Philips PCVC665K - Manual (Page 20)

10. Glossary
Audio input device (recording device)
One of the Windows98 multimedia settings is the recording device setting. This setting determines which
audio hardware is being used to provide audio signals to audio applications. This setting is accessible
through: the Windows 'Start' menu, Settings, Control Panel, MultiMedia, Audio tab. In the recording
section, your sound input device should be selected.
AVI
The Microsoft standard file format for combined video and sound files on the PC. This is part of the Video
for Windows standard.
BMP / JPG / TIFF / FlashPix.
These are various file formats for images. BMP files are the largest since they do not use compression
and retain full image quality. JPG uses 'lossy' compression which dramatically reduces file size but the
original image quality can never be restored. TIFF can use a 'lossless' compression algorithm with less
file size reduction but retaining full image quality. FlashPix is a relatively new image format that uses
minimal resolution within the application to speed up the image processing. All accepted changes are
processed afterwards, before writing to disk.
Codec (coding & DECoding)
This refers to a compression format for creating sound and video streams on the computer.
Compression
Term used to describe a process of compacting or squeezing video and sound information into a smaller
than normal size. For example, 2 to 1 compression would indicate that 2 pixels would now only occupy
the space of 1 pixel.
DirectX
The latest standard developed primarily by Microsoft to help establish a common method for exchanging
audio and video information between your hardware and software in the PC.
Frame
A single image in a video stream.
Frame Rate
Typically quoted in seconds (fps, frames per second), this refers to the number of single images that will
be displayed or captured in a video stream.
Gamma Correction
The characteristics of displays using phosphors (like computer monitors with cathode ray tubes) are
nonlinear. Nonlinear characteristics means that a small change in voltage when the voltage level is low
produces a change in the output display brightness level, but this same small change in voltage at a high
voltage level will not produce the same magnitude of change in the brightness output. This effect is
known as gamma. Computers like to process with linear RGB data. Before being displayed, this linear
RGB data will be processed (gamma corrected) to compensate for the gamma of the display.
Philips installation program
A standard installation program that runs from CD-ROM. Usually, this program starts automatically after
inserting the installation CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive, and guides you through the whole installation
process. The program can be started manually by running 'setup.exe' from your CD-ROM drive.
Pixel
The smallest square or round element in an image. These are the 'building blocks' that are only one color
in their individual state, but combine with others to form complete images.
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