Tech Words & Terminology You Might Not Know
Technology accommodates our everyday lives, and we are constantly finding ourselves interested or in need of new gadgets and gizmos. It’s important to be knowledgeable when making that purchase, so we’re here to clear up some important terminology you’ll likely encounter during your product research and comparison. This isn’t an extensive list, but it will at least cover the tech jargon here on our website, and hopefully you can learn something new! If you have questions, you can always contact us via email or chat support.
ABS | Anti-Lock Blocking/Braking System
Sometimes using the maximum amount of pressure to stop the rotation or momentum of an object can be dangerous. In the case of a car wheel, the brake could be destroyed or the momentum could cause the wheels to skid. ABS is a safety system that detects and prevents such locking by taking control of braking with the most efficient pressure to bring things to a halt.
CMOS Sensor | Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor
An electronic chip that converts photons by capturing light and translating them to electrons for digital processing, converting the electrons into pixels to form an image or video. The majority of modern technology that captures images and videos use a CMOS.
dB | Decibels
A unit of comparison to measure the relative intensity or power of sounds and other electrical signals on a logarithmic scale. 0dB is total silence, while a conversation is around 60dB. At around 85dB is the starting threshold for permanent damage to the ear depending on the duration.
FOV | Field of View
Is the area that is visible to a person, whether it’s through their own eyes or through the screen of a device. A human’s naked eye has a field of view, or field of vision, of approximately 180 degrees. A device, screen, or program can have a much larger or smaller field of view that may or may not be adjusted.
Heat Sink
A device or material used to absorb and dissipate heat or thermal energy from nearby electronic components to regulate temperature and prevent overheating. They are often made from copper or aluminum alloys.
Hi-Fi | High Fidelity
A term used by audio enthusiasts with a high standard for sound and their listening experience. It refers to high-quality reproductions of sound with no external noise or distortion.
IP Rating | Ingress Protection, International Protection Rating
Standards that measure the sealing effectiveness of electronic enclosures against water and dirt. The ratings are composed of two digits. The first digit rates protection from solids like dirt, while the second digit rates protection from liquids like water. A rating of 6 for solids means total protection. A rating of 7 and above for liquids represents the amount of submerged pressure the product can handle.
UI | User Interface
A visual medium that a user interacts with to navigate or use. User Interfaces are an essential part of every technology we use today. A form of UI that we’re all familiar with is the main menu. Your phone, computer, television, app, website, video game, and more all need a UI to be used.
LED | Light Emitting Diode
A two-lead semiconductor diode that emits light when charged with electricity. They are small, lightweight, consume less power, produce less heat, and have a longer lifetime than light bulbs. Most importantly, modern LED and Organic LED (OLED) produce a wide spectrum of colors and are used in almost all high-end televisions you see today.
Lancet & Lancing
A small and often disposable tool used to make punctures in the skin for blood sampling. They are most commonly used by diabetics with a lancing device to monitor blood glucose levels.
Lumen & ANSI Lumen
Lumen are the SI unit of luminous flux, or the quantity of light produced per second. Many equate it to a measurement of brightness. ANSI Lumen are determined by the American National Standards Institute using a different standardized procedure that averages multiple measurements.
OS | Operating System
The software that manages your hardware and its other software and services. On computers, the most popular operating systems are Microsoft Windows OS, Apple’s MacOS, and Linux. For phones, it’s Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS.
OTA Updates | Over-The-Air
A wireless download of new software or firmware updates that only requires an internet connection. These updates can be installed automatically or manually with the click of a button, allowing developers to deploy updates or fixes quickly and efficiently.
POE | Power Over Ethernet
The capability of a network cable to also be a power source. Previously you’d need two separate cables for internet and electric power, but with POE they are combined into a single convenient cable.
Quick Charge 3.0
A feature of charging cables that allows for more power or higher voltages to flow into the device’s battery, thereby charging the device much faster. Quick Charge 3.0 can charge devices up to four times faster than conventional chargers depending on compatibility.
USB Type-C | USB-C
A USB connector that delivers data and power at speeds surpassing USB 3.0. USB-C can be plugged in either way so you can skip the guesswork of the original USB ports, and it’s becoming the new standard on new computers and smart phones.
WDR | Wide Dynamic Range
Dynamic Range is the difference in light levels of the darkest and lightest areas of an image. With low dynamic range, you will have visibility issues where the darkest and lightest areas become hard to see because the contrast is too great. Cameras with WDR can capture a much wider range of brightness and darkness so the entire image is clear.
Bluetooth 4.0
Also known as Bluetooth Smart, Bluetooth 4.0 is backward compatible and uses low energy technology allowing it to be implemented into smaller devices like phones,fitness trackers, earphones, and other gadgets. They can then transfer their data and interact directly with other devices like your phone.
Contrast Ratio
The difference of light between the brightest and darkest areas of an image that can be produced onscreen, usually by a television. A contrast ratio of 3,000:1 indicates that the brightest white is 3,000 times brighter than the darkest black. Higher contrast means being able to see more details in the whitest and darkest parts of the image.
Keystone Correction
When placing a projector you won’t always be able to find the perfect spot or angle, and you end up with a distorted image. Keystone Correction, or keystoning, counters this distortion by adjusting and intentionally skewing the image until it is properly displayed.
Native & Upscaled Resolution
Native resolution can produce each individual pixel, while upscaled resolution shifts or fills in pixels to smooth out a lower resolution. For example, if you were to watch a 1080p video on a native 1080p TV, every pixel would be accounted for. If you watched a 1080p video on a native 4k TV, the 1080p video would be upscaled to 4k with filled-in pixels to simulate 4k. This difference becomes more apparent with high-end “True 4k” TVs.
Smart TV
A television that supports integrated Internet and Web 2.0 through Ethernet or Wi-Fi, allowing users access to streaming services, apps, videos, shows, movies, video games, photos, and more. If you don’t like the Operating System your Smart TV includes, you can always buy a TV Box streaming device that suits you.
ABS | Anti-Lock Blocking/Braking System
Sometimes using the maximum amount of pressure to stop the rotation or momentum of an object can be dangerous. In the case of a car wheel, the brake could be destroyed or the momentum could cause the wheels to skid. ABS is a safety system that detects and prevents such locking by taking control of braking with the most efficient pressure to bring things to a halt.
CMOS Sensor | Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor
An electronic chip that converts photons by capturing light and translating them to electrons for digital processing, converting the electrons into pixels to form an image or video. The majority of modern technology that captures images and videos use a CMOS.
dB | Decibels
A unit of comparison to measure the relative intensity or power of sounds and other electrical signals on a logarithmic scale. 0dB is total silence, while a conversation is around 60dB. At around 85dB is the starting threshold for permanent damage to the ear depending on the duration.
FOV | Field of View
Is the area that is visible to a person, whether it’s through their own eyes or through the screen of a device. A human’s naked eye has a field of view, or field of vision, of approximately 180 degrees. A device, screen, or program can have a much larger or smaller field of view that may or may not be adjusted.
Heat Sink
A device or material used to absorb and dissipate heat or thermal energy from nearby electronic components to regulate temperature and prevent overheating. They are often made from copper or aluminum alloys.
Hi-Fi | High Fidelity
A term used by audio enthusiasts with a high standard for sound and their listening experience. It refers to high-quality reproductions of sound with no external noise or distortion.
IP Rating | Ingress Protection, International Protection Rating
Standards that measure the sealing effectiveness of electronic enclosures against water and dirt. The ratings are composed of two digits. The first digit rates protection from solids like dirt, while the second digit rates protection from liquids like water. A rating of 6 for solids means total protection. A rating of 7 and above for liquids represents the amount of submerged pressure the product can handle.
UI | User Interface
A visual medium that a user interacts with to navigate or use. User Interfaces are an essential part of every technology we use today. A form of UI that we’re all familiar with is the main menu. Your phone, computer, television, app, website, video game, and more all need a UI to be used.
LED | Light Emitting Diode
A two-lead semiconductor diode that emits light when charged with electricity. They are small, lightweight, consume less power, produce less heat, and have a longer lifetime than light bulbs. Most importantly, modern LED and Organic LED (OLED) produce a wide spectrum of colors and are used in almost all high-end televisions you see today.
Lancet & Lancing
A small and often disposable tool used to make punctures in the skin for blood sampling. They are most commonly used by diabetics with a lancing device to monitor blood glucose levels.
Lumen & ANSI Lumen
Lumen are the SI unit of luminous flux, or the quantity of light produced per second. Many equate it to a measurement of brightness. ANSI Lumen are determined by the American National Standards Institute using a different standardized procedure that averages multiple measurements.
OS | Operating System
The software that manages your hardware and its other software and services. On computers, the most popular operating systems are Microsoft Windows OS, Apple’s MacOS, and Linux. For phones, it’s Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS.
OTA Updates | Over-The-Air
A wireless download of new software or firmware updates that only requires an internet connection. These updates can be installed automatically or manually with the click of a button, allowing developers to deploy updates or fixes quickly and efficiently.
POE | Power Over Ethernet
The capability of a network cable to also be a power source. Previously you’d need two separate cables for internet and electric power, but with POE they are combined into a single convenient cable.
Quick Charge 3.0
A feature of charging cables that allows for more power or higher voltages to flow into the device’s battery, thereby charging the device much faster. Quick Charge 3.0 can charge devices up to four times faster than conventional chargers depending on compatibility.
USB Type-C | USB-C
A USB connector that delivers data and power at speeds surpassing USB 3.0. USB-C can be plugged in either way so you can skip the guesswork of the original USB ports, and it’s becoming the new standard on new computers and smart phones.
WDR | Wide Dynamic Range
Dynamic Range is the difference in light levels of the darkest and lightest areas of an image. With low dynamic range, you will have visibility issues where the darkest and lightest areas become hard to see because the contrast is too great. Cameras with WDR can capture a much wider range of brightness and darkness so the entire image is clear.
Bluetooth 4.0
Also known as Bluetooth Smart, Bluetooth 4.0 is backward compatible and uses low energy technology allowing it to be implemented into smaller devices like phones,fitness trackers, earphones, and other gadgets. They can then transfer their data and interact directly with other devices like your phone.
Contrast Ratio
The difference of light between the brightest and darkest areas of an image that can be produced onscreen, usually by a television. A contrast ratio of 3,000:1 indicates that the brightest white is 3,000 times brighter than the darkest black. Higher contrast means being able to see more details in the whitest and darkest parts of the image.
Keystone Correction
When placing a projector you won’t always be able to find the perfect spot or angle, and you end up with a distorted image. Keystone Correction, or keystoning, counters this distortion by adjusting and intentionally skewing the image until it is properly displayed.
Native & Upscaled Resolution
Native resolution can produce each individual pixel, while upscaled resolution shifts or fills in pixels to smooth out a lower resolution. For example, if you were to watch a 1080p video on a native 1080p TV, every pixel would be accounted for. If you watched a 1080p video on a native 4k TV, the 1080p video would be upscaled to 4k with filled-in pixels to simulate 4k. This difference becomes more apparent with high-end “True 4k” TVs.
Smart TV
A television that supports integrated Internet and Web 2.0 through Ethernet or Wi-Fi, allowing users access to streaming services, apps, videos, shows, movies, video games, photos, and more. If you don’t like the Operating System your Smart TV includes, you can always buy a TV Box streaming device that suits you.
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