Select the first letter of the word from the list above to jump to appropriate section
of the glossary.
Return to The Ultimate Home Theater
- Universal remote control
A remote control that has been preprogrammed by its maker to operate a variety of
components.
- VBI
See Vertical blanking interval.-
- VCR
Videocassette recorder. See also Video
recorder.-
- VCR Plus
A time-shift control system installed in some VCRs to simplify recording. Also
available in handset-type controllers for older video recorders.-
- VHS
Video Home System. The now-dominant home-video tape-recording system developed by JVC as
competition to the Sony-designed Beta format.-
- Vertical blanking interval
The horizontal black bar visible on a TV picture when the vertical-hold control is
adjusted so that the picture "rolls" off center. The VBI consists of 21 lines
and, because each line arrives at two 1/60-second intervals, totals 42 of the
525 lines available with the NTSC system. The VBI allows a video-picture scan line to
return to the starting point at the next picture frame (the first nine lines contain the
signal pulses that synchronize picture transmission) and also is useful for carrying
specially encoded data to multiple recipients in the video distribution chain.-
- Vertical resolution
The ability of a television component (VCR, laser-video player, or TV set) to resolve
detail vertically on a television screen. Usually stated in lines of detail from screen
top to screen bottom, vertical-resolution limits of consumer-grade television sets are set
by the FCC.-
- Video enhancer
A circuit designed to boost picture detail. Sometimes useful in dubbing material from one
VCR to another.-
- Video recorder
A tape recorder designed to record and play back video and audio signals received via
cable or antenna. VCRs can also copy material from another recorder or laser-video player.
Hi-fi versions produce higher-quality audio performance than standard models.-
- VideoGuide
A proprietary subscription-activated menu system designed to aid in television program
selection and recording. See also StarSight.-
- Videophile
A person who has an enduring interest in video, particularly video hardware and home
theater.-
- Voice coil
The wire coil surrounded by the magnet assembly in a moving-coil, dynamic loudspeaker. The
coil is attached to a diaphragm (which may be a cone, dome, or some kind of hybrid air
mover) of the driver and causes it to move when excited by a signal from an amplifier.
Most voice coils are made from copper wire, although a few are made of aluminum wire.
- W/ch
Watts per channel .-
- Watt
A unit of power. Amplifiers do not deliver watts (they deliver voltage), nor do speakers
create them. When presented to a specific load (speaker impedance), current flows and the
power dissipated is rated in watts. Wattage produced may be calculated by multiplying
voltage times current or by squaring the voltage and dividing it by the impedance .-
- White noise
Similar to pink noise, except that white noise contains equal energy at each frequency
point. See also Pink noise-
- Woofer
The individual speaker unit (driver) designed to handle the bass range. Some speaker
enclosures contain multiple woofer drivers to increase bass power.-
- Wow
The speed variation of a mechanical playback device such as an LP record player or analog
tape recorder. Short-term speed variations are sometimes called flutter. Digital recording
and playback devices do not produce wow, because their outputs are controlled (and
slightly delayed) by an internal clock mechanism. Wow created by warped LP records is
called warp wow.
- XS Stereo Sound
A proprietary stereophonic video system designed by Thomson electronics for budget-grade
TV sets. This is not a true stereo system like the dbx version used in MTS; instead it
uses small amounts of negative cross-feed to simulate stereo. See also dbx;MTS.
- Y/C connector
See S-connector - You-are-there sound
A recording technique that attempts to make it sound as though you are in the hall with
the performers. Most recordings of any kind of music strive for this effect. See also They-are-here sound
- (empty)
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