3GPP The abbreviation for “Third Generation Partnership,” which was formalized in 1998. For more information, see also www.3gpp.org.

3GP File A 3GP file is specified in the 3GPP standardisation and designed for utilisation in the mobile sector. It is essentially based on the MP4 file format.

AAC (Advanced Audio Codec) AAC is an audio codec and specified in the MPEG-4 standard. AAC is an optional audio codec in the 3GPP specification and the mandatory audio codec in MPEG-4. See also http://www.chiariglione.org/mpeg/faq/mp4-aud/mp4-aud.htm.

Add-on An add-on is “software for software.” Effectively, it expands on the functionalities and capabilities of a piece of software.

AC-3 AC-3 is a audio codec developed by Dolby Laboratories and used in most cinemas and on DVDs. For further information, please visit www.dolby.com.

Active Streaming Format (ASF) ASF is a very versatile Windows Media file format, which can contain objects such as audio, video, HTML, ActiveX, etc. ASF as a format has been designed by Microsoft specifically for streaming audio/video content. However, today, ASF is somewhat outdated and not fully supported anymore. The omnipresent Windows Media format is the legitimate successor for ASF. For more information on Windows Media, please visit www.microsoft.com.

ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) ADSL is highspeed, always-on Internet connectivity provided through regular copper telephone lines. Most offers available are based on flat fee subscriptions. Asymmetric stands for the fact that ADSL supports different data rates for the upstream and downstream.

AIFF File (Audio Interchange File Format) AIFF, developed by Apple, is commonly utilised for uncompressed PCM audio. For more information, please visit www.apple.com.

AMR (Adaptive Multi Rate) AMR is an audio codec for very low bit rates, which was standardised by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) in 1999. AMR is an optional audio codec in the 3GPP specification.

API (Application Programming Interface) API stands for a function (or a variety of functions) enabling software users, especially developers, to interact with other software, especially in a development environment (usage in Software Developers Kits).

Applet An applet is effectively a small application. There is, for example, the Java programming language, which enables the inclusion and illustration of animations (also interactive ones) into a webpage, provided the computer platform utilised supports Java.

Application An application is software designed for specific, dedicated purposes. Examples are Web browsers, video editors, video encoding, word processing, etc.

ASF Format (Advanced Streaming Format) ASF is a format designed by Microsoft specifically for streaming audio/video content. For more information, please visit www.microsoft.com.

Archive An archive is a collection of information or content that is stored on any kind of storage device in a way that it can be retrieved any time.

ASP (Application Service Provider) An ASP is a commercial entity that offers access to specific software applications over Internet connections on a rental and/or pay-as-you-go basis for a specific period of time.

ASP (Advanced Simple Profile) The Advanced Simple Profile is a set of tools used for the video encoding.

ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) ATM is a protocol that defines the delivery of fixed sized packets via a single route in comparison to other mechanisms where the composition of a file is achieved through sending packets over various network routes.

ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) The ATSC is a non-profit organisation established for the development of terrestrial digital television standards for the United States. For further information, please visit www.atsc.org.

Audio Channels Audio channels are the number of more or less independent audio streams. Mono sound uses one audio channel, and stereo uses two audio channels.

Audio Precision Audio precision is the number of bits used to represent the amplitude of a sampled audio signal. The higher the precision (i.e., the more bits per sample), the better the sound. Higher precisions result in a bigger file size and higher bit rate. However, more than 16 bits per sample are only used for professional recording and mastering studios. Consumer devices such as a CD player offers 16 bit of audio precision. Conversational services, such as digital telephony or similar provide intelligible speech at 8 bit per sample.

Audio Samplerate Audio samplerate is the number of sample values per second used to represent an audio signal by time discrete values. The higher the sample rate, the better the sound. Higher sample rates result in a bigger file size and higher bit rate. Typical sample rates for consumer devices such as a music CD is 44.1 kHz. Professional audio equipment uses 48 kHz. Cutting edge digital recording studios are currently moving on to 96 kHz. Digital radio services often use 35kHz sample rate, which is considered to provide sufficient bandwidth for radio.

Authentication A process that takes place before a user can enter certain parts of a Web site, or can receive a stream of content etc. There are various levels of authentication, depending on what parameters the respective provider has set.

Automatic Update Allows the automatic download, and in many cases, the installation of updates or plug-in software without user interference (i.e., no Web browser needs to opened and the installation happens “in the background”).

AVI File Short for Audio Video Interleave, the file format for Microsoft’s Video for Windows architecture. This is, in fact, a very old specification that Microsoft is not really supporting anymore. Actually, AVI has not been formally been specified but happened to be around at some point in time. The format has become so ubiquitously used that it will live on for quite some time even outside of the control of Microsoft.

B-Frame B-frames have their name from being bi-directionally predicted from at least two reference frames. That means for decoding a B-frame at time instant k the previous frame at time instant k-1 and the next frame at time instant k+1 are needed (see Figure below).

Even though B-frames are based on predictions coming from two neighboring frames a B-frame is not itself used as a reference frame for predicting other frames. This would lead to an aggregation of coding errors, which kills coding efficiency or image quality. B-frames are an effective video coding tool to improve coding efficiency. All coding schemes offering premium coding performance have a B-frame mechanism employed. However, using B-frames for coding requires more memory in the encoder and in the decoder as an extra frame (reference frame 2) needs to be stored during the decoding process. Furthermore, B-frames introduce extra delay, which is unacceptable, for example, in conversational applications. There, no B-frames are used. This holds for H.263 and its precursors as well as for MPEG-4 Simple Profile. For television services based on MPEG-2, there are typically 2 successive B-frames between two reference frames to further increase coding efficiency. Another price to be paid by B-frames is that frame exact editing in the coded bit stream is no longer possible. In order to reconstruct the red coloured B-frame in the figure, both reference frames are needed. If either one of them is gone due to cutting the video material, the B-frame is gone as well. In MPEG, the reference frames for coding a B-frame can either be P-frames or I-frames.

Back Channel A back channel provides the ability to add, for example, interactivity to a broadcast or other transaction-related features such as authentication, payment details for services, etc. This is, in essence, achieved through an Internet connection between the viewer/user and the broadcaster and is an additional communication channel between the two.

Back-End The back-end is effectively the engine room for content delivery where a variety of hardware (e.g., servers, storage media, network infrastructure) and software (database, transmission, encoding applications) are situated.

Bandwidth In simple terms, bandwidth can be compared, for example, with the diameter of a water pipe. The larger the diameter, the more water gets through. By definition, bandwidth describes the amount of bits that can be transmitted over a network connection over a specific period of time (for example Kbits per second, etc.).

Bit Bit is the abbreviation for binary digit and can either be 0 or 1. There is no other data description mechanism in technology that is smaller than a bit.

Bit Rate Bit rate is described as the rate with which bits can be transmitted over a specific period of time.

BPS BPS is the abbreviation for bits per second.

Broadband Broadband comes in a variety of flavours, such as, for example DSL, ADSL, or cable, and they are high-speed, always-on Internet connections that are much faster than traditional Internet connection such as Dial-up or ISDN. Broadband is now very much deployed around the globe to business and homes alike.

Broadcasting Originally a term that referred to the transmission of television and radio transmission; more recently it refers to all various forms of real-time transmission of media including (e.g., cable, satellite, and Internet distribution).

Buffering When streamed media enters a user’s computer faster than it can be played back, it is saved in memory without burdening the player too much.

Byte Short form for “binary term.” One byte is made of eight bits, which is approximately the amount needed by a computer to store a typed number or letter.

Cache A cache is a temporary storage in a computer system for various data delivering quicker access to data. Applications are the access to recently used or often required or accessed data. A cache can also be used to store “anticipated” data (i.e., data that the system expects to be requested by a user soon).

Capture Device A capture device transforms analogue audio or video data to digital data.

CBR (Constant Bitrate) In video coding, the bit rate of the compressed video is fixed as a certain rate. This usually results in variable perceived quality of the video.

CELP CELP is one of the most technically advanced audio compression algorithms. It is part of the MPEG-4 specifications. See also http://www.chiariglione.org/mpeg.

CIF CIF is a video resolution, the so called “common interchange format.” The size is 352 x 288 pixels.

Codec A codec is a program that encodes and decodes digital data with the purpose of data compression.

Color Formats When video data is stored digitally there are several different formats to store the color value of a pixel. For example, RGB24, RGB32, and YUY2 are often used.

Content Delivery Network (CDN) A content delivery network (CDN) provides network architecture for the guaranteed delivery of broadcast content or other value added services. This infrastructure can also reduce network congestion or excessive burdens on servers.

Compression Compression is used to reduce the size of a file in order to make it suitable for a required bandwidth or for effective storage. There are two types of compression—lossy and lossless. MPEG standards are lossy compression techniques, where the decompressed file is not totally identical with the original file. An example of lossless compression is ZIP, in which the decompressed file and the original are identical.

Convergence Convergence is, for example, when voice, data, and Internet communication is happening over one dedicated line, as a result of which technical maintenance and administration costs are reduced.

Core Profile Core profile is a set of tools used for the video encoding. In MPEG-4, the core profile specifies the coding of non-rectangular objects.

Conditional Access Conditional access means the restricted access to certain broadcast programs achieved through the encryption of content on the broadcaster side and decryption on the recipient side (via a so called changeable “point of deployment module” in a set-top box and a serial number, which is registered in a central access control database). The reason for this sort of access control lies in the requirement for privacy and the desire to generate additional revenues (Pay TV).

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) CRM in this context is special software that is specifically designed to learn more about the requirements of customers and assist in adjusting our steering a sales process in a specific direction.

Cropping Cropping is the process of cutting the borders of a picture or video.

Data Virtually anything from numbers, to words, to images, to sounds that are possible to transcribe into bits. Once this has happened, the information can be stored, read, or transmitted over a network.

Datacast A datacast is the one-way delivery/transmission of data from the broadcaster to the viewer. An example for this is digital television.

Deblocking Deblocking is a process running as part of either the video encoder or the video decoder. The purpose of deblocking is to minimize the detrimental visual effects of block-like artifacts in decoded videos. Those blocking artifacts mainly occur as the video encoder starts to remove relevant visual information. This happens if the bit rate or available bit budget is insufficient to represent the video content and, hence, the quantization is acting too hard on the video samples.

Deinterlacing Interlacing is a classical technique for bandwidth reduction dating back to the time of analog video and television. Interlacing works on the basis that only every other line of a video frame is shown during one time instant (i.e., alternating half images consisting either of the odd or the even lines of the image are shown alternatingly). The effect is that interlacing achieves a high temporal resolution (50 half images per second or 56.94 half images per second) without requiring extra bandwidth. The high temporal resolution is beneficial for showing sports events or similar high motion events.

Deinterlacing denotes the process of inverting the process of interlace (i.e., of putting two images of the half resolution together to one image). This can be done in many different ways, all of them producing various degrees of visually annoying artifacts (cheap deinterlacer) or almost flawless and crisp images with full resolution.

Deringing Deringing is a process of minimizing the effect of ringlike artefacts in decoded videos.

Digital Media Any kind of images, text, video, and sound in digital format that are available for download or transmission over various networks.

DirectShow DirectShow is part of Microsoft’s DirectX framework. DirectShow is the media streaming architecture. See also www.microsoft.com.

DirectX Microsoft DirectX is a set of application programming interfaces (APIs) for creating games and other high-performance multimedia applications. See also msdn.microsoft.com.

DivX DivX is a widespread video technology that utilises MPEG-4 to compress digital video.

Download A download is the transmission of data by a user from a remote server over various networks (e.g., the download of media files from over the Internet).

DRM (Digital Rights Management) Digital rights management allows content owners to protect their property by applying certain rules and technology. For example, with DRM, content owners can set specific periods of time that viewers can access content or set specific means as to how content can be viewed.

DSL (Digital Subscriber Lines) DSL is a form of high-speed Internet access delivered through a regular telephone line to homes or offices, etc.

DTV (Digital Television) Originally “reserved” to describe digital terrestrial broadcasting, it is now also used to describe all form of digital television (i.e., which is delivered via cable, etc.). There is also DTV Multicast, which means that a variety of programs are transmitted via a single transmitter, and the viewer can choose from what is offered.

DV DV is a standard for digital video recording. DV videos can be imported by special DV codecs via FireWire.

DVB The Digital Video Broadcasting Project (DVB) is an industry-led consortium of over 300 broadcasters, manufacturers, network operators, software developers, regulatory bodies, and others in over 35 countries, who are committed to designing global standards for the global delivery of digital television and data services. For further information, please visit www.dvb.org.

DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) DVD stands for digital versatile disk and physically looks like a regular CD; however, a DVD can store 4.7 Gigabytes of data.

DVR (Digital Video Recorder) A DVR is in essence the same as what is known as a video recorder, except that a DVR records media, such as audio and video onto a hard-disk. DVR functions, like play, record, fast forward, etc. are controlled and managed through software.

E-Commerce E-commerce or e-business is undertaking of commercial transaction between suppliers and consumers via a network such as the Internet.

Encoding Encoding means the transfer of digital media from one format to another.

Flash Flash is a vector graphics-based animation software, which has become a de-facto industry standard when it comes to the development of interactive, rich media Web site content. For more information, please visit www.macromedia.com.

Format A format is a specific way or arrangement as to how information can be stored. Some examples for formats are MP3, MP4, DVD, VHS, etc.

FPS FPS is an abbreviation for frames per second.

Frame A frame is a picture of a video. Normally you have 20 to 30 frames per second.

GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) GIF stands for graphics interchange format. It is a format that is mainly used in Web pages and in which images are constructed in colored pixels, where each pixel represents and corresponds to a particular are of the image.

GMC (Global Motion Compensation) GMC is a MPEG-4 video encoding tool.

Graphics Everything other than text on a web page can be classified as graphics; even text that is created using graphics software is considered a graphic as opposed to plain text.

Head-End A head-end is the place where a variety of transmission signals are aggregated and from where all these signals are fed into the cable system to be delivered to viewers.

Hint Track The hint track is one track of a MP4 file. It contains information needed by some streaming servers.

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language and is a simple, tag-based language used to create Web pages on the Internet.

I-Frame An I-frame is a single frame in a video clip that is compressed without making reference to any previous or subsequent frame in the sequence. This frame is compressed using techniques that are similar to still image compression techniques, such as those employed in the JPEG compression standard. For professional video editing systems that use compression as a means to extend hard disk capacities or required transmission bandwidth, so-called I-frame only video codecs are used. This way, a frame-accurate editing of a video clip is still possible. However, using I-frame only codecs for video compression is by all means a luxury as such a codec is inferior in compression efficiency as compared to a codec that uses B-frames or P-frames. For television systems, an I-frame is sent typically every half second in order to enable zapping. I-frames are the only frames in a video data stream that can be decoded by its own (i.e., without needing any other frames as reference).

IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is a large open international community of network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with the evolution of the Internet architecture and the smooth operation of the Internet. It developed the “Recommended Practices,” with the force or standards that determine how the Internet infrastructure operates. It is open to any interested individual. For more information, please visit www.ietf.org.

Input Device Any device through which a user can make choices in respect of content or can create or manage content can be classified as input devices. Examples include digital camera, mouse, keyboard, remote control, function panels, etc.

Interactive TV Interactive TV is a form of television that allows the viewer to actively influence, contribute, and respond to a broadcast program.

Infrastructure Every broadcast ecosystem runs a variety of applications and requires specific software, hardware, and networks. These can be collectively or independently allied infrastructure.

ISP (Internet Service Provider) An ISP is a company that provides Internet access to private individuals, businesses, or any other organization.

Interlaced Each video frame is sent as two separate fields. The first field is displayed on the odd numbered scan lines of the TV— the second field is displayed on the even numbered scan lines.

Intranet An intranet is a private network deployed within an organization for its specific use, such as data sharing or other applications.

ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) An ISDN line is a digital telephone line for voice and/or data. Data transmission (128K) is faster than via a regular telephone line (56K) but slower than DSL.

ISMA The Internet Streaming Media Alliance is a non-profit organization formed to create specifications that define an interoperable implementation for streaming rich media (video, audio, and associated data) over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. For further information, please visit www.isma.tv.

Java Java is both a programming language (for writing software that can run on a server, on a specific device or in a browser) and a software-only platform (that runs on top of other hardware platforms). For more information, please visit java.sun.com.

JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) JPEG is a lossy format that compresses images to significantly smaller file size retaining a high degree of color fidelity. It allows a user to choose to what degree an image should be compressed. The smaller, however, a file is compressed, the more color information is lost.

Keyframe A keyframe is the same as an I-frame.

LAN (Local Area Network) A local area network is a data communications system capable of high-speed data transfer rates that is operated within a set geographical area (i.e., in a building, several buildings, or a campus).

Latency Latency or delay is the time that data requires to transit from input to output.

Media Audio, video, or image data can be classified as media.

Memory Memory is the actual amount of data that can be stored on a chip or hard-disk. Chip memory is rather for quick access to data, whereas hard-disk memory is mainly used for archival storage purposes.

MPEG (Motion Pictures Experts Group) MPEG, established in 1988, is a working group of ISO/IEC and has developed several standards for the coded representation of audio and video. MPEG has delivered standards such as MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 as well as, more recently MPEG-4, MPEG-7, and MPEG-21. For more information, please visit www.chiariglione.org/mpeg.

MP3 MP3 is a file format, in which audio has been compressed in accordance with the MPEG-1 standard (MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3) delivering CD quality audio. MP3 files can be downloaded via the Internet and played back on handheld devices (MP3 player) or on a PC.

Metadata Metadata is information specific to a particular audio, video or image that containing information about (e.g., the artist, format, copyright, compression methods, date, or any other asset descriptors deemed necessary by the content creator).

Middleware Middleware is in essence software that runs between a client (for example, a set-top box) and a database and has the function of managing both of them jointly or if required independently (without affecting the other).

MHP (Multimedia Home Platform) MHP is an open standard that was defined by the DVB and defines a generic interface between interactive digital applications and the terminals on which those applications execute. It enables digital content providers to address all types of terminals ranging from low-end to high-end set top boxes, integrated digital TV sets and multimedia PCs.

MJPEG MJPEG or motion JPEG is a non-interframe compression technique in which every video frame is compressed using the JPEG standard. The resulting movie is in essence a sequence of JPEG images.

Modem A modem is a device that connects computers, for example, to access the Internet utilising a telephone line.

Motion Estimation Using consecutive frames within a video sequence, the motion occurring in the video material is determined.

MP4 File The MP4 file format is the official MPEG-4 file format.

MOV File MOV is the quick time file format, which means to view the content of this file (which can be audio and/or video) Apple’s Quicktime player is required. The MOV file format is the basis for the MP4 file format. For further information, please visit www.apple.com.

MPG/MPEG File MPG is the container file format containing MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 encoded video/audio (also for raw MPEG-1/MPEG-2 video).

MPEG-1 MPEG-1 is a standard for video and audio compression developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group, which is mainly used for Video CD (VCD) playback.

MPEG-2 MPEG-2 is a standard for video and audio compression with several profiles developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group, which is mainly used for DVD playback and broadcast quality video (used in Digital TV).

MPEG-4 MPEG-4 is a standard for video and audio compression with several profiles developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group, which dramatically advances audio and video compression, enabling the distribution of content and services from low bandwidths to high-definition quality across broadcast, broadband, wireless, and packaged media. MPEG-4 also provides a standardized framework for many other forms of media— including text, pictures, animation, 2D objects, and 3D objects, which can be presented in interactive and personalized media experiences.

MPEGIF (MPEG Industry Forum) The MPEG Industry Forum is a non-profit organization with the objective to further the adoption of MPEG standards by establishing them as well-accepted and widely-used standards among creators of content, developers, manufacturers, providers of services, and end users. See also www.mpegif.org.

Multicast Stream A multicast stream is effectively a transmission from one point as the sender (broadcaster) to multiple viewers (i.e., it allows many recipients to share one source). Multicasting comes into play when large amounts of data need to be transmitted to a broad audience.

Network A group of two computers linked together can be described as a network. These computers can be linked by telephone lines, fiber optic cables, or wireless connections. When a computer is connected to the Internet, it is part of a network

NTSC USA video standard with 4:3 image format, 525 lines, and 60 Hz.

NVOD (Near Video On-Demand) NVOD makes it possible for a viewer to choose a particular content from a program selection and view same not instantly but within a few minutes after having made the selection

On-Demand On-Demand means that a viewer can view/access a selected program at any convenient time

Operating System The operating system manages all vital elements of a computer, such as memory, resources, input devices, and output devices. Middleware, for example, requires an underlying operating system do that it can properly run a set-top box.

P-Frame P-frames have their name from being predicted from a previous reference frame. That means for decoding a P-frame for a given time instant another previous reference frame at an earlier time instant is needed (see Figure below). Even though P-frames are based on predictions coming from previous reference frames, a P-frame can again serve as a reference frame for predicting later P- or B-frames. P-frames are an effective video coding tool to improve coding efficiency as compared to a pure image encoder, which compresses each frame individually without making reference to any other frame. All coding schemes offering premium coding performance have a P-frame mechanism employed. However, using P-frames for coding requires the encoder and in the decoder to store the reference frame. For conversational applications, video encoders tend to us P-frames exclusively in order to avoid introducing extra delay, which is unacceptable. This holds for H.263 and its precursors as well as for MPEG-4 Simple Profile. A price to be paid for using P-frames is that frame exact editing in the coded bit stream is no longer possible. In order to reconstruct a P-frame the pertaining reference frame is needed. If either is gone due to cutting the video material, the P-frame is gone as well. In MPEG, the reference frames for coding a P-frame can either be P-frames or I-frames.

Packet In a data transmission between computers, data is not transmitted per se but packets are (packets are pieces of data). These packets all contain relevant information including where this packet comes from and where it is supposed to go. Whilst the sending computer sliced up the data into packets, the recipient computer puts them back together.

PAL European video standard with 4:3 image format, 625 lines, and 50 Hz.

PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) A PDA is a hand-held computer that is able to run a variety of programs known, such as email clients, video players, etc. and often includes also a mobile telephone.

PCM File A PCM file stores raw uncompressed audio data.

Personal Video Recorder (PVR) A PVR operates ostensibly like a DVR, but because it is orientated towards consumers, it may include more consumer specific functions, such as an electronic program guide, etc.

Platform The term platform is pretty widely used in the technology world to define the operating system that runs on a computer.

Plug-In A plug-in is an add-on; it is a smaller software program working in conjunction with a larger software program expanding or enhancing certain functionalities.

POD (Point of Deployment Module) A POD is a hardware decryption security device, mostly the size of a credit card that is put into a respective slot in a set-top box enabling controlled access and making set-top boxes independent of the cable system they are deployed in. PODs are an essential part of conditional access systems.

Profile Profiles are a set of coding tools. Profiles are used for compatibility definition.

Progressive Download A progressive download allows the viewer to watch or interact with the media while it is being downloaded at the same time.

Protocol Data cannot just be transmitted as and how required. Since there are so many different hardware platforms and operating systems used by computers that need to be connected, data transmission must happen within a specific set of rules, which are called protocols. Examples for protocols are TCP/IP, PPP, RTP/RTSP, or FTP.

Proxy A proxy is a server that is situated between a client and another server used to improve user experience and reduce bandwidth by way of trying to locate requested information either locally or if not found sends the request out to another server.

Pull Pull means that content is delivered at the specific request of a viewer. VOD or Web-browsing, for example, can be classified as pull.

Push Push means that content is delivered disregarding the interest of a viewer (i.e., the viewer cannot control what is sent). Broadcasting can be classified as push.

QCIF QCIF is a video resolution and a quarter of CIF. The size is 176 x 144 pixels.

QP (quarter pixel estimation) Quarter pixel estimation is a coding tool.

Quantization Quantization is the action of information reduction to get a higher compression result.

Quicktime (QT) QuickTime is Apple’s equivalent of Video for Windows for the Macintosh. Apple also makes QuickTime for Windows. QuickTime is also used to refer to the QuickTime Movie file format, a widely used format for digital audio, video, and other multimedia. See also www.quicktime.com.

Resolution Resolution is the ratio of pixels used to display an image of a video and described in dots per inch (dpi). It relates to the clarity and detail of an image, and the higher the dpi, the clearer and precise the image.

RGB (Red, Green, Blue) The colors are represented as red, green, and blue components. Most computer monitors use RGB pixels.

Router A router is a piece of hardware that controls the path on which data gets transmitted from the sender to the recipient. Besides that, routers monitor the traffic on the network allowing only authorised computers to transmit and/or receive, address additional security aspects, or deal with network errors.

RTP/RTSP RTP/RTSP are network protocols designed for realtime streaming.

Scalability Scalability is the ability to increase the functionality of a software program or, for example, the ability to increase the capacity of a broadcast system without great expense or resources.

SDK (Software Developers Kit) An SDK is a collection of software tools, API, and utilities enabling developers and programmers to implement and create applications for specific platforms and usages.

SDP file The SDP file is the session description protocol. It is needed for some streaming connections.

SDSL (Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line) SDSL is a form of high speed Internet access delivered over a regular telephone line. SDSL cannot operate simultaneously with voice connections over the same wire and does support the same data rates for upstream and downstream.

Serial Digital Interface (SDI) SDI is an industry-used abbreviation for the ITU R BT 601 standard, which describes the SDI is an industry standard defined by SMPTE, which describes the interface of component digital video, which is used to connect video production equipment to transfer SD video.

Server There are two definitions of a server; a server can either be a software program/application that manages the transmission of data or a piece of hardware (i.e., a computer) that runs server software.

Set-Top Box (STB) A set-top box is an electronic device, which is used, in most instances, to receive and decode digital television broadcasts. In addition, they can also be used to access the Internet (instead of using a PC) and can further offer additional functions such as IP telephony, VOD, and other high-speed Internet TV services.

SMS (Short Message Service) Mobile telephones are able to send and/or receive SMS.

Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers is a professional membership organization that sets standards for the film and television industry. For more information, please visit www.smpte.org.

SP (Simple Profile) The simple profile is a set of tools used for the video encoding in MPEG-4.

Storage Device A storage device is a hardware equipment to store a variety of data, such as, for example, hard-disks, portable hard disk, digital tapes, etc.

Streaming Streaming means the transmission of video and/or audio in packets from a server to a recipient. On the “other end,” these packets are put together again on arrival and can then immediately be played back even when not the complete piece of content has been transmitted. Continuously, packets are re-assembled into data, which is then played back. Streaming is not equal to a traditional download since all packets (i.e., the data) are discarded after playback. Timing is of the essence in streaming, which is why a protocol called RTP (real-time transport protocol) is utilized.

SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand) SVOD is a service, which is provided on a recurring basis and comes, in most cases, with a subscription fee. The viewer accesses the required and chosen content and can view same as often as desired during the subscription period or view as many programs during this period.

Tag A tag is a programming language tool that contains formatting directions.

Transmission Transmission is a term used for television style broadcasting but also used for the digital communication between computers over telephone lines or cable.

Unicast Unicast means that a data communication takes place between a single sender and a single recipient.

Unicast Stream Unicast stream is an IP based point-to-point connection.

URL (Uniform Resource Locator) A URL represents the global address of a document or resource on the Internet. The first part of a URL describes the utilised protocol (for example, HTTP or FTP) followed either by an IP address or a domain name.

VBR (Variable Bitrate) In video coding, the bit rate of the encoded video stream varies over time. Sometimes the video is encoded with a fixed quantization factor resulting in varying bit rates and varying perceived quality. Sometimes the video is encoded with a fixed perceived quality, which usually results in varying bit rate.

VCD (Video CD) Video CD is a standard for storing audio and video information on CD discs. A 74-minute video sequence can be stored on a single disc.

Video for Windows A format developed by Microsoft Corporation for storing video and audio information. For further information, please visit msdn.microsoft.com.

Video over IP Video over IP is a method of transmitting video, audio, and data signals as packetized data over an IP network.

VOD (Video on Demand) VOD is a service in which a viewer has full control of a selected program that was chosen for viewing. The program can be stopped, paused, fast-forwarded, and rewound.

VOB File (Video Object File) A VOB file is the data container mainly used on DVDs and can contain audio, video, text, etc.

Voice-over IP Voice-over IP is in essence telephony via the Internet or networks based on Internet technology.

VPN (Virtual Private Network) A VPN is a secure, private network that utilizes a public network, for example the Internet, as a carrier.

W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) The world wide Web consortium (W3C) is an Internet standards body and develops interoperable technologies (specifications, guidelines, software, and tools) to lead the Web to its full potential. W3C is a forum for information, commerce, communication, and collective understanding.

Webcast A webcast uses the Internet to transmit live or delayed audio and/or video data to users; it can be compared with traditional TV and radio broadcast with the main difference being that the Internet is the transmission carrier.

WAN (Wide Area Network) A WAN can be an assembly of smaller networks, for example even two LANs, whereas the geographical limit are not set as for a LAN (i.e., it can in theory even spread worldwide).

WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) A WLAN is in essence the same as a LAN, the network connection is not maintained via cable or fixed line connections but totally depends on wireless networking techniques.

XML (Extensible Markup Language) XML is conceptually related to HTML, but it is in itself not a markup language. It is a language to create other specific languages and is used for the definition of specialized markup languages, which are used to transmit formatted data.

YUV YUV is the color space used in the PAL analog television standard.

YUY2 YUY2 is a color format very similar to YUV.