ARC and eARC — Audio Return Channel
ARC and eARC carry audio from a display back to an audio device over the HDMI cable — eliminating a separate audio cable from the display to the DSP or amplifier.
BYOM — Bring Your Own Meeting
BYOM allows a room's AV infrastructure (camera, microphone, speakers, display) to be used by a video conference running on the user's personal laptop, bridging the gap between dedicated room codecs and unmanaged BYOD rooms.
Chroma Subsampling — 4:4:4, 4:2:2, and 4:2:0
Chroma subsampling reduces video bandwidth by transmitting less color (chroma) information than luminance — understanding 4:4:4 vs. 4:2:0 determines whether a signal chain can carry 4K60 over HDMI 2.0.
Codec — Compression/Decompression
A codec encodes and decodes audio or video signals using compression algorithms — understanding codecs determines the quality, latency, and bandwidth trade-offs in video conferencing, AV-over-IP, and streaming systems.
EDID — Extended Display Identification Data
EDID is the data structure a display presents to a source to advertise its supported resolutions, refresh rates, and audio formats — the root cause of most HDMI "no signal" and wrong-resolution failures.
HDBaseT — HDMI over Category Cable
HDBaseT transmits 4K HDMI, RS-232, IR, Ethernet, and PoE over a single Cat6A cable up to 100 m — the dominant long-distance HDMI extension standard in installed AV.
HDCP — High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection
HDCP is the content protection handshake required on every HDMI link carrying protected content — a single non-compliant device in the chain blocks the signal entirely.
HDR — High Dynamic Range
HDR extends the brightness and color range of video signals beyond standard dynamic range, enabling displays to show specular highlights and deep shadows simultaneously — relevant for 4K content delivery and display specification in AV.
Impedance — Audio and Video Impedance Matching
Impedance determines how audio and video signals are loaded and transferred between devices — mismatched impedance causes signal loss, frequency response errors, and reflections in video systems.
Latency and Jitter — AV Network Timing
Latency is the delay from source to destination; jitter is the variation in that delay — both critically affect live audio, video conferencing, and AV-over-IP systems.
NDI — Network Device Interface
IP video protocol by NewTek/Vizrt streaming broadcast-quality video over standard Ethernet with automatic device discovery, widely used in production, streaming, and corporate AV.
PTZ — Pan/Tilt/Zoom Camera
Motorized camera with independent pan, tilt, and optical zoom motors for remote framing control in conference rooms, lecture halls, and broadcast studios.
RTP and RTSP — Real-Time Transport Protocols
RTP carries real-time audio and video over IP networks; RTSP controls the playback of those streams — together they underpin Dante, AES67, IP camera streaming, and IPTV in AV systems.
SDI — Serial Digital Interface
SDI is the professional broadcast video standard for lossless uncompressed video over coaxial cable — immune to HDCP, capable of very long runs, and the backbone of broadcast and live production AV systems.
VISCA — Video System Control Architecture
VISCA is the dominant PTZ camera control protocol — a binary command set sent over RS-232 or UDP/TCP that commands pan, tilt, zoom, focus, iris, and preset recall on virtually every professional PTZ camera.