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AV Glossary


Analogue	A method of transmitting information by a continuous but varying signal.
Aspect Ratio	The format (height vs width) for how a presentation is shown on a screen, the two most common being 16:9 and 4:3
AV	Audio visual
Bandwidth	A measurement of the ability of an electronic communications device or system to send and receive information
Boundary mike	A microphone that relies on reflected sound from a surrounding surface.
Bridge (MCU)	A device used for connecting more than two participants in a video conference.
Cardioid mike	Heart-shaped region where some microphones will be most sensitive to sound predominately from the front of the microphone diaphragm and reject sound coming from the sides and rear.
Cat5	An abbreviation of Category 5, network cable, the designation for 100-ohm unshielded twisted-pair cables and associated connecting hardware whose characteristics are specified for data transmission up to 100 Mb/s.
Cat6	An abbreviation of Category 6, network cable, cable standard for Gigabit Ethernet and other interconnect that is backward compatible with Category 5 cable, Cat-5e and Cat-3. Cat-6 features more stringent specifications for crosstalk and system noise.
Cloud	In the simplest terms, cloud computing means storing and accessing data and programs over the Internet instead of your computer's hard drive. The cloud is just a metaphor for the Internet.
Codec	An acronym for coder/decoder. An electronic device that converts analog signals, such as video and audio signals, into digital form and compresses them to conserve bandwidth on a transmission path. Common name for a video conference unit
Condenser Mike	Also called a capacitor microphone, it transduces sound into electricity using electrostatic principles.
Confidence Monitor	A video monitor that most often duplicates what’s on the projection screen. It’s for the convenience of the presenter, and it gives the presenter the “confidence” to not turn and look at the projection screen; instead the presenter can glance down at the confidence monitor and know the presentation is properly shown.
Digital	A method of transmitting information by discrete, non-continuous impulses (ones and zeroes).
DLP	A projection system that has technology based on the Digital Micromirror Device (DMD). It uses thousands of microscopic mirrors on a chip focused through an optical system to display images on screen.
Dongle	An adapter used to convert one type of signal to another; for example MiniDisplay port to HDMI
DP	Display Port
DVI	Digital Video Interface - see also DVI-A,DVI-I and DVI-D
EDID	Extended Display Identification Data
Far End	The room(s) to which you are connected in a video conference
HDCP	High Bandwidth Digital Content Protection
HDMI	High Definition Multimedia Interface
Lumen	A measure of the light quantity emitted from a constant light source across one square meter.
Matrix Switcher	An electronic device with multiple inputs and outputs, the matrix allows any input to be connected to any one, several, or all of the outputs.
Multipoint	Videoconferencing that links many sites to a common gateway service allowing all sites to see, hear, and interact at the same time; requires a bridge or bridging service.
PoE	Power over Ethernet
Point-to-point	Conferencing where two sites are directly linked
Resolution	Refers to the sharpness and clarity of an image and relates to the number of pixels, frame rate and codec capability
RGBHV	Refers to a high bandwidth video signal with separate conductors for the red signal, green signal, blue signal, horizontal sync and vertical sync.
TV	A device used to display video/images and play sound - Plasma, LCD or LED
UTP	Unshielded twisted pair cable typically used for data transfer, contains multiple 2-conductor pairs twisted at regular intervals, employing no external shielding.
VAVS	Videoconferencing and Audio Visual Services
Webinar	An online interactive meeting or seminar. The audience is typically smaller than a webcast and contributes to the discussion via polling, Q&A, or other collaborative means.
Zoom	Cloud based virtual video conference system.