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E-to-E (Electronics-to-Electronics)

Monitoring the output signal of a VTR while it is recording is an E-to-E process. The signal is fed from the VTR directly to the monitor before it has been recorded on tape. However, with E-to-E it is not possible to be certain that the signal is being recorded on the tape.

Earth Station

Facility that sends (or receives) an audio, video, and/or data signal to a satellite transponder. The earth station uses codecs, for digitizing the data transmitting equipment and a satellite dish to transmit the signal to space.

EAS

Emergency Alert System.  The nation-wide system of notifying the listening and view audiences of emergencies.  It is the current system that all broadcasters must conform to.  A set of rules on how and when tests must be run and who must carry them.  EAS replaced EBS on January 1, 1997.  EAS is now required on cable systems and will be required on DTH in the future. Origination equipment is not required for LPFM stations, but monitoring equipment is.

EAV

End of active video in component digital systems.

EBS  (Emergency Broadcast System)

This is the emergency alert system that pre-dated the EAS.  It is no longer in use.  EBS replaced CONLRAD.

EBU  (European Broadcast Union)

An organization of European broadcasters that, among other activities, produces technical statements and recommendations for the 625/50 line television system. CP 67, CH-1218 Grand-Saconnex GE, Switzerland. Tel: 011-41-22-717-2221. Fax: 011-41-22-717-2481. Email: ebu@ebu.ch.Internet: www.ebu.ch

ECC  (Error Check and Correct)

A block of check data, usually appended to a data packet in a communications channel or to a data block on a disk, which allows the receiving or reading system both to detect small errors in the data stream (caused by line noise or disk defects) and, provided they are not too long, to correct them.

E-Cinema

An HDTV film- complement format introduced by Sony for 1998. 1920 x 1080, progressive scan, 24 fps, 4:4:4 resolution. Using a 1/2-inch tape, the small cassette (camcorder) will hold 50 minutes while the large cassette will hold 156 minutes. E-Cinema's camcorder will use three 2/3-inch FIT CCDs and is equivalent to a film sensitivity of ISO 500. The format will compress the electronic signal somewhere in the range of 7:1. The format is based on the Sony HDCAM video format.

Echo Canceller

A videoconferencing term: a device that blocks echo reflections during a conference while maintaining apparent full duplex audio. Echo reflections are caused when microphones are opened at both ends of a teleconference creating an echo effect when slightly delayed audio signals are transmitted back and forth between sites.

Echo Suppresser

A videoconferencing term: an echo control device that blocks the echo reflections by switching off the transmission path from the listening party to the talking party.

ECM (Entitlement Control Message)  

Edge of Network

By placing management and traffic prioritization tools on users personal computers, network managers gain a greater degree of control over applications. These controls and features are usually added to the "Edge of the Network." 3com and IBM both have offerings for "Edge of Network" tools.

Another meaning of "Edge of Network" relevant to streamers is when content serving companies (like Akamai and more recently Intel) place their servers closer to the users (i.e. on the "edge of the network", or on many ISP networks) rather than in a central place.  This keeps bandwidth hungry streams off of busy switches.

This is different from "caching", in that the stream is purposely placed on the "edge of the net" by the content provider, and real streaming servers can be used, instead of http files. 

Edge Numbers

Numbers printed on the edge of 16 and 35 mm motion picture film every foot, which allows frames to be easily identified in an edit list.

EDH

Error detection and handling for recognizing inaccuracies in the serial digital signal. It may be incorporated into serial digital equipment and employ a simple LED error indicator.

Edit

To alter content of a film or video by addition or subtraction of material.

 EDL

Edit Decision List. An industry standard list giving all the information required to perform the edits for a project and usually saved to floppy disk. Commonly used to transport off-line decisions to the on-line Edit. This list can be imported into the da Vinci systems as an event list.

Edit Decision List

List of edits stored in an editor’s memory and output to a computer disk and a paper list for master assembly.

Editing

A process by which one or more compressed bit streams are manipulated to produce a new compressed bit stream.  Conforming edited bit streams are understood to meet the requirements defined in the Digital Television Standard.

EDL (Edit Decision List)

List of edits prepared during off-line editing prior to on-line editing. It is facilitated by the use of timecode.  It is also a list of exceptions censors, QA, or audio editors may have. In broader terms, a list of beginning and ending timecodes and transitions enabling the editing of video material.

EDWin

Advanced window option for DUI systems that includes a vector based user definable shape generator. The new architecture allows multiple windows to be active simultaneously for Primaries and or Secondaries. The combined window can be exported as a simultaneous 601 Key Output.

 Effects

1. Transitions other than cuts, i.e. dissolves, wipes etc.

 2. Sounds added to enhance the existing soundtrack.  Sometimes abbreviated to FX.

 EI

Exposure Index. A measure of the sensitivity of film to light. Expressed as an ASA, DIN, or ISO rating. A lower number represents less sensitivity, (and so needs more exposure), and usually benefits from less grain.

EIA  Electronic Industries Association)  

EIA-608

Analog Television (NTSC) Closed Caption standards. For more see: http://www.evertz.com/resources/eia_608_708_cc.pdf

EIA-708

Digital Television Closed Caption standards. For more see: http://www.evertz.com/resources/eia_608_708_cc.pdf

The US organization that which recommends standards in audio and video in the USA .

EIA Color Bars

These are the same as regular color bars except that the secondary colors are represented in reverse order between the standard colors and the black/white I & Q bars at the bottom.  There is also a 3-level black stair step in the black bar region at the bottom as well.

EIA Sync

Another name for the standard RS-170 sync signal.

EIAJ (Electronics Industry Association of Japan)

EIT (Event Information Table)

Electret Microphone

A low-impedance type of microphone that operates on electrostatic principals. (See Condenser Microphone).

Electronic Still Camera Standardization Committee (ESCSC)

A committee of more than 40 corporations set up in the late 1970s to create standards for the present Mavica® still video format.

Elements

1. Individual components of a complete production.  2. Individual components of a composited scene.

Elementals

Individual datastreams, such as video, audio, or subtitles that combined into channels, virtual channels, or services.

Elementary Stream

A generic term for one of the coded video, coded audio or other coded bit streams.  One elementary stream is carried in a sequence of PES packets with one and only one stream_id

Elementary Stream Clock Reference (ESCR)

A time stamp in the PES Stream from which decoders of PES streams may derive timing.

E-Mail

Electronically transmitted mail. E-mail sends your correspondence instantaneously anywhere in the world via the Internet. It is the most popular use of the Internet because of the capability to send messages at anytime, to anyone for less money than it would cost to mail a letter or call someone on the phone.

Embedded Audio

Digital audio that is multiplexed onto a serial digital video data stream (SDI) where it is possible to embed up to four channels of digital audio along with the video-thus saving on cabling and routing.

EMI (Electromagnetic Interference)

Signal impairment resulting from electromagnetic disturbances in the atmosphere. EMI is caused by any device capable of outputting a strong magnetic field. Large electric motors and high-voltage power lines are two common sources of EMI which can interfere with the transmission of video signals and damage some video devices.

Emission Rate

In digital television, this is the final, encoded, complete package of data at 19.392656 Megabits per seconds (rounded off that’s 19.4 Mbits/sec0 bit rate that is fed into the exciter stack of a digital transmitter.

EMM (Entitlement Management Messages)

Emulsion

The magnetic coating on a recording tape that stores the signal.  Also the part of a film which is light sensitive

ENC  (Encoder)

Encode/Decode

When digitizing to a video server, the datastream is encoded and compressed, and when played back out it is decoded. Then when routed up to the transponder it is encoded again and decoded by the IRD (Interactive Receiving Device) box.  The MEASAT satellite encode uses the MPEG-2 standards.  If the video server uses this same standard, it can play out directly to the satellite.

Encoder

1. The stage of signal processing within the camera where the color difference signals from the matrix circuit are combined with the luminance signal and sync to produce the composite video signal. 2. An electronic device that converts a component video signal to a broadcast standard composite format. In computers, an encoder serves to convert computer RGB component video to NTSC, PAL, or SECAM composite video. The device may be a board that is installed in the computer such as the TrueVision™ Nuvista™ card; or a separate outboard box such as the TrueVision™ Vid I/O Box™. (See Scan Converter).

Device whose function is to convert a SDI A/V signal into a compressed A/V signal with added data packets (SDDI signal).  It composites the separate R, G, B video component signals into an encoded video signal comprised of sync, burst, chrominance and luminance. An RGB to NTSC encoder.

Encoding (process)

A process that reads a stream of input pictures or audio samples and produces a valid coded bit stream as defined in the Digital Television Standard.

Encryption/Decryption

A digital technique for securing information transmitted over a communication channel with the intent of excluding all other than authorized receivers from interpreting the message. Can be used for voice, video, and other communications signals.

ENG (Electronic News Gathering)

1. Electronic News Gathering. A small portable, near broadcast quality, video recording outfit.  2. Engineering Environment    3. A term used on da Vinci DUI systems to refer to all parameters saved on a session to session basis, but not a scene to scene basis.   Similar to the Config on pre DUI systems, but the Environment includes diagnostic style Setups. All Environmental factors are stored as part of the (new) Config.

Entitlement Control Message (ECM)

Private conditional access information which specifies control words and possibly other stream-specific scrambling and/or control parameters.

Entitlement Management Messages

Private conditional access information which specifies the authorization levels or services of specific decoders.  They may be addressed to individual or groups of decoders.

Entropy Coding

Variable length lossless coding of the digital representation of a signal to reduce redundancy.

Entry Point

A point in a coded bit stream after which a decoder can become properly initialized and commence syntactically correct decoding.  The first transmitted picture after an entry point is either an
I-picture or a P-picture.  If the first transmitted picture is to an I-picture, the decoder may produce one or more pictures during acquisition.

EOM/SOM  (End of Master(Video)/Start of Master (Video) Stands for End of Message. The timecode on a cassette where the frame that follows the last frame of a program, spot, recording or segment is located. These points are usually determined by QA when quality checking or preparing material for transfer or air.

EPG  (Electronic Program Guide)

A user interface accepted and displayed by the Interactive Receiving Device using information imbedded in the datastream coming from the facility. Tells viewer time, title, channel, etc. of programming being broadcast. TCS is responsible for delivering this data to the EPG vendor.

EPR

Electronic Pin Register. Stabilizes the film transport of a telecine. Reduces ride (vertical movement) and weave (horizontal  movement). Operates in real time. (See also Steady Gate.)

Equalization Pulses

The pulses in a video signal occurring before and after the vertical synchronization pulses (broad pulses) in the vertical interval.

Erase Head

The magnetic head on a video or audio recorder that re-arranges the tapes particles in a random fashion, thereby erasing the tape, prior to recording new information.

Error Concealment

In digital video recording systems, a technique used when error correction fails. Erroneous data is replaced by data synthesized from surrounding pixels.

Error Correction

The process of identifying and correcting digital errors. Because digital information is either a one or a zero, once error identification takes place, the corrupt bit can be modified.

Error Detection

Checking for errors in data transmission. A calculation is made on the data being sent and the results are sent along with it. The receiver then performs the same calculation and compares its results with those sent. If an error is detected the affected data can be deleted and re-transmitted, the error can be corrected or concealed, or it can simply be reported.

Error Detection and Handling  (EDH)

Error log

An ASCII text file which is automatically generated by the system. The error log contains a listing of all the error messages generated by the system.

ES (Elementary Stream)

ESCR (Elementary Stream Clock Reference)

Ethernet (IEEE 802.3)

A type of high-speed network for interconnecting computing devices. Ethernet can be either 10 or 100 Mbps (Fast Ethernet). Ethernet is a trademark of Xerox Corporation, Inc.

ETS (European Telecommunications Standards)

ETS 300 421

DVB-S standards document as published ETSI.

ETSI

European Telecommunications Standards Institute.  

Event  

Event Information Table

Contains data concerning events or programs such as event name, start time, duration, etc.  

Event Specification

Defines the type of event each event is. There are two kinds of events: Primary   events and Secondary events. Primary events play the main video feed. Secondary events cause additional actions and additional video material to be played.

Exciter

A device that generates a carrier signal, usually modulated, so that an amplifier can process it into a larger more powerful signal. Exciters can be, but are not limited to FM, TV, Digital, etc.

Exposure

The amount of light permitted to reach each frame of film during shooting. Controlled by lens aperture, shutter speed, and the light itself where possible

Extended Studio PAL

A 625-line video standard that allows processing of component video quality digital signals by composite PAL equipment. The signal can be distributed and recorded in a composite digital form using D-2 or D-3 VTRs.
FDDI: Fiber Distributed Data Interface. Standards for a 100 Mbps local area network, based upon fiber optic or wired media configured as dual counter rotating token rings. This configuration provides a high level of fault tolerance by creating multiple connection paths between nodes-connections can be established even if a ring is broken.

External Master

The physical media sent to the facility by the distributor for a TCS contracted product. A product can have multiple external masters that could be of different media format (Digibeta, VHS).  

External VTR    

A standalone VTR (i.e. not a cart machine VTR) usually controlled by an automation system.

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