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SACD
- Abbreviation for Super Audio CD. Enhanced audio
format with up to six channels of high-resolution audio
encoded using DSD. Requires an SACD player.
Multi-channel also requires a controller with
six-channel analog or proprietary digital inputs for
full playback.
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Sampling
- How analog information is encoded digitally in either
video or audio. A sample is a small portion of the
analog information taken at a regular interval (rate).
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Sampling
Rate - The
rate at which a sample is taken measured in Hz (cycles
per second).
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SAP
- Abbreviation for
Secondary Audio Program. A secondary audio signal on a
television channel commonly used as a means of providing
bilingual programming.
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Satellite Speaker
- A small
loudspeaker designed to fit more easily into the
interior decor of a home. Typically, they need to be
used with a subwoofer.
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Saturation -
Used many different ways but basically always means
something is full and can no longer respond to an
external influence. In video, saturated colors are
vivid and pure. In electronics, saturation of an
amplifier occurs when output transistors are pushed
beyond capacity and the output is no longer a linear
amplification of the input, distortion results.
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Scan
lines
- Scan
lines are the horizontal lines that make up the video
image on a television or video monitor.
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SDDS
- Abbreviation for Sony Dynamic Digital Sound. A
competing format with Dolby Digital and DTS in the
theater market. It uses 7.1 channels of sound
consisting of left, left center, center, right center,
right, rear right, rear left and a dedicated subwoofer
channel.
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SDTV
- Abbreviation for Standard-Definition Television.
Picture quality that is roughly the same as NTSC's 480i
video images. Approximately 500 scan lines comprise
SDTV.
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Sealed
Speaker - A
type of speaker that contains cone drivers with no
ports.
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Sensitivity -
A measure of speaker's efficiency. Determines how loud
the speaker will perform in decibels from a specific
input power rating. The accepted rating method for 8ohm
speakers is the number of decibels from one meter away
from the speaker with 1 Watt input (4ohm speakers would
simply double the power requirement for the same number
of decibels). Speaker sensitivity is an important
factor in how loud your system will go but has no
bearing on sound quality.
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Set top
box - Refers
to a box that sits on your TV set used for decoding or
tuning. This can be a cable box, satellite receiver or
any external decoder, processor or even a digital video
recorder such as ReplayTV or TiVo can be referred to as
a set top box.
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Sharpness - A
video setting on TVs that will pronounce the difference
between light and dark images on the screen. Turning up
sharpness should create greater contrasts where turning
it down softens the overall picture. Sharpness is not
the same as a focus control, it does not make the
picture any "better" per se, this is a setting best left
about halfway.
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Sibilance -
The distortion of the S sound, an acoustic problem with
speaker's reproduction of middle-high pitched sounds.
You can easily listen for sibilance with high quality
recordings of a female singer perform with little
background music, listen for her to make the S sound and
how clearly the speaker is capable reproducing this.
It's a very important test when auditioning a new set
of speakers.
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Signal
- Alternating
currents that carry useful information such as audio,
video or both.
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Signal-to-Noise Ratio
- (S/N) A measurement of the difference in decibels
between noise present in an amplified audio signal and
the sounds being reproduced. The higher the number the
better as there will be a higher number of decibels of
good sound over noise produced by the playback
components.
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Soft
Dome Tweeter -
A design of tweeter in a speaker system where the
tweeter is made from a soft material usually a fabric
that makes up the diaphragm.
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Solid
State - Refers
to electronics that use semi-conductor instead of tubes.
Amplifiers today can still be made from tubes
particularly in the high-end (expensive) category.
Those that don't use tubes will use transistors and will
be called solid state.
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Soundstage -
Simply the area of sound created by a hi-fi system.
Soundstage usually refers specifically to the illusions
of space and positioning of sounds from a Home Theater
system. To experience the soundstage, speaker
positioning is essential.
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Source
- The original signals received by a HomeTheater system.
Source material can come from a satellite dish,
antennae, DVD. Source components are those that playback
the source, i.e.: DVD Player, Satellite receiver, Cable
box or even your TVs tuner.
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Spade
Lug
- Type of
speaker wire connector shaped like the letter "U" and
designed to fit around a speaker binding post.
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Speaker
-
(Loudspeaker) The component in a Home Theater system
that converts electrical energy into sound.
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Spike
- A spike is a portion of a signal that goes above the
normal. A spike in a soundtrack is a point where the
sound requires more energy to properly reproduce than
normal. A spike can occur when a lot of loud sounds
happen at once in a film and can cause output
transistors in your amplifier to clip due to saturation.
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SPL
- Abbreviation for Sound Pressure Level. This is a
meter you can purchase at low cost that measures the
level of sound pressure in decibels. An effective tool
for tuning a Home Theater system.
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Stereo
- Two channel
audio system. Stereophonic sound revolutionized home
audio when it was introduced 50 years ago. It gave a
sense of heightened realism by presenting a soundstage
that gave music width and added dimension over
convention mono sound.
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Subjectivist -
An audiophile who believes there are attributes to high
fidelity audio that aren't measurable.
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Subwoofer - A
subwoofer is a (usually powered) speaker which produces
very deep booming bass sounds. Subwoofers are
responsible for reproducing the LFE track in a 5.1 Dolby
Digital or DTS soundtrack. They are typically a cube
shape with a large single woofer either pointing
directly at the ground or directly at the listener.
Usually, subwoofers are placed in the corner of the
room. Ideally, a subwoofer should be placed where it is
impossible to determine the direction of where the sound
is coming from.
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Subwoofer Output
-
Line-level (or low level) output on an A/V receiver or
preamp that transmits only low bass signals to the
subwoofer where it is amplified.
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Surround
Sound - A
generic term that refers to one of several standards of
multi-channel audio used in Home Theater, the most
popular of which today is Dolby Digital. Surround Sound
can also refer to Dolby Surround, which is a specific
(but very outdated) standard that employs an extra
matrix rear channel.
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Surround
Speakers -
Surround speakers are designed to handle the surround
effects is a Dolby Digital, DTS, or Dolby Pro-Logic
soundtrack. Ideally, for Dolby Digital and DTS, both
the left and right surround channels should be capable
of reproducing the full frequency range. However,
because the surround speakers receive a relatively small
portion of the soundtrack, it is a common practice to
have the surround speakers be the lowest quality
speakers in a setup. The ideal placement of surround
speakers is on the right and left walls of a room, above
and only slightly behind the listening position.
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S-VHS
- Abbreviation for Super VHS. Better than standard VHS,
not as good as DVD. A S-VHS recorder will allow you to
record programs in up to 480 lines of resolution (a
standard VHS will only record/play 240 lines of
resolution. S-VHS VCRs will allow you to play standard
VHS tapes. Also, a Super-VHS VCR will have at least one
S-Video output & input. In theory, a S-VHS tape will
give as good quality playback as DVD, however, because
it is a magnetic tape it still suffers from the same
drawbacks of standard VHS such as tape degradation and
deterioration.
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S-Video
- (Super Video or Y/C) A video transmission method.
Better than composite video, not as good as component
video. S-video separates luminance (black and white
information) and chrominance (color information)
signals. The S-video interconnect cable somewhat
resembles a computer PS-2 cable.
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Sweet
Spot - The
best place to sit for the full effects of a Home Theater
system's sonic and video effects. This will be the point
at which the sounds from all speakers in a Home Theater
converge at the same time. The sweet spot is usually a
small circle in the middle of the listening area
directly in front of the TV. |
