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Glossary of Terms  New to the world of projectors? You can find definitions for any unfamiliar terms here.

ANSI Acronym for American National Standards Institute; coordinates the development of U.S. voluntary standards in both the public and private sectors. ANSI has established the standard followed by projector manufacturers for measuring lumen brightness.  Aspect Ratio The ratio of height to width of a frame or screen. The aspect ratio for video is 4:3.  ATA Acronym for Air Transport Association.  Brightness The thing that makes darkness go away, measured in lumens on a projector.  Bulb A light source commonly mistaken for the light source within a projector. Bulbs power incandescent room lighting. Lamps power projectors.  Ceiling A great place to mount a projector. Usually found opposite a floor when indoors.  Contrast Ratio The ratio of the maximum white to the minimum black level possible for a particular spot on the image with the background light levels factored out.  Data Compatibility Relates to the video and computer signal formats the projector is capable of displaying.  Dimensions The physical size, length, width, and height of a projector.  Display Technology The type of technology used to produce bright, clear images in high resolution. Projectors use many different display technologies such as Digital Light Processing™ and Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs) combined with high-brightness lamps and precision optics.  DLP™ Acronym for Digital Light Processing™; a data projection technology developed by Texas Instruments using a microprocessor to display bright, colourful images in fully lit rooms. Used primarily in portable and ultra-portable projectors, the DLP™ chip is the size of a postage stamp and contains millions of microscopic mirrors — one for each pixel — that flip on an axis, reflecting light through a colour wheel to create your image.  Ethernet A hardware standard used for networking. Often used to connect a projector to a remote PC using proprietary software. Current Ethernet standards include 10baseT and 100baseT Ethernet.  Focus To clarify a blurry image.  HDTV Acronym for High Definition Television; a high-resolution television standard using an 1125-line broadcast signal.  Keystone (Keystoning) The distortion of an uncorrected image projected on a wall or screen, typically shown to be wider across the top and shorter across the bottom, resembling a keystone in a doorway.  Lamp The bright source of a projector partially responsible for your sharp, clear image.  LAN Acronym for Local Area Network; the local area typically being an office building or technology campus. Great for controlling your projector remotely with proprietary software.  LCD Acronym for Liquid Crystal Display; liquid crystals exist in an intermediate state between liquid and solid, and realign under electrical stimulation. Exceptionally slim and lightweight, they are ideal in word processor, computer, and TV displays.  Lumen A measurement of the amount of visible light energy that comes from a light source and is perceived by the eye.  Mini jack An audio connection interface common on personal cassette/CD players, computers, and projectors.  Monitor A computer display. Like the one you're probably looking at right now.  Multimedia An over-used term relating to an electronic device's ability to produce both visual and audio output. The term is used in relation to projectors when describing its ability to receive and produce visual and audio data.  Network Connecting two or more computers and/or networkable devices for data sharing or for remote control of devices.  NTSC Acronym for National Television Systems Committee; the television standard for the United States, administered by the Federal Communications Committee (FCC). NTSC is 525 lines of resolution transferred at a rate of 30 frames per second.  Overhead Projector In ancient history, overhead projectors were used to give presentations. They involved static pages of see-through "paper" on which black images were printed. Historians suggest ancient presenters even used marking pens to write on these transparent pages.

PAL Acronym for Phase Alternate Line; the standard colour system used throughout Western Europe except in France. PAL-M is the standard system in Brazil. It uses an interlaced format with 25 frames per second and 625 lines per screen.  PC Acronym for Personal Computer. PDA Acronym for Personal Digital Assistant, such as a Palm™ or Windows® CE device.  Pin The connectors used in computer/projector cables. Cables are often identified by the number of pins they contain. A typical computer video cable has 15 pins, and is called a 15-pin video or VGA cable.  Power Down A modern term for turning something off. Applies most commonly to electronics.  Presentation A speech given to one or more people utilizing some sort of visual support. (Hopefully, for all involved, a projector brought through Stampede!)  RGB Red, Green, Blue; the chrominance information in a video signal; the primary colours from which all other colours can be construed.  RCA Also called Composite, RCA jacks are a common connection interface for audio and video sources.  Remote A small handheld device separate from the projector itself containing projector controls such as volume, brightness, etc.  Resolution The measurement of a computer screen or projected image measured by the number of pixels wide by the number of pixels high. More pixels per unit of area produce a higher resolution giving more detail in the display of an image.  S-video A video connection interface. Also a generic name for Y/C, applied to S-VHS or Beta E.  SECAM Acronym for Systeme En Couleur Avec Memoire (Sequential Colour with Memory); the colour TV system used in France and throughout the Eastern Block Republics. Speaker A device in a projector that gives life to displayed images by emitting sound. Stereo An audio playback technology that divides sound into two or more sources, creating a more realistic sound. Subwoofer An audio device dedicated to replicating the lowest, deepest sounds ascertainable by the human ear. SVGA A video resolution equating to 800x600 pixels in size; acronym for Super VGA. TFT Acronym for Thin Film Transistor; technology used with LCD screens, also known as Active Matrix. UHP Acronym for Ultra High Performance and/or Ultra High Efficiency; a term typically used with metal halide lamps that power ultra-bright projectors. Uniform Brightness Across a lighted surface, uniform brightness refers to the lack of brighter or dimmer areas of a projected image. USB Acronym for Universal Serial Bus; a peripheral connection interface for low-speed devices notable for it's hot-swap ability. VESA Video Equipment Standards Association; a computer industry association which regulates video output standards for the SVGA graphics modes. Ventilation Airflow through a projector's internals for the purpose of cooling the lamp, or light source. VGA A video resolution equating to 640x480 pixels in size; acronym for Video Graphics Array. Wall The recipient of a projected image. Also used to partition rooms within buildings. Watt A measure of electrical power. As it pertains to projectors, a watt measures the power of the internal speaker. Weight The actual weight of the projector minus power cord, bag, and other optional accessories. XGA A video resolution equating to 1024x768 pixels in size; acronym for Extended Graphics Array. Zoom To make an area of an image larger.

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Bitec Imaging Technologies, Inc. d/b/a Bitec

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