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3D
(1) Monoscopic: A representation
of objects in a 3D space (length, width and height coordinates)
on a 2D surface, such as a computer monitor. The perception of depth is simulated by visual
clues such as lighting, shadows and perspective.
(2) Stereoscopic: Depth perception is simulated by using two images (a stereo pair consisting of a left eye perspective and right eye perspective) where through a variety of techniques, the left eye sees only the left view and the right eye sees only the right view; mimicking the real-life behavior of the human eye.
Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP):
An expansion port which enables faster data transmission
between a graphics card and the computer's CPU,
resulting in faster 3D graphics display.
Active Glasses/Shutterglassses:
Glasses (usually Liquid Crystal) used to view stereoscopic
content in which the left and right lenses alternate
between transparent and opaque.
Anaglyph (format): Stereoscopic
image format that uses color filters (often red/green
or red/blue) to block the left image from the right
eye and the right image from the left eye.
Anaglyph Glasses: Color filter
glasses used to view Anaglyphic images. For example,
a red lens over the left eye blocks the right viewpoint
(printed in red) and a blue lens over the right eye
blocks the left viewpoint (printed in blue).
Anti-Aliasing: The blending
of adjacent pixels to simulate a smooth non-jagged edge.
Aspect Ratio: The ratio of width to height of an image. Most televisions and computer screens have a 4:3 aspect ratio whereas most movies and HDTV screens have a 16:9 aspect
ratio.
Bitmap: A graphics format
in which an image is comprised of rasterized pixels.
Common bitmap image formats are: gif, jpeg, tiff, bmp
and PICT.
Broadband: A high speed data
connection usually via a cable or telecommunications
provider. An Internet connection faster than a dial-up
modem, such as a cable modem or DSL connection.
Buffer: A temporary memory
location used to store data, usually to prevent hardware
such as the computer's CPU to be overwhelmed
or bottlenecked by data.
Cache (Web Cache): A location in memory on the hard disk of a computer that stores a copy of the most recently requested web pages. Because of the cache, web pages are displayed more quickly because the browser retrieves data locally, rather than over the Internet.
Codec (Encode/Decode): Software
or hardware technology that uses a variety of mathematical
algorithms to compress and de-compress data. Codecs
are often used to create smaller file sizes for transmission
over the Internet.
Cookies: Software sent to
a browser to customize a site for a user.
CPU (Central Processing Unit):
The main processing chip on a computer's motherboard.
Cross-Eyed Viewing: Method
of viewing a stereoscopic image where
the right and left images are displayed side by side
with the left view on the right and the right view on
the left. To see the stereoscopic effect, the viewer
slowly crosses his or her eyes until the images merge
into one center image.
CRT (Cathode Ray Tube): A monitor which displays images by beaming
electrons towards the CRT, which produce light as they
collide with phosphors on the inside surface. This is
the type of monitor that works with X3D shutterglasses.
Depth-of-Field: The difference
between the nearest point and farthest point of an object
in an image that is within acceptable focus.
Detonator XP Unified Driver Architecture (UDA): nVIDIA graphics card driver that enhances
performance in all of nVIDIA's GPUs (Graphics Processing
Units) in both Direct X and Open GL, as well as new
hardware acceleration for Windows XP for 3D textures
and shadow buffers.
Direct 3D (D3D): The Direct
X interface used to accelerate 2d and 3d graphics.
Direct X: A technology developed
by Microsoft that gives programmers low-level access
to the sound and graphics capabilities of a computer
in order to optimize and accelerate performance. This
technology is most often used for games that require
"real time" rendering of visuals.
Dongle: A hardware device
connected to a peripheral device that regulates access
to a specific application or device control.
Drivers: Software used for
a computer to communicate with peripheral devices such
as printers, scanners, keyboards etc.
There are no terms in this glossary that start with
this letter.
Flat Panel Display: A very
thin display screen that utilizes plasma or liquid crystal
technologies.
Frame Buffer: Temporary memory
used to store a bitmapped image being sent to a monitor;
usually stored in main memory in the video chipset on
the motherboard.
Frames per Second: The amount
of images displayed per second in order to create the
simulation of motion. For example, NTSC is a television
format that displays 30 interlaced images per second.
Frequency: The number of
oscillations per second, usually measured in Hertz (Hz);
refers to the refresh rate of the image on a computer
monitor.
G
Graphics Card: An add-on
card attached to the computer's motherboard to accelerate
the display of computer graphics.
Graphics Processing Unit (GPU):
Micro-processing computer chip used in graphics cards
to accelerate the display of graphics. The GPU is used
especially for mathematically intensive tasks, such
as the display texture maps and lighting effects that
would otherwise be handled by the CPU, thus slowing down its speed and performance.
High Definition Television (HDTV):
A television format that has more scan lines, resulting
in higher resolutions, better color and enhanced sound.
HTML (HyperText Markup Language):
Standard language used to create documents for the World
Wide Web.
Hyperlink: Text on a web
site created with HTML that navigates to another web
page or another location on the same page when visitors
click on it.
Hyperstereo: A stereo imaging
technique in which the horizontal distance of the left
and right views is increased. This gives a stereoscopic effect to far-away objects for which depth
is normally not perceived.
Hyperstudio: Multimedia authoring
software; a browser plug-in is required to view Hyperstudio
multimedia content on the Internet.
I/O (input/output): The transfer
of data in and out of a computer.
Infrared (transmitter): The
wireless transmission of data between electronic devices.
Interleaved/Interlaced Stereoscopic:
Image format in which the left and right views are combined
or "woven" together, line by line. Each line alternates
between the left and right view of the image.
ISP (Internet Service Provider):
Company that provides access to the Internet.
Jps (stereo jpeg): Jpeg files
which contain stereo pairs of images.
K
There are no terms in this glossary that start with
this letter.
L
LCD (Liquid Crystal Display):
A display technology that displays images using two
polarizing surfaces, separated by a liquid crystal solution.
This type of display technology is used in laptop computers
and flat panel monitors and does not work with shutter
glasses.
Lenticluar: A special process
in which images are interwoven to simulate depth, using
light-bending filters.
Monitor: The screen a computer
uses to display an image. See CRT, LCD and PDP.
Motherboard: The main circuit
board of a computer containing the CPU, bus, memory and coprocessor sockets. All peripheral
cards for the computer are plugged into the motherboard.
Multi-plexing (Muxing): Merging
of several low-speed data transmissions into one high-speed
transmission.
nVIDIA: A company that develops
graphics cards. nVIDIA graphic cards are compatible
with Open GL, Direct X and AGP technology.
O
OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer):
Manufacturers of equipment that is sold to other companies
or resellers, which they use to build a complete system.
Open GL: A graphics language
developed by Silicon Graphics Incorporated for use with
3D graphic accelerators.
Page Flipping /Page Flip Mode:
Method of viewing stereoscopic content
by using video hardware to rapidly switch the left and
right eye view in temporal sync with shutter glasses.
Parallel Port: 25 pin interface
cable usually used to connect a computer to devices
such as a printer, scanner or other peripheral device.
Parallax - Negative: The
perceived depth of an image positioned in front of the
projection plane of the stereo viewing window.
Parallax - Positive: The
perceived depth of an image positioned behind the projection
plane of the stereo viewing window.
Parallax - Zero: The subject
of an image that lies on projection plane of the stereo
window.
Parallel Viewing (Relaxed Viewing):
The left and right views are displayed side by side
with the left view on the left side and the right view
on the right side. The stereoscopic image is then viewed
by slowly relaxing the eyes or using a "3D Viewer."
PDP (Plasma Display Panel):
A display technology that passes a high voltage through
low-pressure gas in order to create light. This type
of display technology offers a brighter picture, wider
viewing angle, better color purity, and higher contrast
ratio than LCD monitors. It offers
a clearer, sharper picture, more uniform brightness,
flicker-free images, and consumes less power than CRT
monitors. PDP monitors do not work with shutter glasses.
Polarized glasses/passive glasses:
Glasses with polarized lenses that enable people to
view stereoscopic content that is usually
displayed by a projector.
PPI (Pixels per Inch): A
unit of measurement used to determine the resolution
of a rasterized image, which is an image comprised of
pixels rather than objects. A higher PPI display allows
for greater resolution. The number of pixels per inch
that is used to display an image.
Protocol: A language that
dissimilar computers use to communicate with one another.
Pulfrich Effect (format): Stereoscopic image format that requires horizontal motion. 3D depth is achieved when one eye is covered with a dark filter and the other eye is left free. By default, the brain matches information from an image in the unfiltered eye with information that came a beat earlier from the filtered eye.
QuickTime: A cross-platform
multimedia technology developed by Apple that enables
both Macintosh and Windows users to play back audio
and video.
QuickTime VR: Form of QuickTime
that enables users to view and interact with Virtual
Reality by using their computer mouse. QuickTime
VR usually involves content such as panoramas and 3D
objects.
R
RAM (Random Access Memory):
A memory chip used to run applications and computer
operating systems. Computers use RAM because it is much
faster than hard disk memory. RAM chips can only retain
memory while the main power source of the computer is
on.
RAMDAC (Random Access Memory Digital/Analog Converter): Portion of the graphics card used
to convert the digital color signal that is transmitted
from the computer into analog signals to be displayed
by a CRT monitor. Higher screen resolutions and refresh rates
require faster RAMDACS.
Refresh Rate: The rate at
which a monitor redraws the screen image. This rate
is usually measured in Hertz (Hz). For example, a monitor
with a 65Hz refresh rate redraws the screen image 65
times per second. Faster refresh rates reduce the amount
of "flicker" in the monitor image.
Rendering: The computation
of the light, colors, shadows and textures of an image.
Serial Port: Hardware interface
used to connect modems and mice to a computer; serial
ports come in USB 9 or USB 25 pin varieties.
Stereo: Pair of images used
to create a stereoscopic effect; one of a "left" view and one of
a "right" view.
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol): Protocol used to
identify computers and to transfer data between computers
on a local network or via the Internet.
Texture Mapping: Bitmaps
images applied to a 3D object. Higher resolution texture
maps require more processing time, and often a graphics
card is used to accelerate real-time rendering for games.
Unified Driver Architecture (UDA):
see Detonator XP
V
Vector Image: An image that
is comprised of objects created by mathematical equations
rather than pixels as in a rasterized image.
VGA (Variable Graphics Array):
The port on a computer where the monitor is connected.
VGAs use analog signals to display digital information.
This enables a monitor to display subtle differences
in color. VGA is the industry standard used in desktop monitors and LCD screens. VGA enables monitors to display resolutions
up to 640x480 with up to 16 colors at a time and 320x200
resolution with 256 colors.
Video Card: see Graphics Card
Video Processing Engine (VPE):
Graphics procession unit developed by nVIDIA that increases
general performance by decoding and playback of video,
instead of using the CPU.
Virtual Reality (VR): An
artificial space that exists within a computer. VR is
often displayed using 3D goggles to display true depth
and enhance the computer viewing experience.
Wireless Transmitter: see Infrared.
X & Y
There are no terms in this glossary that start with
these letters.
Z
Z-Buffers: A space in memory used to temporarily store "z-depth" information for a 2D image. Memory that stores z-axis or "depth" information about an object.
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