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Glossary

L
LAN

Local Area Network.

LAYER

A layer is component in a complex image that consist of multiples Layers. Imagine a set of transparencies stacked on top of each other. Now imagine that each transparency contains part of a single image. One Transparency might have the background. One transparency might have text. Another transparency might display the company logo, etc.

LCD

Liquid Crystal Display. Display technology using liquid crystal cells between 2 panels of polarizing material. The technology is used in laptop computers, LCD panels and projectors.

LED WALL APPLICATION®

Specific features for LED Walls from Analog Way.

LETTERBOX

see Widescreen.

LEVEL

Intensity of electrical AUDIO signals. Equivalent to contrast in Video signals.

LINE DOUBLER

Device that converts a 15 kHz TV/Video signals into a doubled resolution format (from 15 kHz to 31 kHz) by multiplying the number of lines by 2. The Line Doubler fills in the black space between the lines of the input image and, in this way, gives to the image a better brightness and resolution.

LINE FREQUENCY

For a display, it is the number of scanned lines in 1 second. In SVGA, for example, the Line Frequency is of about 37 kHz so it gives a rate of 37000 lines per second.

LOGO

Partial screen image still store, for example, a small company emblem. A partial screen still image that can be displayed from memory in conjunction with other LAYERs.

LOOPTHROUGH

Pair of Input / Output connectors that enable a signal to be inserted into a device and to be re-connected to another device. It does not affect the signal except for the signal termination on some setups.

LUMA KEY

Luminance video signal (without any color information) dedicated to trigger an overlay by a brightness level.

LUMINANCE

The Weighted Y brightness part of a video signal (Y=0.3 Red+ 0.6 Green+ 0.11 Blue).

M
MCO

Connector with 3 or 5 wires for balanced & unbalanced Audio (i.e. PHOENIX®, captive screw).

MEGAHERTZ

Symbol= MHz, equivalent to 1 million Hertz or 106 Hertz.

MINI DIN

see DIN.

MODEM

MODulator DEModulator. Device used in telephony for bidirectional access.

MONOCHROME

Image with a single color or black & white. Nowadays, monochrome images are only used in High Resolution applications such as in Military or Medical environments.

MPEG

Motion Picture Expert Group. Process for compressing moving pictures (i.e. M.PEG2 for TV & HDTV) for transport or storage.

MPEG.2 (H.262)

Audio & Video compression algorithm.

MPEG.4 (H.264)

High efficiency compression algorithm. (MPEG & ITU group).

MOTION

see Adaptive Motion Compensation.

N
NON INTERLACED

Method of scanning all the lines of a picture (1 image = 1 frame = 1 field). E.g. for a computer working in SVGA at 800 x 600 lines, it gives 600 lines per frame. For some HDTV formats, the scanning method is the same but is called "progressive".

NAB

National Association Broadcaster.

NSCA

National Systems Contractors Association.

NTSC

National Television Standard Committee. Television standard used in North America, Japan and other parts of the world (South America and Asia). NTSC has 525 horizontal and interlaced lines refreshed at 60 fields per second. The Chrominance subcarrier is of 3.58 MHz (sometimes 4.43 MHz). See also FRAME RATE.