Glossary

CONTENTS:
A-Z
Breakdowns of Acronyms
Definitions of terms

A Amp / Ampere
Audio -
AB At Bats – Plate appearances by a batter, excluding walks, hit-by-pitch, and sacrifice hits…those are not counted as official at-bats.
AAC Advanced Audio Coding
AACS Advanced Access Content System
AAF Advanced Authoring Format
AC Alternating Current
AC-3 Dolby’s third generation audio coding algorithm, Dolby Digital
ACAP Advanced Common Application Platform
ACE A team’s best starting pitcher
ACM Adaptive Coding and Modulation
ActiveX Active X controls based on Microsoft’s COM (component object model)
ADAT Alesis Digital Audio Tape
AD-ID Advertising Digital Identification
AD Assistant Director
ADI Area of Dominant Influence – was used by Arbitron when they did TV ratings.
ADSL Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
AES Advanced Encryption Standard
AFD Active Format Descriptor
AGC Automatic Gain Control
AGE 27 RULE The age at which an unusually high percentage of players have their best seasons. As a consequence, when people devise such career projections systems as Bill James’, the best season will compute out to be age 27.  Not all players have their career years at age 27.  But maybe 30% do have them then, and that is clearly the best figure for any age. When you add in the ones that have their career years at age 26 and 28, that three-year period is clearly the peak for Major League Baseball players.
AIT Advanced Intelligent Tape – developed by Sony
AJAX Asynchronous JavaScript and XML
ALLEY The section of the outfield between the outfielders. Also called gap. 
ALGORITHM In mathematics, computing, linguistics and related subjects, an algorithm is a sequence of finite instructions, often used for calculation and data processing. It is formally a type of effective method in which a list of well-defined instructions for completing a task will, when given an initial state, proceed through a well-defined series of successive states, eventually terminating in an end-state.
AMWA Advanced Media Workflow Association (formerly the AAF Association) -
ANC Ancillary Data
ANSI American National Standards Institute
AP Associated Press – Company that distributes ENPS to MLBN.
Associate Produceror Assistant Producer
API Application Programming Interface – Set of functions, procedures, methods or classes that an operating system, library or service provides to support requests made by computer programs.
ARC Aspect Ratio Conversion
AROUND THE HORN A double play going from third base to second base to first base.
ARP Address Resolution Protocol -
ARPU Average Revenue Per User
ARGO SYSTEMS Company that distributes MEDEA for MLBN affiliate relations.
ASA Acoustical Society of America - 
ASCII American Standard Code for Information Exchange
ASCO SWITCHES ASCO Power Technologies provides emergency and standby power transfer solutions. Automatic Transfer Switches and Power Systems safeguard data and telecommunications networks, industrial process and critical installations.
ASI Asynchronous Serial Interface - 
ASIC Application-Specific Integrated Circuit
ASN1 Abstract Syntax Notation One
ASSIST Help from a fielder in putting an offensive player out. A fielder is credited with an assist when he throws a baserunner or hitter out at a base.
ATA Advanced Technology Attachment (aka parallel ATA) - 
ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode
ATSC Advanced Television Systems Committee -
ATSC-MH Standard for mobile and handheld devices
AUX Auxiliary
AV (A/V) Audio Visual
AVB Audio Visual Bridge
AVC Advanced Video Coding
AVG Batting Average – The batting average of an individual player is calculated by dividing base hits by at-bats (AB). Walks, hit-by-pitch, and sacrifice hits are not counted as an official at-bat. 
AVCHD Advanced Video Codec High Definition
AVI Audio Video Interleave  – File format
AVOC Audio Video Operations Control -
A-VSB Advanced Vestigial Sideband
AWS Advanced Wireless Service
BA Broadcast Assistant -
BACK HAUL Feed as it is seen from site with graphics, but without commercials
BACKSTOP Wall or fence behind home plate
BAG Slang term for a base
BALK Penalty for an illegal movement by the pitcher. The rule is designed to prevent pitchers from deliberately deceiving the runners. If called, baserunners advance one base.
BALL A pitch thrown outside the strike zone.  However, if the batter swings at the pitch, it is marked in the book as a strike and not a ball.
BAM Baseball Advanced Media – business group for the web that gets all of the MLB games.  Contact:  75 Ninth Avenue
New York, NY 10011
Tel: 212-485-3444  |  Fax: 212-485-3456
mlbamsponsorship@mlb.com
BAS Broadcast Auxiliary Service
BASE One of four “stations” to be reached by the runner.
BASE COACH A coach who stands by first or third base. The base coaches instruct the batter and base runners what to do with a series of hand signals.
A play in which the batter hits the ball in fair territory and reaches at least first base before being thrown out.
BASE LINE The white chalk lines that extend from home plate through first and third base to the outfield and up the foul poles, inside which a batted ball is in fair territory and outside of which it is in foul territory.
BASE ON BALLS A “walk” – Four balls and the hitter advances to first base.
BASES EMPTY No runner on the bases.
BASES LOADED Runners are on first, second and third base.
BAT Instrument used by the hitter while batting. The bat must be no longer than 42 inches and no wider then 2 3/4 inches. Players are allowed to cover the first 8 inches of the bat’s handle so they can grip it better.
BATTER An offensive player who takes his position in the batter’s box.
BATTER’S BOX An area marked by white chalk lines on the left and right side of home plate in which a player must stand while batting.
BATTERY Term referring to the pitcher and catcher combination.
BATTING ORDER The offensive line-up of a team that lists the player will bat. The batting order is given to the umpire before each game.
BCAS Broadcast Conditional Access System
BCH Bose, Ray – Chaudhuri Hocquenghem
BER Bit Error Rate
B-FRAMES Bidirectionally coded frames
BGAN Broadband Global Area Network
BIND Berkeley Internet Name Domain
BLOWN START Any start where a pitcher lasts less than five innings and allows five or more earned runs.
BLU-RAY Sony’s blue-laser high-def DVD format
BNC Bayonet Neill-Concelman – connector for use with coaxial cables / variants British Naval Connector, Baby N Connection
BOX SCORE The progression of the game as written in a series of boxes indicating hits, runs, errors and player substitutions of each inning played.
BPON Broadband Passive Optical Network
BREAKING BALL An off-speed pitch that curves.
BROADWAY Traffic System used by MLBN.
BRUSHBACK A pitch that nearly hits the batter.
BSI Bit Stream Information
BSP 1) Broadband Service Provider – a company offering Broadband Internet access
2) Broadcast Service Panel - common term in television studio for audio/video connector interface panels that connect studio to the control room.
3) Business Server Pages – The SAP Web Application Server page-based programming model with server-side scripting as well as server page technology for developing, designing and implementing 
4) Business Service Provider – a company offering business applications over the Web 
5) Binary Space Partioning (data structure) – a method of breaking up intricately shaped polygons into convex sets, or smaller polygons consisting entirely of non-reflex angles (angles smaller than 180o). For a more general description of space partitioning, see space partitioning.
Originally, this approach was proposed in 3D computer graphics to increase the rendering efficiency. Some other applications include performing geometrical operations with shapes (constructive solid geometry) in CAD, collision detection in robotics and 3D computer games, and other computer applications that involve handling of complex spatial scenes.
BSS Business Support Systems
BST-OFDM Band-Segmented Transmission Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing -  
BTSC Broadcast Television Systems Committee
BUC Block Up Converters
BULLPEN Area designated for pitchers to warm-up.
BUNT Short hit that is executed by letting the ball hit the bat (not swinging). Usually attempted to advance a runner.
BXF Broadcast Exchange Format
C Center speaker
CA Conditional Access
CABAC Context-Based Adaptive Binary Arithmetic Coding
CALLED GAME A game suspended or ended by the umpire.
CAN BUS Controller Area Network – a serial bus standard
CAN OF CORN An easy catch by the fielder.
CAP Common Alerting Protocol
CAPEX Capital Expenditure
CARS Cable TV Relay Service
CAS Conditional Access Systems
Category 5 cable
CAT6 Category 6 cable – Gigabit Ethernet cable consisting of 4 twisted copper wire pairs
CATCHER Player positioned behind home plate and responsible for receiving the pitch from the pitcher.
CATCHER’S BOX Area behind home plate in which the catcher must stand until the pitcher delivers the ball.
CATV Community Antenna Television
CAUGHT LOOKING When a batter is called out on strikes.
CAVLC Context Adaptive Variable Length Coding
CBA Community Broadcasters Association
CBR Constant Bit Rate
CBRE (RE = Richard Ellis) The world’s leading real estate services company.
CCD Charge-Coupled Device
CCIR Consultative Committee on International Radio or International Radio Consultative Committee (Comité consultatif international pour la radio) note now part of the ITU
CCM Constant Coding and Modulation
CCTV Closed-Circuit Television
CCU Camera Control Unit
cd/m2 Candelas per square meter
CDMA Code Division Multiple Access
CDN Content Delivery Network – variant content distribution network
CE Consumer Electronics
CEA Consumer Electronics Association
CELLAR A team in last place.
CEO Chief Executive Officer
CER Central Equipment Room
CERAMI Cerami & Associates is a team of acoustical and audiovisual design consultants.
CES Consumer Electronics Show
CF Compact Flash
CG Character Generator
CGMS-A Copy Generation Management System for Analog
CHANGE UP A slow-pitch thrown with the exact arm action as a fastball, designed to disrupt the timing of the hitter.
CHECKED SWING A partial swing. If the swing has gone more than halfway around, the umpire can rule it a full swing, or strike.
CHEESE A fastball.
CHIN MUSIC A pitch that is high and inside.
CHOKE UP Choking up on the bat is when the batter grips the bat up on the handle, away from the knob of the bat.
CI Common Interface
CIF Common Intermediate Format or Common Image Format
CIFS Common Internet File System (protocol) - 
CIRCUS CATCH An outstanding catch by a fielder.
CLEAN UP HITTER Player who hits fourth in the batting order.
CLEC Competitive Local Exchange Carrier - 
CLOSER Relief pitcher who specializes in pitching the last few outs of a game. Generally used to hold a lead in the late innings of a game.
CMC Comcast Media Center – Versus Network broadcast operations location in Denver, Colorado.
CMOS Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor
CMRS Commercial Mobile Radio Service
CMTS Cable Modem Termination System – a Cisco technology
C/N,CNR Carrier-to-noise ratio
AWS Central Office
COO Chief Operating Officer
COFDM Coded Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing
COMPLETE GAME Statistical credit to a starting pitcher for pitching the entire game.
COTS Commercial Off-the-shelf
COUNT The number of called balls and strikes on a hitter.
CPE Customer Premises Equipment
CPM Cost Per Thousand (M = 1000 in Roman numerals) – When used in advertising it relates to the cost per thousand page impressions.
CPS Continuous Power Supply – also known as uninterruptable power supply (UPS).  A UPS can be used to provide uninterrupted power to equipment for 1–20 minutes until a generator can be turned on or utility power is restored. 
CRAC Computer Room Air Conditioner
CRC Cyclic Redundancy Check
CRCC Cyclic Redundancy Check Character
CRID Content Reference ID
CRM Centralized Resource Management
CRT Cathode Ray Tube – type of monitor
CSM Content Storage Management
CSS Content Scrambling System
CSTE Certified Senior Television Engineer or Certified Software Test Engineer (credentials)
CTAM Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing
CURVE BALL Pitch that moves down and across, because of the rotation of the ball.
CUTTER A fastball with a late break on it.
CVBS 1) composite video blanking and sync
2) color, video, blank and sync
3) composite video baseband signal
4) composite video with burst and sync
CW Continuous Wave
CWDM Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing
CXFS Clustered XFS – designed by SGI to be used with SANs
CYCLE When a batter hits a single, double, triple and homerun in the same game.
DVI Digital Visual Interface
DVG Hardware platform
DVI-D DVI-Digital
DVI-I DVI-Integrated
DVR digital video recorder
DWDM dense wavelength division multiplexing
E-AC-3 Enhanced AC-3
EAM Equipment Asset Management
EARNED RUN A run scored on a hit, walk or steal, without benefit from a defensive error on the play.
EAS Emergency Alert System
EAV end of active video
EBITDA earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization
EBU European Broadcasting Union
ECM entitlement control message
EDH Error Detection Handling (protocol)
EDI Electronic Data Interchange
nonlinear editing software (Thompson Grass Valley)
EDL edit decision list
EEO equal employment opportunity
EEPROM, E2PROM electrically erasable programmable read-only memory
EIAJ Electronic Industries Association of Japan
EIC Electrician
EICTA European Information, Communications and Consumer Electronics Technology Industry Associations (formerly Euporean Information & Communications Technology Industry Association)
EIRP equivalent isotropically radiated power (variant effective isotropic radiated power)
EIT 1) event information table
2) Engineer-in-Training (an FCC program)
ENCODER Device at the site of origin where feed is being sent from
ENG electronic news gathering
ENPS Electronic News Production System – combines intuitive functionality with powerful features, including program rundowns, scripting, planning, contacts, messaging, archiving, third-party device control, publishing, news wire management, full text searching, tightly integrated resilience capabilities and language support. 
EP extended play
EPG electronic programming guide
EPON Ethernet passive optical network
EQ equalization, equalizer, equalize
ERA Earned Run Average – Earned run average is a measure of the efficiency of a pitcher by multiplying earned runs allowed by nine, then dividing by that pitcher’s innings pitched.
ERP effective radiated power
ERROR Defensive mistake that allows a batter to stay at the plate or reach first base, or that advances a base runner.
ES elementary streams
ESG electronic service guide
ETM extended text messages
ETSI European Telecommunications Standards Institute
ETT extended text table
EvDO evolution data optimized (formerly evolution data only)
EVS EVS Broadcast Equipment is a leader in the design of hardware and software for the production and playout of sport, news and TV programs in both live and near-live environments. Their innovative Live Slow Motion system revolutionized live broadcasting and their technology is now widely used in non-linear editing and High Definition Television across the television broadcast market worldwide.
E-VSB, E8-VSB Enhanced 8-VSB
FRExt Fidelity Range Extension to AVC
FRONT HAUL Feed as it is seen at home on television, including all graphics and commercials
f-stop, f-number focal length stop
FTP File Transfer Protocol
FTTC fiber-to-the-curb
FTTH fiber-to-the-home
FTTP fiber-to-the-premises
FUNGO BAT Bat used to hit practice pitches. Usually longer and thinner than a regular back.  It is no more than 2.75 inches in diameter at the thickest part and no more than 42 inches (1067 mm) in length. It typically weighs no more than 33 ounces (1 kg). Typical fungo bats are 35–37 inches long and weigh 17–22 ounces.
GAN global area network
GAP The section of the outfield between the outfielders. Also called alley.
GB gigabyte
Gb gigabit
GB/s gigabytes per second
Gb/s, Gbps gigabits per second
GBIC gigabit interface converter
GigE gigabit Ethernet
GOP group of pictures
GPA graphics performance accelerator
1) General Purpose Interface
2) General Purpose Input
3) Generic Protocol Interface
GPON gigabit PON
GPRS general packet radio service
GRAND SLAM A home run that is hit with a runner on every base. This hit scores 4 runs.
GREEN LIGHT Signal from the coach to hit the next good pitch, or a signal to a base runner that gives the runner the authority to decide when to attempt a steal.
GROUNDER GROUND BALL – A ball hit in the infield by the batter that bounces in the infield.
GSM global system for mobile communications
GUI graphical user interface
GXF General Exchange Format
GV
H.264 digital video codec standard
HAD Hole Accumulation Diode (note technique patented by Sony)
HANC horizontal ancillary
HD high definition
HD DVD a blue laser high-def DVD format
HDCP high-bandwidth digital content protection
HDMI high-definition multimedia interface
HDR high dynamic range
HD-SDI high-definition serial digital interface
HDSPA high-speed downlink packet access
high-definition television
HDUPA high-speed uplink packet access
HDV high-definition video
HE-AAC High Efficiency AAC
HEATER HEAT – A fastball.
HF high frequency
HFC hybrid fiber coax/coaxial
HH Households – used in demographic studies
HIT A play in which the batter safely reaches a base after hitting the ball, without aid from a fielding error or fielder’s choice.
HIT AND RUN Play-action situation in which the batter must swing at the pitch while the base runner attempts to steal the base.
HOME PLATE The fourth and final “station” to be reached by the runner. The offensive team is credited with one run every time a player safely crosses this base. A pitched ball must cross the plate when thrown by the pitchers to be credited as a strike on the batter.
HOR2 Horizons 2 – #2 in the fleet of Horizons KU band satellites.  Launched in December 2007, Horizons-2 replaced Intelsat’s SBS-6 satellite, located at 74° West longitude. The Orbital Sciences STAR-2 spacecraft delivers sixteen 36MHz transponders with 85W of power and four 72MHz transponders with 150W of power. This results in excellent CONUS coverage of the U.S. along with a high-powered East Coast Beam that extends connectivity to the Caribbean and parts of Canada. 
HOT CORNER Third Base
HR Home Run – A hit that either clears the outfield wall in the air or a hit that stays within the confines of the field resulting in the batter scoring, without the benefit of an error, such as an inside the park home run. 
HPC high-performance computing
HSM hierarchical storage management
HTN HTN Communications (formerly Hughes Television Network) – company providing professional sports cable and television rights holders with broadcast transmission facilities originating from every Major League Baseball venue in the U.S. and Canada since 1956.
HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol
Hyper HAD A derivative of the HAD sensor
Hz hertz
i interlaced
I/O input/output
IANA Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
IBAF International Baseball Federation
IBC International Broadcasting Convention
IBP intra-coded, bidirectional and predicted
IC integrated circuit
ICMP Internet Control Message Protocol
IEC 1) International Electrotechnical Commission
2) International Engineering Consortium
IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
IETF Internet Engineering Task Force
IF intermediate frequency
IFB interruptible feedback (variant interruptible foldback)
I-frames intraframes
IGMP Internet Group Management Protocol
IMP Impressions
IMPALA International MHEG Promotion Alliance
IMS IP Multimedia Subsystem
IMX Sony’s MXF for D10 video format
INFIELD Area 90’ square with the corners being the four bases.
INFIELDER Fielder who occupies a position in the infield. Most commonly refers to the first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, and shortstop.
INNING A period of play. There are 9 innings in a regulation game, each team bats in an inning until they record 3 outs. The visiting team always bats in the top half (beginning) of an inning
INTENTIONAL WALK Four balls thrown on purpose to a batter advancing the hitter to first base. Generally, executed when 1st base is empty to set-up a force play.
Interlace scanning Process that divides/presents each video frame as two fields
IntServ, IS integrated services
IO image orthicon
IOT inductive output tube
IP 1) Internet Protocol
2) intellectual property
IP In Baseball, Innings Pitched
IPLR IP packet loss ratio
IPR intellectual property rights
IPTV Internet Protocol Television
IR infrared
IRD Integrated Receiver Decoder – interface between satellite and broadcaster that receives signal from feeds and decodes it for rebroadcast
ISCI Industry Standard Coding Identification
iSCSI Internet small computer system interface
ISDB integrated services digital broadcasting
ISDN  Integrated Services Digital Network – integrates speech and data on the same line
ISO 1) International Organization for Standardization
2) a measurement of a digital camera’s imaging sensor’s sensitivity
ISP Internet service provider
IT Information Technology
ITI Indian Telecommunications Initiatives
ITU International Telecommunication Union (formerly International Telegraph Union)
ITU-R ITU Radiocommunication Sector (standards body committee of the ITU)
ITV Independent Television (a group British TV companies)
iTV interactive television
J2 JPEG2000
J2K file extension for JPEG2000 files
JAI Java Advanced Imaging
JBOD just-a-bunch-of-disks
JETIA Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association
JPEG 1) Joint Photographic Experts Group
2) a lossy compressed 24-bit color image storage format
3) a file extension
JPEG2000 compression standard developed by the Joint Photographic Experts Group
K Strike Out (also noted as SO) – A strikeout is credited to the pitcher whenever he delivers a third successful pitch at which the batter swings and misses, or which the umpire calls a strike. A strikeout is also credited in the case of a two-strike foul bunt attempt or a passed ball or wild pitch on the third strike.
Kb kilobits
kb kilobits
kb/s, kbps kilobits per second
KBO Korea Baseball Organization 
kHz kilohertz
KNUCKLE BALL A pitch thrown by gripping one of the seams on a ball with fingernails and/or knuckles of the forefinger and middle finger with the thumb another fingers underneath the ball. The ball is pushed out of the hand by the two fingers to keep the ball from rotating, causing the ball to move in an unpredictable manner.
ku band A portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies. Ku band is primarily used for satellite communications. Ku band satellites are also used for backhauls and particularly for satellite from remote locations back to a television network’s studio for editing and broadcasting. The band is split into multiple segments that vary by geographical region by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
KVM keyboard, video and mouse
kW kilowatts
kilowatt-hour
L left (speaker)
L/ph lines per picture height
LAN local area network
LCD liquid crystal display
LCOS Liquid Crystal on Silicone
LD Lighting Director
LDAP Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
LDMOS 1) lateral double-diffused MOSFET
2) laterally diffused MOS (metal-oxide semiconductor)
LDPC low-density parity-check
LEC local exchange carrier
LED light-emitting diode
LFE Low Frequency Effects (channel)
Li lithium
Li-Ion lithium-ion (battery)
LIN TV LIN TV’s roots trace back to the founding of its former parent, LIN Broadcasting Corporation, in the mid 1960s. LIN Broadcasting was engaged in radio, television, direct marketing, information and learning, music publishing, and record labels. LIN takes its initials from three major cities where it originally owned radio stations: Louisville, Indianapolis and Nashville (all located on Interstate 65).  LIN TV now owns TV stations across the country.
LINE DRIVE A ball hit in the air at a low projectory directly to a fielder or through the infield
LINE UP A team’s batting order and fielding positions
LNA low noise amplifier
LOB Left on Base – Runners stranded on base after three outs. 
LPTV low-power television
Ls left surround (speaker)
LSM Live Slow Motion – developed by EVS;  set the standard in slowmo technology in the early 1990s
Lt left matrix total for matrix encoded stereo
LTO Linear Tape-Open
M/E mix/effects
MAC Media Access Control
MADI Multichannel Audio Digital Interface
MAM Media Asset Management
MAN metropolitan area network
MAR modified aspect ratio
MATV master antenna television
Mb megabits
MB megabytes
MB/s megabytes per second
megabits per second
MBAFF macroblock-adaptive field/frame coding
MC master control
MCR master control room
MDCT modified discrete cosine transform
MDI media delivery index
MDI-DF MDI-delay factor
MDP Media Dispatch Protocol – currently being developed by the Pro-MPEG Media Dispatch Group
MEDEA Multiple-Discipline, Engineering, Design, Evaluation, and Analysis – Affiliate Management Software provided to MLBN by Argo Systems.
MEDUSA Pro-Bel automation
MENDOZA LINE A batting average of around .200. Named after Pirate shortstop Mario Mendoza.
MER modulation error ratio
MGT master guide table
MHEG Multimedia and Hypermedia information coding Expert Group
MHEG-5 multimedia hypermedia codec standard
MHP Multimedia Home Project – The collective name for a compatible set of Java-based open middleware specifications developed by the DVB Project
MHz megahertz
MIB management information base
MIDI Musical Instrument Digital Interface
MIMO multiple-input multiple-output
MIP megaframe initialization packet
MIPS million instructions per second
MIS management information systems
MLB Major League Baseball
MLBN Major League Baseball Network
MLBP Major League Baseball Productions
MLBPA Major League Baseball Players Association 
MLD Multicast Listener Discovery (protocol)
MLS Media Library System
MMDS multichannel multipoint distribution systems
MMS 1) multimedia messaging service
2) mobile satellite service
MMTC Minority Media and Telecommunications Counsel
MNO mobile network operators
MO&O Memorandum Opinion and Order
MOC Media Operations Center
MOP Media Operations (Center)
MOS 1) Media Object Server
2) Mobile Operating System
3) Metal-Oxide Semiconductor
4) Mobile Operating System
5) Mean Opinion Score
MOSFET metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor
MOUND Hill the pitcher stands on while pitching.
MPAA Motion Picture Association of America
MP@HL Main Profile at High Level
MP3 MPEG Audio Layer 3
MPEG Moving Picture Experts Group
AWS
MPEG-2 digital video codec standard
MPEG-4 digital video codec standard
MPEG-4 AVC digital video codec standard
MPH Trademark name for a system that delivers video and data to mobile, portable and handheld devices
mph miles per hour
MPLS Multi-Protocol Label Switching
Mpps millions of packets per second
MPTS multiple-program transport stream
MRM media resource management
ms millisecond
MSDC multistage depressed collector
MSO Multi System Operator – Affiliate
MSTV Association for Maximum Service Television
MTBF mean time between failures
MTC Maintenance
MTF modulation transfer function
MTTF mean time to failure
MUSHRA MUltiple Stimuli with Hidden Reference and Anchor
MUX Multiplexer – multiple analog message signals or digital data streams are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share an expensive resource.
MVPD multichannel video programming distributor
mW milliwatt
MW megawatt
MXF Material eXchange Format
NAB National Association of Broadcasters
NAS network attached storage
NAT Network Address Translation
NC noise criteria
NCTA National Cable & Telecommunications Association (formerly National Cable Television Association)
NEXT near-end crosstalk
NGN next-generation network
NIC network interface card
NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology
NLE nonlinear editor
A game in which a pitcher does not allow the opposing team to reach a base via a safe hit.
NOC Network Operations Center – NOCs at television broadcast facilities are responsible for the technical and operational overview of all broadcast network services, including monitoring, correcting, and troubleshooting day-to-day issues.  Duties that fall under broadcast NOCs typically include:
1.  Video server playback
2.  Media storage
3.  Tape archives
4.  Automation servers
5.  Off air channel monitoring
6.  Encryption and scrambling
7.  Serial Digital Video, ASI, Multiplexed and DVB data streams technical monitoring
8.  Networking
9.  RF and IF distribution
10.  Monitoring turnaround video services
NPB Nippon Professional Baseball
NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
NRCS newsroom computer systems
NRT non-real-time
NRZ non-return-to-zero
NRZI non-return-to-zero-inverted
NSi Nesbit Systems, Inc.
NSV Nullsoft Streaming Video
NTIA National Telecommunications and Information Administration
NTSC 1) National Television System Committee
2) an analog television system standard used in the United States (as opposed to PAL, which is used in Europe)
O&O owned-and-operated (station)
OAR original aspect ratio
OB outside broadcast
OBP On Base Percentage – On-base percentage is a measure of how often a player reaches base via a hit, walk, or hit-by-pitch.  (Hits + BB + Hit by pitch) / (AB + BB + Hit by pitch + Sacrifice flies)
OBV outside broadcast vehicle
OCAP OpenCable Applications Platform-  developed by CableLabs
OEM original equipment manufacturer/manufacturing
OET Office of Engineering & Technology
OFDM orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing
ohm, Ω a unit of electrical resistance
organic LED (light emitting diode)
OLT optical line termination/terminal
OMA Open Mobile Alliance
OMF Avid’s Open Media Framework
OMNEON Company providing MLBN broadcast servers that will allow the digital recording, playback, and manipulation of media for air.
OMT object modeling technique
OMVC Open Mobile Video Coalition
ON DECK A term used to refer to the next batter up in the inning. This person stands in a designated circular area and warms up before batting.
OP Operational Pattern (standard for MXF)
OPERAND In Broadway Traffic System, the Operand is the search criteria from which the user may select a category for filtering, or enter a value manually.
OPEX operating expenses
OPS On-Base Plus Slugging Percentage – A reasonably accurate and easily calculated index of a hitter’s rate of offensive production. Sometimes represented as OBP+SLG, as it combines those two basic offensive skills.
ORAD Virtual studio and tv graphics provider.
O-ring flexible coaxial seal used in fittings
OS operating system
OSI 1) Open Systems Interconnection
2) Open Source Initiative
3) Open Storage Initiative (Avid)
OSS operational support systems
OTA over the air
OUT IN ORDER Retiring the first 3 batters in an inning.
OUTFIELD Area between the back edge of the infield and home run fence.
OUTFIELDER A fielder who occupies a position in the outfield, which is the playing field most distance from home base.
OVS open video system
p progressive
P2 CARDS 16GB memory cards
P2P peer-to-peer
PA power amplifier
PAFF picture-adaptive field/frame coding
PAL phase alternating line
PAMA Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance
PAS priority access service
PASSED BALL A pitched ball missed by the catcher, allowing a runner to advance.
PAT 1) program allocation table
2) program association table
PBX private branch exchange
PCIe PCI Express
PCM pulse code modulation
PCMCIA Personal Computer Memory Card International Association
PCO private cable operator
PCR 1) program clock reference
2) production control room
PDH Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy
PDP plasma display panel
PDU Protocol Data Unit
PERFECT GAME A game in which a pitcher does not allow any batter of the opposing team to reach base.
PES packetized elementary stream
P-frames predicted frames
PICK OFF An attempt by the pitcher to get a base runner out by throwing to the base from the stretch position.
PID packet ID
PIM Protocol Independent Multicast
PINCH HITTER A hitter who substitutes in the line-up for a starting player. The original batter can’t return to the game, so the pinch hitter or a third person takes over the defensive position as well.
PINCH RUNNER A player entering the game to run for someone already on base.
PIP picture-in-picture
PITCHOUT When a pitch is thrown wide of the strike zone on purpose. A catcher will signal for a pitchout if they think that a runner is trying to steal.
PITCHING ROTATION The order in which the starting pitchers take turns starting games, usually with three or four days rest between starts.
PKI public key infrastructure
PMCP Programming Metadata Communications Protocol, specified in ATSC document A/76
PMR perpendicular magnetic recording
PMT program map table
PON passive optical network
POP point of presence
POP3 Post Office Protocol version 3
POTS plain old telephone service
PPTP Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol
PPV pay per view
PRO BEL Company providing MLBN with Medusa automation system.
PSA public service announcement
PsF progressive segmented frame
PSI 1. program specific information
2. Phantom Source Indicator
psi pounds per square inch
PSIP Program and System Information Protocol
PSNR peak SNR
PSTM public switched telephone network
PSU power supply unit
PTT push to talk
PULL HITTER A batter that generally hits to the same side of the field that he bats. (eg, righthanded pull hitter hits to the left side of the field).
PUTOUT In scoring, a fielder is credited with a putout if he receives the ball to put out a base runner or a hitter.
PTZ pan, tilt and zoom (cameras)
PVR personal video recorder
AWS
QAM quadrature amplitude modulation (examples 16-QAM, 64-QAM, 128-QAM, 256-QAM)
QC quality control
QCIF quarter common interchange format
QoE quality of experience
QoS quality of service
QPSK quadrature phase shift keying
QTK a type of phone coupler
QUALITY START A start in which the pitcher pitches at least six innings and allows no more than three runs.
QVGA quarter video graphics array
R right speaker
R Run or Run Scored – A run is scored when a player advances through the bases and crosses home plate. 
R&D research and development
RAID Redundant Array of Independent Disks (variant redundant array of inexpensive disks) – technology that employs the simultaneous use of two or more hard disk drives to achieve greater levels of performance, reliability, and/or larger data volume sizes.  The phrase “RAID” is an umbrella term for computer data storage schemes that can divide and replicate data among multiple hard disk drives. RAID’s various designs all involve two key design goals: increased data reliability and increased input/output performance. When several physical disks are set up to use RAID technology, they are said to be in a RAID array. This array distributes data across several disks, but the array is seen by the computer user and operating system as one single disk. RAID can be set up to serve several different purposes.
RAM Rights Assertion Mark
RBI Runs Batted In – A Run Batted In occurs when a player’s batted ball results in another player crossing the plate.  For a HR, the hitter would also receive a RBI because he bats himself in. RBI’s are a good measure of a batter’s ability, but is situationally dependent. Opportunities are higher for a player depending on his slot in the batting order and the batters that precede him.
RDT Real Data Transport – a proprietary transport protocol developed by RealNetworks
RELIEF PITCHER The pitcher replacing the starting pitcher. The relief pitcher can win, lose, save, or not be involved in the game’s final score.
RF radio frequency
RFC request for comments
radio frequency identification
RFP request for proposal
RFQ request for quote
RG Radio Guide – the Radio Guide specifications are obsolete; however “RG” is used in the designation of current coax cables, such as RG-6
RGBHV red, green, blue, and horizontal and vertical sync
RIAA Recording Industry Association of America
RLC run length coding
RLE run length encoding
RMS root mean square
RoHS Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive
ROS Run of Schedule – advertising term
RPC remote procedure call
RRT regional rating table
Rs right surround speaker
RSA encryption algorithm is named after Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir and Len Adleman
Rt right matrix total for matrix encoded stereo
RTCP 1) Real-time Transport Control Protocol
2) Real-time Control Protocol
RTNDA Radio-Television News Directors Association
RTNDF Radio and Television News Directors Foundation
RTP Real-time Transport Protocol
RTSP Real Time Streaming Protocol
RU, U rack unit
RUBBER The pitching plate on the mound. The pitcher must have one foot connected to the plate while pitching to the batter. The rubber is located 60’ 6″ (19.5 meters) from home plate.
RUN DOWN A played used by fielders to tag out a runner caught between bases.
RUNNER An offensive player who is advancing toward, touching, or returning to any base.
S&P Standards &Practices – A pre-determined set of rules by which a network agrees to adhere to with respect to content which could possibly be deemed offensive or inappropriate.
S/PDIF Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format (note:  IEC 958 type II, part of IEC-60958)
SACD Super Audio CD
SACRIFICE BUNT A bunt designed to advance a runner although the batter will be thrown out.
SACRIFICE FLY Fly ball out that scores a runner from third base.
SAFE Declaration by the umpire that a runner is entitled to the bases for which he was trying.
SAIT, Super AIT Super Advanced Intelligent Tape – note developed by Sony
SAMMA SAMMA archiving Systems (System for the Automated Migration of Media Assets) – SAMMA Systems was acquired by Front Porch Digital
SAN Storage Area Network – a storage area network (SAN) is an architecture to attach remote computer storage devices (such as disk arrays, tape libraries and optical jukeboxes) to servers in such a way that, to the operating system, the devices appear as locally attached.
SAP Session Announcement Protocol
Serial Attached SCSI
SATA serial ATA
SATA II serial ATA II
SAV start of active video
SB Stolen Base – a stolen base occurs whenever a runner advances one base without benefit of a hit, an error, a putout, a fielder’s choice, a passed ball, a balk or a wild pitch.
SBE Society of Broadcast Engineers
SBTVD-T Brazilian System of Terrestrial Digital Television
SCMS Serial Copy Management System
SCORING POSITION Runner who is on second or third base.
SCSI small computer system interface
SCTE Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers or Society of Cable Television Engineers
SD standard definition
SDH Synchronous Digital Hierarchy
SDI serial digital interface
SDIF-2 Sony digital interface
S-DMB digital multimedia broadcasting using a direct satellite feed
SDP Session Description Protocol
SDTI serial data transport interface
SDV switched digital video
SECAM séquentiel couleur à mémoire, or sequential color with memory
SED surface-conduction electron-emitter display
SFN single-frequency network
SHARE FILE Share, access, and send files and folders securely using any web browser and a high-speed internet connection.
SHDSL symmetric high-speed digital subscriber line
SHORTSTOP Defensive player positioned between second and third bases.
SHUTOUT A game in which one team doesn’t score any runs.
SI service information
SIF source input format
SIGNS Player signals given from the third base coach to the hitter and runner. Or, a hand signals given by the catcher to the pitcher suggesting the type of pitch to be thrown.
SINKER A fast pitch that breaks downward as it reaches.
SLA service level agreement
SLIDER A pitcher that appears to the batter as a fastball until it reaches the plate, then breaks sharply on a level plane. The ball is held similarly to the curveball, but the wrist is kept straight, like a fastball, and broken downward.
SLD service location descriptor
SLG Slugging Percentage – Slugging percentage is a statistical measure of a batter’s effectiveness in making extra-base hits. A single is worth one base; a double, two; a triple, three; and a home run, four. Slugging percentage is total bases divided by at-bats.
SMATV satellite master antenna television
SMIL Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language
SMPTE Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers
SMTP Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
SMS short message service
SNG satellite newsgathering
SNIPES also known as “Violators”.  Custom graphics that are inserted into programming and are considered intrusive to the viewer by design.  They are created to distract the viewer from the program content and divert their attention to the content on the graphic.
SNMP Simple Network Management Protocol
SNR signal-to-noise ratio
SO Strike Out (also noted as K) – A strikeout is credited to the pitcher whenever he delivers a third successful pitch at which the batter swings and misses, or which the umpire calls a strike. A strikeout is also credited in the case of a two-strike foul bunt attempt or a passed ball or wild pitch on the third strike.
SOA 1) service-oriented architecture
2) systems-oriented architecture
AWS
SOAP Simple Object Access Protocol
SoC system on chip
variant system on a chip
SONET Synchronous Optical Network
SOX Sarbanes Oxley (aka SARBOX) – The Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 also known as the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002 is a United States federal law enacted in response to a number of major corporate and accounting scandals.
SPG 1) sync pulse generator
common abbrev sync gen, pulse gen or sync generator
2) service provider gateway
SPI 1) stateful packet inspection
2) Serial Peripheral Interface
SPIT BALL Illegal pitch which a foreign substance (most commonly spit or grease) is applied to the ball causing it to react in an unpredictable manner.
SPL sound pressure level
SPTS single-program transport stream
SQCIF sub-quarter common interchange format
SRL structural return loss
SRS supplementary reference signal
SSD solid-state drive
SSE streaming SIMD extensions
SSL 1) Solid State Logic (company name)
2) Secured Sockets Layer
STARTER The pitcher who beings the game and pitches until he wins the game or is replaced by a relief pitcher.
STAT Statistic
stat mux statistical multiplexer
STB set-top box
STEAL Attempting to advance a base between pitches without the batter hitting the ball or getting a base on balls.
STL studio-to-transmitter links
STP Spanning-Tree Protocol
STRIKE A strike is called if a batter swings at a pitch and misses, or if the pitch simply passes through the strike zone. The first 2 foul balls that are not caught count as first and second strike. A foul ball that is not caught can never be counted as a third strike.
STRIKE ZONE The area over home plate between the batter’s armpits and knees when the batter is positioned to swing. Any pitch that is delivered through this area is called a strike.
SUICIDE SQUEEZE PLAY A play in which a runner on third breaks toward home on the pitch and the batter’s responsibility is to bunt the ball allowing the runner to score.
SV Save – A save is credited to the pitcher who protects a lead for another pitcher and finishes the game under one of these three situations: 1. Enters the game with the lead of no more than three runs and pitches for at least one inning. 2. Enters the game, regardless of the count, with the potential tying run either at bat, on base, or on deck. 3. He pitches effectively for at least three innings. No more than one save is credited in each game.
SVC 1) switched virtual circuit
2) scalable video codec
SVG Sports Video Group
S-video separate video
SWITCH HITTER Player who is able to bat left-handed or right-handed. A switch-hitter will bat from the opposite side in which the pitchers throws.
SYM Symbol Rate – determination of how quickly the signal information is going through.
TAG An action runners must perform before they can advance on a fly ball. Runners must touch the base they occupy after the ball is caught before they can try to advance. Runners can leave their base before a ball it hit, but must return and touch the base if the ball is caught. Or, an action executed when a defensive player touches a runner with the ball in an attempt to get them out.
TANDBERG Brand of encoders and decoders.  If using a Tandberg encoder, a Tandberg decoder should also be used.
TB terabyte (equal to 1024GB)
TCO total cost of ownership
TCP Transmission Control Protocol
TCP/IP Internet protocol suite named after two of its protocols
TD Technical Director
TDES Triple DES; Triple Data Encryption Standard
TDM time-division multiplexing
T-DMB terrestrial digital multimedia broadcasting (note: this is a Korean standard)
A bloop hit that drops between the infielder and outfielder.
TFT thin film transistor
TIERNAN Brand of encoders and decoders.  If using a Tiernan encoder, a Tiernan decoder should also be used.
TNC Threaded Neil-Concelman
TOC Technical Operations Center – 24 hour help line with a live person on the end who can direct you to another live person at the company for assistance with a situation.
ToS type of service
TPA Total Plate Appearances – Calculated for teams, leagues, and players by the following formula: TPA = AB + TBB + HBP + SH + SF.
TRANSCODING Transcoding is the direct digital-to-digital conversion of one encoding to another. This is usually done to incompatible or obsolete data in order to convert it into a more suitable format.
TRIPLE A hit enabling the batter to safely reach third base.
TRIPLE PLAY A defensive play that records 3 outs.
TS transport stream
TSG The Systems Group – Company doing the work on the facility.  Belinda is the project manager for MLBN.
TVRO TV receive only (satellite)
TVSS transient voltage surge suppressor; surge suppression system
TWO BASE HIT A double – A hit enabling the batter to safely reach second base.
TX Transmission
UCP Universal Computer Protocol
UDDI Universal Description, Discovery and Integration
UDP User Datagram Protocol
UGC user-generated content
UHF ultra high frequency
UI 1) user interface
2) unit interval
UL Uplink – Site of origin for the signal to be sent from the encoder to a decoder on the other end of the feed.
ULTIMATE Payroll System being used by MLBN.
UMD 1) under monitor displays
2) Sony’s Universal Media Disk
unique material identifier (variant unique material identifier data)
UMTS, 3GSM Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (variant Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service)
UNCLE CHARLIE A curve ball
UPS 1) uninterruptible power supply – A UPS can be used to provide uninterrupted power to equipment for 1–20 minutes until a generator can be turned on or utility power is restored.
2) United Parcel Service
USPS United States Postal Service
UTILITY PLAYER A player who fills in at many different positions.
UTP unshielded twisted pairs
V volt
VAC volts alternating current
VACP Video Archive Control Protocol
VANC vertical ancillary (data space)
VBI vertical blanking interval
VBR variable bit rate
VBV video buffer verifier
VC-1 video codec developed by Microsoft as Windows Media 9
VCA voltage controlled amplifier
V-Chip program blocking device
virtual channel table
VDC, Vdc volts direct current
VDSL very-high-speed DSL
VDSLAM very-high-speed DSLAM
VER Video Equipment Rentals – VER is a major equipment rental facility, with offices throughout the United States, Canada and Europe.
VGA video graphics array
VHF very high frequency
VIMSOFT Vimsoft is the maker of VimBiz – the best-of-breed broadcasting Equipment Asset Management (EAM) software solution that streamlines workflows for service coordinators, maintenance engineers, and technicians. VimSoft’s VimBiz is the software we will be using for our purchase request and purchase order entry process. VimBiz is a software package that tracks our capital, expense, and disposable goods that are required for the facility.
VIOLATORS also known as “SNIPES”.  Custom graphics that are inserted into programming and are considered intrusive to the viewer by design.  They are created to distract the viewer from the program content and divert their attention to the content on the graphic.
VIRTUAL STUDIO A virtual studio is a television studio that allows the real-time combination of people or other real objects and computer generated environments and objects in a seamless, virtual reality-like manner. A key point of a virtual studio is that the real camera can move in 3D space, while the image of the virtual camera is being rendered in real-time from the same perspective. Most of them include Camera tracking, that uses either optical or mechanical measurements to create a live stream of data describing the exact perspective of the camera, realtime rendering software, that uses the camera tracking data and generates a synthetic image of a television studio, and A video mixer, which combines the video from the camera with the video from the realtime rendering software to produce a final video output.  A major difference between a virtual studio and the bluescreen special effects used in movies is that the computer graphics are rendered in realtime, removing the need for any post production work, and allowing it to be used in live television broadcasts.
VIZRT Company providing engines for high end HD and SD animation graphics to be programmed for air.
VLAN virtual LAN
VLC variable length coding
VNR Video News Release – Clips of our footage that we allow news services to use.  Legal restrictions apply.
VOC Video Operations Center – 24 hour help line with a live person on the end who can direct you to another live person at the company for assistance with a situation.
VOD video on demand
VoIP voice over IP
VPN Virtual Private Network – A virtual private network (VPN) is a computer network in which some of the links between nodes are carried by open connections or virtual circuits in some larger network (e.g., the Internet) instead of by physical wires. The link-layer protocols of the virtual network are said to be tunneled through the larger network when this is the case. One common application is secure communications through the public Internet, but a VPN need not have explicit security features, such as authentication or content encryption. VPNs, for example, can be used to separate the traffic of different user communities over an underlying network with strong security features.

 

VPVH Viewers Per Viewing Housing – Estimated number of individuals who comprise the viewing audience within any one household where the television is tuned to a particular program or station, or where the television is turned on during a given time period. 
VRRP Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol
VSAT very small aperture terminal
VSB vestigial sideband
VSN Scalable TV automation and digitisation solution that ties every stage of the workflow together.  VSN offers solutions for SD and HDV Digital News Production, Asset Management, Master Control Room HD/SD video server and automation, Logo and Character Generators, SMS Business, Legal Compliance and Web Publishing.
VSWR voltage standing wave ratio
VT video tape
VTR video tape recorder
W watt
W Win – A win is credited to the starting pitcher only if he has pitched at least five complete innings, leaves the game with the lead and his team holds the lead for the remainder of the game. A win is credited to the relief pitcher if, while he is still in the game, his team takes the lead and stays ahead for the remainder of the game. No more than one win is credited each game.
W-L Wins and Losses – In baseball, the statistic shown as W-L indicates the number of wins vs. losses for a team (or an individual player)
WALK An award given to the batter after the pitcher delivers 4 balls. If a hitter receives 4 balls during an at bat, they automatically advance to first base. Any forced base runners also advance. Also called base on balls.
WAN wide area network
WBU World Broadcasting Unions
WBU-ISOG WBU International Satellite Operations Group
WCDMA wideband code division multiple access
WDM wavelength division multiplexing
WH watt-hour
A hitters power zone.
WHDI Wireless High-Definition Interface, trademark of Amimon
WHIFF Strike out
WHIP Baseball Statistic:  Walks, Hits, Innings Pitched – This ratio determines the average number of hits and walks allowed per inning by any given pitcher. Walks + Hits divided by the number of Innings Pitched.
Wi-Fi 1) trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance; IEEE 802.11
2) wireless fidelity
3) wireless physical layer
WILD PITCH A pitch so far from the strike zone that the catcher cannot catch or block it, permitting any base runner to advance a base.
WiMAX, WirelessMAX Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access; IEEE 802.16
WLAN wireless LAN
WM9 Windows Media series 9 audio/video codec
WMV9 Windows Media series 9 Video codec (no audio involved)
WORM write once, read many/multiple
WSDL Web Services Description Language
WSD White Space Device
WSS wide-screen signaling
XDS 1) Extended Data Services
2) Direct Save Protocol
xDSL all types of digital subscriber lines
xKeys keypad Nesbit logger keypad device
XLR a connector, often used as a balanced audio connector for microphones or between equipment
XML Extensible Markup Language
XOR exclusive or
zero-IF, ZIF zero intermediate frequency
1000BASE-T Ethernet with transfer peak rate of 1500Mb/s using twisted-pair cable
100BASE-T Ethernet with transfer peak rate of 150Mb/s using twisted-pair cable
1080i 1080 lines of resolution / interlaced
1080p 1080 lines of resolution / progressive scan
10BASE-T Ethernet with transfer peak rate of 10Mb/s using twisted-pair cable
10GBASE-T 10 gigabit per second connections over conventional unshielded or shielded twisted pair cables
10GigE, 10GbE 10 gigabit Ethernet
16:9, 16/9, 16 x 9 widescreen aspect ratio, standard for HD
1-D one-dimensional
24/7 24 hours a day and 7 days a week
two-dimensional
2K 1) 2000 lines of resolution; digital film standard
2) OFDM 1705 carrier mode
3-CCD three independent CCDs
3-D three-dimensional
3G third generation (networks)
3Gig 3 gigabits
3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project
3GSM see UMTS entry
4:3, 4/9, 4 x 3 standard aspect ratio for SD and analog TV
4K 4000 lines of resolution; digital film standard
720p 720 lines of resolution / progressive scan – MLBN will be broadcasting in 720p
8K 1) 8000 lines of resolution; digital film standard
2) OFDM 6817 carrier mode
8-VSB eight-level vestigial sideband modulation
% RC Percent of Rate Card