LaCie LaCinema Premier
User Manual
page 47
480p
– Also known as 480 progressive, this is a form
of standard-definition digital television (SDTV) which
is similiar to VGA computer displays. A DVD’s resolu-
tion is 480p, but this resolution can only be seen when
the DVD player outputs a progressive-scan signal, and
the television has progressive-scan or component-video
inputs.
720p
– Also known as 720 progressive, this is one
of two formats designated as a high-definition digital
television (HDTV), ATSC DTV standard. This tech-
nology uses progressive scanning and is comprised of
720 vertical pixels by 1,280 horizontal pixels.
1080i
– Also known as 1080 interlaced, this is the
second of two formats designated as a high-definition
digital television (HDTV), ATSC DTV standard. This
technology uses interlaced scanning and is comprised
of 1,080 vertical pixels by 1,920 horizontal pixels.
AC3
(Audio Coding 3) – This is an advanced audio
compression technology that allows encoding of six
separate channels at a bit rate of 448kbits/s.
AVI
(Audio Video Interleave) – A file format that can
contain audio/video compressed standards using differ-
ent combinations of codecs (e.g. DivX® video file and
a WMA audio file).
DivX®
– A video codec devel-
oped from the new MPEG-4 compression standard,
which allows for compression/decompression of videos
into a specified format. The DivX® codec can play
movies using any DivX®-enabled player, such as the
LaCie LaCinema Premier. DivX® movies offer better
compression and higher quality than standard MPEG
movies.
DTS
– Digital sound technology, which provides the
technology for virtually all movie soundtracks.
Firmware
– Permanent or semi-permanent instruc-
tions and data programmed directly into the circuitry
of a programmable read-only memory or an electroni-
cally-erasable, programmable read-only memory chip.
Used for controlling the operation of the computer or
tape drive. Distinct from the software, which is stored
in random access memory and can be altered.
ID3 Tag
– An embedded tag in MP3 files that com-
municates a song’s title, artist and album. These tags
can be edited.
MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group)
– These
are the developers of the MPEG-1 (VideoCDs),
MPEG-2 (DVDs and SuperVCDs) and MPEG-4
(DivX®, WMV) video compression standards. The
MPEG group is also responsible for the development
of the MP3 and AAC audio compression standards.
NTSC (National Television Standards Commit-
tee)
– This group is responsible for the development of
a set of protocols used for transmission and reception
of TV broadcasts in the United States. An NTSC im-
age has 525 horizontal lines per frame, which are inter-
laced from left to right, top to bottom. NTSC signals
are not directly compatible with computer systems.
PAL (Phase Alternation Line)
– This is the analog
TV display commonly used in Europe. The PAL image
has 625 horizontal lines per frame, and the color defi-
nition differs slightly from the NTSC standard.
VOB (Video OBjects)
– The format in which DVD
movies are stored. Within each VOB file, a number of
video/audio/subpicture streams are stored. Subpicture
streams refer to the subtitles on DVDs and other VOB
files. These subtitles are video streams that overlay the
main picture stream, and can be turned on or off.
WMA (Windows Media Audio)
– An audio format
developed by Microsoft® for audio streaming and com-
pression.
XviD
– A video codec, very similiar to DivX®, based
on the MPEG-4 compression standard. This an open-
source video codec that is currently being developed
around the world. The XviD codec can play movies
using any XviD-enabled player, such as the LaCie
LaCinema Premier.
Glossary
