Technology / Television (TV) Glossary

Soft Light: A diffused light source, resulting in indistinct, blurred outlines and minimal shadows.

Soft News: News stories that examine the personal, such as gossip, scandal, murder, mayhem, and 'human interest' stories.

Solar Outage: Solar outages occur when a satellite dish is looking at a satellite, and the sun passes behind the satellite and within the field of view of the dish antenna. Solar outages occur during the . . . View Full Definition

Sound Bite: In a news package, a short piece of audio that was recorded on location.

Sound Editor: Technician who, in post-production, manipulates a program's soundtrack.

Sound Stage: A large room designed for the filming or videotaping of programs. Sets are arranged on the stage in a variety of ways, depending mostly upon the presence/absence of a studio audience.

Soundies: Produced in the 1940s, short films of performances by popular musicians presented on coin-operated machines akin to jukeboxes.

Spectrum: A range of frequencies available for over-the-air transmission.

Spill-In: The penetration of a television signal transmitted from outside the market area.

Spill-Out: The transmission of a television signal beyond its own market area.

Spinoff: When a character/characters and/or a concept from a television series is 'spun-off' to its own series. Examples include 'The Jeffersons' and 'Maude'spun-off from 'All in the Family'or 'Law & . . . View Full Definition

Splitter: A splitter is a passive device or diplexer (one with no active electronic components) which distributes a television signal carried on a cable in two or more paths and sends it to a number o . . . View Full Definition

Sponsorship: The purchase of all or part of a television program by one advertiser.

Spot Beam: A spot beam is a satellite transmission that is focused on a specific area within the footprint, or broadcast area, of the satellite. Both DISH Network and directv use spot beams to increas . . . View Full Definition

Spot TV: The advertising time purchased from individual stations. There are two major types local and national. Local spots are purchased in one market and aimed only at the audience in that particul . . . View Full Definition

Stand-Up: The feature of a television news package, in which the reporter stands before a site significant to the story to narrate it.

Standard Definition Television (SDTV): SDTV refers to DIGITAL transmissions with 480-line resolution, either interlaced or progressive scanned formats. SDTV offers significant improvement over today's conventional NTSC picture re . . . View Full Definition

Standard Digital Television (SDTV) Resolution: 480i - The picture is 704x480 pixels, sent at 60 interlaced frames per second (30 complete frames per second). 480p - The picture is 704x480 pixels, sent at 60 complete frames per second.

Standard Error: The estimated standard deviation of a statistic (margin of error). Standard error of a sample mean equals sample standard deviation divided by the square root of the sample size.

Star Image: A representation of an actor that is fabricated through the media texts of promotion, publicity, television programs, and criticism.

Steadicam: Registered trademark for a gyroscopically balanced camera mount that attaches to a camera operator's body, which produces smooth camera movement without the use of a dolly.

Stereotype: A conventionalized character type that is demeaning to a particular social group.

Story Time: The amount of time that transpires within a program's narrative. See screen time.

Storyboard: A written description of a program consisting of small drawings of individual shots. When used in animation, this series of sketches precisely outlines the progression of the entire cartoon.

Strip: Refers to a television program aired five days a week, mainly Monday - Friday.

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