AA

AA is short for Audible audio. It is a file extension normally used in Audible audiobook format including Format 2(.AA), Format 3(.AA) and Format 4(.AA). The AA files support chapter markers & bookmarks and can be played on Kindles, iPods and other portable devices.

AAC

AAC stands for advanced audio coding, which is a method used for lossy audio compression. It is regarded as the successor to MP3, but it can get better audio quality than MP3 at the same bit rate. It is the standard format for iTunes, iPhone, iPod, iPad, YouTube, Nintendo DSi, Nintendo 3DS, iTunes, DivX Plus Web Player, PlayStation 3 and various Nokia Series 40 phones, etc.

AAX

AAX is the file format of Audible Enhanced Audiobook developed by Audible. It is an enhanced format of AA that can store spoken text, chapter markers, bookmarks, images, links, videos and timeline. The default bit rate of Audible AAX is 64 kbps and its sample rate is 22.050 kHz. AAX file can be played by iTunes, Apple iPod, Microsoft Zune, Creative Zen, and the Amazon Kindle 2.

AIFF

AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format) is a file format designed to store high-quality audio and musical instrument information. It is known as “CD-quality audio” because it can save the uncompressed audio with a sample size of 16 bits and a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz.

ALAC

ALAC, short for Apple Lossless Audio Codec (or simply Apple Lossless), is developed by Apple Inc. for lossless data compression of digital music. So ALAC is able to store your digital music without losing any detail. The extension used for ALAC is .m4a which is the same as for the default AAC format.

AU

There are 2 file types use the .au file extension. File Type 1. Audacity's AU format AU is an audio file format created by Audacity, so it can only be played on Audacity. When you created an Audacity project and import audio files into it, the audio data is converted to the AU format and is stored in a folder with the project called myproject_data. File Type 2. Standard AU Audio File Format Au file format is a simple audio format introduced by Sun Microsystem. It is used primarily on Sun or other Unix-based machines.

AUDIO_TS

UDF file name used for the DVD-Audio directory on a DVD disc volume. DVD-Audio is a separate format from DVD-Video so on a standard DVD-Video is the AUDIO_TS folder empty.

AVC

The AVC file format (Advanced Video Coding) is the video file format that uses ISO Base Media File Format and AVC compression. It is also known by names similar to MPEG-4 File Format with AVC. It can be considered to be a companion format to MP4 or an extension of MP4.

AVI

The AVI file format (Audio Video Interleave) is a multimedia container format introduced by Microsoft. It can store both audio and video data and allows synchronous audio-with-video playback.

B Frame

B-frame (Bidirectional predicted picture) is a compressed video frame that specifies its content based on the differences from both the preceding and following frames.

Bit rate

Bit rate is the number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time. Bitrate is commonly measured in bits per second (bps), kilobits per second (Kbps), or megabits per second (Mbps).

BluRay，Blu-Ray，BD

Blu-ray (also known as Blu-ray Disc, BD), is a disc format for storing high-definition video content and a large amount of data. It has more than 5 times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs.

Chapter

Chapter is a division of a book or audiobook, typically with a number or title. It lets you easily skip to a specific section of a book.

Codec

Codecs are the compression technologies that have 2 components: an encoder and a decoder. They encode and compress the raw video or audio for storage or transmission and then decompress (decode) the data for playback or even editing. There are codecs for data (PKZIP), still images (JPEG, GIF, PNG), audio (MP3, AAC) and video (Cinepak, MPEG-2, H.264, VP8).

Compression

Compression is a technology used to reduce the size of one or more files. There are lossy compression and lossless compression. The lossy compression removes the unneeded parts of a file to keep the file size small, but there's loss of quality in the file. Lossless compression means that none of the data is lost in the compression process, but the compressed file has a relatively small size compared to the original version.

Content Protection

A technique designed to encrypt the digital content or disc content to prevent the content from being copied or used without permission.

Copy Management

In the context of DVD content protection, copy management is a mechanism designed to control the capability to copy DVD content from a disc

Convert

To convert means to change something from one form into another, for example, you can convert M4P to MP3, convert M4V to MP4, etc.

Crop

To cut away the unwanted pieces of a video stream, audio stream or a picture.

Decoder

A device or program that translates encoded data into its original format.

De-authorise

To remove its access to certain content that you bought from the iTunes Store, iBooks Store, or App Store, such as music, movies, TV shows, apps, and books.

Device

The portable video or audio player to which you will transfer files for listening or viewing.

Disc

Disc commonly refers to optical storage devices such as DVD and CD.

Disk

Disk refers to magnetic storage devices such as hard disks.

Disc image

A single file that contains the data for a complete DVD production. A disc image can be burned very efficiently to a DVD disc because it is in exactly the format that the data will be stored on a DVD. The disc image can be recorded directly to DVD to create the proper data structures and DVD volume directories. It also can be transferred to DLT tape to be used at a replication facility to manufacture multiple copies of the disc.

DLT

A half-inch magnetic tape format used extensively for computer file backup and retrieval. Commonly used for transferring premastered DVD productions to a replication facility for manufacturing.

Dolby Digital, AC3, AC-3

Dolby Digital, or AC-3, is the common version containing up to 6 total channels of sound, with 5 channels for normal-range speakers (Right front, Center, Left Front, Right Rear and Left Rear) and one channel for the LFE, or subwoofer. The Dolby Digital format supports Mono and Stereo usages as well.

DV

Digital Video - video captured to a PC from a digital camcorder.

DVD A

The audio-only format of DVD. Has an optional subset of DVD-Video features.

DVB

DVB is an acronym for "Digital Video Broadcasting".

DVD-Multi

An umbrella DVD Forum-sponsored logo to identify DVD products, players and recorders, that support DVD-R, DVD-RW, and DVD-RAM formats.

DVD Player

Either a consumer electronics hardware product designed to connect to a television set to play back DVD movies (a set-top DVD player) or a computer software application that plays DVD movies from a computer DVD drive (a DVD player application).

DVD Recorder

A consumer electronics hardware product that acts like a digital VCR. Records television programming and/or input video (such as from a camcorder) to DVD disc. Some DVD Authoring computer software applications also can record directly from video input to a DVD drive.

DVD Ripper

A program or software for extracting the digital content from a DVD disck.

DVD+R

Alternate DVD Recordable write-once format developed by the DVD+RW Alliance.

DVD+R DL, DVD+R9

DVD+R DL or called DVD+R9 is a Dual Layer writeable DVD+R. The dual layered discs can hold 7.95 GB or around 8 540 000 000 bytes (called DVD-9) and a double sided dual layered disc 15.9 GB or around 17 080 000 000 bytes (called DVD-18).

DVD+RW

DVD+RW is a ReWriteable media format of the DVD+R standard.

DVD-10

DVD-10 is a double sided single layer DVD which can fit up to 9.4 GB or 8.7 computer GB. Video DVD, DVD-R/W and DVD+R/W supports this format.

DVD-18

DVD-18 is a double sided dual layer DVD which can fit up to 17 GB or 15.9 computer GB which some commercial video DVDs are using today (a DVD-18 is basicly four pressed plastic DVD-5s pressed together, they are not burned). Video DVD supports this format but DVD-R/W and DVD+R/W does not support this format.

DVD-5

DVD-5 is a single sided single layer DVD that stores up to about 4.7 GB. Video DVD, DVD-R/W and DVD+R/W supports this format.

DVD-9

DVD-9 is a single sided dual layer DVD which can fit up to 8.5 GB or 7.95 computer GB which many commercial video DVDs are using today (a DVD-9 is basicly two pressed plastic DVD-5s pressed together, they are not burned). Video DVD supports this format but DVD-R/W and DVD+R/W does not support this format.

Encoding

Encoding refers to the process of converting data from one form to another.

Encryption

Encryption is the process of encoding data in such a way that only authorized devices can access it and those who are not authorized cannot.

Extro

An extro is a short video clip used at the end of a disc.

FairPlay DRM

Apple's FairPlay DRM is used in the iTunes Store to protect iTunes movies, TV shows, Apple Music songs, audiobook, etc.

Filter

In the context of video or audio editing, filter means to remove unwanted parts or features from the media stream.

Filter

In the context of video or audio editing, filter means to remove unwanted parts or features from the media stream.

FLV

FLV is a file format used by Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR to store and deliver synchronized audio and video streams over the Internet.

GIF

A GIF (.gif) is basically an image file format that is animated by combining several other images or frames into a single file.

Gigabyte (GB)

Gigabyte (GB or GByte) is a data measurement unit for digital computer or media storage.

H.264

H.264 is a video compression standard for high-definition digital video. It is also known as MPEG-4 Part 10 or Advanced Video Coding (MPEG-4 AVC).

H.265

High Efficiency Video Coding, also known as H.265 and MPEG-H Part 2, is a video compression standard, designed as a successor to the widely used AVC .

HEVC

High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), also known as H.265 and MPEG-H Part 2, is a video compression standard, designed as a successor to the widely used AVC (H.264 or MPEG-4 Part 10).

HEIC

High Efficiency Image File Format (HEIC) is a file format for individual images and image sequences. It was developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group and is defined by MPEG-H Part 12.

HD-DVD, HDDVD, HD DVD

HD DVD is a discontinued high-density optical disc format for storing data and playback of high-definition video. Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisioned to be the successor to the standard DVD format.

HDMI

HDMI is a proprietary audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed video data and compressed or uncompressed digital audio data from an HDMI-compliant source device, such as a display controller, to a compatible computer monitor, video projector, digital television, or digital audio device.

Hybrid DVD

Hybrid DVD was the name for discs such as HD DVD and Blu-ray before they were released.

HZ

The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the derived unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI) and is defined as one cycle per second.

iCloud

iCloud is a cloud storage and cloud computing service developed by Apple Inc. on October 12, 2011. With iCloud, you can access your files including photo, video, note, mail, calendar, and other information easily on your Apple devices signed into the same iCloud account.

iCloud Music Library

iCloud Music Library is a feature in iOS and macOS that allows you to access and synchronize your songs, albums, and playlists across all of your Apple devices signed into the same iCloud account.

ID3 Tag

An ID3 tag is a data container within an MP3 audio file stored in a prescribed format. This data commonly contains the Artist name, Song title, Year and Genre of the current audio file.

IFO

An IFO file is an information file for a DVD movie that you might wish to show in your place of business. It contains information such as the region, the encoding and the navigation protocols. An IFO file can be opened on its own in a compatible video program such as Windows Media Player, WinDVD or VLC Player.

iTunes Connect

iTunes Connect is a service developed by Apple Inc. which allows you to upload and manage content bought from Apple Store, including music, movies, ebook, audiobook, etc.

Jailbreak

Jailbreak refers to the process of gaining root access to the iOS operating system that runs on Apple devices, including the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. Jailbreaking frees the device from dependence on Apple as the exclusive source of applications, allowing users to install third-party apps unavailable at the official App Store. Users can also customize their home screens and modify the appearance of icons and menus. Jailbreaking is sometimes a prelude to unlocking an iPhone or modifying its baseband so that the unit can work with other mobile networks. Jailbreak may also be known as jailbreaking or iOS jailbreak.

JPEG

JPEG is a commonly used method of lossy compression for digital images, particularly for those images produced by digital photography. The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality.

Kbps

Kbps stands for kilobits per second (thousands of bits per second) and is a measure of bandwidth (the amount of data that can flow in a given time) on a data transmission medium.

Kilobyte

The kilobyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. The International System of Units defines the prefix kilo as 1000; per this definition, one kilobyte is 1000 bytes.

Lossless Compression

Lossless compression means that none of the data is lost in the compression process, but the compressed file has a relatively small size compared to the original version.

Lossy Compression

The lossy compression removes the unneeded parts of a file to keep the file size small, but there’s loss of quality in the file.

M2T, m2ts, mts

Short for Blu-ray Disc Audio-Video MPEG-2 Transport Steam, it is a media container file format for multiplexing audio, video and other streams, frequently used on high definition video on Blue-ray Disc and AVCHD.

M3U

Originally designed for MP3, it a computer file format for multimedia playlists, and its full name is Moving Picture Experts Group Audio Layer 3 Uniform Resource Locator. It is commonly used to point media players to audio and video sources, as well as online sources. With it, some bugs will occur on many media players like VLC Media Player, iTunes, Winamp and others. If you have got this error when enjoying music, to a great extent, the mp3 music has been removed or disappeared.

mAC3dec

Developed for Mac system, it is used for converting AC3 files to AIFF/MP3 files.

Macrovision APS (Analog Protection System)

It is a DVD copy prevention system developed by Macrovision, also known as Copyguard. If DVD encrypted by APS, it will make DVD garbled and unwatchable.

Magnetic Disk

Secondary storage for your computer system to store media storage like Hard disks.

Matroska, MKA, MKV, MKS

Similar to AVI, it is a video and audio container format, with OGG audio supported and Variable Framerate Video. MKV: Matroska video files, also containing audio or video only. MKA: Matroska audio files, widely support audio compression, like MP3, AAC, Vorbis, MP2 and more. MKS: Matroska subtitles, containing subtitles stream.

Mbps

Short for Megabits pre second.

Media

The generic terms of storing or delivering information or data. The press, newspaper, television, photography, publishing, podcasting and more belongs to media.

Megabyte

The full name of MB, it is unit byte for digital information.

MICROMV

A videotape format produced by Sony. It is the smallest videotape video. It is have discontinued in March 2016.

MJPEG

A video compression format, short for Motion JPEG. The video frame of MJPEG or interlaced field of digital videos is compressed separately as a JPEG Image.

MLP

Short for Meridian Lossless Packing. Aimed at removing redundancy from PCM, it is a lossless compression technology used on Video-Audio, created by the MLP decoder.

MOV

Developed by Apple developer, it is a multimedia container format and also known as QuickTime Content. It contains audio, video, and subtitles stream.

MP3 ID3 Tag, ID3

It is an information tag that contains Titles, Articles, Albums, Year, Comment, genre and more.

MP3

Short for MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, it is audio coding format that reduces the accuracy of components of sound that suitable for all the humans. It is fully compatible with different media players and is a common music file format.

MP4

Short for MPEG-4 Part 4, it is a video multimedia container format, which contains the audio, video, subtitles, and still image. It is fully compatible with different video players and now it is known as the popular and common video file format.

MPEG

It is short for Moving Picture Experts Group. Formed by ISO and IEC, it is a working group to set the standard for audio and video compression. Like MP3, MP4 is set by this group and acknowledged as the popular and common media file format.

MPV

Short for MPEG Elementary Stream Video File, it is video file format contains video data with no audio data.

Multilanguage DVD

It is a disc with the display of multi-language, with the language code, audio stream, subtitles tagged.

Multimedia

It is short for multimedia technology. With the human-computer interaction control, all the content like audio, video, text and other audition information are collected, stored and pressed.

Multiplex

A technology that merged the audio and video into one file.

Narrowscreen

Original from the cinema movies, it is a video size with the original 4:3 aspect ratio, which is used on broadcast TV.

Navigation Data

There are 5 different types of navigation data that DVD video offers and they are: Video Manager Information (VMGI), Video Title Set Information (VTSI), Program Chain Information (PGCI), Presentation Control Information (PCI) and Data Search Information (DSI).

Noise

It is always an unwanted sound which is unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hear. Acoustic noise is any sound in the acoustic domain, either deliberate (e.g., music or speech) or unintended.

Non-seamless Playback

Different from the seamless playback or gapless payback, it is break or interruption during payback.

NTSC

Short for National Television System Committee, it is a video system or standard used in North America and most of South America.

Ogg Theora

Developed by Xiph.org Foundation, it is an open-source video codec.

Ogg Vorbis

Developed by Xiph.org Foundation, it is an open-source audio compression. Vorbis is a continuation of audio compression development started in 1993 by Chris Montgomery. It performs significantly better than many other lossy audio formats, like AAC, MP3 and more.

Open Source

Open source is a term denoting that a product includes permission to use its source code, design documents, or content.

Operating System

The operating system is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources and provides common services for computer programs. Currently, there are 4 frequently-used operating systems and they are Unix, macOS, Linux, Windows.

Packet Writing

Packet writing (or incremental packet writing, IPW) is an optical disc recording technology used to allow write-once and rewritable CD and DVD media to be used in a similar manner to a floppy disk from within the operating system.

PAL

Short for Phase Alternating Line. It is a color encoding system for analog television used in broadcast television systems in most countries broadcasting at 625-line / 50 field (25 frames) per second (576i).

Pan & Scan

It is a method of adjusting widescreen film images so that they can be shown in fullscreen.

Parental Controls

It is an option for the computer administrator to manage and limit the assessment to some features, frequently used for the parent.

PCM

Pulse-code modulation (PCM) is a method used to digitally represent sampled analog signals.

Personal Hotspot

It is a function provided by Apple as well as Android smartphone users that making the mobile data available for the computer usages as well as other mobile phones.

P-Frame

It is video compression picture types, that allows using data from the previous frames to decompress and have better compressibility than I-frames.

PGC

Short for the program chain, it is the basic unit of DVD video playback.

Pixel

It is a picture element. It is a physical point in a raster image, and also the smallest addressable element in an all points addressable display device.

PNG

Short for Portable Network Graphics, it is an image format with lossless data compression.

QuickTime

It is a multimedia framework, produced by Apple Inc. for playing various formats, like videos, picture, sounds, images and more. It is fully compatible with Windows, Classic Mac OS, macOS.

Region Coding

It is a class of digital rights management preventing the use of a certain product or service, such as multimedia or a hardware device, outside a certain region or territory.

RGB

It is a color model that display color in the light of red, green and blue, short for the initial of the three words, Red, Green and Blue.

Rip

It is a method to copying a video or audio from removable media to other file format or hard disk.

Shuffle

It is a song playing model that playing the songs in a random way.

Smart Playlist

It is a playlist that arranges your music on the basis of your way or operating mode, iTunes will add the songs that match into this playlist.

Surround Sound

It is the technical method that applied to video or audio that enriching the sound reproductions and making the sounds sound like surround the listener, by using multiple audio channels from the speaker.

SVCD

Super Video CD (Super Video Compact Disc or SVCD) is a digital format for storing video on standard compact discs. SVCD was intended as a successor to Video CD and an alternative to DVD-Video and falls somewhere between both in terms of technical capability and picture quality.

Sync

It is an operation that making your audio, video and other files updated to your devices, short for synchronise.

TIFF

Short for Tagged Image File Format, it is an image file format as well as a computer file format that storing raster graphics images.

Unabridged Audiobook

It is audiobook that read by narrator sentence by sentence without shortening the books/audiobooks version.

VBI

Short for vertical blanking interval, it is a time between the end of the final line of a frame or field and the beginning of the first line of the next frame in a raster graphics display.

VBR

It is short for Variable bitrate (VBR). It is a term used in telecommunications and computing that relates to the bitrate used in sound or video encoding.

VCD

Short for Video CD. It is Compact Disc Digital Video, and a home video format, which storing video on the compact disc.

VFR

It is short for variable frame rate. Adopted on video compression, it is a term that support container formats, which used for the change of frame rate during the video playback.

VOB

Short for Video Object, it is a DVD video container format in DVD-video media, with digital video, audio, subtitles and DVD menu contained.

WAV

An audio file format, short for Waveform Audio File Format, frequently used on Windows, a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs.

Widescreen

Widescreen images are images that are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In the film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film.

WinDVD

It is a DVD player on Windows.

WMA

Short for Windows Media Audio.

WMF

Windows Metafile (WMF) is an image file format originally designed for Microsoft Windows in the 1990s.

WMP

Short for Windows Media Player. It is a multimedia player for video and audio on Windows PC.

WMV

Windows Media Video (WMV) is a series of video codecs and their corresponding video coding formats developed by Microsoft.

WMVHD

Short for Windows Media High Definition Video (WMV HD), it is the marketing name for high definition videos encoded using Microsoft Windows Media Video 9 codecs.

XSVCD

XSVCD (eXtended Super VCD) is the name generally given to any format that stores MPEG-2 video on a compact disc in mode 2/XA, at SVCD resolution, but does not strictly meet the SVCD standard.

XVCD

XVCD (eXtended Video CD) is the name generally given to any format that stores MPEG-1 video on a compact disc in CD-ROM XA Mode 2 Form 2 but does not strictly follow the VCD standard in terms of the encoding of the video or audio.

XviD

Xvid (formerly "XviD") is a video codec library following the MPEG-4 video coding standard, specifically MPEG-4 Part 2 Advanced Simple Profile (ASP). It uses ASP features such as b-frames, global and quarter pixel motion compensation, Lumi masking, trellis quantization, and H.263, MPEG and custom quantization matrices. Xvid is a primary competitor of the DivX Pro Codec.

YouTube

It is an American video-sharing website, that provides bulks of TV, Music videos, videos, educational videos and more for all the subscriber. Also, it allows users to upload, view, rate, share, add to favorite, comment and more on video.

YUV

It is a color encoding system, typically used as part of a color image pipeline. It encodes a color image or video taking human perception into account, allowing reduced bandwidth for chrominance components, thereby typically enabling transmission errors or compression artifacts to be more efficiently masked by the human perception than using a "direct" RGB-representation.

Z-CLV

Short for Zoned Constant Linear Velocity, it is a modification of CLV for high-speed CD and DVD recorders. Early model recorders were CLV drives.

1080p

It is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen vertically, and the p stands for progressive scan. And it is known as Full HD or FHD.

720p

It is a progressive HDTV signal format with 720 horizontal lines and an aspect ratio (AR) of 16:9, normally known as widescreen HDTV (1.78:1). It is also known as HD Ready or standard HD.