Managing Interactive Media Glossary: C

Glossary: C (58 entries found)

C, C++, C#: Powerful computer languages, often used to write sophisticated code to carry out specialized or difficult tasks in multimedia applications. C++ and C# are more recent and are designed for object-oriented programming. Java is based on C.
C2C: Consumer to consumer, trading carried out between consumers, like auctions or jumble/yard sales, carried out electronically. See also B2B and B2C.
cache: Computer memory or disc space used for temporary storage of data in order to speed up a task. A web browser has a cache on disc to hold recently downloaded pages and graphics so that if a page is revisited and has not changed the information can be quickly loaded from the local disc rather than downloaded again over the network.
call centre: A centralized enquiry centre that people phone for information relating to a business, its services and/or products.
carousel: Model for interactive TV where a sequence of information is transmitted repeatedly.
cartogram: A style of illustration in which a map shows statistical information in a diagrammatic way.
CD burner: A machine that can write compact discs, including CD-ROMs. The discs were originally called WORMs (write once read many) and so the machines are sometimes called WORM burners. The term CD-R is more common now, and there is a re-recordable version called CD-RW, which has limited compatibility with standard CD-ROM drives. Current burners will usually burn DVDs and CDs of various types and affordable burners for high definition DVD discs, with higher data capacity, are now appearing.
CD-i: Compact Disc-Interactive, an obsolete interactive multimedia platform that uses a television monitor with a CD-i player as the delivery system. Primarily developed by Philips for the consumer market, it allows use of all media on the system. It has its own set of authoring tools and conforms to the Green Book technical specification standards. With the decline of consumer CD-ROM CD-i remained in a niche market for training and other professional applications, primarily because of its inexpensive player cost and use of a television set rather than a computer monitor. As the Green Book was proprietary, there are no emulators available to play CD-i discs on PCs.
CD-ROM: Compact Disc Read-Only Memory, has progressed from allowing only text and data onto the disc to now include audio, graphics, animations and video. It conforms to the Yellow Book and ISO 9660 technical specifications. Although CD-ROMs can now be made on home computers very cheaply, for many applications, especially video, they have been replaced by DVDs.
CD-TV: A short-lived obsolete consumer multimedia system based on the Commodore Amiga.
cellular radio: A system for radio communication that uses a large number of low-powered transmitters, each operating in a small area called a cell. Mobile telephones use this system: the telephones move their connections from one cell to another, hence cell-phone.
certificate: An electronic document that authoritatively identifies a web server so that secure (HTTPS) transactions can take place. Without a valid certificate a web browser will not set up a secure link. See also HTTP.
CGI: Common Gateway Interface, Internet standards for the passing of information between applications such as web browsers and pages and the server. Programs that make use of this, called CGI programs, allow sophisticated generation of web pages based on dynamic data, and mean that such things as forms and databases can be used on the web.
change management: A system set up by developers to monitor and control the number and type of changes made during development, whether the changes originate in-house or from the client. Also known as change control.
change request form: The document used to request a modification to an already agreed specification. Used in change management.
channel: See distribution channel.
character generator: A piece of software or hardware designed to make captions for video and superimpose them on the picture.
chat and chuck: Name given to very cheap and disposable mobile telephones.
chrominance: The colour part of a colour television signal, as distinct from the brightness part, which is luminance. Often abbreviated to chroma.
circuit switched data: In mobile telephony, a dial-up call where users have continuous use of the circuit and pay by duration of call. See also always on.
Citizen journalism: The ability to take photos on mobile phones and quickly describe events in a blog makes it possible for anyone to write up current events, often because they were involved. Sometimes this is even fed to traditional media, and such organ-izations now often encourage people to email photos or other information into newsrooms. The concept of the average person in the street as reporter is known as citizen journalism.
clearances: The overall term for copyright and similar permissions.
click-through: In advertising, a click-through is the result of a user clicking on a banner or other ad on a web page to reach the advertiser's site.
client side: A process, such as display of a web page, which happens on the user's local computer rather than on the server.
clip art/media: Illustrations, photographs or any other media items available, usually inexpensively or even free, for use in productions with no further payment. See also royalty free.
close competitor: Companies that are in a similar line of business, competing for sales from similar people.
codec: A piece of software that compresses and/or decompresses audio or video. Stands for coder-decoder. See also compression.
coincident needles: A stereo meter for showing volume of sound where the two needles of the meter, representing left and right signals, revolve around the same point.
coloured: In audio, the detrimental change in a sound due to the influence of the physical environment (such as the room) or distortions in the recording system.
competences: The definition of skills evident from practices carried out in the workplace. This term has become prominent in training circles through the link to NVQs (National Vocational Qualifications). These are new-style qualifications concerned with accrediting people for the skills they employ naturally as they carry out their work.
compile: To take the source code of a computer program and turn it into machine code using a compiler. The source code is written by the programmer. Extra code from programming libraries is incorporated at this time. The opposite is interpreted.
component: A video image in which the colour information is kept separate from the luminance or brightness information. Usually two signals are used to represent the colour information. This is similar to RGB, and the RGB signals can be extracted from the three components. The components are also specified to take into account the eye's response to different colours.
composite: A video image in which colour and brightness are encoded together in the same signal. PAL, SECAM and NTSC are composite television systems. Obsolete in digital systems, which are usually component.
composite image: In video, an image in which colour and brightness are encoded together in the same signal; in graphics, an image made up of several other images, blended together.
compressed but lossless: A compressed signal from which the original signal can be retrieved without any changes or errors.
compressed with loss: A compressed signal from which it is impossible to retrieve the original signal, in which a version of the original is retrieved that is satisfactory for its intended purpose. Also known as lossy.
compression: In computing, reducing the amount of data needed to carry something; also known as bit rate reduction. When the term video compression is used it will almost certainly have this meaning, and will refer to such systems as MPEG and Sorensen. In audio, reducing the dynamic range (range of loudness) of a sound recording.
computer-based training: A method in which some or all of the training content of a course is turned into an interactive computer program. Often referred to as CBT.
concept map: A visual representation to help show relationships between different items.
concept testing: Testing of ideas on an audience chosen from a sample market. The aim is to check the feasibility of the ideas for the market before incurring expense implementing them. The method for implementation can, but may not, involve interactive methods. Concept testing originated with marketing, and may be called focus groups.
conflict resolution: Techniques employed to identify and resolve conflict between people.
conforming: In video editing, taking the edits noted from an offline editing session and using them to edit the real high-quality recording for final distribution. If done automatically based on the list of edits it is known as auto-conforming. Still used in digital editing if a low-resolution version of the video has been used for editing to minimize bandwidth requirements.
content management system: A collection of tools that allow the creation, organization, modification, removal and archiving of content on a website.
contention ratio: In an ADSL connection, a measure of the number of other users sharing your connection to the Internet. This will be a small number, typically less than 100, and it assumes that few users will be demanding bandwidth at any moment. Not all ADSL systems make the users share the connection.
contingency: In project management, predicting the need and reserving funds, time and/or resources to cope with unforeseen circumstances that affect the project schedule. Interactive media project management needs more contingency than many other forms of project because it is a volatile environment. Sometimes referred to as tolerance.
continuous marketing research: Long-term marketing research that captures the same information over time to note the effects and changes in the market.
contouring: An artefact in graphics reproduction whereby smooth changes of brightness or colour become changed so that discrete steps are seen. Sometimes also called posterization (especially when used for artistic effect) or quantization.
convergence: The gradual merging of computing, broadcast media and telecommun-ications technologies.
cookie: A small amount of data stored by a browser on behalf of a web server to help track a visit to a website.
copyright: The right of a creator of a work of art, literature, music and so on to have control over the reproduction, distribution and exploitation of the work.
credit: The linking of people to the tasks they performed. This is normally done by listing the name and function performed, as in credits at the end of a television programme. The crediting of personnel in media is very important and is often governed by agreements between production companies and unions.
critical path: The identification of the optimum sequence to carry out tasks to achieve a project on time and within budget. See also task analysis and network analysis.
CRM: Customer Relationship Management, a system based on collecting information on each customer from many sources within an organization into a central electronic file and using this to tailor information on goods and services to their needs.
cross-functional team: A team that is formed of people from different sections of the company so that they have complementary skill sets and in which all are needed to achieve a result for the joint project.
cross-platform: Describes the development of applications that will run on more than one delivery platform.
CSS: Cascading Style Sheets, a set of definitions which control how a document (such as a web page) will look, as distinct from its content and how it is structured. For example, an HTML file will define structure using tags to denote headers of different levels and the associated stylesheet will define how each level of header should be displayed.
CUI: Concept User Interface, tools that help a group of people debate, define and rank their most common and important concepts. These tools can be helpful in the analysis of requirements for a project.
custom palette: A palette of colours chosen specifically to represent an image.