Glossary - Panasonic SC-HT623 Operating Instructions Manual

Safety precautions
Placement
Set the unit up on an even surface away from direct sunlight, high
temperatures, high humidity, and excessive vibration. These
conditions can damage the cabinet and other components, thereby
shortening the unit's service life.
Do not place heavy items on the unit.
Voltage
Do not use high voltage power sources. This can overload the unit
and cause a fire.
Do not use a DC power source. Check the source carefully when
setting the unit up on a ship or other places where DC is used.
AC mains lead protection
Ensure the AC mains lead is connected correctly and not
damaged. Poor connection and lead damage can cause fire or
electric shock. Do not pull, bend, or place heavy items on the lead.
Grasp the plug firmly when unplugging the lead. Pulling the AC
mains lead can cause electric shock.
Do not handle the plug with wet hands. This can cause electric
shock.
Foreign matter
Do not let metal objects fall inside the unit. This can cause electric
shock or malfunction.
Do not let liquids get into the unit. This can cause electric shock or
malfunction. If this occurs, immediately disconnect the unit from the
power supply and contact your dealer.
Do not spray insecticides onto or into the unit. They contain
flammable gases which can ignite if sprayed into the unit.
Service
Do not attempt to repair this unit by yourself. If sound is
interrupted, indicators fail to light, smoke appears, or any other
problem that is not covered in these instructions occurs, disconnect
the AC mains lead and contact your dealer or an authorized service
center. Electric shock or damage to the unit can occur if the unit is
repaired, disassembled or reconstructed by unqualified persons.
Extend operating life by disconnecting the unit from the power
source if it is not to be used for a long time.
Maintenance
Clean this unit with a soft, dry cloth.
≥Never use alcohol, paint thinner or benzine to clean this unit.
≥Before using chemically treated cloth, read the instructions that
came with the cloth carefully.
Before moving the unit, ensure the disc tray is empty.
Failure to do so will risk severely damaging the disc and the
unit.
For a cleaner crisper sound
Clean the heads regularly to assure good quality playback and
recording.
Use a cleaning tape (not included).

Glossary

Decoder
A decoder restores the coded audio signals on DVDs to normal. This
is called decoding.
Dolby Digital
This is a method of coding digital signals developed by Dolby
Laboratories. Apart from stereo (2-channel) audio, these signals can
also be multi-channel audio. A large amount of audio information can
be recorded on one disc using this method.
DTS (Digital Theater Systems)
This surround system is used in many movie theaters around the
world. There is good separation between the channels, so realistic
sound effects are possible.
Dynamic range
Dynamic range is the difference between the lowest level of sound
that can be heard above the noise of the equipment and the highest
level of sound before distortion occurs.
Frame still and field still
Frames are the still pictures that go together to make a moving
picture. There are about 30 frames shown each second.
One frame is made up of two fields. A regular television shows these
fields one after the other to create frames.
A still is shown when you pause a moving picture. A frame still is
made up of two alternating fields, so the picture may appear blurred,
but overall quality is high.
A field still is not blurred, but it has only half the information of a
frame still so picture quality is lower.
I/P/B
MPEG 2, the video compression standard adopted for use with
DVD-Video, codes frames using these 3 picture types.
I: Intra coded picture
This picture has the best quality and is the best to use when
adjusting the picture.
P: Predictive coded picture
This picture is calculated based on past I or P-pictures.
B: Bidirectionally-predictive coded picture
This picture is calculated by comparing past and future I and
P-pictures so it has the lowest volume of information.
Linear PCM (pulse code modulation)
These are uncompressed digital signals, similar to those found on
CDs.
Playback control (PBC)
If a Video CD has playback control, you can select scenes and
information with menus.
Sampling frequency
Sampling is the process of converting the heights of sound wave
(analog signal) samples taken at set periods into digits (digital
encoding). Sampling frequency is the number of samples taken per
second, so larger numbers mean more faithful reproduction of the
original sound.
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