Part Three
Terms. (Features and
reading spec sheets.)
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Home theater is more
than just a television
it is a system of discrete components working together in harmonic
connections to bring you a
richness in the sights and sounds that today's home entertaiment
systems offer.
As the number of components in home entertainment
systems increased, so have the benefits that we receive from them. With
each improvement in performance and new feature comes new
terms needing to be defined. Each advancement in technology brings
with it added choices. The order of the list starts with the oldest
terms first age before beauty.
List Of Definitions:
- Electronics - The
regulation or control of the of flow
electrons in an electrical circuit. This regulation is more
sophisticated than
the wiring circuit in a house with a light bulb and an off and on
switch. Even so these circuits still contain the cruel basic
idea of electronics. The thing that separates electronics are the
filter circuits designed to take away the unwanted spikes and noise in
the electricity.
- Direct Current - Or
DC is an electrical voltage that flows
in only one direction and who's present can only be measured as
positive. In the natural scheme of thing lightning and static
electricity are
direct current.
- Alternating Current or Ac
- This is and electrical
current who's voltage can be measured as both positive and
negative. In alternating current the electrons flow in both
direction as a positive voltage then as a negative voltage.
- Watts or Wattage -
Wattage is a measurement as to how much
power is being consumed. This can also be consider as to how much
work is being performed or outputted by a devise. The rating for
wattage is obtained by multiplying voltage times amperage (Voltage x
Amperage) = Watts.
- Analog - Is a
signal who's voltage alternate between a
positive to negative state or an alternating current.
- Mono - A flat
or single speaker sound system. This speaker system leaves out the
harmonic of a sounds source. Mono has no left, right, front,
center, or rear sound sources present in its signal or sound.
Everything sounds like it is coming from a single point. The different
elements in the sound are non directional.
- Stereo - At
first this was the enhancement or projection of sound from more then
one speaker form opposite positions. This later become the enhancement
of the harmonic elements in the sound like instrustments and voices so
that they were no long flat and were given directional sound positions.
- Surround sound speaker
system - This is an enhancement of the stereo speaker
system. Surround sound improves sound positioning by making the
harmonic elements in the sound a position like foot steps that come up
behind you.
- Digital - Is a
direct current signal who's regulated
voltage can only be measured as a positive. There is either a voltage
present or there
is not. If you can measure a voltage as being negative in a circuit
then it is not digital. This is not to say that the negative side of
electricity is not present.
- Digital electronics
- These are devices that use only
direct current as opposed to alternating current. There was a time when
ac and dc circuitry were mixed.
- Broadcast Station -
This is an electromagnetic signal
that is transmit by antenna into the air. Most of the time those who
receive these signals do so without having to pay a direct cost
for them. This is regardless if it is for radio or television.
- Color Television. -
Color television was perfected in
the late 60's to early 70's. Perfected meaning being mass produced to
be made affordable for most working people. Color tv show more hues of
the color spectrum then just black and white with the
suddle shades of gray between the two.
- Jacks - There are
many type of connectors used to
transfer signals between the discreet components of a home
entertainment system. The more different types of connectors on any
given component the
more devises that you can receive a signal from or sent a signal to.
- VCR players and recorders.-
These are devises that use a
magnetic tape to store information. The tape is looped in its
storage compartment in a way as to be an endless circle. Other
versions of this type of component are Cassette player, and video
camcorders. It could be said that the reel to reel tape is the father
to all these type of storage units.
- Game Consoles - are
an extension of of the pin
ball machines. A game console is a computer system setup to specialize
in playing video games hence the term game console.
- Surround Sound -
These are speaker systems designed to recreate or project sound to
reflect a life like environment. Surround sound enhances sound to be
directional from front, to rear, from left, to right or from the
center..
- Cable Television -
This is the delivery of electromagnetic
spectrum signals over a shield cable. The cable is negatively shielded
to limit the radiation of the signal from the cable.
- Satellite Television &
Radio - These are
electromagnetic signals that are transmitted from a broadcast system
that has been placed in a stationary obit about 22,000 miles above the
earth. These transmitters move in rotation with the earth so that
their broadcast is limited to a certain area.
- Viewer Angle - This
is the angle at which one may watch a
television, lcd, plasma screen or rear projector and be able to see a
discernible picture.
- Picture In Picture
- (PIP) Requires that you have at lest two channel turners to work.
This allows your to view video from two different sources on your tv
screen at the same time.
- Progressive Scan -
- Interlaced -
- Rear screen projectors.
-
are television where images
are projected onto a screen from the rear of the screen. To be able to
truly appreciate this term you have understand what the relationship
between a projector and its screen was before rear screen projectors
come
about. Even then you have to have knowledge of what a projector is in
the equation.
- Big or wide screen
televisions.- This is a relative
statement in so far as time goes. Now in the 50's and 60's one might
consider a 20" television a big screen tv. The size of television
screens continue to increase as changes in technology take place.
- Compact disc and
dvd's composite product that uses
reflective light to store information. These disc have just about
replaced vinyl records and magnetic media storage systems.
- True flat screen
televisions - This refers to the cathoray
tube television The flat screen television screen lacks the concarved
or doomed tube the surface is all but completely flat.
- Enhanced Definition
- The resolution of an enhanced
definition television is where the lines have been increased
from 520 x 480 to 840 x 480 the first number is the width of the screen
and the second is the height.
- Home theater - A
home entertainment system with the components configured to work in
concert to enhanced the sound and video of movies and music to
that found in a theater or live performance.
- HDTV High definition
television - High definition television has an increase in the
number of lines that it take to display a picture on the screen.
- LCD or flat panel -
Liquid crystal display
- Plasma-
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