ATSC: Advanced Television Systems Committee, the Digital Television (DTV) broadcasting format in the U.S.
CECB: Coupon Eligible Converter Box, DTV converter boxes which are eligible for purchase using the $40 coupon from the US Government. Non CECB boxes are not eligible for purchase using the coupon. View the list of CECBs available on the market.
Computer Input: Some HDTV sets have an SVGA or VGA input that allows the TV sets to be connected to a computer.
Digital Cable: A service provided by cable television providers. Digital cable is not the same as High- Definition Television or digital television; rather digital cable simply offers cable subscribers optional services.
Digital Monitor: DTV monitors are televisions that can display a digital signal but lack an integrated HDTV tuner and cannot receive a digital broadcast signal without an additional set-top box.
Digital Television (DTV): Digital TV is the term encompassing High-definition Television and several other applications, including Standard Definition Television, datacasting, multicasting and interactivity.
DLP: Digital Light Processing a screen type similar to LCD.
Dolby Digital: A digital surround sound audio technology used in movie theaters and upscale home theater systems to enhance the audio experience.
DVI: Digital Visual Interface - A special connection cable for digital audio and video components. Adapters are available for DVI to HMDI connections.
DVR: Digital Video Recorder
HD Ready: A DTV monitor / television without a DTV tuner, a separate set-top-box / HDTV tuner is required to watch HDTV broadcasts.
High Definition TV Antenna: Any standard television antenna can receive HDTV signals, if you already have a regular TV antenna, you do not need to purchase a special HDTV antenna
High Definition TV (HDTV) / High Definition (HD): The best quality digital picture, 16x9, widescreen display with at least 720 progressively scanned lines (720p) or 1080 interlaced lines (1080i) and Dolby digital surround sound.
HMDI: High-Definition Multimedia Interface – A special connection cable for digital audio and video components. Adapters are available for HMDI to DVI connections.
Integrated HDTV: An High Definition TV that has a digital tuner built into the set. It does not need a separate set-top box to receive over-the-air DTV signals.
NTSC: National Television Systems Committee and the name of the current analog transmission standard used in the U.S since 1953.
OTA: This is a broadcast signal transmitted "over-the-air" to an antenna. The way most people receive their local channels. Same as Terrestrial Broadcasting.
Picture Formats-
Letterbox Format: Letterbox refers to the image of a wide-screen picture on a standard 4:3 aspect ratio television screen, typically with black bars above and below. It is used to maintain the original aspect ratio of the original source (usually a theatrical motion picture of 16:9 aspect ratio or wider).
Wide screen Format: A term given to picture displays with a wider aspect ratio than NTSC 4:3. Digital HDTV or SDTV is referred to as "16:9 wide screen." Most motion pictures also have a 16:9 wide screen aspect ratio. Most Digital TVs have a screen that is wider than it is tall (if a Digital TV screen is nine inches high, it's 16 inches wide.) When watching a show recorded in the wide screen format on a Digital TV, viewers see more of the movie, while when viewing wide screen format on an analog TV, cropped edges are evident.
PIP: Picture-In-Picture - A feature on some televisions, where one channel is displayed on the full TV screen, and one or more other channels are displayed in smaller insets at the same time, allowing you to watch two or more channels at the same time.
Pixel: Pixels are the tiny dots that make up an overall picture on a computer monitor or television. Resolution is measured in pixels- 1080i (HDTV), 1080p (HDTV), 480i (SDTV), 480p (EDTV), 720p (HDTV)
Screen Types – LCD, Plasma, Rear Projection, Digital Light Processing (DLP) Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Click here for an easy to understand guide to TV screen types on eBay.
Standard Definition TV Format (SDTV): There are two digital formats - HDTV and SDTV. SDTV produces better quality images than that of traditional analog, but are of lower quality than High-Definition TV (HDTV).
Set-top Converter Box: Also known as a set-top-box, HDTV Tuner, HDTV Receiver, HDTV Converter. This unit sits on top of an analog TV, receives the Digital TV signal, converts it to an analog signal, and then sends that signal on to the analog TV, allowing a user to keep their existing television and watch HDTV broadcasts. Analog TVs require an HDTV Tuner to receive over-the-air HDTV television signals.
Terrestrial Broadcasting: This is a broadcast signal transmitted "over-the-air" to an antenna. The way most people receive their local channels.
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