Appendix E: Glossary 335
Modulation: The encoding of information upon an
empty carrier signal.
Motion-JPEG (M-JPEG): A Video for Windows
format, specified by Microsoft, for encoding video
sequences. JPEG compression is used to compress
each frame individually.
MPA: (File extension for) an MPEG file that contains
audio data only. M1V, MPEG, MPG
MPEG: Motion Picture Experts Group, and the
standard developed by them for the compression of
moving images. Compared to M-JPEG, it offers 75-
80% data reduction with the same visual quality.
MPG: (File extension for) an MPEG file that contains
both video and audio data. M1V, MPEG, MPA
MPV: (File extension for) an MPEG file that contains
video data only. MPA, MPEG, MPG
Non-interlaced: Describes an image refresh method in
which the complete image is generated as a single field
without skipping lines. A non-interlaced image (most
computer monitors) flickers much less than an
interlaced image (most TVs).
NTSC: National Television Standards Committee, and
the color TV standard created by them in 1953. NTSC
video has 525 lines per frame and 60 image fields per
second. It is used in North and Central America, Japan
and other countries. PAL, SECAM
PAL: “Phase Alternation Line”, a color TV standard
developed in Germany and used throughout most of
Europe. PAL video has 625 lines per frame and 50
image fields per second. NTSC, SECAM
Parallel port: Parallel port data is transmitted via an
8-bit data line. This means that eight bits (one
