Glossary of terms and abbreviations

In this glossary: Antenna In/Out Cinch L/R Cinch 5.1/7.1 Coax Composite/CVBS DVI HDMI HDMI ARC HDTV Optical SCART SPDIF S-Video (Y-C) VGA YPbPr (YUV) 3.5 mm Jack

Check the type of antenna connector at the back of your device. You may need an adaptor for compatibility. Refer to your user manual for more details. Some synonyms for Antenna In/Out: VHF/UHF, ANTENNA IN, ANTENNA OUT, 75 ohm, RF IN, RF OUT, TV ANTENNA

Cinch L/R The Cinch L/R cable is a standard cable used to transfer analog audio signals. L (left) is represented by a white color connector and R (right) is represented by a red color connector. Make sure to match the colors when connecting the cable to the device to avoid swapping of audio channels. When connecting a stereo to a mono device use the L (white connector) on the stereo device. Synonym for Cinch L/R: Audio L/R.

Antenna In/Out The Antenna In allows devices to receive a signal from out-door antenna or from other devices. Some devices have loop-through antenna connectivity to connect the signal to other devices. To do this, connect the signal from Antenna Out on the back of your device. There are two types of connectors for Antenna In / Out: a) Coaxial type: center pin that is either hollow (female) or solid (male); b) F-type: screw-in type connector with center pin that is either hollow (female) or pin-like (male). Cinch 5.1/7.1 Cinch 5.1 or 7.1 provides a 6 or 8 channel connection to transmit audio for surround sound. It uses the same type of connectors (cinch) as Cinch L/R. In the 5.1 configuration the channels are front left and right, rear left and right, center and subwoofer. In 7.1 there are two additional channels to drive speakers in the middle on the left and right. On some devices red and white connectors are used for each speaker pair, while others use specific colors for all channels.

Coax The term coax comes from coaxial cable, which is a cable typically used for transferring antenna signals and more recently in a thinner form also for digital audio (see SPDIF). It is a type of cable which has an inner conductor surrounded by a flexible, tubular insulating layer, surrounded by a tubular conducting shield.

DVI-I is progressively phasing out in favor of HDMI in consumer electronics equipment.

HDMI HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is the leading standard for uncompressed transportation of all digital audio and video signals. HDMI is backwards compatible with DVI and adds the following advantages: a) Digital audio included (SPDIF) up to eight PCM multi-channel signals; b) More elegant, more robust; c) Includes interactive support with CEC (Consumer Electronic Control) to control HDMI equipment. In version 1.4 of HDMI two features are introduced called ARC and HEC: a) ARC (Audio Return Channel) provides a way to transfer the audio signal from the TV to external audio equipment, for example a Home Theater System. b) HEC (HDMI Ethernet Channel) provides a bidirectional Ethernet communication HDMI will progressively replace the analog SCART connector for connection of audio/video sources to displays.

Composite/CVBS CVBS (Composite Video Baseband Signal) is an analog, encoded video signal that includes also vertical and horizontal synchronizing information. CVBS is often combined with Audio L/R into a three-wire cable: Audio L (white), Audio R (red) and CVBS (yellow). Also cables exist where on one end the three individual connectors are replaced with a SCART connector.

DVI PC-orientated connector, equivalent to HDMI. DVI (Digital Visual Interface) transports uncompressed digital video signals. It does not handle audio, and therefore needs a separate analog (L&R) cinch or digital SPDIF connection. You can find: a) DVI-D: Digital only. Not backwards compatible with VGA/YPbPr source. b) DVI-I: Digital and analog. A DVI-I connector has 4 more pins on the right side than a DVI-D connector. The YPbPr or VGA source can be connected to DVII via an adaptor.

HDMI ARC See HDMI.

HDTV High Definition Television: digital technology for recording, transmitting and displaying TV

programs with a resolution which is significantly higher than that of Standard Definition Television (SDTV). This higher resolution results in much sharper images than what was possible with SDTV.

SPDIF Sony/Philips Digital interface, also called Coax In/Out. It is a standard to transport digital audio information either in compressed or uncompressed format.

Optical Some devices have an optical link used to transfer digital audio signals. A cable for this purpose is generally called optical audio cable and contains optical fiber to transfer light between the connected devices. Each device has electronics to transform the audio signal into light or vice versa.

S-Video (Y-C) Connector used to convey analog video. IT divides the signal in Luminance (Y) and Chrominance (C) part. S-Video is better in quality than CVBS but less than RGB or YPbPr.

VGA RGB Component Video RGB Component Video is the inter-connection standard for analog video with the highest quality, sharper than S-Video and composite video. It is used for example in SCART and VGA connections. A VGA connector is commonly found on most video cards, computer monitors, TV and other devices. Nowadays most TVs support VGA input from peripherals such as PC and laptop.

YPbPr (YUV) YPbPr provides an analog connection for transmitting Standard Definition (SD) or High Definition (HD) video. YPbPr is a three cinches connector, with Y including brightness and synchronization information and Pb, Pr being two-colordifference-signals. You can find other inappropriate naming for this interface: a) YUV: Mathematical model to represent human eye perception of color. It is not a connection for HDTV.

SCART Syndicat des Constructeurs d'Appareils Radiorcepteurs et Tlviseurs is a European Standard for audio video connectors. This 21pin connector conveys all the well-known analog audio and video signals including, CVBS, Y-C and RGB. SCART will progressively be replaced by HDMI for connection of audio/video sources to displays.

b) YCbCr: Digital-signal used for video transfer at the production content side. It is also not a connection for HDTV. YPbPr as analog connector is expected to phase out overtime and be replaced by HDMI.

3.5 mm Jack A 3.5mm jack plug (UK), also called a phone plug (U.S.), is a common audio connector. It is cylindrical in shape, typically with three contacts (TRS - Tip Ring Sleeve connector), but also variations exist with two (a TS connector) or four (a TRRS connector) contacts. In the U. K., the terms jack plug and jack socket are commonly used for the respectively male and female TRS connectors.