Technology / Television (TV) Glossary

Affidavit: A notarized statement from a television station that confirms the commercial actually ran at the time shown on the station's invoice.

Affiliate: A TV station, not owned by a network, that grants a network use of specific time periods for network programs and advertising, for compensation. Remainder of broadcast day is programmed locally.

Alternate Delivery Systems (ADS): TV homes with unwired cable access are referred to as having Alternate Delivery Systems. The four components of ADS are. Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS): Satellite service delivered directl . . . View Full Definition

Ambient Sound: Background sounds of a particular room or location.

American Federation Of Television And Radio Artists (AFTRA): An AFL-CIO union of broadcasting workers. Headquartered in N.Y., near the offices of the major networks, it is the primary organization of broadcast talent, with 30 locals. Performers who ap . . . View Full Definition

American Women In Radio And Television (AWRT): An association in Washington D.C., of women who work in all areas of broadcasting.

Amplified Gain: Gain is the ratio of the amount of power you can reach in one direction from the antenna to the amount of power that would be generated if the power radiated equally in all directions from t . . . View Full Definition

Analog: The technology in use for more than 50 years to transmit conventional radio and TV signals. Vinyl recordings and motion picture films are examples of analog technology.

Analog Sound: An electronic replica of a sound wave on audio or video tape: the sound wave is converted into an electronic copy or analog. This type of sound recording is being replaced by digital sound. . . . View Full Definition

Analog TV: Analog TV is the NTSC Standard for traditional television broadcasts. Analog signals vary continuously, representing fluctuations in color and brightness.

Anamorphic: A widescreen film process (under such trademark names as cinemascope and Panavision) used to create an image wider than conventional television's. The aspect ratio of most films made with an . . . View Full Definition

Animation: The drawing (either electronically or on a physical medium) of motion. Usually animation is completed in a frame-by-frame process.

Antagonist: Character and/or situation that hinders the protagonist from achieving his or her goal(s).

Anti-Naturalist Performance: Performance style in which the viewer is kept aware that the actor is pretending to be a character.

Aperture: In terms of a narrative: a conclusion with an ambiguous ending, and/or without resolution, without answering its questions. The opposite of closure. In terms of video and film cameras: the o . . . View Full Definition

Arcing: A term used in television studio production to refer to the semi-circular sideways movement of the camera.

Aristocracy: In Marxism, the most elite social class--consisting of individuals who do not work, and hold power through inheritance: kings, queens, princes, princesses, and so on. According to Marx's ana . . . View Full Definition

Artifacts: Unwanted visible effects in the picture created by disturbances in the transmission or image processing, such as 'edge crawl' or 'hanging dots' in analog pictures, or 'pixelation' in digital . . . View Full Definition

Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37