Stanley J. Baran
all-channel legislation | 1962 law requiring all television sets imported into or manufactured in the United States to be equipped with both VHF and UHF receivers
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audimeter | device for recording when the television set is turned on, the channel to which it is tuned, and the time of day; used in compiling ratings
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bandwidth | portion of the spectrum utilized to transmit video and audio signals; an indication of a channelís information carrying capacity
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broadband | channels with broad information-carrying capacity
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broadcast spectrum | that portion of the electromagnetic spectrum on which the FCC grants permission to transmit
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channel surfing | travelling through the television channels focusing neither on specific programs nor on the commercials they house
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clear time | when local affiliates carry a networkís program
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coaxial cable | copper-clad aluminum wire encased in plastic foam insulation, covered by an aluminum outer conductor, and then sheathed in plastic
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compensation | network payments to affiliates for clearing content
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cruising | see channel surfing
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digital video recorder (DVR) | television service that uses sophisticated digital software to put significant amounts of control over content in viewers' hands
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distant importation of signals | delivery of distant television signals by cable television for the purpose of improving reception
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fiber optics | signals carried by light beams over glass fibers
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Financial Interest and Syndication Rules | FCC rules delineating the amount of ownership the television networks are allowed in the programming they air
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Fin-Syn | see Financial Interest and Syndication Rules
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first-run syndication | original programming produced specifically for the syndicated television market
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grazing | watching several television programs simultaneously
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iconoscope tube | first practical television camera tube, developed in 1923
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interlaced scanning | television format in which electron beams sweep the picture tube twice, creating half the images' lines on the first pass and filling in the gaps on the second pass
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kinescope | improved picture tube developed by Zworykin for RCA
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microwave relay | audio and video transmitting system in which super high frequency signals are sent from land-based point to land-based point
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MNA reports | multinetwork area television ratings based on the 70 largest markets
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multiplexing | the practice of using one channel to transmit multiple forms of content; in FM radio by using extra channel space and in television and cable through signal compression
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must-carry rules | rules requiring cable television systems to carry the signal of every television station within a specified radius
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network | centralized production, distribution, decision-making organization that links affiliates for the purpose of delivering their viewers to advertisers
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news staging | re-creation on television news of some event that is believed to have happened or which could have happened
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Nipkow disc | first workable device for generating electrical signals suitable for the transmission of a scene
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off-network | broadcast industry term for syndicated content that originally aired on a network
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overnights | television ratings data gathered from homes connected by phone lines to Nielsen computers
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peoplemeter | remote control keypad device for recording television viewing for taking ratings
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personal video recorder (PVR) | see digital video recorder
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pilot | a sample episode of a proposed television program
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pixels | the smallest picture element in an electronic imaging system such as a television or computer screen
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pocketpieces | television ratings based on a national sample, computed and reported every two weeks
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portable peoplemeter | a pagerlike device that "reads" embedded audio signals in electronically delivered media content on radio, television, and the Web
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progressive scanning | digital television format compatible with personal computers in which the entire picture is built line by line in one scan of the televisionís electronic beam
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put | an agreement between a producer that a network guaranteeing that the network will order at least a pilot or the network must pay a hefty penalty
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rating | percentage of a market's total population that is reached by a piece of broadcast programming
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share | the percentage of people listening to radio or of homes using television tuned in to a given piece of programming
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short ordering | network practice of ordering only one or two episodes of a new television series
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Sixth Report and Order | fundamental blueprint for the technical operation of television, issued in 1952
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spot commercial sales | in broadcasting, selling individual advertising spots on a given program to a wide variety of advertisers
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stripped | broadcasting a syndicated television show at the same time five nights a week
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sweeps periods | special television ratings times in February, May, July, and November in which diaries are distributed to thousands of sample households in selected markets
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syndication | sale of radio or television content to stations on a market-by-market basis
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television freeze | 1948 freeze in authorization of new television stations while the FCC resolved a number of technical problems
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time-shifting | taping a show on a VCR for later viewing
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vast wasteland | expression coined by FCC Chair Newton Minow in 1961 to describe television content
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WebTV | online delivery of high definition television to special home receivers
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zapping | using the remote control to switch to other content when a commercial appears
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zipping | fast-forwarding through taped commercials on a VCR
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