ANSI
Acronym for American National Standards Institute; coordinates the development of U.S. voluntary standards in both the public and private sectors. ANSI has established the standard followed by projector manufacturers for measuring lumen brightness. The higher lumen figure means a brighter picture can be achieved on screen.  

Aspect Ratio
The ratio of height to width of a frame or screen. The aspect ratio for standard video is 4:3, but most of our plasma screens are 16:9, meaning they're ideally suited for watching widescreen DVD movies as film director intended. You also get to see more detail on left and right of screen.   

Brightness
Simple enough; the brightness is the amount of light that the plasma screen itself emits. (Measured usually in candescence per metre squared, or c/m2). Rule of thumb, higher c/m2 figure means capability to deliver more brighness.

Bulb
A light source commonly mistaken for the light source within a projector. Bulbs power incandescent room lighting. Lamps power projectors. (Please call us for our latest range of Home Cinema Projectors!)

Contrast Ratio
The ratio of the maximum white to the minimum black level possible for a particular spot on the image with the background light levels factored out. One of the key specs to judge the picture quality of plasma screens by, but by no means the be all and end all!

Data Compatibility
Relates to the video and computer signal formats the projector is capable of displaying. 

Dimensions
The physical size, length, width, and height of a plasma screen!

Display Technology
The type of technology used to produce bright, clear images in high resolution. With plasma screens, there is only one basic way to achieve the image (but many variations on it from different manufacturers), commonly called a Black Stripe Matrix (which we won't go into here!). Projectors though use many different display technologies such as Digital Light Processing™ and Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs) combined with high-brightness lamps and precision optics. Speak to our experts if you have a particular need to be bored more about this!  ;)

DLP™
Acronym for Digital Light Processing™; a data projection technology developed by Texas Instruments using a microprocessor to display bright, colourful images in fully lit rooms. Used primarily in portable and ultra-portable projectors, the DLP™ chip is the size of a postage stamp and contains millions of microscopic mirrors — one for each pixel — that flip on an axis, reflecting light through a colour wheel to create your image. In a nutshell, better images can be achieved using this technology over LCD projectors. DLP uses thousands of tiny mirrors size of a pin head to reflect image onto screen.

Focus
To clarify a blurry image. (Projection Term)

HDTV
Acronym for High Definition Television; a high-resolution television standard using an 1125-line broadcast signal. See our HDTV pages for more in this!

Keystone (Keystoning)
A term used in the projector world. The distortion of an uncorrected image projected on a wall or screen, typically shown to be wider across the top and shorter across the bottom, resembling a keystone in a doorway. 

Lamp
The bright source of a projector partially responsible for your sharp, clear image. (Not used in plasma screens!)

LCD
Acronym for Liquid Crystal Display; liquid crystals exist in an intermediate state between liquid and solid, and realign under electrical stimulation. Exceptionally slim and lightweight, they are ideal in word processor, computer, and our excellent new LCD Televisions. These Sharp and Panasonic screens now feature MUCH higher contrasts and viewing angles than thought possible 2-3 years ago!

Lumen
Projection Term : A measurement of the amount of visible light energy that comes from a light source and is perceived by the eye. 

Mini jack
An audio connection interface common on personal cassette/CD players, computers, and projectors. 

Monitor
A computer display. Like the one you're probably looking at right now!

NTSC
Acronym for National Television Systems Committee; the television standard for the United States, administered by the Federal Communications Committee (FCC). NTSC is 525 lines of resolution transferred at a rate of 30 frames per second. 

PAL
Acronym for Phase Alternate Line; this is the standard TV broadcast signal you receive from the BBC and other UK channels! (Also used throughout Western Europe, except in France). It uses an interlaced format with 25 frames per second and 625 lines per screen. 

Pin
The connectors used in computer/projector cables. Cables are often identified by the number of pins they contain. A typical computer video cable has 15 pins, and is called a 15-pin video or VGA cable. 

RGB
Red, Green, Blue; the chrominance information in a video signal; the primary colours from which all other colours can be construed. 

RCA Input/Output
Also called Composite, RCA jacks are a common connection interface for audio and video sources. 

Resolution
The measurement of a computer screen or projected image measured by the number of pixels wide by the number of pixels high. More pixels per unit of area produce a higher resolution giving more detail in the display of an image. 

S-video
A video connection interface. Also a generic name for Y/C, applied to S-VHS or Beta E. 

SECAM
Acronym for Systeme En Couleur Avec Memoire (Sequential Colour with Memory); the colour TV system used in France and throughout the Eastern Block Republics. (Daft as they are!)

Stereo
An audio playback technology that divides sound into two or more sources, creating a more realistic sound.

Subwoofer
An audio device dedicated to replicating the lowest, deepest sounds ascertainable by the human ear.

SVGA
A video resolution equating to 800x600 pixels in size; acronym for Super VGA. All of Plasma4U's screens can cope with this PC signal easily.

TFT
Acronym for Thin Film Transistor; technology used with LCD screens, also known as Active Matrix.

Uniform Brightness
Projection Term - Across a lighted surface, uniform brightness refers to the lack of brighter or dimmer areas of a projected image.

VESA
Video Equipment Standards Association; a computer industry association which regulates video output standards for the SVGA graphics modes.

Ventilation
Airflow through a plasma screen for the purpose of cooling the unit; LG and NEC are amongst the first to have no-heat fan-free plasma screens on the market.

VGA
A video resolution equating to 640x480 pixels in size; acronym for Video Graphics Array.

XGA
A video resolution equating to 1024x768 pixels in size; acronym for Extended Graphics Array. Most of our plasma screens can address this PC resolution.

Zoom (Digital)
To make an area of an image larger. Many of our manufacturers have this functionality built into their plasma screens.