Term
|
Description
|
B (Bearer) Channel
|
A 64 kilobit-per-second (Kbps) circuit switched channel used
for voice or data.
|
Back Channel
|
To enable interactive and Pay TV services, a direct communication
channel between the broadcaster or service provider and the
consumer is needed. Normally this "Back" or "Return channel
" is realized via the normal telephone line.
|
Backplane
|
System interface connecting two or more boards.
|
Band-Pass Filter
|
A filter that passes signals that are between an upper and
a lower frequency boundaries.
|
Bandwidth
|
Bandwidth is a measure of the carrying capacity (or size/width)
of a communication (or operating or transmission) channel.
This equates to the amount of data that can be transmitted
in a fixed amount of time, or it is the amount of data that
an application can process. For digital devices, the bandwidth
is usually expressed in bits per second (bps) or bytes per
second (BPS). For analog devices, the bandwidth is the difference
between the highest and lowest frequencies of a band that
can be passed by a transmission medium without undue distortion,
and can be expressed in cycles per second, or Hertz (Hz).
|
Bandwidth (broadband, narrowband)
|
The speed of data transmission depends on the available bandwidth
of the transmission channel. Narrow band channels provide
data transfer rates of 100 kbit/s (NA.MHz), whereas broad
band channels allow transfer of >1 Mbit/s (NA.MHz).
|
Baseband
|
Using entire bandwidth of a medium to carry a single signal.
|
Baseband Controller (Bluetooth)
|
The baseband controller is responsible for all of the digital
data processing required for radio transmission. This includes
speech coding of Synchronous Connection Oriented (SCO) data
streams, data whitening (essentially simplistic encryption
for rudimentary security), robust 128-bit encryption if requested,
packetization, and error detection and correction for both
the packet header and the payload.
An additional responsibility is the calculation of the Frequency
Hopping (FH) pattern for the radio to use. Bluetooth hops
uses frequency hopping spread spectrum transmissions that
hop 1600 times per second across 79 different 1MHz channels
in the 2.4GHz ISM band (2.402GHz - 2.480GHz). This scheme
provides excellent noise immunity and graceful signal degradation.
The Bluetooth FH pattern is algorithmically determined (calculated)
as a function of the Master device ID which is unique for
each and every Bluetooth device.
|
Baud
|
Byte at Unit Density. It is a measure of the speed of transmission
of data per second. It can also be measured as the number
of signal level changes per second where each signal level
contains one (or more) bits of information.
|
BAV (HAVi)
|
BAV is an acronym for Base AV (device).
BAV devices are simple and inexpensive devices that do not
have sufficient local resources to implement all the HAVi
APIs and protocols. BAVs therefore rely on the more powerful
FAV (Full AV) devices to install and execute their DCM.
A typical example of a BAV would be a digital still picture
camera.
BAV devices are 'HAVi aware' but need to implement only a
very small part of the HAVi protocols.
BAV devices can always be directly connected to the HAVi network and they carry within themselves their own DCM written in Java. So, provided that there is at least one FAV (Full AV) in the HAVi network with sufficient resources to
install the DCM, a BAV is controllable.
|
BER
|
Bit Error Ratio. It is the measure of transmission quality,
thus indicating the number of incorrect bits in a given bit
stream compared to the total number of bits transmitted in
a given duration time.
|
BGA
|
Acronym for Ball Grid Array. A leadless, surface mounted
package with high I/O count.
|
Binary
|
Pertaining to a number system that has just two unique digits.
For most purposes, we use the decimal number system, which
has ten unique digits, 0 through 9. All other numbers are
then formed by combining these ten digits. Computers are based
on the binary numbering system, which consists of just two
unique numbers, 0 and 1. All operations that are possible
in the decimal system (addition, subtraction, multiplication,
division) are equally possible in the binary system.
|
Bit
|
Acronym for BInary digiT. The smallest unit of information
in a digital system that can either be a 1 or 0.
|
Bit rate
|
The rate at which a storage medium delivers a compressed
bitstream to a decoder's input.
|
Bitmap
|
An array of dots, normally containing an image formed by
a pattern of "white" dots and "black" dots.
|
Bitmap Font
|
A font in which each character is stored as an array of
dots, the pattern of which forms a letter or symbol.
|
Bitmap Graphic
|
An array of dots, in which the pattern of the dots forms
a picture or other non-text item such as a line.
|
Bits
|
Short for binary digit, the smallest unit of information
on a machine. The term was first used in 1946 by John Tukey,
a leading statistician and adviser to five presidents. A single
bit can hold only one of two values: 0 or 1. More meaningful
information is obtained by combining consecutive bits into
larger units. For example, a byte is composed of 8 consecutive
bits.
|
Bitstream (Bitmap)
|
The bitstream is a binary representation of an implemented
FPGA design or the designer's logic. The bit-stream is generated
by the Xilinx software tool 'BITGen' and the output file has
<.bit> file extension. It contains the configuration
information used to program an FPGA.
|
Block Cipher
|
TA cipher that encrypts a block of data all at once, and
then goes on to the next block.
|
Block Code
|
Converts a fixed length of K data bits to a fixed length N code word, where N > K. The rate of the code is K/N.
|
Block RAM
|
Dedicated blocks of memory available on-chip.
|
Blocked Calls
|
Attempted calls that are not connected because either all
lines to the central offices are in use; or all connecting
paths through the PBX/switch are in use.
|
BlockSelectRAM
|
See BlockRAM
|
Bluetooth
|
Bluetooth is a global de facto standard for wireless connectivity.
Based on a low-cost, short-range radio link, Bluetooth cuts
the cords that used to tie up digital devices such as mobile
PCs, mobile phones and other portable devices. The Bluetooth
Special Interest Group is an industry group consisting of
leaders in the telecommunications and computing industries
that are driving development of the technology and bringing
it to market.
When two Bluetooth equipped devices come within 10 meters
range of each other, they can establish a connection together.
And because Bluetooth utilizes a radio-based link, it doesn't
require a line-of-sight connection in order to communicate.
Your laptop could send information to a printer in the next
room, or your microwave could send a message to your mobile
phone telling you that your meal is ready. Ericsson, the principal
inventor of Bluetooth, borrowed the name from Harald Bluetooth
(son of Gorm) who was the King of Denmark circa 900AD.
|
Boundary Scan
|
It facilitates the testing, device programming and debug
at the device, board and systems level. Also known as IEEE/ANSI
standard 1149.1.
|
Bouquet
|
A collection of services marketed as a single entity.
|
BPS
|
Bits per second. Basic unit of data transmission.
|
BPSK
|
Binary Phase Shift Keying. Digital DSB suppressed
carrier modulation.
|
BRAN
|
Broadband Radio Access Network
|
BRI (Basic Rate Interface)
|
Basic Rate ISDN. Services targeted at home and small business
users. BRI service is delivered over a single twisted pair,
the same wiring that is used to deliver POTS. It includes
three fully duplex data channels. Two of these, referred to
as Bearer or B channels, are used to carry voice or data.
The third, the D channel, is used to communicate control information
between the central office switch and the ISDN terminal device.
|
Bridge
|
A bridge is a device used to connect two distinct segments
and transmit traffic between them, such as local-area networks
(LANs) or segments of the same LAN by forwarding packets across
connections at the Media Access Control (MAC is a sublayer
of the data link layer of the OSI model). The two LANs being
connected may be alike or dissimilar, i.e., from one physical
medium to another. For example, a bridge can connect an Ethernet
network with a wireless LAN network. A bridge works at the
data-link level of a network, copying a data frame from one
network to the next network along the communications path.
Bridges can make minor changes to the frame before forwarding
it(such as adding and deleting some fields from the frame
header). Unlike routers, bridges are protocol-independent
and simply forward packets without analyzing and rerouting
messages. Consequently, they're faster than routers, but also
less versatile.
|
Broadband
|
Sharing the bandwidth of a medium to carry more than one
signal; typically data rates above 1.5/2.0 Mbps.
|
Broadband Access
|
Quite simply it is a high speed (greater than 128Kbps), always
on connection to the Internet. It allows simultaneous up-Link
and downlink communication and is made possible by digital
modems. Broadband access technologies include xDSL, cable,
satellite and ISDN.
|
Broadband, Broadband Communications
|
Broadband refers to a communications systems in which the
medium of transmission (such as a wire or fiber-optic cable)
carries multiple messages at a time, each message is modulated
on its own carrier frequency by means of modems and transmission
speeds are at or exceed 128 Kbps Any of several methods such
as cable, xDSL, ISDN or cable are examples of broadband technologies
for sending Internet data into the home at high-speeds.
|
Broadcaster
|
An organization which assembles a sequence of events or programs
to be delivered to the viewer based upon a schedule.
|
Bubble Jet
|
Canon's trade name for its thermal drop on demand ink jet
printer technology. The ink is heated, producing bubble that
expands and ejects the ink out of the nozzle. As the bubble
cools, the vacuum created draws fresh ink back into the nozzle.
|
Built-in Font
|
See resident font.
|
Burst Transaction
|
Any transaction consisting of more than one data phase.
|
Bytes
|
Abbreviation for binary term, a unit of storage capable of
holding a single character. On almost all modern computers,
a byte is equal to 8 bits.
|
|
|