Abbreviations

Some Common Abbreviations used in Broadcasting A reference list of commonly used abbreviations that are often used without thought (we can be a guilty as the rest!), some of which are very rarely spelled out in full.

µ λ AC AF AFC AGC ALC/AVC AM CAM CI COFDM CW DAB dB

DC DRM DSat DTTV DTV DVB DVD EON EPG ERP

FM G HF HTML Hz IDTV LF LNB LW

micro - SI prefix that multiplies unit by 10-6 (unit divided by 1 million) Lambda - Greek letter used as an abbreviation for wavelength. Alternating Current (ie 240 Volt AC mains electricity). 1: Alternative Frequency - part of RDS 2: Audio Frequency Automatic Frequency Control - for stable reception. Automatic Gain Control - term usually applied to TV and Radio receivers Automatic Level Control or Automatic Volume Control - usually in tape recorders. Amplitude Modulation - the signal carrying process used in long and medium wave broadcasting also, incorrectly used to describe those bands. Conditional Access Module - for 'set top boxes' without a decoder. Common Interface - for plugging a CAM into. Coded Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex (used for DTT and DAB). Continuous Wave - On/off switching of a plain radio signal, eg morse code. Digital Audio Broadcasting - now called Digital Radio. Deci-Bel (or more commonly) decibel - unit of ratio, literally a tenth of a Bel, which itself is a rather inconveniently large unit. Should always be expressed as dB relative to something as it is by definition an expression of ratio. Direct Current (eg a torch battery, 1.5 volts DC). Digital Radio Mondiale - the new system for digital radio on MW and SW Digital Satellite Television. Digital Terrestrial Television. Digital Television. Digital Video Broadcasting Digital Versatile Disc but sometimes quoted (wrongly) as Digital Video Disc. Extended Other Networks - an RDS term. Electronic Programme Guide - used in DTV. Effective Radiated Power - power of a transmitting station taking into account the aerial gain (always quoted as the maximum, even for aerials that radiate more in some directions compared to others). Frequency Modulation - universally (and wrongly -from a technical point of view) applied as to mean the 87.5 to 108 MHz broadcast band. Giga - SI prefix that multiplies unit by 109 (or one thousand million) High Frequencies - 3 MHz to 30 MHz. HyperText Mark up Language - (language that web pages are written in). Hertz - fundamental unit of frequency (1 Hz = 1 cycle per second). Integrated Digital TeleVision set - A television set with a built in digital receiver Low Frequencies - 30 to 300 kHz Low Noise Block - the converter unit sitting at the front of a satellite dish. Long Wave - broadcast band in Europe, 148.5-283.5 kHz.

m M MF MPEG MUSICAM Mux MW NICAM NTSC PAL QPSK RDS RF SCART SECAM SFN SSB STB SW TA TP UHF VHF VHS WAP

SI abbreviation for metre and milli - SI prefix that multiplies by 10-3 (divided by 1000) Mega - SI prefix that multiplies by 106 (a million) Medium Frequencies - 300 kHz to 3 MHz Motion Picture Experts Group - who developed the compression/coding standard Masking pattern adapted Universal Sub-band Integrated Coding And Multiplexing compression technique used in DAB and other digital audio Multiplex - group of channels/programmes in DAB or DTV. Medium Wave - 526.5-1606.5 kHz in Europe. Near Instantaneous Companded Audio Multiplex - as used in the tv stereo system. National Television Standards Committee - the US system of television Phase Alternate Line - version I is the UK system of television (versions B and G most of Europe) Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (used for DSat) Radio Data System Radio Frequency Syndicat des Constructeurs d’Appareils Radio Recepteurs et Televisieurs - the connecting plug system most commonly used with video recorders and set top boxes Séquentiel Couleur à Mémoire - French system of colour television, used in some other countries, mostly of French influence also some former USSR countries. Single Frequency Network - DAB is one. Single Side Band - a type of radio modulation - mostly used by amateurs - was thought it might be used for short wave broadcasting in the future. Set Top Box. Short Wave - 1.6065 MHz-30 MHz. Travel Announcement - an RDS term. Travel Programme - RDS feature - a programme that does travel announcements. Ultra High Frequencies - 300 MHz to 3 GHz. Very High Frequencies - 30-300 MHz strictly - also used to describe 87.5-108 MHz band, FM more common usage. Video Home System - video recording system developed by JVC, ousted Video 2000 and Betamax from home market. Wireless Access Protocol - First internet like system for mobile phones

Published by BBC Reception Advice http://www.bbc.co.uk/reception