Glossary

 

A

 

AVI

Audio Video Interleave (AVI) format is the standard Windows format for audio/video data.

 

B

 

bandwidth

A network's capacity for transferring an amount of data in a given time.

bit rate

The number of bits transferred per second.

 

C

 

codec

An abbreviation for compressor/decompressor. Software or hardware used to compress and decompress digital media.

compression

A process for removing redundant data from a digital media file or stream to reduce its size or the bandwidth used.

content

Audio, video, images, text, or any other information that is contained in a digital media file or stream.

 

D

 

to download

To transfer a file over a network in response to a request from the device that receives the data. Downloaded content is kept on the receiving device for playback on demand. In contrast, streamed content is played as it is delivered.

 

F

 

frame

One of many sequential images that make up video.

frame rate

The number of video frames displayed per second. Higher frame rates generally produce smoother movement in the picture.

 

M

 

MPEG

The MPEG standards are an evolving set of standards for video and audio compression and for multimedia delivery developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG).

MPEG-1 was designed for coding progressive video at a transmission rate of about 1.5 million bits per second. It was designed specifically for Video-CD and CD-i media. MPEG-1 audio layer-3 (MP3) has also evolved from early MPEG work.

MPEG-2 was designed for coding interlaced images at transmission rates above 4 million bits per second. MPEG-2 is used for digital TV broadcast and DVD. An MPEG-2 player can handle MPEG-1 data as well.

 

S

 

source

Audio and video content that can be captured and encoded from devices installed on your computer or from a file.

 

W

 

Windows Media file

A file containing audio, video, or script data that is stored in Windows Media Format. Depending on their content and purpose, Windows Media files use a variety of file name extensions, such as: .wma, .wme, .wms, .wmv, .wmx, .wmz, or .wvx.

WMV

WMV as a high-definition format is that it doesn't require a higher-capacity disc -- all that high-resolution data can be squeezed onto a disc that could potentially be read by existing DVD players