Glossary

Definitions of DTV, HDTV & 3DTV Terms

1-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Term Definition

V-Chip The V-chip is a technology that enables parents to block television programming based on a program's rating. The ratings are encoded within the television signal. The V-chip reads the encoded rating information of each program and blocks shows according to the parents' blocking selections.
VCR Video Cassette Recorder.
VHF Very High Frequency. This is the part of the radio spectrum from 30 to 300 megahertz, which includes TV Channels 2-13, and the FM broadcast band.
Video Compression Video compression refers to reducing the quantity of data used to represent digital video images, and is a combination of spatial image compression and temporal motion compensation.
Virtual Channel In telecommunications, a channel designation which differs from the actual channel or frequency on which the signal travels. The term is most often applied to television, where Digital Television (DTV) channels are in-band adjacent to analog ones.

A station branded as Channel 8, for example, might actually use channel 32 for its ATSC or DVB transmission, but a Virtual Channel Map allows viewers to tune in the station on channel 8 on a digital set. The virtual channel thus enables viewers to tune in the station by choosing the same channel number as they would have previously.
VGA Video Graphics Array. This is a display mode with a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels.