|
·
Balanced Input
- A connection
with three conductors: two identical signal conductors
that are 180 degrees out of phase with each other, and
one ground. This type of connection is very resistant to
line noise.
·
Bandpass - A
two-part filter that cuts both higher and lower
frequencies around a center band. A bandpass enclosure
cuts high frequencies by acoustic cancellation and low
frequencies by natural physical limitations on bass
response.
·
Bandwidth - In
audio, the range of frequencies a device operates
within. In video, the range of frequencies passed from
the input to the output.
·
Bass - Low
frequencies: those below approximately 200Hz.
·
Bipolar - (1)
The condition of possessing two pole sets. In a
conventional (non-FET) transistor, one pole set exists
between the base and collector, and the other pole set
exists between the base and emitter. (2) Speakers that
consist of two driver arrays facing opposite directions
and wired in electrical phase with one another to create
a more diffuse soundstage.
·
Bi-Wiring - A
method of connecting an amplifier or receiver to a
speaker in which separate wires are run between the amp
and the woofer and the amp and the tweeter.
·
Black Level -
Light level of the darker portions of a video image. A
black level control sets the light level of the darkest
portion of the video signal to match that of the
display's black level capability. Black is, of course,
the absence of light. Many displays, however, have as
much difficulty shutting off the light in the black
portions of an image as they do creating light in the
brighter portions. CRT-based displays usually have
better black levels than DLP, plasma, and LCD, which
rank, generally, in that order.
·
Blu-Ray -
Blu-ray is one of two major High Definition DVD formats
(see HD-DVD) that are vying to replace the current DVD
standard in the U.S. market. Blu-ray is supported on
the hardware side by Hitachi, LG, Matsushita
(Panasonic), Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, HP,
Dell, Apple, TDK, and Thomson (Note: Thomson also
supports HD-DVD). On the software side, Blu-ray is
supported by Twentieth Century Fox, Walt Disney Studios,
MGM, Paramount (also supports HD-DVD) and Warner (also
supports HD-DVD). Apple Computer has also announced
support for Blu-ray.
·
Boost - To
increase, make louder or brighter; opposite of
attenuate.
·
Bridging -
Combining two channels of an amplifier to make one
channel that's more powerful. One channel amplifies the
positive portion of an audio signal and the other
channel amplifies the negative portion, which are then
combined at the output.
·
Brightness -
For video, the overall light level of the entire image.
A brightness control makes an image brighter; however,
when it is combined with a contrast, or white level
control, the brightness control is best used to define
the black level of the image (see Black Level). For
audio, something referred to as bright has too much
treble or high-frequency sound. |
