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AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format) - The audio format native to Macintosh computers.

Anchor - A synonym for hyperlink, commonly within the same page as the link itself

Antialiasing - The blurring of hard edges to create the appearance of smoothness. Most commonly used with respect to graphics, especially text.

ASCII based characters - Acronym for the American Standard Code for Information Interchange. ASCII is a code for representing English characters as numbers, with each letter assigned a number from 0 to 127. Computers use ASCII codes to represent text, which makes it possible to transfer data from one computer to another.

Aspect Ratio - The ratio of the width of a film frame to its height. Now often 1.85 to 1, in the "studio era" it was 4 to 3 (the 1.33:1 "Academy ratio" still used for TV). Wider ratios like Panavision (2.2:1) and Cinemascope (2.55:1) are closer to what our eyes actually see, but need increasingly anamorphic lenses for photography and projection, and are difficult to translate to television. The more contemporary HDTV format has an aspect ratio 16:9.

Assistive Listening Device - A transmitter connected to a sound system which provides hearing enhancement to a receiver.

Audio - The term "audio" is synonymous with sound and is used more in TV production than in motion picture production; as in "audio/video" ("sound-and-picture").

AVI (Audio Video Interleaved) - A Microsoft format for digital audio and video playback from Windows 3.1. Somewhat cross-platform, but mostly a Windows format. Has been replaced by the ASF format, but still used by some multimedia developers.

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Bandwidth - A measure of the amount of data that can travel through a network. Usually measured in kilobits per second (Kbps). For example, a modem line often has a bandwidth of 56.6 Kbps, and an Ethernet line has a bandwidth of 10 Mbps (10 million bits per second).

Bit Rate - The number of bits transmitted per second. In theory, a 56 Kbps modem, for example, can transmit up to 56,000 bits per second.

Boom Microphone - A pole-like device used to project the microphone over a set, and out of camera range, to pick up the sound of dialogue. It can be quickly lengthened or shortened according to need, and pointed in any direction as required. May also be called a fishpole or fishpole boom.

Browser - A World Wide Web client. An information retrieval tool.

Buffering - A process used as a part of streaming media technologies whereby a certain amount of data is fed into the player (such as the RealPlayer) to allow it to begin playing before fully downloading the file.

Byte - One of the basic units for measuring digital information, especially relevant to understanding storage capacity on computer disks. 8 bits comprise a byte. Roughly 1000 bytes equals one kilobyte. 1000 kilobytes is one megabyte or meg. 1000 megabytes is a gigabyte.

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Cable Modem - A device that allows computer data to be transferred through the cable wire common in most households. Cable modems allow for fast transfer rates in comparison to traditional (28.8, 56k, and even ISDN) modems.

Cache - Has a number of specialized meanings, but the most common refers to the computer memory that stores information that is most frequently used. Usually stored in a special section of the main memory or in a separate device, this data can be retrieved much faster than if the computer has to find it on the hard drive.

Client - The software that allows users the ability to retrieve information from the Internet and World Wide Web. Netscape is an example of client software.

Close-Captioned (CC) - A system which displays the current dialog on screen for deaf or hard-of-hearing viewers. Contrast with subtitles.

CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and blacK) - A color model used when working with print-based images that describes colors as mixtures of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black ink. CMYK is contrasted to the RGB (Red, Green, Blue) color model, which is used when working with images intended for electronic presentation, such as on computer monitors, televisions, and LCD screens. CMYK and RGB are also called "color spaces," because each defines it own color gamut or range of colors that it can represent. Since CMYK has a narrower color gamut than RGB (it can reproduce fewer colors accurately), it is important that images intended for print be defined as CMYK images so that what appears on the screen when editing can match the final printed output.

CODEC (Coder/Decoder) - A mathematical system for compressing (encoding) and decompressing (playing back) a video or audio file. CODECs can be hardware or software-based, or both. Hardware CODECS are often more efficient, but the trade-off is that not all users will have the special hardware needed to play back the file.

Color Correction - In imaging, this refers to the process of matching the colors in a digital reproduction of an image to an analog original, such as a photograph. Adobe Photoshop is the standard application for color-correcting images. In film, this refers to adjusting the final print so that colors match from shot to shot, regardless of the film stock and camera used.

Compression - The process of reducing the size of a media file by eliminating data. Higher compression means that the compression utility (usually a software program or a combination of hardware and software) defines greater amounts of data (such as larger areas of an image) as redundant, but at certain points the human eye will register the missing information as quality loss. The trade-off is that highly compressed images can be delivered more efficiently over a network.

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DAT Recorder (Digital Audio Tape Recorder) - A medium used for recording and storing high quality audio such as interviews and sound effects from the field.

Data Projector - An LCD display device used to project computer images onto a screen. Connects to laptop and desktop computers via a VGA connector.

A data projector installed in a classroom.

Data Rate - An attribute assigned to a media file by a compression utility. It is a measure of the amount of digital information transmitted in a given unit of time—usually a second. Thus, a video could be encoded to play back at a rate of 500 kb/s. The data rate set for a file is usually influenced by the limitations of the target delivery medium. CDs, for instance, generally have a maximum transfer rate of 300 kb/s.

Decoder - A piece of hardware or software that is used to convert video or audio (typically) from the digital form used in transmission or storage into a form that can be viewed.

Digital Audio - Audio that has been encoded in a digital form for processing, storage, or transmission

Digital Editing - Editing a portion of a movie by digitizing one or more frames and altering them electronically or combining them with other digitized images, and then printing the modified frame.

Digitize - To convert analog (wave-based) media into digital format (zeros and ones) so that they can be understood by computers. Also known as "capturing," and sometimes "encoding." Digitization of video is usually accomplished with add-on devices for computers known as "Video Capture Cards," although firewire ports, which are increasingly becoming a standard on out-of-the-box systems for both Mac's and PCs, can perform this function. Audio can normally be digitized through standard sound cards that come with most computers.

.doc - File extension that is associated with digital documents created in Microsoft Word. If you have or are given a file with this extension on it (for example, BusinessLetter.doc), it is likely the document was originally created in Microsoft Word.

Document Camera - A digital device which allows an 2- or 3-dimensional object to be projected on a screen.

A document camera.

Download - To move a digital file (such as a media file) from a server where it is stored to a local system for viewing or editing.

DPI (Dots Per Inch) - A measure of image resolution.

DRM (Digital Rights Management) - A technology that allows content owners to determine and control who and how users can view content such as media files on the Internet.

Dubbing - The technique of combining multiple sound components into one. Can also refer to automatic dialog replacement of another language.

DVD (Digital Video Disk or Digital Versatile Disk) - An emerging medium for storing large amounts of digital data, most notably movies encoded using MPEG-2 compression (a CODEC designed especially for use with DVDs). DVDs can hold several gigabytes on a single disc. Most CDs by contrast can only hold 600 megabytes each.

DVD-RAM - Refers to writable DVD disks. Analogous to CD-R and CD-RW, but with several times the storage capacity of these older formats. Special drives are required for writing onto blank DVD-RAM disks.

DVD-ROM - A drive capable of reading DVD disks. DVD-ROM drives are usually backward-compatible, which means that they are also capable of reading CD-ROMs and audio CDs.

DVD-Video - A standard that combines DVD disks, MPEG-2 video compression, and any of a number of high-quality audio formats to create a movie that is stored and played back on computers and on DVD players designed for home entertainment centers.

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Editing - The selecting and joining together of shots in the way they will appear on the movie screen. The work progresses from assembly to rough cut, then fine cut, at which point the sound editor is usually brought in.

Editing, Non-linear - see Non-linear Editing

Embed Tag - An HTML tag used to place a media file (such as an audio, video, or Flash file) into a web page. The embed tag defines an area on the page in which the media file will appear if it involves graphic elements, helps the browser understand what type of file it is, and specifies other information as well, such as whether the file will play automatically when the page loads. Embedded media are contrasted to media controlled through a separate player, such as when the RealPlayer pops up over your web browser to display a video.

Encoding - The process of compressing a media file for a specific purpose, such as streaming on the Web, One can encode a file that is in analog form (such as a VHS tape) or one that is already digital (such as the signal on a Mini-DV tape).

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Firewall - A security measure that prohibits users in certain local area networks (LANs), such as one belonging to a corporation, from receiving or sending certain types of digital content. Some firewalls prevent the transmission of audio and video files.

Frame - In the world of film and photography, this refers to one of the many individual images that comprise a roll of exposed film. In the digital world it refers to one of the many discrete still images that comprise a digital video or animation file.

Frames Per Second (fps) - The number of video frames displayed each second (also called frame rate). Most people perceive continuous motion at about 17 fps. A common standard for video delivered over the web is 15 fps, which reduces file sizes substantially (since most video is shot at roughly 30 fps) but still but allows for fairly smooth motion.

Fullscreen - A way of viewing images in which the content (such as a CIF video file) is accommodated to the size of the monitor you are using. This can result in noticeable distortion if the data rate of file is low, as for video's intended for delivery via standard modems.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) - The process of moving files back and forth between a server and a local computer.

Full Motion - Refers to NTSC-quality video—a video signal that is 30 fps, and at least 640x480 pixels in size.

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GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) - A file format commonly used for images on the Web. GIFs are especially suitable for images composed of relatively few colors, such as logos or vector graphics.

Gigabyte (GB) - A unit of measure equal to 1,000 megabytes.

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HDTV -

Home Page - A top level document of a organization or a document that a user frequentlyvisits. By default Mosaic points to the Mosaic home page,however you can define anyone's home page as your home page.

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) - The rules that govern the way we create documents so that can be read by a WWW Browser. Most documents that are displayed by Mosaic are HTML documents. These documents are characterized by the .html or .htm file extension . For example: homepage.html or homepage.htm

HTTP (HyperText Transport Protocol) - The protocol through which web pages are transmitted over the Internet.

Hyperlink - A link in a given document to information within another document. These links are usually represented by highlighted words or images. The user also has the option to underline these hyperlinks.

HTTP Streaming - A form of streaming (popularized by QuickTime) in which media files begin to play before they are downloaded entirely. This means that they can be sent via HTTP and don't require specialized server software such as RealMedia files do. (RealMedia files use a specialized protocol called RTSP and require content providers to have a special server application installed.) Also called Progressive Download.

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Interlaced - Images that are displayed progressively as they download. Interlaced images appear to come into focus gradually in contrast to images that are not interlaced, which are drawn from top down as they download.

Internet - The international computer network of networks that connect government, academic and business institutions.

IP (Internet Protocol) - The basic language of the Internet. It was developed by the government for use in connecting multiple computer networks.

ISP (Internet Service Provider) - A company that allows users to dial in to the Internet usually through a modem. Other services ISPs often support include web hosting, the ability for users to maintain their own websites, and email.

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Java - An object-oriented programming language that is platform independent (i.e., works on Windows, Mac OS, Linux). Java is often used to write "java applets," which are small applications that can be embedded into web pages, giving the pages sophisticated functionality.

JavaScript - A programming language based on Java and C++ developed by Netscape that allows web authors to give increased interactive functionality to web pages. Common functions created with JavaScript are image rollovers (an image that changes when you scroll your mouse over it), browser detection, and pop-up windows.

JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) - Refers to an image file format popular for delivery over the Web because of its relatively high quality and low file size. Before uploading JPEGs to the Web, users can determine the amount of compression assigned to them-usually on a scale from 1 to 10. Recommended file type for photographic images.

Kilobyte - A unit of measure equal to 1,000 bytes.

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LCD Display - Short for Liquid Crystal Display, any device that projects data or video using Liquid Crystal Display technology. LCD computer monitors are usually very sharp. LCD projectors

Letterboxing - A technique marked by black strips at the top and bottom of a screen image that allows for video or film shot at wide aspect ratios to be viewed on devices such as standard televisions that have squarer shapes.

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Media Cabinet - A locked cabinet located in the classrooms which houses media equipment that remains permanently fixed in the classroom.

Megabyte (MB) - A unit of measure equal to 1,000 kilobytes.

Microphone (Mic) - A device which converts sound into electrical impulses, usually for recording or amplification.

Mixer/Mixing - In live recording, refers to combining sound from different microphones, such as narration and ambient sound. The sound technician responsible for balacing audio uses a device called a mixer, which allows him or her adjust the balance and levels of sound from these different sources. In editing, this also refers to combining more than one recorded soundtrack in the finished product.

MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) - A series of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards for digital video and audio, designed for different uses and data rates.

MPEG-1 - A standard designed to allow for playback of video on CD. VCDs are encoded with MPEG-1. This format has dimensions of 352x240 pixels, and is sometimes considered comparable to VHS in quality. The bit rate of a standard MPEG1 is 1.5Mbps. Included in MPEG-1 is a popular standard for audio called MP3 (MP3 is technically MPEG-1 layer 3)

MPEG-2 - The standard for DVD video. Supports higher data rates than MPEG-1.

Multicast - In streaming media, it is the method of carrying a compressed video signal across multiple routers to various clients.

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Non-linear Editing - The computer-assisted editing of video without the need to assemble it in linear sequence. The video-editing equivalent of word processing.

NTSC - The video input signal formats used in North America and Japan. Full-sized NTSC has a display rate of 60 fields per second (30 interlaced fps), and 525 total lines (480 visible) per frame.

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Overhead Projector - Sometimes referred to as a transparency projector, it contains a glass plate with a light from below that when powered on reflects an image through the lens on an arm to magnify transparent film onto a screen.

An overhead projector.

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PAL (Phase Alternating Line) - The European standard for television transmission.

Pan and Scan (aka Full Screen) - A process by which significant action in film is determined on a shot-by-shot basis, and less significant parts are eliminated to fit onto a television-sized screen. A way of compensating for television's narrow aspect ratio when transferring film to video. Contrast with Letterboxing.

PDF (Portable Document Format) - A proprietary document format from Adobe that preserves formatting such as specific fonts and graphics by embedding them into the file. PDF files are created with Adobe Acrobat.

Pixel - A single unit of screen information: one of the colored "dots" that make up a video image. Depending on the display mode, a pixel may require 8 bits/1 byte of information (for 256, or VGA, color mode), 16 bits/2 bytes (for "high color" mode) or 24 bits/3 bytes (for "true color" mode).

PNG (Portable Network Graphics) - An image file format designed for the Web. Supported by Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 and Navigator Navigator 4.04 and later.

.ppt - File extension that is associated with digital documents created in Microsoft PowerPoint. If you have or are given a file with this extension on it (for example, Presentation.ppt), it is likely the document was originally created in Microsoft PowerPoint.

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QuickTime - A digital audio and video file-format and architecture developed by Apple Computer, Inc.. Can be viewed on most computing platforms.

QuickTime VR (QTVR) - A part of the QuickTime architecture that allows 360-degree interactive panoramas to be developed and viewed.

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Real Time - A transmission that occurs right away, without any perceptible delay. Very important in video conferencing, as too much delay will make the system unusable.

RealMedia - One of the first CODECs for delivering streaming video over the Internet. Like other CODECs, RealMedia (comprised of RealVideo, RealAudio, and other file formats created by Real) use compression algorithms for eliminating data that can be considered as extraneous or not as important as other information. RealMedia and Windows Media are the two most widely used technologies for streaming video today.

Resolution - The number of pixels in a given space, usually measured as dots per inch (DPI). Also, the number of dots per inch used by an output device.

RGB (Red Green Blue) - The most widely-used color model for images displayed on electronic screens. It is based on the color subtraction that results from shining white light through a colored medium such as a slide. Contrast with CMYK.

.rtf - File extension that is associated with digital documents created in a text based editor but saved as Rich Text Format (RTF), an open source document formatting scheme that allows files to be saved with formatting intact where it would otherwise be lost if simply saved as a text file.

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SECAM - The video format used in France and some other countries. SECAM has 625 lines total, 576 lines visible per frame, and has a frame-rate of 25 frames per second.

Server - A computer that serves centralized information, either to a local group or the Internet.

Standards Conversion - The transfer of one video standards format to another. For example, European tapes are made in the PAL format and need to be converted to NTSC format to be viewed in North American countries.

Streaming Media - Video or audio transmitted over a network that users can begin to play immediately instead of waiting for the entire file to download. Typically a few seconds of data is sent ahead and buffered in case of network transmission delays. (Although some data is buffered to the hard drive, it is written to temporary storage and is gone once viewing is complete.) RealMedia, QuickTime and Windows Media are the most common streaming formats.

Surround Sound - A sound system which creates the illusion of multi-directional sound through speaker placement and signal processing. See also Dolby, SDDS, DTS, THX.

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TCP/IP - Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, a set of rules that establish the method with which data is transmitted over the Internet between two computers.

Teleconferencing - see Videoconferencing

Terabyte (TB) - A unit of measure equal to 1,000 gigabytes.

TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) - An image file output format. TIFF files are lossless, meaning the compression they apply to an image doesn't create artifacts that can degrade the appearance of the image. TIFF files are often used for archiving high quality versions of an images, such as images intended to be reproduced in print or studied digitally in minute detail.

Transparency Projector - see Overhead Projector

.txt - File extension that is associated with digital documents created as "text only". Text only documents have no formatting saved with them (i.e., no tabs, centering, etc.), but preserve all ASCII-based characters.

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Unicast - Sending each user their own copy of a video (or other data) stream. As opposed to Multicast, where one copy is sent and whomever wants it listens to that copy. It is the most commonly used method for video conferencing and video on demand today.

URL - Uniform Resource Locator, the address to a source of information. The URL contains four distinct parts, the protocol type, the machine name, the directory path and the file name. For example: http://media.ucsc.edu

Upload - To move a digital file (such as a media file) from a local system to a server where it is stored for others to access or later retrieval. For example, web pages must be "uploaded" to a web server for them to be viewed on the world wide web.

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VGA connector (or VGA port) - Abbreviation for Video Graphics Acceleration, it is the standard connector by which computers output a video signal to an external viewing device (such as a monitor or a data projector).

A VGA connector.

VHS (Video Home System) - A popular format for VCR systems. See also DVD.

Video/data projector - see Data Projector.

Videoconferencing - Two or more people who are geographically distant having a meeting across a telecommunications link such as IP, ISDN, or T-1 line. Sometimes called teleconferencing.

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Web Archiving - The process by which a class session is recorded on video and digitized on a computer for later playback through a web browser. The process typically includes video, audio, and the data projection materials from a course (including PowerPoint files) combined and presented on the web for viewing by students at any time. UCSC Media Services is the sole provider of this service on campus and more information may be found here.

Web browser - see Browser

White Balance - A way of calibrating a camera's color response to take into account different color temperatures of light (i.e., fluorescent light is greenish; sunlight, more blue; incandescent light, yellowish). This calibration allows the camera to define what the color white is under any of these various lighting conditions. Failure to white balance could result in an unsightly, unnatural color cast. Many of the new higher-quality DV cameras on the market currently, such as the Sony VX-2000 or the Canon XL-2, have automatic white balancing features that are more reliable than were possible with previous cameras.

Widescreen (aka Letterbox) - Technically, a particularly wide aspect ratio used for some films, but commonly used to describe content (such as appears on many DVDs) that displays at wider aspect ratios than are normally in use, such as on standard televisions.

Windows Media
A media format developed by Microsoft for streaming and playing back media files.

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.xls - File extension that is associated with digital documents created in Microsoft Excel. If you have or are given a file with this extension on it (for example, Budget.xls), it is likely the document was originally created in Microsoft Excel.

XML (eXtensible Markup Language) - An emerging standard for describing, or marking up, documents and data distributed on the Web. XML allows authors to create customized tags that can help them efficiently achieve their goals.

World wide web terms courtesy of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu). Multimedia terms courtesy of University of North Carolina Center for Instructional Technology (http://www.unc.edu/cit/guides/irg-14.html). Some modification of terms has been made to assist our clients' understanding of our equipment and services.

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Questions about this page? Please contact Matt Norwood at norwood< at >ucsc.edu.