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We have compiled a list of audio, video and home theater terms that you
might find helpful as you research your next purchase.
From A-Z, this glossary should have all the answers.
Glossary of Terms:
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R
RCA connectors
Receptacles for coaxial cables carrying line-level audio signals. Also called phono-type connectors.
Re-EQ
Short for Re-equalization. A feature found on THX-certified receivers and pre/pros. Movie soundtracks are mixed for theaters or far-field monitors with an expected high-frequency roll-off otherwise known as an X-curve. If these soundtracks are not re-mixed for home use, they will sound too bright when played back through home speakers or near-field monitors. Re-EQ inserts an X-curve response into the signal to compensate for this, which takes out some of the soundtrack's excess edginess or brightness.
Rear-Projection Television
Display that projects an image on the backside of a screen material, usually after having been reflected off of a mirror.
Receiver
Any component that receives, or tunes, broadcast signals, be it NTSC, HDTV, DBS, or AM/FM radio. Typically refers to the single component that includes a preamp, surround processor, multichannel amplifier, and AM/FM tuner. (See also
Tuner)
Resonant Frequency
The frequency at which any system vibrates naturally when excited by a stimulus. A tuning fork, for example, resonates at a specific frequency when struck.
Reverberation
The reflections of sound within a closed space.
Reverberation Time
The amount of time it takes the reverberation to decay 60 dB from the level of the original sound.
RF
Radio Frequency. Television signals are modulated onto RF signals and are then demodulated by your television's tuner. VCRs and DBS receivers often include channel 3 or 4 modulators, allowing the output signal to be tuned by the television on those channels. Also, laser discs used an RF signal for modulating Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks on some movies. This requires an RF demodulator (usually referred to as an AC3-RF demodulator) before or in the surround processor to decode the signal.
RGB
Red, Green, Blue. Can refer to an unprocessed video signal or the color points of a display device. Together these three colors make up every color seen on a display device.
Ribbon Speaker
A loudspeaker that consists of a thin, corrugated, metallic ribbon suspended in a magnetic field. The ribbon acts electrically like a low-impedance voice coil and mechanically as a diaphragm.
RMS
Root Mean Square or the square root of the arithmetic mean (average) of the square's set of values. A reasonably accurate method of describing an amplifier's power output.
RPTV
Rear-Projection Television. Display that projects an image on the backside of a screen material, usually after having been reflected off of a mirror.
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