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| CableCARD |
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. |
|
| Call Sign (Station) |
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. |
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| CCFL |
Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (used to lite LCD displays before LED) |
|
| CES |
Consumer Electronics Show |
|
| Channel Scan |
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. |
|
| Closed Captioning |
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 |
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. |
|
| Coaxial Adapter |
Device for connecting a coaxial cable to a TV with a Twin Lead cable
connection port. |
|
| Codec |
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. |
|
| Component Video |
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. |
|
| Composite Video |
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. |
|
| Compression |
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. |
|
| Computer Input |
This term refers to an input feature on some HDTV sets (like SVGA or
VGA) that allows TV sets to be connected to computers. |
|
| Converter Box |
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. |
|
| Cropping |
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. |
|
| CRT |
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.
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