Glossary


Several of the terms that follow have more than one meaning in the English language. In the context of this book, they are defined by their relevance to streaming audio.

aDSL (Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line/Loop)

An Internet connectivity technology that transfers data at different speeds depending on the direction the traffic is flowing. Typically used from home where data can be downloaded from the Internet faster than it can be served out to the Internet at large.

See also [sDSL (Synchronous Digital Subscriber Line/Loop)]


AES/EBU (Audio Engineering Society/European Broadcast Union)

A digital audio data transmission standard to connect digital audio gear. Adopted by the Audio Engineering Society and the European Broadcast Union.



AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format)

A high-quality raw (uncompressed) audio format developed by Apple Computer. Most commonly used on the Macintosh operating system.



analog

A copy of audio as it exists in physical (as opposed to digital) space. Represented by continuous waveform changes and in a variety of mediums (phonograph, magnetic tape, and so on).



attributes

Aspects or indicators of an individual file's content, character, and ways in which the file is used and translated.



author (verb)

The act of creating streaming audio.



bandwidth

1.) In the realm of data transmission, the amount of information that can be sent through any digital connection. Usually used to measure the speed of a connection to the Internet. Measured in bits per second (bps). 2.) In the realm of audio equalization, a range of audio frequency, usually measured in Hertz (cycles per second).

See also [unicast]
See also [multicast]


batch

Any group of digital files.



bit (binary digit)

The smallest unit of data in a computer with a single value, either 0 or 1. Commonly abbreviated as a lowercase b.

See also [Kb (kilobit)]
See also [Mb (megabit)]


bit rate

The rate (or speed) at which bits of data are transmitted, usually measured in bits per second (bps). Sometimes referred to as data rate.



broadband

A loose definition for any network with a high enough data rate (typically at or above 128kbps) to transfer audio, video, and other large files in real-time.

See also [bandwidth]


buffer

A temporary holding area for data. Commonly used in streaming media when data is transferred over the Internet and a reliable transmission speed is not available.



burner

A hardware device to imprint ("burn") data onto a plastic writable CD-ROM disc.



byte

A unit of data totaling 8 bits, abbreviated as a capital B.

See also [bit (binary digit)]
See also [KB (kilobyte)]
See also [MB (megabyte)]


CDDB

A company with a large online database of information (track names, artist names, and so forth) about released CDs. Recently renamed Gracenote.



CDN (content delivery network)

The descriptive name for a company whose services mainly include streaming your source media to others through the Internet.



CGI (Common Gateway Interface)

A method of making computer programs talk to Web servers.



client

A computer that requests information or services from another computer.

See also [server]


clock-speed

A measurement of how fast a computer performs certain operations, usually measured in megahertz (millions of cycles per second).

See also [MHz (megahertz)]


clone

An imitation of a brand name computer that mimics design and operating system and is sold at a lower price.



co-location facility

A secure physical location where you place your server computers for high-speed network access.



codec

A COmpression/DECompression process that radically shrinks multimedia files for storage or transfer before either returning them to their normal size or reconstructing them to an approximation of their original state.



concurrent

One or more audio streams being served at the same time.



connectivity

The presence (and often speed) of a connection to the Internet or any network of computers.



DC Offset

A grounding incompatibility manifesting as added noise in a digital file.



decoder

Software or hardware that turns encoded information back into its original pre-encoded form or a close approximation.

See also [encoder]


DHTML (dynamic hypertext markup language)

A loose, unofficial standard to increase the interactivity of a Web page.



digital

The representation of information as unique units. The units are binary digits of either 1 or 0 (sometimes referred to as on or off).



DLT (Digital Linear Tape)

A magnetic tape storage medium for computer data backups.



DNS (Domain Name System)

A system to translate Internet domain names into a series of numbers. Sort of like the Yellow Pages for the Internet so that people only need to remember a recognizable name instead of a number.



download (noun)

A specific piece of software, multimedia, or other data that is transferred across a network from a server to another computer.



downloading

The act of transferring a specific piece of software, multimedia, or other data from a server computer to a user across a network.



DSL (Digital Subscriber Line)

A technology for transferring data using ordinary copper telephone wires.

See also [aDSL (Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line/Loop)]
See also [sDSL (Synchronous Digital Subscriber Line/Loop)]


DSP (Digital Signal Processor)

A specialized microprocessor for handling digitized audio or video.



dynamic range

In audio, the difference between the loudest and softest sections.



embed

A textual "tag" of HTML describing an object to be included as part of a Web page.



encoder

Software or hardware designed to convert raw, uncompressed audio into a highly compressed format for quick transfer over a network.

See also [decoder]


equalization

Raising or lowering a single frequency (or set of frequencies) within a piece of audio.



Ethernet

A standard protocol for connecting computers in a local area network.



fade in

A volume increase (from silence to audibility) of a sound.

See also [fade out]


fade out

A volume decrease (from audibility to silence) of a sound.

See also [fade in]


fair use

Limited legally sanctioned situations in which copyrighted material(s) can be used without permission of the copyright holder.



Flash

Multimedia publishing software/technology from Macromedia.



format (streaming audio format)

All of the pieces created by a company (or any ad hoc group) to encode, stream, decode, and play back streaming media.



frameset

Tags of HTML script to divide a Web page into subsections called frames.



FreeBSD

A popular open source version of the Unix operating system.



frob

A little hardware box with several kinds of input and output connectors allowing different plug ends to be used to pass audio between disparate hardware.



FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

A method for transferring files from one computer to another over a network.



G.722

A wideband speech coding standard from the CCITT (Commite' Consultatif International de Telecommunications et Telegraphy). The CCITT is an international union that makes technical recommendations about telephone and data communication.



gain

Overall audio volume.



gateway (network gateway)

Software or hardware that connects two networks together, such as a LAN to the Internet.



GB (gigabyte)

A measure of data storage quantity. 1024 MV, or 230 bytes (approximately 1 billion bytes).



hardware

A piece of computer or audio equipment with mass. A physical object.



host

A single computer on a network that provides services or data to other computers on the network.



HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)

The most common protocol for transferring data between Web servers and Web browsers.



ID3-tag

Information within a file (most commonly MP3 files) that documents title, artist, year of release, genre, album, and so on.



IP address (Internet Protocol address)

A series of numbers used to identify a computer on a network.

See also [DNS (Domain Name System)]


ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network)

Dedicated telecommunication connections for voice and data with bandwidth up to 128Kbps. The set data rate is solidly and fully available at all times whether the user is using it or not.



ISP (Internet service provider)

A company that provides Internet service, typically including basic connectivity, e-mail, and other related services.



JavaScript

A Netscape-based scripting language for Web pages.



Kb (kilobit)

A measure of data storage quantity (also called kbit or Kbit). 1024 bits, or 210 bits (approximately one thousand bits).

See also [bit (binary digit)]
See also [Mb (megabit)]


KB (kilobyte)

A measure of data storage quantity. 1024 (210) bytes.

See also [byte]
See also [MB (megabyte)]


kbps (kilobits per second)

A measure of data throughput transfer speed. 1024 (210) bits per second.



kHz (kilohertz)

A measure of audio frequency. One thousand cycles per second.



LAN (local area network)

A network of computers within a limited physical area.



line input

An input that receives a line level signal.



line level

An accepted median level audio signal in a control room.



line level input

The overall volume of an incoming signal.



link

An HTML pointer that leads to a Web page (also called a hyperlink).



Linux

A popular open source version of the Unix operating system.



lossless

An audio compression method generally used to shape overall sound quality without inherently degrading the audio quality during the process.



lossy

An audio compression method used to highly compact a file, requiring certain data to be permanently discarded. MPEG (for audio files) and JPEG (for graphics files) compression are two examples of lossy compression.



MB (megabyte)

A measure of data storage quantity. 1024 KB, or 220 bytes (approximately 1 million bytes).

See also [byte]
See also [KB (kilobyte)]


Mb (megabit)

A measure of data storage quantity (also called mbit or Mbit). 1024 Kb, or 220 bits (approximately one million bits).

See also [bit (binary digit)]
See also [Kb (kilobit)]


Mbps (megabits per second)

A measure of data throughput transfer speed. 1024 Kbps or 220 (approximately one million) bits per second.

See also [bit (binary digit)]
See also [Kb (kilobit)]
See also [Mb (megabit)]


metadata

Information included with a file that describes that file's contents.



metafile

A file that contains a pointer to the actual streaming content. This file is typically downloaded by a Web browser and then handed off to a player application.



MHz (megahertz)

A measure of the vibration of a tiny quartz crystal inside a computer chip. One MHz equals one million cycles per second.



MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) type

A descriptive string that is tied to a filename's suffix. Used to describe what format the file is, and for applications to choose how to handle those files.



mouseover

Also called a rollover, a technique using JavaScript to change a typically graphic element on a Web page when a user moves their computer's mouse to pass their cursor over the element. This is done to draw attention to the element on the page.



multicast

Communication method that describes a transfer of the same information from one server computer to multiple client computers (listeners) where the server sends just one copy of the data, regardless of the number of listeners. The server bandwidth required is the size of the data alone, regardless of how many clients are receiving the data.

See also [unicast]
See also [bandwidth]


normalize

The act of increasing the dynamic range of a digital audio file to a point just below distortion, or, making digital audio as loud as possible without distorting.



open source

1.) Any program whose source code is freely available for use or modification to anyone in any way, provided their resulting works are also open source. What's good about open source is that anyone can modify and improve on it, so the program quickly becomes more useful and a better tool, thereby benefiting everyone. 2.) A certification mark of the Open Source Initiative (OSI). Developers for freely shared and redistributed software can use an OSI trademark when they agree to the Open Source Definition. The OSI Open Source Definition: 1-The distributed software built upon the source code must be freely available to all without restriction. 2-The source code must be freely available. 3-Newer versions require a different name or number.



open system

A framework for conformance testing, certification, and promotion of international standards for computer networks. Covers everything from the transmission of the physical bits all the way up to the GUI interface of a user's application, to enable computer systems that are made by different vendors to communicate with each other.



Perl (Practical Extraction and Report Language)

A popular, free-licensed programming language. Perl scripts are commonly used for Web-related programming applications.



playlist

A list of on-demand or live streams (or previously downloaded files) for an audio player to play in a particular order.



plug-in

A third-party program to enhance the features of an application.



progressive streaming (a.k.a. HTTP streaming)

An on-demand file or live broadcast that will play in the user's player application during the download process instead of waiting until the entire file has finished downloading to play. Commonly served by a Web server via HTTP.



protocol

Strict and detailed rules, standards, or conventions of communication, transfer, and operation among computers.



RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks)

A redundant storage method of saving data simultaneously to multiple disks or providing increased performance by splitting data across multiple disks.



RAM (random access memory)

A computer's ephemeral working memory area that is generally composed of physical hardware circuits inside a computer and used as fast temporary data storage during processing.



real-time streaming

A two-way conversation between the streaming audio player and server that provides additional stability and features.



rich-media

A presentation that uses multiple forms of media, ostensibly to provide a better experience for the viewer.



ripping

Extracting audio tracks from a CD into digital files on a computer.



RS-232 serial

A short-range communications cabling standard that is typically used for computer terminals, modems, and other dedicated hardware.



RTSP (Real-Time Streaming Protocol)

A standard protocol for real-time streaming of multimedia on a network.

See also [real-time streaming]


sample rate

In audio, the number of times per second that a sample is taken.



SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface)

An interface standard for connecting a computer with external devices such as hard drives and scanners. Pronounced scuzzy.



sDSL (Synchronous Digital Subscriber Line/Loop)

An Internet connectivity technology that transfers data at the same speed regardless of the direction that the traffic is flowing.

See also [aDSL (Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line/Loop)]


server

A computer on a network that supplies information to a client computer on request. Also refers to the software that performs these functions.

See also [client]


software

Computer programs that guide computer hardware operations and control all functioning capabilities of a computer.



sound card

A circuit board in a computer that adds audio functionality.



standard

Strict and detailed compatibility specifications of use and manufacture for technologies, software, and hardware.



stereo

Two channels of sound reproduction that allow for audio source position gradations of aural perception between extreme left and right.



streaming audio

Transferring audio data between hardware devices across a network in which the audio data causes the audio to start playing on the client computer or device as the data begins to arrive at the client computer or device.



subwoofer

A speaker that is designed to reproduce only the lowest frequencies in the sound spectrum.



tag

Code within data with formatting (or other) instructions.



TCP/IP

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) running over Internet Protocol (IP) that enables communication over disparate computers and networks.



unicast

Communication method that describes a transfer of the same information from one server computer to multiple client computers (listeners) where each client is sent a completely separate copy of the data. The server requires bandwidth for each client that is connecting, regardless of whether all clients are accessing the same data.

See also [multicast]
See also [bandwidth]


Unix

A multitasking, multiuser operating system that is available in a number of different forms, many of which are free. Unix is known for its reliability and ability to efficiently perform many tasks at once.



URL (uniform resource locator)

A standard way to describe the location of data (Web pages, streaming audio, email, and so on) on the Internet.



variable bit rate (VBR)

The process of encoding a streaming audio file at varying bit rates across the length of the audio, determined by quality, and intended primarily to improve streaming efficiency.



WAV

A high-quality audio format developed by Microsoft Corporation and the most common raw audio format used on the Windows operating system.



waveform

The graphic representation of the shape of a sound.



W3C (World Wide Web Consortium)

A group of organizations that decide standards and protocols for the World Wide Web.





Streaming Audio. The FezGuys' Guide
Streaming Audio: The FezGuys Guide
ISBN: B000H2N1T8
EAN: N/A
Year: 2001
Pages: 119

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