ACCESS CHANNEL (Also Public Access)
-- Those channels of a cable system made available to members of the public without charge on a non-discriminatory, first-come, first-served basis and over which the cable operator can exercise no power of censorship.
-- The ability to signal from the hub site in such a way that only the desired subscriber’s receiving equipment is affected.
ADI (AREA OF DOMINANT INFLUENCE)
-- The geographic area where a broadcast signal measures at or above a predetermined level; a television market as determined by the Arbitron company.
-- A way of sending signals -- voice, video, data -- in which the transmitted signal is analogous to the original signal. Analog satellite transmission utilizes the full bandwidth of a single transponder. (Also, see “COMPRESSION”).
-- Primary level or levels of cable service offered for subscription. Basic cable offerings may include retransmitted broadcast signals as well as local and access programming. In addition, regional and national cable network programming may be provided. Basic service offerings at the system level may be offered as more than one tier.
-- Distribution of programming and/or commercials between cable systems by sending tapes by mail or messenger service. (This term derives from the early practice of several movie theatres sharing the same film print and having a messenger carry the print between theatres by bicycle in time for each to show the movie as scheduled).
-- A nickname used to describe a satellite.
-- By FCC definition, a facility serving a single community or a distinct governmental entity. Thus, one cable operation distributing signals within two separate but contiguous municipalities would be viewed by the Commission as two systems, even though unified in management and operation and providing the same service to each area.
-- The group of microwave and satellite frequencies from 4 to 6 Ghz. C-Band satellites are used primarily by the cable industry for transmission of network programming.
-- Closed circuit television.
-- A specified band of frequencies assigned to convey the transmissions of a particular broadcast station:
CLASS I CABLE CHANNEL
-- Channel used to deliver broadcast signals to subscribers.
CLASS II CABLE CHANNEL
-- Channel used to deliver cablecast programming to subscriber sets without decoders.
CLASS III CABLE CHANNEL
-- Channel used to deliver cablecast programming requiring special subscriber terminal equipment. (WITH decoder).
CLASS IV CABLE CHANNEL
-- Return or response channel on two-way system.
-- In a cable television system, the number of channels that can be simultaneously carried on the system and directed to the subscriber.
-- A term used to describe cable subscribers that discontinue their cable service.
-- An electronic retransmission vehicle located in a fixed earth orbit at 22,300 miles. Used by the cable industry for transmission of its network programming, and by telephone companies for long distance voice and data traffic.
-- Reducing the representation of information, but not the information itself or reducing the bandwidth or bits necessary to encode information. Full standard coding of broadcast-quality television typically requires 45 to 90 megabits per second. Compressed video includes signals from 3 mb/s down to 56 kb/s. In layman’s terms, the ability to compress a video signal on a satellite transponder so that more than one transmission may be sent or received simultaneously, thereby increasing the capacity of the satellite information.
-- A device that translates cable signals into television signals and allows the viewer to select individual channels. (Soon to be referred to as “Set-Top Boxes”).
DBS (DIRECT BROADCAST SATELLITES)
-- A television broadcasting system that beams programming directly from a satellite to a small (18”) rooftop antenna mounted on subscribers homes. Also known as “DTH” or Direct-To-Home.
-- Electronic device which translates scrambled or encoded signals in such a way as to recover the original message or signal.
-- A cable channel devoted to one of three uses specified by the FCC: Local Government; Education; or Noncommercial Public Access.
-- A signal which consists of a series of discreet values, as opposed to an analog signal, which is made up of a continuous information stream.
-- A parabolic or dish-shaped antenna used for sending or receiving signals to communication satellites.
DMA (DESIGNATED MARKET AREA)
-- A television market as designated by the A.C. Nielsen Company.
-- An earth station that receives transmissions from a communication satellite.
-- The antenna and other equipment needed on the ground to transmit or receive communication satellite signals; may be a downlink, an uplink, or both.
-- The device used to rearrange or distort a signal in some systematic fashion which will make the signal information unusable.
-- Coding of a signal for privacy protection. In particular when transmitted over telecommunication links.
-- The technology of using light-transmitting fibers to transmit information. The fibers are an extremely thin, flexible thread of pure glass able to carry one thousand times the information possible with traditional copper wire. Fiber optics are rapidly replacing copper telephone lines so that eventually all of your television programming will be sent through phone lines.
-- The portion of the earth’s surface covered by the signal from a communication satellite.
-- Authorization issued by a municipal, county or state governmental entity which allows the construction and operation of a cable TV system within the bounds of its governmental authority.
-- In videoconferencing, the use of video links that provide normal, uninterrupted live pictures.
HDTV (HIGH DEFINITION TELEVISION)
-- Also known as “High Resolution Television,” a Japanese-developed television system featuring a TV screen with more than twice the lines of the present U.S. system.
-- The electronic control center of a cable system, usually located near the antenna or microwave relay facilities, where incoming television signals are amplified, filtered, and converted, if necessary, before being delivered to the subscriber’s home.
-- Households with the ability to receive cable service and which may opt to subscribe.
-- A commercial, usually 90 seconds or more in length, designed to supply information about a product or service, or about a topic relating to the advertisers product or service, rather than to present a specific sales message.
-- A cable system that allows two-way communication, including contact between subscriber and operator, or contacts among groups of subscribers.
-- Two or more cable systems distributing a commercial signal simultaneously, primarily to maximize the effectiveness of an advertising schedule by offering a multiple-system buy in which only one contract need be negotiated. Interconnects can be hard, where systems are directly linked by cable, microwave relays or by satellite, and the signal is fed to the entire interconnect by one headend; or soft, where there is not direct operational connection between the participating systems but the same commercial is run simultaneously by each of the systems.
-- The group of microwave or satellite frequencies from 12 to 18 Ghz. Used primarily for teleconferencing, data transmission, private corporate networks, wild-feeds from news reporters and regional sports events.
-- A channel for which programmers pay a nominal fee for use and are thereby permitted to sell commercial time in their programming.
-- A term used to describe an increase in cable subscribers to a cable system.
-- A channel set aside by a cable system for programs originating from the cable studio rather than from satellite or local broadcast sources.
L.P.T.V. (LOW POWER TELEVISION)
-- A secondary television broadcasting service using transmitters with effective coverage of no more than a few miles.
M.A.T.V. (MASTER-ANTENNA TELEVISION)
-- An antenna system built into a multiple-unit dwelling that allows occupants to receive over-the-air broadcast signals without having to put up their own antennas.
-- High-frequency radio waves used for telecommunications transmission, usually those above 890 MHz.
-- Number of cable plant miles laid or strung by a cable system; the cable miles in place.
M.S.O. (MULTIPLE SYSTEM OPERATOR)
-- In the cable industry, a company that operates two or more cable systems.
-- Using a transmission channel to carry two or more signals at the same time.
-- The FCC rule requiring cable systems to carry all local broadcast television signals in their markets. Also, the stations carried under the rule are commonly called “must-carries.”
-- National Association of Broadcasters.
-- Programming an electronic medium with materials aimed at a specific audience rather than a mass audience. The opposite of broadcasting.
-- National Cable Telecommunications Association.
-- Through digital compression, cable systems can offer greatly expanded pay-per-view channels that provide hit movies beginning at brief intervals, usually every 15 or 30 minutes.
N.T.S.C. (NATIONAL TELEVISION SYSTEM COMMITTEE)
-- A 525-line color video signal whose frequency spectrum extends from 30 Hz to 42 MHz. Considered the industry standard in the United States and several other countries, as opposed to PAL or SECAM, which are considered foreign standards.
P.A.L. (PHASE ALTERNATE LINE)
-- A system for color television broadcasting used in parts of Europe. Not compatible with the U.S. system.
-- A network or service available for an added monthly fee. Also called PREMIUM. Some services, called MINI-PAY, are marketed at an average monthly rate below that of full-priced premium services.
-- Each premium service to which a household subscribes is counted as one unit.
-- Public Access, Educational Access and Government Access channels mandated by the FCC to be carried by every cable system in operation.
-- In cable, the proportion of homes subscribing to cable measured as a percentage of the total number of TV households in a specified area.
-- Direct-response advertising for which the cable network or system running the commercial is paid based on the number of responses received rather than the commercial time used.
-- A pay-TV system that allows subscribers to select and pay for individual programs on a one-time basis rather than purchasing a channel for a month or more.
-- An orbiting space station primarily used to relay signals from one point on the earth’s surface to one or multiple points in space or on earth.
-- An individual or firm that arranges for the leasing of satellite time.
-- A company that provides communication satellite facilities at rates regulated by the FCC.
-- In cable and satellite television transmission, a device that alters a program signal electronically so that it can only be seen by persons who have paid for proper decoding devices.
-- The color TV system used in France, the former Soviet Union, and Eastern European countries. Incompatible with the world’s other two systems.
-- The percent of television households (TVHH) tuned to a particular program or category of programming.
S.M.A.T.V. (SATELLITE MASTER ANTENNA TELEVISION)
-- Private cable systems installed in multiple-unit dwellings like apartment complexes, hospitals, schools, libraries, etc.
-- Revenue from advertising placed on a cable system or network by a local or national advertiser.
-- A household or business that legally receives and pays for cable and/or pay television service for its own use (not for retransmission).
-- Transmission and reception of signals by electromagnetic means, such as microwaves, satellites, fiber optics or broadcast antennas.
-- Supplying subscribers to a cable system with one or more programming services beyond the basic offerings at an extra charge. Each additional price increment, or the service(s) offered therefore, is called a tier.
-- A device that receives and retransmits an electromagnetic signal. Present communication satellites have 24 transponders, each of which can handle a single color television signal (unless the transponder has been compressed, at which time it can handle up to 10 different signals simultaneously).
T.V.R.O. (TELEVISION RECEIVE ONLY)
-- A satellite antenna used only to receive TV signals. Does not require an FCC license for ownership or construction. Also referred to as Back-Yard Dishes.
-- A satellite earth station that transmits a signal up to a communication satellite rather than receiving it. (See DOWNLINK).
-- Using a “digital server,” viewers can choose the exact times they would like to watch the movies, concerts or sporting events offered by cable systems. Currently, these programs run from start to finish on fixed signals. VCR-like features include Pause, Rewind, and Fast-Forward functions.
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