Technology / Television (TV) Glossary

Copyright: The exclusive legal rights to perform or sell a song, book, script, photograph, etc. To use copyrighted material (e.g., a piece of music) in a TV program, a fee or royalty must be paid the c . . . View Full Definition

Cost Per Mill (CPM): The advertising rate charged to TV sponsors, which is quantified per thousand viewers. 'Mil' equals 'thousand,' from the Latin word mile. Thus, the CPM is the cost per thousand viewers.

Cost Per Thousand (CPM): The cost of reaching 1,000 homes or individuals with a specific advertising message. CPM is a standard advertising measure to compare the relative cost efficiency of different programs, stat . . . View Full Definition

Cost-Per-Rating Point (CPP): Used by most media planners in developing and allocating market budgets and setting rating point goals. It is defined as the cost of reaching one percent of the target audience within a spec . . . View Full Definition

Coverage: The percentage of homes or persons receiving a particular broadcast signal within a specific geographic area.

Craning: A movement deriving its name from the mechanical crane on which a camera may be placed. A crane shot is one in which the entire camera, mounted on a crane, is swept upward or downward.

Credit: A cash deduction for the loss of advertising time when a commercial is not aired or is improperly scheduled.

Cross-Fade: Akin to a dissolve, one sound fades out while the other fades in, resulting in a brief overlap.

Cultural Studies (Ethnography): A critical approach which argues that viewers decode television texts based on their specific ideological position in society: it looks at the interaction between the ideological discourses . . . View Full Definition

Cumulative Audience (Cume): It is the total non-duplicated audience for one or a series of telecasts, programs, messages, or time-periods. It is expressed as a percentage of a given universe. A household or person is c . . . View Full Definition

D-A: Conversion of digital to analog signals. The device is also referred to as DAC (D/A converter). In order for conventional television technology to display digitally transmitted TV data, the . . . View Full Definition

Datacasting: Digital television allows for the transmission of not only digital sound and images, but also digital data (text, graphics, maps, services, etc.). This aspect of DTV is the least developed: . . . View Full Definition

Dayparts: The time segments that divide the TV day for ad scheduling purposes. These segments generally reflect a television station's programming patterns. Comparison of audience estimates between da . . . View Full Definition

Decoder: A unit similar to today's cable boxes, which is capable of receiving and decoding DTV broadcasts. A DTV 'Certified' STB can receive all (18) ATSC DTV formats, (including HDTV) and provide a . . . View Full Definition

Decoding: In cultural studies, the reader/viewer's interpretation of a text that has been encoded with meaning by its creators.

Decoding (Video Capture): The process of converting TV interlaced video to noninterlaced RGB video.

Deep Focus: When all planes (foreground, middle-ground and background) of an image are in focus.

Deep Space Blocking: A type of blocking associated with single-camera productions, particularly those shot on location. The depth of the 'set' is emphasized by the ability of one actor to be positioned near the . . . View Full Definition

Definition: In terms of the image quality of film and television, definition refers to the capability of the visual medium to separate and depict detail. Sometimes termed resolution.

Demographics: Audience composition based on various socioeconomic characteristics such as age, sex, income, education, household size, occupation, etc.

Depth Of Field: The range in front of and behind the focus distance that is also in focus.

Designated Market Area (DMA): Represents an exclusive geographic area of counties in which the home market stations are estimated to have the largest quarter-hour audience share (as defined by Nielsen).

Dialogue: Speech among characters, which does not usually address the viewer. Also, a type of interview in which the voices of the interviewer and the interviewee are both heard, and both persons may . . . View Full Definition

Diegesis: The world in which the narrative is set. In other words, the world fictional characters inhabit.

Diegetic Sound: Dialogue, music and sound effects that occur in the diegetic space of the television program. I.e., sound that is part of the characters' world.

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