VIZIO L15 User Guide
Version - 4/5/2005
www.vizioce.com
29
Appendix A: Glossary - Standard Definitions
Analog TV: Today’s TV system using radio frequency waves to transmit and display pictures and sound.
Digital TV (DTV): Television delivered and displayed using radio frequency waves that contain information
that is digitally encoded for improved quality and efficiency.
Standard Definition TV (SDTV): Basic digital television transmission that may be displayed with fewer than
480 progressively scanned lines (480p) in 16 x 9 or 4 x 3 format. 480 interlaced
(480i) is the quality of today’s analog TV system. SDTV provides 150-300,000 pixels.
Enhanced Definition TV (EDTV): A better digital television transmission than SDTV with at least 480p, in a
16 x 9 or 4 x 3 display and Dolby digital surround sound. 480p is the quality used by most DVD players.
EDTV provides 300-400,000 pixels.
High-Definition Television (HDTV): The best quality digital picture, widescreen (16 x 9) display with at least
720 progressively scanned lines (720p) or 1080 interlaced lines (1080i) and Dolby digital surround sound.
HDTV provides 900,000-2.1 million pixels.
HDTV Monitor (sometimes called HDTV Ready): A set that can display HDTV programming if you have a
separate HDTV tuner, HD Cable Set-Top Box or HD Satellite Set-Top-Box Receiver.
HDTV Tuner (also decoder, receiver, set-top box): A device capable of receiving and outputting HDTV
signals for display. It may be stand-alone or integrated in the set.
Integrated HDTV: An HDTV that has the digital tuner built into the set. It does not need a separate set-top
box to receive over-the-air DTV signals.
Plug-and-Play or Digital Cable Ready: A DTV or other device for digital cable customers that plugs directly
into the cable jack and does not require a separate set-top box. Plug and Play TV owners must obtain a
CableCARD from their cable company in order to view scrambled programming services.
Interlace Scan: A way to scan vertical lines onto a TV picture by scanning all the odd lines first, then filling in
the even lines (this happens instantaneously).
Progressive Scan: A way to scan vertical lines onto a TV picture by scanning all the lines consecutively
(progressively).
Aspect ratio (4 X 3): Traditional TV “aspect ratio,” that is, the screen’s width as compared to its height. For
example, a “32 inch TV screen” would be 25 ½ inches wide and 19 inches tall.
Aspect ratio (16 X 9): “Widescreen” TV” aspect ratio” that is more like a movie screen than a traditional TV.
For example, a “32 inch TV screen” would be 28 inches wide and 16 inches tall.
Source: Buying a Digital Television, CEA, HDTV Guide, 2005
Note: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and
the Consumer Electronics Retailers Coalition (CERC) have made a new tip sheet available for digital
television (DTV) retailers to reproduce and distribute to consumers on the sales floor. The file may be
downloaded online at www.dtv.gov. While you’re there, check out the other useful information the FCC is
making available to consumers interested in learning more about the analog to digital transition.
