypertext Transfer Protocol
Method for transmitting data across networks. Primarily
used for displaying websites in a browser.
Inch
Typical unit of screen size. One inch is equivalent to
2.54 centimetres. The most common sizes of 16:9 dis-
plays are 26 inch (66 cm), 32 inch (81 cm), 37 inch
(94 cm), 42 inch (106 cm), 50 inch (127 cm) and 65 inch
(165 cm).
INTERLACED
Method for improving the picture quality of a video signal
without consuming extra bandwidth (scan pattern on
every second line).
IP address
An address in the computer network based on the Inter-
net protocol. Allows different devices to identify them-
selves in a network so that they are accessed specifi-
cally.
JPEG
Compression method for photo images with minimal loss.
Most digital cameras save photos in JPEG format.
MPEG
Moving Picture Experts Group. International standard for
the compression of moving images. On some DVDs, the
digital audio signals are compressed and recorded in this
format.
NTP
Network Time Protocol
Method for synchronising the time across networks.
SNTP (Simple Network Time Protocol) is also available,
offering a simplified protocol.
NTSC
Standard colour television format in the USA. The
method is different from the European PAL system in cer-
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