My son has hearing loss in one ear, and often asks us to repeat ourselves.  When he was about 2½, he didn’t have the verbal skills to politely ask for a repetition, so he would just ask, “What say?”  This has become the common refrain in our family for anyone asking the speaker to repeat information.

In my first several months working as a technical writer, with no real technical background, I felt like I was learning a foreign language and constantly asking myself “What say” at every turn.  USB-UIRT?  Object Bus?  OCM?  Hauppauge? What say?!?

Now, three years later, I still don’t know all the terms and certainly couldn’t maintain any sort of technically-based conversation while using them, but I’ve gotten more skilled at understanding the general uses and meanings of at least some of them!  Below are the terms I’ve picked up just through the documentation of the Inova Broadcaster^TM digital signage components.

• Aspect Ratio – The aspect ratio of a screen is the ratio of the width of the screen to the height of the screen.  A typical widescreen has an aspect ratio of 16:9, while a standard PC monitor has a 4:3 aspect ratio.
• Context Menu – An alternate name for the menu you get when you right click an object in the user interface of a software application.
• Digital Signage Driver / Receiver – Hardware components that link a computer generating dynamic text and images to remotely located wallboard signs or screens.
• Hauppauge TV Tuner – A Hauppauge USB HVR Tuner is a video device that passes received programs to the Streaming Channel host computer through its USB connection.  This device can handle direct Cable TV input or it can take input from a Cable TV or Satellite set-top box through its S-video or Composite ports.
• .ini - The INI file format is used for standard configuration files. These are usually simple text files with a basic structure.  The ini stands for “initialization”.
• .lbd – An .lbd file is a repository for a Broadcaster view that specifies the Broadcaster controls that are to be displayed on the Broadcaster Client screens.  The LightLink system transmits the view file to the Broadcaster Clients for rendering on their display screens.
• LCD – Liquid Crystal Display – Thin displays, now commonly found in computer monitors and televisions, LCDs use liquid crystals to create images.  LCDs have largely replaced cathode ray screen technologies because they are more energy efficient and offer a better viewing quality.
• Object Bus – An internal mechanism for software components to provide information to each other.   In Inova LightLink, the Object Bus provides data connectivity between LightLink components; there can be multiple Object Bus segments in a LightLink system to distribute the communications load.
• OCM – Output Channel Manager – The OCM maintains the connection to output devices and information sent to the devices.  For Inova LightLink, each OCM is responsible for the information going to one data output type.  The output is usually real-time data messages to display devices but can take other forms such as records to a database or XML output to a file.
• PC VGA Connection – The cable and three-row connector typically used to connect a monitor to a PC; it can also be used to connect a PC to a large format LCD or other display.
• S-Video – A cable with a round, four-port connector used to send analog video data.
• USB TV Tuner – A device that allows you to watch TV channels through your computer.
• USB-UIRT – a USB version of a Universal Infrared Receiver Transmitter; it allows your computer to send and receive infrared signals like those used by remote controls.  The USB-UIRT is used in Broadcaster to change channels on a set-top box such as a satellite receiver.
• VESA Mount – Hardware used to mount flat panel displays to walls or stands.
• 100BaseT Cable Connection – Type of cable used for Ethernet connections.

Of course, now that I feel like I’m starting to understand these terms, I want to drive myself to the local electronics store and upgrade my TV!

About Kelly: Kelly has been working as a contract technical writer for Inova Solutions for nearly three years. As a recovering high school English teacher, she enjoys the opportunity to still employ her ‘red ink’ when writing, editing, and formatting documentation. You can contact Kelly at kelly@insideinova.com.