Glossary

Article
08/13/2009

To find a term in the glossary, click the letter of the alphabet that is the first letter in the term you want to look up.

You can also read glossary terms within the text of Help by clicking the underlined glossary term links. After you click a glossary link, the glossary term and definition appear in a pop-up window. To close the window, click anywhere on the screen.

Symbols

.wma

The file name extension of an audio file in Windows Media Format.

.wmv

The file name extension of a video file in Windows Media Format.

A

ActiveX control

A control that uses ActiveX technology. Such controls can be downloaded automatically from a Web page and executed by a Web browser.

alpha

In computer graphics, the measure of a pixel's opacity. A pixel with the maximum alpha value is opaque, one with a value of zero is transparent, and one with an intermediate value is translucent.

ambient

Supported by more than one skin element.

aspect ratio

The ratio of the width of an image to its height.

attribute

A name-value data pair.

authentication

The process of verifying that an entity or object is who or what it claims to be. For example, a username and password may be used to authenticate a user.

B

background application

A type of software application hosted by Windows Media Center that automatically starts running in the background soon after Windows Media Center is started, and continues to run until the application closes on its own or is forced to close because Windows Media Center is closing.

*See Also: *

on-demand application ,

Windows Media Center application

bandwidth

The data transfer capacity of a transmission medium.

broadcast

A method by which a client receives a stream. During a broadcast connection, clients cannot control the stream. This is the opposite of an on-demand presentation.

buffer

An area of memory reserved for temporarily holding data before that data is used by a receiving device or application. Buffering protects against the interruption of data flow.

C

cache

A temporary data storage location, or the process of storing data temporarily. A cache is typically used for quick data access.

call sign

The identifying code letters or numbers of a radio or television transmitting station, assigned by a regulatory body.

CD

See definition for: compact disc (CD)

CGMS-A

See definition for: Copy General Management System Analog (CGMS-A)

chapter

In a DVD, a portion of a title, such as a scene or sequence. A title can contain one or more chapters.

*See Also: *

title

click-to-record

A feature of Windows Media Center that enables Windows Media Center applications to programmatically schedule the recording of TV programs.

*See Also: *

keyword recording ,

manual recording ,

one-time recording ,

series recording

client

Any computer or program connecting to, or requesting the services of, another computer or program. Client can also refer to the software that enables the computer or program to establish the connection.

codec

An abbreviation for compressor/decompressor. Software or hardware used to compress and decompress digital media.

compact disc (CD)

An optical storage medium for digital data.

content

Audio, video, images, text, or any other information that is contained in a digital media file or stream.

content provider

The person or organization that distributes Windows Media files (for example, a record, movie, or streaming media company). The content provider may also be the content owner.

content rating

A value assigned to an item of media content that indicates its suitability for a particular audience.

Copy General Management System Analog (CGMS-A)

A method for controlling the copying of broadcast media content that allows only one generation of copying.

custom view port

An optional window that Windows Media Center applications can use to display video content, but not metadata for video or audio. The custom view port is embedded in the page and is usually larger than the shared view port.

*See Also: *

shared view port

D

deinterlace

To combine the interlaced fields in a video frame so that, during playback, the lines of the video frame are painted sequentially.

*See Also: *

interlace

digital

In computing, a characteristic of data that is represented as binary digits (zeros and ones).

digital rights management (DRM)

Any technology used to protect the interests of owners of digital content and services (such as copyright owners). Typically, authorized recipients or users must acquire a license in order to use the content.

digital video (DV)

Video images and sound stored in a digital format.

download

To copy a file from one computer to another using a modem or network.

*See Also: *

streaming

DRM

See definition for: digital rights management (DRM)

E

Electronic Program Guide (EPG)

The on-screen user interface that allows users to select, manage, and search television programs and other content viewing options.

element

A fundamental syntactic unit in markup languages, such as HTML or XML. Elements are delimited by start tags and end tags. Empty elements are defined using an empty-element tag.

entry point

A specific location within a Windows Media Center application where the end user enters the application experience.

EPG

See definition for: Electronic Program Guide (EPG)

event

An action or occurrence to which a program might respond. Examples include state changes, data transfers, key presses, and mouse movements.

event handler

A software routine that executes in response to an event.

exclusive mode

A feature of Microsoft DirectX that suspends the windowing system so that an application can draw directly to the screen.

extensibility application

A Windows Media Center application that adds a new service or feature to Windows Media Center.

Extensible Markup Language (XML)

A markup language that provides a format for describing structured data. XML is a World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) specification, and is a subset of Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML).

external application

An application that runs outside of the Windows Media Center process, unlike applications, which run inside the Windows Media Center process.

F

file format

The structure or organization of data in a file. File format is usually indicated by the file name extension.

*See Also: *

file name extension ,

file type

file name extension

A set of characters added to the end of a file name that identifies the file type or format.

*See Also: *

file format

file type

The format of a file, commonly indicated by its file name extension. The file type indicates which program the file was created in and can be opened with.

*See Also: *

file format ,

file name extension

firewall

A system or combination of systems that enforces a boundary between two or more networks and keeps hackers out of private networks. Firewalls serve as virtual barriers so that the computers on your network cannot be accessed by outside computers. This is especially important when using a constant connection to the Internet, such as DSL.

fit-to-disc feature

A DVD-V/VCD feature of Windows Media Center that enables the CD/DVD recording application to transcode files again to fit more content on the disc.

format

In Windows Media Technologies, the type of music (genre), such as rock or classical, played by a radio station.

frame

One of many sequential images that make up video.

frame rate

The number of video frames displayed per second. Higher frame rates generally produce smoother movement in the picture.

frequency

In Windows Media Player, the number, such as 88.5 or 101.7, used to locate a radio station.

G

genre

In Windows Media Technologies, the type of music, such as rock or classical.

H

A part of the file structure that contains information required by an application to decompress and render the content. The header in a protected file also contains information required to get a license.

High Contrast

A display feature that instructs programs to change the color scheme to a high-contrast scheme and to increase legibility whenever possible.

HighMAT

A standard for consumer electronic devices that improves the compatibility between computers and CD or DVD players.

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

A simple markup language used to create hypertext documents that are portable from one platform to another. HTML files are simple ASCII text files with codes embedded (indicated by markup tags) to denote formatting and hypertext links.

I

IME

See definition for: input method editor (IME)

input method editor (IME)

A software component that uses an on-screen keyboard or keypad to let users enter complex characters and symbols, such as Japanese Kanji characters.

interlace

To display a video frame in two fields. One field contains the even lines of the frame, the other field contains the odd lines. During playback, the lines in one field are displayed first, then the lines in the second field are displayed.

*See Also: *

deinterlace

interpolation

The description of how to transition from one keyframe to the next.

*See Also: *

keyframe

K

keyboard shortcut

Any combination of keystrokes that can be used to perform a task that would otherwise require a mouse or other pointing device.

keyframe

A typed value associated with a specific time. Animations are a sequence of keyframes.

keyword recording

A click-to-record TV recording session in which Windows Media Center records a program that matches the specified search criteria when and if such a program becomes available.

*See Also: *

click-to-record ,

manual recording ,

one-time recording ,

series recording

L

latency

The delay that occurs while data is processed or delivered.

lossless compression

A process for compressing data in which information is arranged in a more concise form and restored to its original state upon decompression.

*See Also: *

lossy compression

A process for compressing data in which information deemed unnecessary is removed and cannot be recovered upon decompression. Typically used with audio and visual data in which a slight degradation of quality is acceptable.

*See Also: *

lossless compression

M

manual recording

A click-to-record TV recording session in which Windows Media Center records a particular service at a particular time.

*See Also: *

click-to-record ,

keyword recording ,

one-time recording ,

series recording

MCML

See definition for: Windows Media Center Markup Language (MCML)

media state aggregation service (MSAS)

A local COM server that receives media status information from Windows Media Center and distributes it to sinks that have registered with the MSAS.

metadata

Data about data. Title, subject, author, and size are examples of a file's metadata.

method

A programming function that is related to a particular object and can be called to modify the object's properties or to achieve a particular effect that the object is responsible for. Methods can be passed pieces of information called parameters in order to modify the resulting behavior. Frequently, the result of a method call is the return of a different piece of information that can then be used by another part of the program.

MIME

See definition for: Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension (MIME)

MSAS

See definition for: media state aggregation service (MSAS)

Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension (MIME)

A standard that extends the Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP) for encoding non-ASCII data files such as video, sound, and binary files for attachment to Internet e-mail.

N

National Television Standards Committee (NTSC)

The dominant television standard in the United States and Japan. NTSC delivers 30 interlaced frames per second at 525 lines of resolution.

NTSC

See definition for: National Television Standards Committee (NTSC)

O

object

A collection of properties and methods that serve a particular purpose and are treated as a unit.

on-demand application

A type of Windows Media Center hosted application that starts running only after the user invokes it from the Windows Media Center shell. An on-demand application performs a discrete, synchronous task and then closes when the task is completed.

*See Also: *

background application ,

Windows Media Center application

one-time recording

A click-to-record TV recording session in which Windows Media Center records a particular TV program once.

*See Also: *

click-to-record ,

keyword recording ,

manual recording ,

series recording

P

parameter

A piece of information that is passed into a method in order to achieve a particular result.

parse

To break input into smaller chunks so that a program can act upon the information.

playlist

A list of digital media content.

port

A hardware- or software-based interface used to transfer information between a computer and other devices. Hardware ports are physical connections that are visible on the outside of the computer. Software ports are the numbered gateways in programs that software programs use to exchange information.

preset

A predefined setting. For Windows Media Player, there are presets defined for both equalizer settings and for most visualizations.

property

A piece of information that specifies a particular detail of an object.

protocol

A set of technical rules about how information should be transmitted and received by using computers.

R

rating

An assessment of music or video content on a scale that corresponds to the user's opinion of the content.

*See Also: *

content rating

render

To display video, audio, or text content from a file or stream using a software program, such as Windows Media Player.

RGB

A color model that describes color information in terms of the red (R), green (G), and blue (B) intensities that make up the color.

S

scan line

One of the horizontal lines that make up the image on a television or raster-scan computer monitor.

series recording

A click-to-record TV recording session in which Windows Media Center records a particular TV program at regular intervals.

*See Also: *

click-to-record ,

keyword recording ,

manual recording ,

one-time recording

shared view port

The small media window that is sometimes visible in the lower left part of the Windows Media Center window. It can contain video or TV content, or it can contain metadata for audio or radio content, such as cover art and song titles.

*See Also: *

custom view port

skin

A user interface that provides an alternative appearance and customized functionality for software such as Windows Media Player.

skin definition file

An XML document that specifies the elements in a skin, along with their relationships and functionality. A skin definition file has a .wms file name extension.

stream

Digital media that is in the process of being delivered in a continuous flow across a network.

streaming

A method of delivering digital media across a network in a continuous flow. The digital media is played by client software as it is received. Typically, streaming makes it unnecessary for users to download a file before playing it.

T

thumbnail

A reduced image of a graphic, used to display multiple images at once.

title

On a DVD, typically, the largest unit of content, such as a movie or TV program, is called a title. There is not a consistent standard across all DVDs and because of this, a DVD can contain one or more titles.

*See Also: *

chapter

track

An individual song or other discrete piece of audio content.

TV-safe palette

A collection of colors that are suitable for displaying on a TV screen.

U

Uniform Resource Locator (URL)

The address of a resource on a network. It conforms to the protocol://servername/resource syntax, where protocol is the name of the protocol used (such as http), servername is the name of the server, and resource is the directory path and file name of the resource. If a resource is not specified, a default one is often provided by the server.

URL

See definition for: Uniform Resource Locator (URL)

V

VCD

See definition for: Video CD (VCD)

Video CD (VCD)

A compact disc format that contains ISO MPEG-1 compressed full-motion video and associated high-quality audio.

view item

The different visual primitives that can be used to create a user interface in MCML.

*See Also: *

Windows Media Center Markup Language (MCML)

W

Windows Media Center application

A Microsoft .NET Framework assembly that uses the programming interfaces exposed by Windows Media Center to control aspects of the Windows Media Center experience and to extend the capabilities of Windows Media Center.

*See Also: *

background application ,

on-demand application

Windows Media Center Extender device

A hardware device that uses a wired or wireless connection to communicate with a Windows Media Center computer by using Windows Media Center Extender technologies. Such a device enables users to access Windows Media Center content from a TV in a remote location.

Windows Media Center Extender technologies

Microsoft software used by Windows Media Center Extender devices to communicate with Windows Media Center computers and to provide the Windows Media Center experience on the Windows Media Center Extender devices.

Windows Media Center hosted HTML application

A software component that extends the capabilities of Windows Media Center by adding a new service or media experience that the user can access through the Windows Media Center UI. It consists of one or more HTML pages that use XML, scripting, ActiveX controls, and other familiar client-side Internet technologies.

Windows Media Center Markup Language (MCML)

An XML-based declarative language used to instruct the Windows Media Center Presentation Layer how to display a user interface within a Windows Media Center application.

Windows Media Center Presentation Layer

A technology based on the .NET Framework 2.0 that uses the Windows Media Center API and MCML to take advantage of dynamic layout capabilities, integrated animation support, rich text and graphic support, and automatic navigation in Windows Media Center.

*See Also: *

Windows Media Center Markup Language (MCML)

Windows Media Center shell

An application designed to provide easy access to the entertainment services and digital media content that are available through a Windows Media Center computer. It has a user interface that is easy to use from a distance, and is designed to be accessed primarily through a TV-style remote control. The Windows Media Center shell acts as a host for Windows Media Center applications.