Chapter 9-TV Flashcards
Lines of Resolution
Rows of pixels, or lighted dots, that make up a television picture image.
Pixels
Lighted dots that create a television picture image.
Channel Allocation
The placement of assigned spots on the electromagnetic spectrum to individual broadcast stations.
Affiliates
Local stations that have a contractual relationship with the network but are not owned by the network.
Kinetoscopes
Poor-quality films taken directly from television monitors in the network studios; they were forerunners of videotapes.
Community Antenna Television (CATV)
The first cable television systems, designed to give viewers in hard-to-reach areas satisfactory reception from their nearest broadcast television stations.
Importation
In cable television, the bringing in of additional signals from distant stations.
Must-Carry Rules
FCC regulations that require cable systems to carry all local television stations within the system’s area of coverage.
Time Shifting
Recording of a television program for playback at some later time.
Videotape Recorder (VTR)
A device for recording sounds and images on reels of magnetic tape.
Videocassette Recorder (VCR)
An improvement on the videotape recorder (VTR) that uses cassette tapes instead of reels.
Digital Video Recorders (DVR’s)
Specialized computers with oversized hard drives on which video signals are saved.
High-Definition Television (HDTV)
Digital technology for transmitting television programs using more than double the standard number of scanning lines, creating a clearer, larger picture.
Video On Demand (VOD)
Services that allow subscribers to order recent feature films, sporting events, concerts, news items, and special events at any time; television clips that users can access whenever they want.
Multiple System Operators (MSO’s)
Companies that own several local cable service providers, usually in different areas of the country.
Basic Cable
Channels that are supplied with the least expensive program package the cable provider offers.
A La Carte Pricing
Charging customers only for those cable channels they choose to receive.
Premium Cable Channels
Cable channels that provide programming to subscribers for an additional fee, over and above their basic cable subscription fee; sometimes called pay cable.
Pay-Per-View Channels
Systems that allow cable TV subscribers to order recent feature films, sporting events, concerts, and other special events when scheduled.
Geostationary
The placement of satellites so that they orbit Earth at the same speed that Earth rotates, effectively parking the satellite over one spot.
Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS)
Systems that deliver television programming to individual homes via satellite.
Program Syndication
The sale of programs directly to stations or cable channels.
Off-Network Programs
Syndicated programs that were shown earlier on one of the television networks and are now being licensed on a station-by-station basis.
Strip Programming
A system of showing a program in the same time period five times a week.
Original Syndication
The station-by-station licensing of new television programs that were not earlier shown on a network.
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)
Government-sponsored association of public television stations designed to facilitate the sharing of programs.
Rating
The percentage of all homes equipped with televisions that are tuned to a particular station at a particular time.
Share
The percentage of homes in which the television is in use and tuned to a particular station.
Sweeps Months
Months in which local stations use the ratings to set their basic advertising rates for the next three-month period–currently, November, February, May, and July.
V-Chip
An electronic device that can be set to recognize and block programs with a particular rating.
