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Term
|
Description
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Access Radio
|
A pilot scheme
running from 2002 to test how viable “not for profit” radio is for
the UK. 15 stations form the initial trial
More details:
www.ofcom.org.uk
|
| CAM |
CAM stands for Conditional
Access Module. Some Freeview set-top
boxes have a CAM slot, which means that you can plug a CAM adapter
into this slot, and then plug a TopUp TV subscription card into the
CAM adapter slot, to get to the extra channels offered to Top
Up TV subscribers. See our Top Up TV
FAQ |
|
DAB
|
Digital Audio
Broadcasting. National, regional and local radio stations that can
only be received by special DAB radio receivers.
More details:
DAB page
|
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DTT
|
Digital Terrestrial
Television. This refers to digital TV that can be received on a
standard TV aerial (as opposed to cable or satellite). In the UK,
Freeview (formerly onDigital and ITV
Digital), operates DTT services
More details:
Freeview page, Digital
TV
|
| Ensemble |
A digital radio (DAB) term
for a collection of radio channels on a single frequency. See Multiplex,
below |
| EPG |
Electronic Programme Guide - Associated
with a digital TV set-top box, this refers to built-in software rgar provides an
onscreen channel listing / viewing programme guide |
| HDTV |
HDTV offers higher-quality
TV pictures. Already available in the US and Japan, High Definition
TV has been slow to take off in Europe, and is currently only available
on the digital satellite platform. For details, see the Quali-tv
site.
For details of a recent announcement by the BBC on this subject, see
the Digital
Spy story. |
|
ID
|
Ident or jingle
|
| IDTV |
Integrated Digital TV - TV
set with built-in digital TV receiver. Receive Freeview
without a seperate set-top box |
|
IRN
|
Independent
Radio News. News organisation that make national news bulletins,
news copy and audio available to UK commercial radio stations.
More details:
www.irn.co.uk
|
| Interactive |
 In
the context of digital TV, many TV channel providers supply digital
interactive content that is available via the red button on your digital
remote control. The content available can include access to digital
teletext, games, additional information on programmes, online voting,
shopping and competitions. BBC digital channels contain a fair amount
of interactive content, including the ability to access video and
text news headlines, and extra services and information to support
their TV shows. |
|
Intro
|
Introduction.
In the case of a song, the period of time from a song’s start to
the moment the vocals (singing) starts
|
|
ISDN
|
Integrated
Services Digital Networks
A digital
phone line. Commonly used to send data via a modem. Used in radio
to send high-quality voice (such as news reports, voice-overs for
commercials, or for travel news)
|
|
Liner
|
A scripted
link or slogan, used to keep the station’s on-air sound standard
|
|
MCPS
|
Mechanical
Copyright Protection Society. Body that collects royalties in respect
of music played by radio stations, specifically jingles and music
used in adverts
More details:
www.mcps.co.uk
|
| Multiplex
(MUX) |
A Multiplex
(abbreviated to MUX) is a term to describe a single broadcast frequency
that contains multiple compressed channels. No clearer? OK, an example:
When you receive normal BBC1, you are tuning in to a single frequency
in the UHF range 21-65. Also in this range are the other main TV
channels (ITV, Ch4, etc). Digital TV (Freeview)
has a collection of frequencies too, but rather than each frequency
carrying one TV channel, it contains lots (normally around 8). These
are all 'multiplexed' together into one frequency, and you need
a special decoder to 'undo' this multiplexing.
- TV:
If you are a Freeview user and find that there are groups of channels
that you can't get, it probably means that you're having a problem
with one or two multiplexes. There are six multiplexes in use
for Freeview, known as 1, 2, A, B, C and D. A list of what's on
each multiplex can be found on the DTG
site. For reception help, see our Freeview
FAQ
- Radio:
For a list of digital radio channels, on each multiples, try the
Wornot
site. Note that the term 'ensemble' is commonly used in digital
radio - effectively, it's it's a multiplex. For more on DAB Digital
Rdaio, see our DAB section
|
|
OB
|
Outside Broadcast
|
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Obit
|
Obituary.
Procedure to be put in place in the event of local, national or
international emergency, or the death of certain eminent or much
loved figures, including some members of the British Royal Family
|
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Ofcom
|
Office of
Communication. TV and Radio regulators (Formerly ITC, the Radio
Authority, the Radiocommunications Agency and Broadcasting Standards
Commission). Responsible for TV and Radio fairness and standards.
More details:
www.ofcom.org.uk
|
|
PFL
|
Pre-fade Listen.
Facility on a mixing desk that allows the operator to listen to
a piece of audio and set levels before putting the audio to air.
Also referred to as ‘cue’
|
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PPL
|
Phonographic
Performance Ltd. Body that collects royalties in respect of music
played by radio stations on behalf of record companies
More details:
www.ppluk.com
|
|
PPM
|
Peak Program
Meter. Meters on a mixing desk that monitor audio levels
|
|
PRS
|
Performing
Rights Society. Body that collects royalties in respect of music
played by radio stations for artists and composers
More details:
www.prs.co.uk/broadcasters
|
|
RDS
|
Radio Data
System. Text and other services transmitted by a radio station for
use on radios supporting RDS. Features include travel news announcement
(TA), display of station name (PS), alternate frequency(AF) and
radiotext
More details:
RDS info page
|
| RF
Loopthrough |
Commonly associated with set-top
boxes or video recorders. RF stands for Radio Frequency,
and means that, in the case of a TV signal, it's transmitted
on a TV frequency ('channel').
The image to the right shows an RF connector, known as a co-ax plug.
A set-top box with an RF loopthrough means that there's an "in"
and and "out" co-ax aerial socket, so that a TV signal
can go into the box, and then come out again to feed off another
piece of equipment, such as a video recorder, regardless of whether
the set-top box is switched on or off.
|
| RF
Modulator |
Commonly associated with set-top
boxes, or video equipment that you want to connect to a TV using a
TV channel, as opposed to a "line in" / AV connector. If
you're trying to connect some equipment to a TV or video that doesn't
have a SCART, the equipment will need to have a 'modulated' output
(check the equipment's manual if you're not sure it has a modulator).
A 'Modulated RF output' indicates that a piece of video equipment
(set-top box, DVD player, etc) can 're-broadcast' it's output onto
a TV channel, so that your TV set can 'tune in' to the signal in the
same way as you can tune your TV set into a certain channel. Effectively,
you can choose which channel your set-top box appears on, so that
it doesn't clash with other channels. A common for a modulator is
if you're trying to connect a DVD player with a SCART socket into
a TV set that only has an aerial socket. For this to work, you'd need
a modulator that can take the signal from a SCART socket "line
in", and convert it such that if you plug an aerial from the
TV to the modulator, you can tune your TV into the converted output
of the DVD. See our FAQ page for
details of using a modulator. |
| RGB |
RGB stands for 'Red, Green,
Blue' - the primary colours used to make up a TV picture. On this
site, it's commonly used when referring to outputs from a set-top
box into a TV. All TVs can cope with what's referred to as a 'composite'
signal, but RGB is generally regarded as superior to a composite signal.
It's more noticeable on when displaying an onscreen menu - you'll
notice sharper edges and a better definition. If using equipment that
supports RGB, you'll need an RGB SCART cable, connected to a TV that
has an RGB SCART socket. It's normally possible to switch between
RGB and Composite on your TV, so you can judge what's best. For more
technical information on RGB and Composite, see the SyncBlaster
FAQ. |
|
ROT
|
Record Off
Transmission. A recording of what was transmitted on-air
|
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RAJAR
|
Radio Joint
Audience Research. Body that conduct research into radio listening
in the UK, providing audience statistics
More details:
www.rajar.co.uk
|
|
RSL
|
Restricted
Service License – Short-term license issued by OfCom (formerly The
Radio Authority). Normally low-power for 28 days or less
|
| SCART |
 A
SCART connector is something you'll find on more modern TV, video,
DVD and games units - They have 21 pins, and carry audio, video, switching
commands and an earth. If you have a lot of video connectors, you
may need a switch box, to handle multiple SCART sockets. These can
be manually switched, automatically-switching or remote controlled
SCART switchers. For more help with SCARTs, see our TV
FAQ page |
|
Segue
|
The linking
of two bits of audio together seamlessly on-air
|
| Setpal |
SetPal is a trademarked technology
used in some Freeview receivers.
It's software designed for digital tv receivers that handles reception,
menus, digital teletext, etc. For more details, see the SetPal
site. |
| STB |
Standing for 'Set-top Box',
this refers to a digital TV receiver that adds extra channels to
your TV. The following types of Set-top boxes are common in the
UK
For more, see our Digital
TV page.
|
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VO
|
Voice-over.
Presenter or actor reading a script
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