Home Automation
Bandwidth
- In audio, the range of frequencies a device operates within. In video, the range of frequencies passed from the input to the output.
Bass
- Low frequencies, that is frequencies below approximately 200 Hz.
Center Channel
- The center speaker in a home theater setup. Ideally placed within one or two feet above or below the horizontal plane of the left and right speakers and above or below the display device, unless placed behind a perforated screen. Placement is important, as voices and many effects in a multichannel mix come from this speaker.
Coaxial
- A speaker typically with one driver in the middle of, and on the same axis as, another driver. 2) An audio or video cable with a single center pin that acts as the hot lead and an outer shield that acts as a ground.
Component Video
- A signal that is recorded or transmitted in its separate components. Typically refers to Y/Pb/Pr, which consists of three 75-ohm channels: one for luminance information, and two for color. Compared with an S-video signal, a Y/Pb/Pr signal carries more color detail. HDTV, DVD, and DBS are component video sources, though most DBS material is transcoded to component from composite signals.
Composite Video
- A signal that contains both chrominance and luminance on the same 75-ohm cable. Used in nearly all consumer video devices. Chrominance is carried in a 3.58-mHz sideband and filtered out by the TV's notch or comb filter. Poor filtering can result in dot crawl, hanging dots, or other image artifacts.
Controller
- Generic term that typically refers to a combination preamp/surround processor or receiver. Can also refer to a handheld wireless remote.
Digital Audio Server
- Essentially a hard drive, a digital audio server stores compressed audio files (like MP3 or WMA). Most include the processing to make the files, and all have the ability to play them back.
Distortion
- Any undesired change in an audio signal between input and the output.
DLP
- Digital Light Processing. A Texas Instruments process of projecting video images using a light source.
DNR
- Dynamic Noise Reduction. A signal-processing circuit that attempts to reduce the level of high-frequency noise.
Dolby Digital
- An encoding system that digitally compresses up to 5.1 discrete channels of audio (left front, center, right front, left surround, right surround, and LFE) into a single bitstream, which can be recorded onto a DVD, HDTV broadcast, or other form of digital media.
Dolby EX
- An enhancement to Dolby Digital that adds a surround back channel to 5.1 soundtracks. The sixth channel is matrixed from the left and right surround channels. Often referred to as 6.1. Sometimes referred to as 7.1.
Dolby Pro Logic
- An enhancement of the Dolby Surround decoding process. Pro Logic decoders derive left, center, right, and a mono surround channel from two-channel Dolby Surround encoded material via matrix techniques.
Dynamic Range
- The difference between the lowest and the highest levels; in audio, it's often expressed in decibels. In video, it's listed as the contrast ratio.
Feedback
- The transmission of current or voltage from the output of a device back to the input, where it interacts with the input signal to modify operation of the device. Feedback is positive when it's in phase with the input and negative when it's out of phase.
Dynamic Feedback
- The transmission of current or voltage from the output of a device back to the input, where it interacts with the input signal to modify operation of the device. Feedback is positive when it's in phase with the input and negative when it's out of phase.
Full-Range
- A speaker designed to reproduce the full range (20 Hz to 20 kHz) of audio frequencies.
HDCP
- High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection. Created by Intel, HDCP is used with HDTV signals over HDMI connections and on D-Theater D-VHS recordings to prevent unauthorized duplication of copyright material.
HDMI
- HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is a compact audio/video interface for transferring uncompressed digital audio/video data from an HDMI-compliant device ("the source device") to a compatible digital audio device, computer monitor, video projector , or digital TV. HDMI is a digital replacement for existing analog standards.
Line-Level (Low-Level)
- A level of electrical signals too low to make the average speaker move sufficiently. Amplifiers receive line-level signals and amplify them to speaker level.
LNB
- Low-Noise Blocker. The receiving end of a satellite dish.
Low Pass
- A filter that lets low frequencies go through but doesn't let high frequencies go through. Same as high cut.
Luminance
- The black and white (Y) portion of a composite, Y/C, or Y/Pb/Pr video signal. .
Multisource
- System with multiple sources. Can also be used to describe a receiver that can provide multiple different sources into different rooms.
Multiroom
- System that provides audio or video to multiple areas. Usually with only one source.
Multizone
- System that provides different sources into multiple areas simultaneously.
Optical Digital Cable
- Fiber optic cable that transfers digital audio signals as light pulses.
Pixel
- Contraction of picture element. The smallest element of data in a video image.
Preamplifier
- A control and switching component that may include equalization functions. The preamp comes in the signal chain before the amplifiers.
Pre Outs
- Connectors that provide a line-level output of the internal preamp or surround processor.
Pre Outs/Main Ins
- Connectors on a receiver that provide an interruptible signal loop between the output of the internal preamp or surround processor portion of the receiver and the input of the amplifier portion of the receiver.
Signal-to-Noise Ratio
- A comparison of the signal level relative to the noise level. Larger numbers are better.
Subwoofer
- A speaker designed to reproduce very low bass frequencies, usually those below about 80 Hz.
THX
- Certification program for home theater equipment. Uses some proprietary features, but mostly assures a base quality level for a given room size.
THX Ultra 2
- The newest certification from THX, THX Ultra 2 requires amplification for seven channels and boundary compensation for subwoofers.
WMA
- Windows Media Audio. An audio compression format similar to MP3, but with digital rights management (copy protection and usage restrictions) built-in by Microsoft.
Zone
- One or more rooms powered by one or more amplifiers, which are all fed by one source. A home can be divided into multiple zones, which can play multiple sources, even though several rooms (say, the kitchen, dining room, and living room) all play the same source.
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