Glossary
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Glossary
AAC
Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) is one of the audio compression formats defined by the MPEG-2 specification.
AAC used to be called NBC (Non-Backward-Compatible), because it is not compatible with the MPEG-1 audio
formats. AAC may eventually replace MP3 since it offers better sound quality and greater file compression.
Bit Rate, file compression
Bit rate denotes the average number of bits that one second of audio data will consume. The size of a digital
audio file is determined by the bit rate used when encoding the file. The higher the bit rate used, the higher the
sound quality and the larger the file size. For example, a bit rate of 128k is usually very close to CD quality, and
takes up about 1MB per minute of music. At a 64k bit rate, the sound quality is similar to that of an FM radio
DRM, security
Digital Rights Management (DRM) technologies protect copyright ownership of digital information. DRM
became an issue with the rise of MP3 technology and Internet distribution of music. DRB platforms serve as a
security “wrapper” around digital audio supporting Internet distribution while at the same time protecting and
managing rights related to that digital information.
Codec
Depending on the context and kind of technology involved, codec may be defined in two ways.
In telecommunications, a codec is usually a "coding/decoding" chip used to translate between digital and analog
transmissions. A modem uses one to interpret incoming analog signals and converts the digital data stream
coming from the computer into analog.
A codec is also defined as a compression/decompression algorithm. Codecs are used to shrink large files or
data streams, often for efficient transmission over a network, and then decode them when they are displayed.
The Rio Digital Audio Receiver supports the following digital audio file codecs:
•
MP3
•
WMA
Encode, “Rip” (a CD)
Encoding, or “ripping”, refers to converting an audio file from a CD-ROM into a compressed digital audio
format, such as MP3 or WMA, that may be played on the Rio Receiver, on the computer, or on a portable Rio
Digital Audio Player.
Ethernet Network
A common method of networking computers in a LAN. Ethernet will handle approximately 10 million bits-per-
second and can be used with almost any kind of computer. Requires the use of a hub and Ethernet cable.
signal, but you may get around two minutes of music in that same 1MB of storage space.
