VNS: Videoconferencing Glossary  
Video Conferencing Dictionary
# A B C D E F H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 
 
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10 BaseT 

An Ethernet network implemented on twisted-pair cabling 
 

A
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Amplifiers 

Electronic component used to boost, or amplify, signals. Performance, also called gain, is measured in decibels. 

ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode)  

A specification from the ISDN standards for providing cell-relay services; a high-bandwidth networking standard. 

Audio Signal B-Channel (Bearer channel) 

A 64-Kbps ISDN user channel that carries digital data, PCM-encoded digital voice, or a mixture of lower-speed data traffic (digital data or digitized voice at a fraction of 64 Kbps). 
 

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Bandwidth 

The data-carrying capacity of a communications channel; measure (in Hertz) as the difference between the highest and lowest frequencies of the channel. Bandwidth varies depending on the transmission method. 

Baud 

Unit of signaling speed. The speed in baud is the number of line changes (in frequency, amplitude, etc.) or events per second . At low speeds, each event presents only one bit condition, and baud rate equals bps. But in common usage, baud rate and bps are often used interchangeably. 

BNC 

A bayonet-locking connector for miniature coax; BNC is said to be short for bayonet-Neill-Concelman.Contrast with TNC. 

BPS (Backup Power Supply) 

A device that switches to an alternate source when the main source fails. Compare UPS. 

BRI (Basic Rate Interface)  

An ISDN service referred to as 2B+D. BRI provides two 64-Kbps digital channels to your desktop. It's capable of simultaneously transmitting or receiving any digital signal-voice, video, or data. ISDN Terminal Adapters replace modems as the customer-premise connection to this service, enabling you to make direct connections of data terminals and telephones. 

Broadcast  

A method of transmitting messages to two or more stations at the same time, such as over a bus-type local area network or by satellite; a protocol mechanism that supports group and universal addressing . Any simultaneous transmission to many receiving locations. One example is a message sent over a multipoint line to all terminals that share the line. 
 

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Call Waiting  

Camera  

Chat  

CCITT (Comite Consultatif Internationale de Telegraphique et Telephonique) 

An international consultative committee that set world-wide communications standards (such as V.21, V22, and X.25). Replaced by the ITU-TSS. 

CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computing) 

A microprocessor architecture in which a large number of machine instructions are available. Compare RISC. 

Coax 

Codec 

A device that encodes and decodes signals. 

Compression 

A technique used to increase the number of bits per second sent over a data link by replacing often-repeated characters, strings, and command sequences with electronic code. When this compressed data reaches the remote end of the transmission link, the coded data is replaced with the actual data. Also calld "compaction". 

Control Plane 
 

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Data Plane  

Decoder Device  

Device Control  

Dialers  

Dialtone  

Directories  
 

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Equiptment Sharing 
 

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FM Noise Filters 

FPS 

Frames per Second 

Frames 

1) Same as transmission block. 2) The sequence of bits and bytes in a transmission block.. 3) The overhead bits an bytes that surround the information bits in a transmission block. 
 
Frame Buffers  

Fractional T1  

A service aimed at customers who don't need or can't afford all 24 channels of a full T1 line. Fractional T1 service offers the use of one or more channels The customers, then, pay only for the channels they use. 
 
FTP 

File Transfer Protocol - a communication standard used to pass files on TCP-IP networks. 
 

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Ground  

An electrical connection or common conductor that, at some point, connects to the earth. 
 

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Head end 

Hub 

The core of a star-topology network or cabling system. 
 

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Image Capture 

ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) 
A CCITT standard for a network that accommodates a variety of mixed digital-transmission services; the access channels are basic rate (144 Kbps) and primary rate ( 1.544 Mbps). 

IMUX  

Inverse Multiplexor  

IPX  

ISOW  

ISPs 
 

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Kbps 

Kilobits per second; standard measurement of data rate and transmission capacity. One Kbps equals 1000 bits per second. 
 

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Lan Software  

LAN (Local Area Network)  

A Data-communications system confined to a limited geographic area (up to 6 miles or about 10 Kilometers) with moderate to high data rates (100 Kbps to 50 Mbps). The area served may consist of a single building, a cluster of buildings, or a camp of arrangement. The Network uses some type of switching technology and does not use common carrier circuits, although it may have gateways or bridges to other public or private Networks. 

Line Boosters  

Lumens Matrix  
 

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Microphones  

Monitors  

MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group) 

A standard for lossy compression of full-motion video. 

Mute  

Multiplexor (MUX)  

A device used for division of a transmission facility into two or more subchannels , either by splitting the frequency band into a narrower bands or by allotting a common channel to several different transmitting devices one at a time. 
 

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Netbeui 

A set of network-transport protocols developed by Microsoft. 

Noise 

Random electrical signal, generated by circuit components or by natural disturbances, that corrupt the data by introducing errors . 

NTI  

NTSC (National Television System Committee) 

A standard for color broadcasting developed in the 1950's for use mainly in North America and some of South America. 

NTU 
 

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Overlay Network 

Overlay Cards 
 

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Peer to Peer 

PAL (Phase Alternation by Line) 

A standard by color broadcasting used mostly in Europe. This system avoids the color distortion that appears in the NTSC system. 

POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service)  

The basic service provide by the public telephone network, without any added facilities such as conditioning. 

Promptus   
 

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Quad Box  
 

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Remote Device Control  

RCA adapter  

RGB  

Red, Green, Blue; a video standard in which the color signals for red, green and blue are carried on separate lines, then combined to form a color video picture. Horizontal and vertical sync are impose on one of the colors, usually green. 

RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing) 

Internal computing architecture in which processor instructions are pared down so that most can be performed in a single processor cycle, theoretically improving computing efficiency. 

RJ-11  

Wiring with 4 or 6 wire modular connectors; commonly used for standard telephones lines. 

RJ-45  

Wiring with 8-wire modular connectors; commonly used for serial data transmissions. 

Router  

A network device that examines the network addresses within a given protocol, determines the most efficient pathway to the destination, and routes the data accordingly. Operates at the Network Layer of the OSI model. 
 

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Star Network  

Speed dialing  

The process of using short sequences of digits to represent complete telephone numbers. 

Self view  

Signal  

Speakers  

Splitter  

A device that multiplies one input into a number of identical ports. 

Socket Stack  

Stereo  

Student - Teacher  

Switch  

1) Any device that makes or changes electrical connections in a circuit. 2) Informal for data PABX.  
3) In packet-switched networks, the device used to direct network's backbone.  
 

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The Cloud  

A public switch network which routing control is not in the software's hands. 

Transceiver  

A hardware device that links a node with a baseband network cable , functioning as both a transmitter and receiver. 

TCP-IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) 

A layered set of protocols that allows sharing of applications among PCs, hosts, or workstations in a high-speed communications environment. Because TCP/IP's protocols are standardized across all its layers, including those that provide terminal emulation and file transfer, different vendors'computing devices ( all running TCP/IP) can exist on the same cable and communicate with one another across that cable. Corresponds to layers 4 (Transport) and 3 (Network) of the OSI reference model. 

T1  

A digital carrier facility used to transmit a DS-1 formatted digital signal at 1.544 Mbps. A T1 carrier can transmit large volumes of information across great distances at high speeds at a (potentially) Lower cost than that provided by traditional analog service. A T1 carrier uses time-division multiplexing to manipulate and move digital information. It consists of one 4-wire circuit providing 24 separate 64-Kbps logical channels; the aggregate date rate equals 1.544 Mbps. 

Twisted Pair  

Two insulate copper conductors that are wound around each other, mainly to cancel the effects of electrical noise; typical of standard telephone wiring: Unshielded twisted pair contains no outside wraparound conductor. 
 

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UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply)  

A device that continues to supply electricity for a period of time after an outage. Compare BPS. 
 

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VCR  

Video Signal  
 

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White Board  
 

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Zydacron   
 
 

Created by Anna L. Baez and Christopher Foran
 
 
Last Updated 2/24/98