glossary

glossary

If you have any difficulties understanding the terminology, please use the search function below to find detailed explanations of the terms you are looking for.

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  • A/D Converter

    A circuit which converts a signal from analogue to digital form; the opposite of a D/A converter.

  • AC Adapter

    A circuit which modifies an AC current, usually converting it to a DC current.

  • Actuality

    Picture and/or sound recorded at the time of shooting - rather than library footage or archive.  Often heard referring to music recorded on location (rather than added to the programme later).

  • Adobe

    A software manufacturer based in San Jose, California, and traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol ADBE. Adobe is a leading provider of media productivity software.

  • AFM

    Assistant Floor Manager - in some areas the term AFM is used to describe the person who assists on the studio floor during a programme recording or transmission. The term AFM was used instead of Second AD on drama type programmes but this use has largely died out now.

  • Aliasing

    Distortion of an image file or sound recording due to insufficient sampling or poor filtering. Aliased images appear as jagged edges, aliased audio produces a buzz.

  • Alpha Channel

    A special channel in some digital images reserved for transparency information.

  • AM: Amplitude Modulation

    A method of radio transmission which sends information as variations of the amplitude of a carrier wave.

  • Ambient

    The environmental conditions, e.g. surrounding light and sound.

  • Amperage

    The amount of electrical current transferred from one component to another.

  • Amplifier

    A device which increases signal amplitude.

  • Amplify

    To increase amplitude.

  • Amplitude

    The strength or power of a wave signal. The "height" of a wave when viewed as a standard x vs y graph.

  • Analogue

    An analogue signal is a continuous wave that represents picture and/or sound.  This wave can distort and degrade, particularly with multiple copying.  Using digital systems can remove some of these problems. For example The UKs terrestial channels are analogue and most are simulcast with the equivalent digital channels which can be received by viewers with set-top boxes.

  • Anamorphic

    The dictionary definition of anamorphic is "affected by distorted projection or perspective". The most common use of the word anamorphic is to describe the type of picture necessary for transmission on the digital widescreen services.  This is called "full height anamorphic", it has normal perspective when it is seen filling a widescreen television.

    If the same picture is seen on a standard 4x3 television then it appears distorted - the people in the picture are taller and thinner than they should be and the sides seem to be squashed in.

    In feature films anamorphic lenses are sometimes used to enable shooting of wide screen formats such as Cinemascope.

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