EX-99.2 16 dex992.htm GLOSSARY OF TERMS Glossary of Terms

EXHIBIT 99.2

 

Glossary of Terms

 

Analog

   An electronic or optical signal that varies in a continuous manner. Also, a device that sends or receives such a signal.

Analog Transport

   A transmission network product that conveys information in the form of analog signals.

ASIC

   Application Specific Integrated Circuit. Combines many functions onto one microchip and is designed for a special application or protocol.

Broadband

   A characteristic of a network that indicates that a wide band of frequencies are available. A large amount of information can be carried by multiplexing and transmitting on many different frequencies simultaneously. Sometimes used more narrowly to describe cable modem service or DSL (digital subscriber line) service from a telephone company.

Cable Modem

   A consumer electronics device that provides data communications services which are considerably faster than those available through a dial-up telephone modem.

CATV

   Community Antenna Television, sometimes also an abbreviation for “Cable Television.”

CE

   A European Union standards certification that covers a large range of product characteristics. Adopted in 1996 as a homogenization of various individual European standards into one set of standards for the European Union. A manufacturer of a product provides a Declaration of Conformity stating which specific directives the product has been successfully tested to.

Die-casting

   An enclosure, typically made of cast aluminum, that is used to protect sensitive optoelectronic and electronic equipment from precipitation and humidity.

Digital Interactive Set-top

   A cable television terminal that receives a video signal that is transmitted across a network as a series of 1s and 0s, instead of as a continuously varying electronic signal. A digital interactive set-top also allows the consumer to access interactive applications, such as video-on-demand and subscription video-on-demand.

Digital Interactive Television

   A television service that allows the consumer to access a broad range of applications which permit the user to select or alter content or information presentation, such as video-on-demand and subscription video-on-demand.

Digital Transport

   A transmission network product that conveys information by representing signals as a series of 1s and 0s, instead of as a continuously varying electronic signal.

Digital Video

   Video that is transported across a network as a series of 1s and 0s, instead of as a continuously varying electronic signal and typically uses compression techniques to reduce the bandwidth required for transmission or storage.

Digital Video Recorder

   A device that receives video from a network and provides for the storage of video on a disk drive in a manner that enables the user to recall the video for presentation at a later time or repetitively. Allows the user to pause or delay the viewing of live television content.

DBS

   Direct Broadcast Satellite Service. The generic term used to describe companies that provide video services to consumers’ homes via satellite transmission.


DOCSIS

   Data Over Cable System Interface Specification. DOCSIS is the cable television industry’s standard for cable modems.

DVD

   Digital Versatile Disk. A consumer electronics device that can read information from a removable plastic disk. This information may be data for a computer program or video or other multimedia content.

Electronic Program Guide

   A component of an entertainment system that provides information about content offerings, including time of showing, to a user of the system on the display device that the user accesses the content with.

Encoder

   Electronic equipment that converts analog video and audio into digital video and audio for transmission across a satellite or cable network.

Euro-DOCSIS

   The European version of the Data Over Cable System Interface Specification. DOCSIS is the cable television industry’s standard for cable modems.

GigaQAM

   Gigabit QAM Modulator. A Scientific-Atlanta product that is used for delivery of video-on-demand services. GigaQAM’s combine sixteen modulators into a single piece of electronic equipment and can translate signals received from IP-based networks to cable networks. QAM, or Quadrature Amplitude Modulation, is the standard digital modulation technique used for entertainment and data services in cable television systems.

Headend

   The cable operator’s building in which all content (video, voice, and data) is received, and signals are processed and converted for distribution over the cable network.

High-definition Television or

HDTV

   A digital television set that displays video with at least twice the resolution of traditional analog television sets which produces a picture with greater detail and supports a 16x9 aspect ratio for wider picture formats.

High-speed Data

   A generic term that is used to describe consumer data communications services that are considerably faster than those available through a dial-up telephone modem. Cable modem and the phone companies’ DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) service are examples of high-speed data services.

Home Entertainment Server

   A digital set-top device that includes an integrated hard drive. These devices allow users to record program content so that it may be viewed at a time when it is convenient. This device also allows users to pause, fast-forward and/or rewind live television broadcasts and, in the future, will enable content stored on the hard drive to be shared with other digital set-tops located in a user’s home.

Integrated Receiver and

Decoder

   Electronic equipment that can receive a satellite signal through an appropriate antenna and convert the signal into a format for further processing and transmission on a cable system or for viewing on a television set.

IP

   Internet Protocol. The worldwide de facto suite of standards and protocols for data communications.

Modulator

   Electronic equipment that modifies characteristics of a carrier signal (such as frequency or amplitude) to add information to the signal.

MQAM

   Multi QAM Modulator. A Scientific-Atlanta product that is used for delivery of video-on-demand services. MQAM’s combine four modulators into a single piece of electronic equipment. QAM, or Quadrature Amplitude Modulation, is the standard digital modulation technique used for entertainment and data services in cable television systems.


MSO

   Multiple System Operator. A cable television company that operates more than one cable television system.

Multimedia

   Information that contains multiple formats, such as video, audio, data, and images sometimes with multiple simultaneous displays and often provides opportunities for user interaction.

Node

   A node is the termination of the cable operator’s optical network. It converts an optical signal, received from the headend, into an electrical signal, which is sent over coaxial cable to consumers’ homes. It also receives electrical signals from consumers’ homes and converts them into optical signals for transmission back to the headend.

Optical Transmitter

   A laser and related components that convert electrical signals to optical signals for transmission through a fiber-optic network.

Optical Transport

   A transmission network product that conveys optical signals, rather than electronic signals.

Optoelectronics

   Equipment that contains both optical and electronic components and that performs functions which enable transmission of signals across a network.

QAM Modulator

   Electronic equipment that converts a digital signal into a format that can be carried on a cable television system. QAM, or Quadrature Amplitude Modulation, is the standard digital modulation technique used for entertainment and data services in cable television systems.

Radio Frequency

   An electronic signal which, when found on a cable television network, typically has a frequency between 5MHz and 870MHz.

Receiver

   Electronic or optical equipment that can receive signals on a network and process them for further transmission or presentation.

Reverse Path

   The communications channel over a cable network from the consumer’s home to the headend.

RF Amplifier

   Electronic equipment that strengthens an electronic signal that had weakened due to transmission over some distance of coaxial cable in a cable television network.

Satellite Transponder

   Electronic equipment on a satellite in orbit that receives a signal and then re-broadcasts the signal to multiple receivers dispersed across a broad geographic area.

Signal Scrambling

   Techniques used to make electronic signals more difficult to receive without authorization.

Statistical Multiplexer

   Electronic equipment that combines together multiple digital signals in such a way to make more efficient use of a transmission network.

Subscription Video-on-

Demand

   A cable television service that allows access at the time of the consumer’s choosing to a variety of programs which are stored on disk drives in the cable operator’s network.

Systems Integration

   A service in which hardware and software products, often from multiple suppliers, are combined to create a complex network or system.

Taps

   A device that connects a coaxial cable to one or more drop cables, which then carry the signal directly into the consumers’ homes.

Transmission Plant

   The optoelectronic and electronic equipment, together with the optical fiber and coaxial cable that connect a headend to consumers’ homes.


Transmission Plant Upgrade

   A process, often including significant construction activities, through which the capacity of a cable television network is increased.

Tuner

   An electronic device that can select a desired signal from a network that simultaneously carries a large number of signals. The desired signal may contain a television channel, a high-speed data communications signal for a cable modem, or a voice signal.

Up-conversion

   The process of changing the frequency of a signal before inserting it into a transmission network.

VCR

   Video Cassette Recorder. A consumer electronics device that allows video to be played from, or recorded to, a cassette containing a spool of magnetic tape.

Video-on-Demand

   A cable television service that, for a transaction fee, allows a consumer to access and control playout of a variety of programs which are stored on disk drives in the cable operator’s network.