Digital Television Terms Glossary [q-z]
Rear-Projection
Type of television where an image is projected from the rear of the
television cabinet onto a screen at the front. The two most popular
types of rear-projection TVs are based on one of two technologies - LCD
or DLP.
Red Push
Refers to the tendency of a television's color decoder to accentuate the
color of red as compared to blue and green. Typically, this is
intentionally caused to compensate for an overly blue color temperature.
Response Time
Response time is a measure of how long a display takes to change the
image. A typical LCD television is 2 to 3 times faster than the average
computer monitor LCD. Fast response time is superior for playing
computer games and viewing action movies and sports.
Resolution
Refers to the number of pixels a television is capable of displaying. A
higher resolution usually corresponds to a sharper image.
S-Video
A type of connection that separates the color data from the brightness
data entering into a television from an external device such as a DVD
player.
SDTV
Refers to standard-definition television, a digital television format
that includes 480-line resolution in both interlaced and progressively
scanned formats. Similar to DVD or satellite TV in quality, it is not
considered high definition television.
Surround Sound
See Dolby Digital.
TiVo
A popular manufacturer of digital video recorders.
Up Conversion
Refers to the conversion from a lower-resolution input signal to a
television capable of receiving higher resolutions. For example, a
conversion from an SDTV source signal of 480p to HDTV 1080i on an HDTV
television is an up conversion.
V-Chip
Canadian-invented electronic component that allows television broadcasts
to be filtered according to ratings criteria. V-Chips are typically
marketed as a parental control on the types of television children can
watch.
Vertical Compression
Feature found on 4:3 TVs designed to take advantage of the extra
resolution in anamorphic DVDs and other wide-screen content. Pioneered
by Sony, this feature squeezes the TV raster so that the electron beam
scans in a smaller area. It requires setting the DVD player to 16:9
mode, eliminates anamorphic downconversion artifacts, and ideally
provides a 33 percent increase in resolution in the letterboxed image.
(Definition from CNET.)
Vertical Resolution
Refers to the number of horizontal lines (or pixel rows) from the top of
the television screen to the bottom.
Voom Satellite TV
Upstart satellite TV broadcaster. Competitor to DirecTV and Dish
Network.
Widescreen
Term used to refer to 16:9 screen ratio.
Windowbox Bars
Refers to the blank bars (usually black in color) on each side of a 4:3
image displayed on a 16:9 widescreen television.
Y Pb Pr, Y Cb Cr, Y R-Y B-Y
Technical shorthands for component video.
More articles at our Flat Screen TV Articles page.
