Glossary

Security card that Digital Cable Ready (DCR) TV owners must obtain from their cable company in order to view scrambled programming, such as premium services.

In broadcasting and radio communications, a Call Sign is a unique designation that identifies a transmitting station. In some cases, they are used as names for broadcasting stations. A Call Sign can be formally assigned by a government agency or informally adopted by individuals or organizations, and it can be cryptographically encoded to disguise a station's identity.

Channel Scan will search for digital broadcast channels that are available in your area; once the scan is completed, you will be able to tune to the digital channels received by your antenna.

Service allowing persons with hearing disabilities to read dialogue or the audio portion of a video, film, or other presentation, on the TV screen.

Coaxial inputs (sometimes just called "cable") provide a simple and common way to transmit video. Now coaxial inputs are mostly used for connecting a TV set to an antenna or cable system.

Device for connecting a coaxial cable to a TV with a Twin Lead cable connection port.

Term is short for "Coder-decoder." A codec is a device that converts analog video and audio signals into a digital format for transmission. It also converts received digital signals back into an analog format.

Also known as "Y Pb Pr," this connector splits the video signal into three parts. With two audio connections, this five-wire solution is the most common way to connect an EDTV to DVD player and most HDTV monitors to their receivers or other set-top boxes.

Also called "RCA" connectors, it is the most common way to connect peripherals and other components. It consists of one yellow connector for video and two audio connectors for "right" and "left." Composite connectors cannot transmit high-definition pictures. This means that, for HDTV, another connector option — such as HDMI or Component Video — must be employed.

Term that refers to the reduction of the size of digital data files by removing redundant and/or non-critical information ("data" being the elements of video, audio and other "information"). DTV in the U.S. would not be possible without compression.

This term refers to an input feature on some HDTV sets (like SVGA or VGA) that allows TV sets to be connected to computers.

Also referred to as a “digital-to-analog converter box,” this is a stand-alone device that receives, decodes, and converts over-the-air digital programming into analog. When connected to an analog television, it permits digital programming to be displayed in analog.

When viewing widescreen format on an analog TV, the picture is cropped — i.e., black bars appear above, below, and on either side of the picture. This is done to maintain the original aspect ratio of the original picture source.

Cathode Ray Tube. Display screens used in TV sets and computer monitors that use a Cathode Ray Tube, which is also called a "picture tube." Cathode Ray Tubes were found in all electronic television sets up until the invention of the less bulky LCD screens.