A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

— A —

ABN (Ad-based Network) - revenue from third party advertising is not necessarily the primary objective of a Digital Signage network. Digital signage networks that do support third party advertising is normally referred to as ad-based networks, and rely on the ad-revenue to sustain the network and generate an extra revenue stream to enhance return on investment (ROI) for the system owner/s. In order for an ABN to be viable it is required to have the right balance of relevant content to advertising, as well as sufficient dwell-time in order to engage the viewer.

Activation - buying decision motivated at the point-of-purchase by such factors as buying convenience, price, promotion, impulse selection, etc.

ActiveMovie - a streaming media technology now known as DirectShow, developed by Microsoft to display the video on screen. ActiveMovie allows users to view media streams, whether from local hard drive or distributed via the Internet.

ActiveX - an open integration platform that provides web developers a fast and easy way to create integrated programs and content for the Internet and Intranets. Using ActiveX, you can easily insert multimedia effects, interactive objects, and sophisticated programs into a Web page.

A/V Distribution System - refers to the distribution of multimedia content from the media player to the display device.

Advertising Network - system of digital displays connected and controlled through a network such as the Internet.

Advertising Displays - any location-based display that carries advertising.
Air - an option that helps keep underlined text legible. An outline that is the color of the background ("air"), is applied to the letters of underlined text. When the color of the text and the underline is the same, the air keeps the text and underline from blending together.

Affiliated chain - A group of non-competing stores operating under an alliance to benefit from volume purchasing or to gain exclusive territorial rights to market certain products.

Affiliated retailer - A retailer participating in an affiliated chain; or a retailer participating with other retailers in cooperative wholesale purchasing.

Affiliated wholesaler - A wholesaler that hosts a group of affiliated retailers; or a wholesaler who is a member of an affiliated wholesaler group.

Affinity marketing - The practice of marketing to the interests of specific demographic or shopper groups.

Aftermarket - Secondary sales related to repairs, replacement parts, or additions to a primary piece of equipment.

Alert - from a digital signage operator's viewpoint, an alert could be a status message that is sent to report an error or some other unexpected system condition. On the message side of a digital display system, an alert could be either locally or regionally generated then transmitted via a digital signage network as a warning message.

Alpha/beta testing - Two-pronged method of testing a new product's likelihood of success through internal (alpha) and marketplace (beta) tests.

Ambient lighting - The use of lighting to help create a particular atmosphere or mood within a store.

Animation - a sequence of frames that, when played in order at sufficient speed, presents a smoothly moving image like a film or video. An animation can be digitized video, computer-generated graphics, or a combination.

Animated GIF - an animation in the GIF format, capable of automatic looping playback. See also GIF.

ANSI - The American National Standards Institute.

Antitrust laws - A series of Federal laws created to establish fair trade practices and outlaw anti-competitive activity. The most important are:

1. Clayton Act, which makes it unlawful for a manufacturer to require that a retailer not sell a competing product as a condition of any distribution deal, in cases where such actions lessen competition or create a monopoly. The act also places restrictions on other exclusive deals.
2. Sherman Antitrust Act, which prohibits a wide range of actions that would result in restraint of trade of commerce.
3. Robinson-Patman Act, also known as the Anti-Price Discrimination Act, which prohibits manufacturers from giving price discounts or other preferential treatment to certain retailers when the result could be restraint of competition.

Assets - audio, video, static photography, logo type, etc used to create finished advertising spots.

ATM toppers - video screens built into ATMs (automatic teller machines) that run advertising and other information independent of the ATM.

ATSC - off the air digital TV channels using a set of standards developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee for digital television transmission that replaced much of the analog NTSC television system.

Audience - in relation to digital signage, the possible viewers of an ad. This is sometimes used loosely with the word "target" to suggest possible catchments of future buying consumers.

Authoring Station - a machine running software, used for authoring and publishing the playlists and schedules that are sent to media players.

Authoring System - Software for digital signage content programming.

Automated Cash Handling - The process of dispensing, counting and tracking cash in a bank, retail, check cashing, payday loan / advance, casino or other business environment through specially designed hardware and software for the purposes of loss prevention, theft deterrence and reducing management time for oversight of cash drawer (till) operations. The hardware consists of one or more of the following devices:

• Cash dispenser
• Cash validator (acceptor)
• Cash recycler
• Rolled coin dispenser
• Loose coin validator (counter)

In an automated cash handling environment, a cashier or teller opens a cash drawer (till) at the start of shift by dispensing cash from the automated cash handling equipment. At the end of the shift, the cashier or teller deposits cash into the automated cash handling equipment which counts the cash and deposits it back into the safe. A manager sets permissions for each teller or cashier for dispensing and counting cash. A few automated cash handling systems allow for networking and remote operation (dispensing, counting, reporting). Remote operation of automated cash handling equipment facilitates cost savings and efficiency by centralizing all cash related activity to one location that can remotely monitor and control cash operations.

Automated Retailing - Vending machines that carry non-traditional merchandise. The most prevalent examples include Zoom Stores, which are in many airports, and Redbox DVD machines, which have revolutionized the DVD rental industry. Automated retailing is still in its formative stage.

Automated Teller Machine (ATM) - An automated teller machine (ATM) or the automatic banking machine (ABM) is a computerized telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public space without the need for a cashier, human clerk or bank teller. On most modern ATMs, the customer is identified by inserting a plastic ATM card with a magnetic stripe or a plastic smartcard with a chip, that contains a unique card number and some security information, such as an expiration date or CVVC (CVV). Authentication is provided by the customer entering a personal identification number (PIN).

Using an ATM, customers can access their bank accounts in order to make cash withdrawals (or credit card cash advances) and check their account balances as well as purchasing mobile cell phone prepaid credit. ATMs are known by various other names including automated transaction machine, automated banking machine, cashpoint (in Britain), money machine, bank machine, cash machine, hole-in-the-wall, Bancomat (in various countries in Europe and Russia), Multibanco (after a registered trade mark, in Portugal), and Any Time Money (in India).

Available market - The number of consumers identified as having an interest in a product or service, access to its purchase, and the financial means to purchase it.

Average ticket (receipt) - The average dollar amount spent by a shopper.

AVI - AVI stands for Audio Video Interleave and was introduced by Microsoft in 1992 as a video file format. AVI files can contain both audio and video data in a file container that allows synchronous audio-with-video playback. Like the DVD video format, AVI files support multiple streaming audio and video, although these features are seldom used.

Awareness - The ability of consumers to remember information about a brand, ad, or promotion to which they were exposed. "Unaided awareness" refers to the ability to recall without assistance; "aided awareness" refers to cases in which the consumer's recall was prompted.

 

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— B —

Back channel - a data communication from which a media player exchanges information with a network management server. The back channel communications include content and playlist download, playback and system log upload, remote system control, etc.

Background - a graphic image, animation or plain color used as the basis for a screen page on which elements are placed.

Back order - A product currently not in stock but being reordered.

Backroom (or back office) - The non-sales storage area, usually in the back of the store, where shipments are received and overstock is kept.

Backlit display - A display that utilizes a fluorescent bulb or other lighting system to illuminate a film transparency or graphic from behind.

Bandwidth - The amount of data that is able to be sent over a network, measured in Kilobytes and Megabytes per second (Kbps and Mbps). Modern low bandwidth communications include dialup modems and ISDN, ranging from 56Kbps to 128Kbps, but actual downloading times are closer to 1/10th of this speed. High-speed cable modems, DSL, T-1, FIO, 3G data service and Satellite are much faster, by factors of as little as 10 or even higher than 100.

Bar code - A scanable line graphic on packaging that contains a product's Universal Product Code and other identifying information. See UPC.

Bar code scanner - A device that reads bar codes. Portable versions are sometimes referred to as "handhelds" or "wands."

Baud rate - a measure of the speed of serial communication using a modem or null-modem, roughly equivalent to bits per second.

Benchmark - A performance measurement or standard that future activity may be measured against.

Benchmarking - (See Benchmark.) The process by which companies, following pre-established guidelines for disclosure, share best business practices with other companies. Generally focusing on one aspect of business (credit procedures, distribution procedures, etc.).

Benchmarking study - A study that identifies performance measurements and standards for a specific industry, product category, or other group, thereby allowing individual entities to compare their performance with peers.

Bevel - a three-dimensional effect that can be applied to text elements and clips in the application.

Bill Acceptor/Validator - Also known as bill and paper currency detectors, bill validators scan pliant currency using optical and magnetic sensors. Upon validation, the bill validator will inform the vending machine controller (VMC) or other host device of a credit via a parallel or serial interface. Various interfaces exist for the host device including a single-line pulse interface, a multi-line parallel interface, a multi-line binary interface, and serial interfaces such as ccTalk, SSP, and MDB. Wrinkled or creased bills can cause these machines to reject the bills.

The basic process involves looking at the currency that has been inserted and by using various tests, determine if the currency is counterfeit. Since the parameters are different for each coin or paper money, these detectors must be programmed for each item that they need to accept.

In operation, if the item is accepted it is retained by the machine and placed in a storage device. If the item is rejected, the machine returns the item. If it is a coin, it usually drops into a container for the customer to take back. If it is a bill, the machine pushes the bill out and the customer must remove it from the slot in which it was placed.

Biometrics - Biometrics refers to methods for uniquely recognizing humans based upon one or more intrinsic physical or behavioral traits. In information technology, in particular, biometrics is used as a form of identity access management and access control. It is also used to identify individuals in groups that are under surveillance.

Biometric characteristics can be divided in two main classes:

• Physiological are related to the shape of the body. Examples include, but are not limited to fingerprint, face recognition, DNA, hand and palm geometry, iris recognition, which has largely replaced retina, and odor/scent.
• Behavioral are related to the behavior of a person. Examples include, but are not limited to typing rhythm, gait, and voice. Some researchers have coined the term behaviormetrics for this class of biometrics.

Strictly speaking, voice is also a physiological trait because every person has a different vocal tract, but voice recognition is mainly based on the study of the way a person speaks, commonly classified as behavioral.

Bitmap - a type of font or graphics file that is stored in the form of a pattern of memory bits, each of which specifies the color of a pixel of the stored image. Bitmap file formats include BMP, PCX, PCD, JPG, TIFF, GIF, and IFF.

Bitrate – video compression sampling rate. For digital signage application, 3 to 5 megabit bitrate is a good balance for video file size and video display quality.

BlueRay Disc - an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the standard DVD format. Its main uses are for storing high-definition video, PlayStation 3 games, and other data, with up to 25 GB per single layered, and 50 GB per dual layered disc. The disc has the same physical dimensions as standard DVDs and CDs.

BMP - BMP is a bitmap file format widely used in Windows PCs that stands for Basic Multilingual Plane.

BPM - beats per minute, the unit of measure that defines the tempo of music.

Brand - The trademarked name of a product or group of products.

Brand affinity - The goodwill that a brand has established among consumers.

Brand equity - The value of a brand as defined by consumer attitudes toward its stated attributes, product performance and perceived status.

Broadband - high bandwidth, fast speed Internet connection.

Broadcast - a type of connection in which a host system sends information to many media players all at once, rather than making a separate connection to each player one at a time.

Browser - software for viewing web sites, HTML files, and related content, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer and FireFox.

Button - an area on the screen that responds when selected. Interactive digital signage screens consist primarily of buttons for navigation applications such as wayfinding, product look up, etc.

Byte - the basic unit of computer storage, comprising eight bits. Typically, a byte can store one character of text, or one pixel.

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— C —

C-store -Commonly used abbreviation for convenience store.

Cabling - the data lines run to connect computer, display, or power sources.

Call center - a business service center staffed by telemarketing, telesales, or technical support staff.

Campaign - A coordinated effort to market a product, often including an overview of advertising schedules and the various media and tactics to be employed.

Cannibalization - An action that generates sales in one respect by decreasing sales in another. Examples include the addition of kiosks to a market, thereby drawing away customers from existing locations, or the launch of a line extension that attracts users of the flagship product. Also used in regard to the potential for promotional tactics, such as coupons, to reduce profits through their redemption by loyal product users who would have paid full price.

Capacitive - A capacitive touch screen panel consists of an insulator such as glass, coated with a transparent conductor such as indium tin oxide (ITO).  As the human body is also a conductor, touching the surface of the screen results in a distortion of the local electrostatic field, measurable as a change in capacitance. Different technologies may be used to determine the location of the touch. The location can be passed to a computer running a software application which will calculate how the user's touch relates to the computer software.

Captive audience networks - A captive audience network is a digital advertising media network installed where your target audience is assured to remain in place for a period of time. Typical captive audience networks are installed in waiting rooms, supermarket queues, gas station pumps, banks, and wherever people gather and wait.

Card Reader - Also known as a magnetic card reader, a card reader is a device used to scan cards containing magnetic data strips

CAT5, CAT6 - A data and communications cable adopted by the Telecommunications Industry Association and ISO (International Standards Organization). Category 5 or 6 uses all four pairs of wires to both send and receive. While CAT5 is adequate to run 10 Megabit Ethernet, CAT6 cable is capable of running Gigabit Ethernet.

Category management - The practice of analyzing SKU selection, shelf merchandising, as well as promotion and sales history to improve the business performance of a specific product group.  The function is the responsibility of a retailer's category manager, with varying levels of support provided by relevant product manufacturers.

CD - See compact disc.

CD-ROM - (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) a compact disc containing up to 650 megabytes of information that can be read only from a CD-ROM drive. Audio CDs can be played on both CD players and many CD-ROM drives, but a CD-ROM cannot be used on a CD player.

CD-ROM drive - a device that uses laser optics to read software and file information from a compact disc.

Channel - a script that has been published in such a way that when its contents change, the updated material is forwarded to machines running the viewer that have subscribed to the channel.

Character generator - a device for creating text on video. Character generators (CG) are often used to make information channels and electronic bulletin boards for TV and Cable and more recently have been adapted to digital signage systems.

Check 21 - The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (or Check 21 Act) is a United States federal law, Pub.L.108-100, enacted into law October 28, 2003 by the 108th Congress. It took effect one year later, on October 28, 2004. The law allows the recipient of the original paper check to create a digital version of the original check—called a "substitute check," thereby eliminating the need for further handling of the physical document.

Consumers are most likely to see the effects of this act when they notice that certain checks (or image of) are no longer being returned to them with their monthly statement even though other checks are still being returned. Another side effect of the law is that it is now legal for anyone to use a computer scanner to capture images of checks and deposit them electronically, a process known as remote deposit.

Check 21 is not subject to ACH (Automated Clearing House) rules; therefore transactions are not subject to NACHA (The Electronic Payments Association) rules, regulations, fees and fines.

Coin Acceptor - The basic principle for coin detection is to test the physical properties of the coin against known composites from coinage that is acceptable. It performs its function by evaluating the coin based on its weight, size, and/or magnetism, and then sends an appropriate electrical signal via its output connection.

Today, sophisticated electronic coin acceptors are in use in some places that, in addition to validating weight and size, also scan the deposited coin using optics and match the image to a pre-defined list.  Some new types of coin acceptors are able to recognize the coins through training, so they will support any types of coins or tokens.

Computer Aided Design (CAD) - Computer software used widely for designing product displays and other marketing materials.

Clear QAM – unscrambled digital cable TV channel.

Closed circuit television - Traditionally, a private television network broadcasted internally via coax (RG59 or RG6) cable network within an organization. Also known as CCTV.

Codec - a software module responsible for compressing and/or decompressing an encoded media format such as AVI digital video.

Color depth - the number of possible colors in a graphic image, stored as a given number of bits per pixel. A color depth of 8 bits provides 256 colors; 16 bits (also known as "High Color") provides about 65,000 colors; 24 bits (also known as "True Color") provides about 16,000,000 colors.

Color palette - a set of colors that make up an image or animation, or the set of colors available to be applied to elements on a page.

Compact disc - a high-fidelity digital audio recording medium. A standard CD is 12 centimeters (approximately 5 inches) in diameter, with an identifying label on one side.

Composite video - a standard analog video signal containing color, brightness, and sync information. Composite video usually interconnects using RCA-style connectors.

Compression - the process of condensing a computer file, such as graphic, video, or animation, using special hardware, software, or both so that it requires less storage space.

Confirmed broadcasting - broadcasting in which there is a back channel through which media players can respond to transmissions with confirmation or error messages. See also back channel.

Content - any media files that are played back for communication purposes, including graphic files, sound files, video files, XML/RSS data files and script files.

Content Distribution Server - a computer server, or device that stores the contents that are distributed to the media player in a digital sign network.

Convenience store (C-Store) - A small, easily shopped store that merchandises an extensive assortment of high-volume products such as cigarettes, beverages and snacks, along with a limited selection of numerous other items. More than half of all C-Stores sell gasoline, and an increasing number offer fresh coffee and prepared-food options. C-Stores range in size from enclosed kiosks shopped from the outside to 5,000-square-foot, full-service locations. Some supermarkets and other larger retailers operate adjacent C-Stores to capture more convenience trips.

Cost of goods sold - All expenses related to the manufacture, sales, and distribution of consumer products.  In the case of product manufacturers, it includes all promotional allowances paid to retailers. Some companies also classify the production and distribution of displays and signs as a cost of goods sold rather than as part of the marketing budget.

CPM - (Cost-Per-Thousand) the cost to generate 1,000 impressions.

Crawling text – moving text usually at the bottom of a digital signage screen that displays short headlines, RSS feeds, or other messages which can be read quickly. Also known as text “ticker”.

Crop – to cover up portions of a graphic image that are not needed by adjusting its top, bottom, and side borders.

CRT - (Cathode Ray Tube) CRTs are the glass vacuum picture tubes inside televisions and computer monitors. They are based on the emission of a magnetically targeted stream of electrons from the back of the picture tube on to phosphors located on at the front. The electron hitting the phosphors causes the emission of light with a vibrancy still unrivalled by competing technologies, such as gas plasma displays and liquid crystal displays.  The big draw-back of CRTs is their large depth of the glass picture tube required for the projection of the stream of electrons. The CRT is being replaced by the modern plasma, LCD and LED screens.

Customer relationship management (CRM) - Originally used specifically for computer-based methods of tracking customer interactions, the term now refers to the practice of efficiently managing all aspects of customer interaction and the use of purchase history and other data to develop targeted marketing offers. The underlying goal is to manage each customer based on individual preferences and needs over time rather than on isolated transactions or general behavioral assumptions.

Customer segmentation - The practice of dividing a retailer's shopper base (or a brand's user base) into groups that reflect their demographics, lifestyle needs, purchase habits, and shopping behaviors in order to develop more effective methods of marketing and merchandising and, ultimately, to engender deeper loyalties.

Customer-Facing - Any retail operation, technology, service or program to which the shopper is exposed.  Often contrasted with "back-office" activity.

Customer Facing Technologies - Screens, kiosks, and devices that empower or enable customers to interact or receive information targeted to the shopping or buying experience.

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— D —

Database - the collection of data on accounts, players, schedules, etc. that collectively define an information network installation and its settings.

Datacasting - Broadcast of digital information over networks to receivers and players. Datacasting is sometimes used as an alternative to traditional video broadcasting, because the receivers and player units can have the "intelligence" to customize their playback programming for the location and intended audience. The system of receivers set up to receive messages from a particular datacast are known as

Datacasting Networks, which are a venue for advertisers.

Day-parting – refers to a content programming schedule that allows for displaying content during specific hours of the day on specific days of week.

Decal - A print that is enclosed between a lamination film and pressure-sensitive adhesive film with a mounted release liner.

Default – a value or option that system uses if you do not specify anything.

Dial-up - access to the Internet that involves the computer using a modem to dial the phone number for another computer or ISP that provides the Internet access. See also ISP.

Digital TV - the sending and receiving of moving images and sound by discrete (digital) signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV.

Digital advertising network - A narrowcast network combining targeted entertainment and/or informational content with advertising.  Distributed through digital networks and/or screens in place-based, out-of-home, consumer venues such as retail, transit, malls, grocery, health clubs, medical offices, gas stations, as well as office buildings and hotels.

Digital display (billboard) - Devices that display advertising-only messages via screens equipped with LED (light emitting diode) or LCD (liquid crystal display) technology, often changing, at predetermined times or through motion recognition technology, to feature multiple brands.

Digital Distribution/Download - Digital distribution/download, also known as digital delivery or electronic software distribution, is the practice of providing content in a purely digital format, which is downloaded via the internet straight to a consumer's device.  Digital distribution bypasses conventional physical distribution media, such as paper or DVDs.  The term digital distribution is typically applied to freestanding products; digital add-ons for other products are more commonly known as downloadable content.
Digitally distributed content may be streamed or downloaded. Streaming involves downloading and using content "on-demand" as it is needed.  Meanwhile, fully downloading the content to a hard drive or other form of storage media allows for quick access in the future.

Digital Dynamic Signage (Signs) - Digital dynamic signage is a term used to describe the growing trend where flat panel devices such as plasma, LCD, and LED displays are used as moving posters, electronic bulletin boards, and the like.

Digital in-store merchandising - Digital in-store merchandising refers the use of digital audio/visual equipment and digital tags such as RFID in retail environments to help compete for consumer attention. Increasingly, flat panel display devices, such as plasma screens, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), and LED (light emitting diodes) signs are being used to fill all available merchandising "real estate".

Digital Media - media in digital format such as MPEG, AVI, QuickTime, JPEG, Bitmap.

Digital media networks - Digital media networks consist of output devices such as televisions, computer monitors, plasma display panels, LED and liquid crystal displays that are networked together and remotely controlled by a network operator. A digital media network may be used for advertising, merchandising, delivering news or emergency information, or corporate and community events -- depending on the venue. Such networks are appearing in venues such as retail outlets, shopping malls, franchises, office buildings, outdoor billboards, stadiums and sporting arenas.

Digital Media Platform - the infrastructure (hardware, software, connectivity and various resources) that is purposefully designed to host, support and broadcast various media file types with the objective to entertain, inform, and educate a targeted audience. Interactive layers and peripheral devices can be added atop this base to create an interactive media platform.

Digital multimedia broadcast - the process of broadcasting multimedia over a broadcasting antenna, satellite or Internet, to be tuned in by multimedia receivers, or players, capable of playing back the multimedia program. Through a process called multicast, a single broadcast can send programming to thousands of receivers, which can play back the content individualized to the location. This is one of the advantages of multimedia broadcasting over traditional video broadcasting.

Digital Out Of Home (DOOH) – See out-of home media network.

Digital Signage (Signs) - The combination of a display device, computer (aka media player) and application specific software used to present information, advertising and other messages. Digital signs (such as LCD, LED, plasma displays, or projected images) can be found in public and private environments, such as retail stores and corporate buildings.

Digital Signage Network - A network of digital signage displays that are programmed and controlled remotely by the operators. The advantages of a digital signage network include the rapid ability to update content in real-time, and the ability to deliver specific messages to specific audiences in specific locations at a specific time.

Digital video - a video that has been digitally encoded so that it can be transferred and controlled from a PC and displayed directly on a computer monitor.

DirectShow - a media-streaming architecture for Microsoft Windows. Using DirectShow, your applications can perform high-quality video and audio playback or capture. DirectShow is formally called ActiveMovie.

DirectX - a collection of application programming interfaces (APIs) for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft Windows platforms.

Display Device - a CRT, flat-panel LCD, plasma, projector or other device that is the end-point of a digital signage system.

Dithering - an image-processing technique that makes a digitized or rendered image appear smoother and more natural by simulating additional colors.

DPI - dots per square inch.

Draw object - a box, oval, line, or arrow element added to a screen page using a Design Draw menu.

Drawing program - an application, often called a structured or vector drawing program, used to create and manipulate two-dimensional images and shapes as independent objects, as opposed to bitmap images.

Drop-down Icon - a toolbar icon with the symbol that displays a list of options; choosing one of the options enables you to access other functions or menus.

DVD Kiosk - Kiosk terminals that provide consumers with a fast and convenient way to rent DVDs and Video Games.
Dwell-time - the amount of time a customer remains in a venue, or a specific area within the venue. Dwell-time is an important variable in determining display placement, advertisement size (seconds), content loop duration, advertising-to-content ratio, and advertisement cost. One of the primary objectives of Digital Signage is to increase dwell-time, and therefore often forms part of the Return on Investment (ROI) metrics and cost justification value proposition.

Dynamic Digital Signage - See digital signage.

Dynamic Signage - See digital signage.

Dynamic Signs - See digital signage.

Dynamic visual messaging - The process of using animated graphic design to communicate to target audiences through signs and public displays.

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E-Commerce - Electronic commerce, commonly known as (electronic marketing), e-commerce, or eCommerce, consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks.   Online retailers are sometimes known as e-tailers and online retail is sometimes known as e-tail.  Almost all big retailers have electronic commerce presence on the World Wide Web.  Electronic commerce is generally considered to be the sales aspect of e-business. It also consists of the exchange of data to facilitate the financing and payment aspects of the business transactions.

Electronic billboards - billboards that can be updated electronically. This term covers a wide array of products. Sometimes it is used to refer to television channels run by computers, and sometimes it refers to very large screen video displays actually being used outdoors as billboards. Both are growing trends in advertising.

Electronic Bill Pay - Online banking - Electronic bill payment is a common feature of online banking, allowing a depositor to send money from an account to a creditor or vendor such as a public utility or a department store to be credited against a specific account.  The payment is optimally executed electronically in real time, though some financial institutions or payment services will wait until the next business day to send out the payment.  The bank can usually also generate and mail a paper check or banker's draft to a creditor who is not set up to receive electronic payments.

Most large banks also offer various convenience features with their electronic bill payment systems, such as the ability to schedule payments in advance to be made on a specified date, the ability to manage payments from any computer with a web browser, and various options for searching one's recent payment history.  In many cases one can also integrate the electronic payment data with accounting or personal finance software.

Electronic kiosks - terminals that disseminate information and services to the public through touch-screens and video displays. Electronic kiosks come in all shapes and sizes. They are often built by display companies and customized to individual needs by multimedia developers and value added resellers. They often incorporate card readers, coupon printers, and other devices specific to their application. The use of electronic kiosks as Internet Access Terminals is a growing trend.

Electronic Signage - See digital signage

Emergency Alert Systems - systems allowing for the rapid dissemination of late-breaking news and information which may or may not be connected to the FCC broadcast requirement known as EAS. EAS is an acronym for the federally mandated Emergency Alert System used by all broadcasters in the United States.

Emergency Notification Systems - See emergency alert systems

Emergency Response Networks - See emergency alert systems

Enclosure - External protective housing used to contain the components of a kiosk or digital sign, such as a monitor or display, and in some cases a computing device and/or other option peripherals devices such as printers, keyboards, etc. Materials used for enclosures include metals, wood and plastics. Enclosures can be designed specifically for climate-protected indoor use, while others can be fortified to be used outdoors.

ERP - (enterprise resource planning) business software for running every aspect of a company including managing orders, inventory, accounting, and logistics. Well known ERP software providers include BAAN, Oracle, PeopleSoft and SAP.

Ethnographers - In the shopper research context, they are usually graduate anthropology students who are trained to note aspects of the shopping experience such as needs, decision logic, brand/channel/store selections, aisle behavior, etc. They work on site, from videotape, via in-store focus groups and/or shop-alongs.

Ethnographic research

1. The use of personal observation or video monitoring to study the behavior of shoppers as they traverse the store; or the similar observation of consumers in their homes or other natural environments.
2. The analysis of information collected through such techniques to gain better insights into the consumer mindset.

Event - an action in a script; virtually everything that happens in a script is an event, including text, sounds, wipes, animations, etc.

Expression - a mathematical or logical statement that a software program can evaluate to arrive at a variable value or TRUE/FALSE condition.


Extension - See file-type extension.

 

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— F —

Fade - a gradual change in a setting (such as volume) that takes place over a specified period of time. See also fade-in; fade-out.

Fade-in - a gradual increase in a setting (such as volume) that begins at a zero point and reaches a specified value in a certain length of time.

Fade-out - a gradual decrease in a setting (such as volume) that begins at a specified value and reaches zero in a certain length of time.

File - a named and saved collection of computer data, such as a script, background, sound effect, animation, or clip.

File format - the structure of a file, which defines the way it is stored and used. Generally, a file-type extension to the file name identifies the format. For example, some common bitmap graphics file formats are BMP, GIF, TIF, PCX, and JPG. Common video formats are AVI, MOV, MPG and WMV. A common audio file format is WAV and MP3.

File name - a unique name used to identify a file.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) - A protocol allowing a user linked to one Internet host to access and transfer files with another host over a network.

File-type Extension - a suffix of a dot (.) followed by three characters, added to a file name to identify the type of file. It is not required by Windows naming standards, but files saved from a given software program are generally given an extension.

Financial Services Kiosk - The financial services kiosk can provide the ability for customers to perform transactions that may normally require a bank teller and may be more complex and longer to perform than desired at an ATM.

These units are generally referred to 'multi-function financial service kiosks'.  The first iteration was back in late 90s with the VCOM product deployed in Southland (7-Eleven) convenience stores offering check-cashing, bill-payment, and even dispensing cashcards.  Firewall - A firewall is a part of a computer system or network that is designed to block unauthorized access while permitting authorized communications.  It is a device or set of devices configured to permit, deny, encrypt, decrypt, or proxy all (in and out) computer traffic between different security domains based upon a set of rules and other criteria.

Firewalls can be implemented in either hardware or software, or a combination of both. Firewalls are frequently used to prevent unauthorized Internet users from accessing private networks connected to the Internet, especially intranets.  All messages entering or leaving the intranet pass through the firewall, which examines each message and blocks those that do not meet the specified security criteria.

Flat Panel Signage - See digital signage

Flight - the display of an ad or other content message on the display.

Flow - the sequence of pages shown when you run a script. This can be different from the sequence of the pages in the script itself.

Fly-on - a type of wipe in which an image or text moves onto the screen from a position outside the screen borders.

Font - a set of characters that has the same typeface, style (italic, bold, etc.) and size (10,12, 24, etc.). See also font size.

Font Size - the height of a character together with the amount of space between lines of text. Size is measured in points for printed text and in pixels for text that is displayed on screen in the program. See also point.

Fps - See frames per second.

Frame - In an animation or video, one of the individual images displayed in sequence with others to create the illusion of movement.

Frames per second - the speed at which an animation, film or video is displayed. The frames per second setting for an animation should be at least 12 to create the illusion of movement. Full motion video is usually displayed at 24 to 30 frames per second.

FTP - (File Transfer Protocol) a standard protocol for transferring data over the Internet. To use FTP, FTP software must be set up on both sending and receiving ends of an FTP transmission, and the client (initiator) must have a username, password and a valid target address on the server.

FTP Server - a computer that can receive requests for an FTP link from a client machine, or the software on that machine that allows it to do so.

 

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Genlock - a video device that synchronizes two video signals and enables them to be mixed; for example, to overlay a subtitle produced on the computer onto live video.

GIF - See bitmap; file format.

Gift Registry - A gift registry is a particular type of wish list.  A registry is limited to the stock of a given retailer. The retailer will maintain the list for the registrant and make sure that items are removed from the list as they are purchased.  Retailers will often make this list public to anyone who asks for it and will not divulge who has purchased the registered items.

Graphic Handle - a small, solid square placed along the edge of a clip, used to adjust the size or shape of the element.

Graphical User Interface (GUI) - A graphical user interface (GUI) is a type of user interface item that allows people to interact with programs in more ways than typing. A GUI offers graphical icons and visual indicators as opposed to text-based interfaces, typed command labels, or text navigation to fully represent the information and actions available to a user.

Graphics - images such as symbols, drawings, diagrams, photographs and clip art.

Group - A collection of pages or elements represented by a single line in the Main menu.

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HDTV - (high definition television) The new generation of digital video content, capable of almost three times the clarity of legacy analog NTSC video. The standard HDTV formats are 720P, 1080i and 1080P.

HDTV signage - See digital signage

Head-end - an installation that is the final point from which video feeds for multiple channels are sent to broadcast or cable television customers. In addition to transmitting equipment, a head-end can contain feeds for various channels.

Health Monitoring - In information technology and multimedia terms, health monitoring refers to checking on the status of computers to see if they are still running.

High Color - a setting describing graphics that have 16-bit color, providing up to approximately 65,000 colors in the image.

Hit Area - (hot spot) the area of an interactive button that responds when the mouse pointer passes over it or clicks on it. This can be a rectangular area surrounding the button, or an irregular area defined by pixels in the button image.

Horizontal scan rate - a figure that describes the speed of the electron beam that creates the scan lines of a video or computer display. The horizontal scan rate for standard NTSC/PAL video is approximately 15 kHz. For VGA displays and above, scan rates of 31.5 kHz or more are used.

Host, FTP - See FTP server

HTML - (Hypertext Markup Language) HTML is the language used to create Web pages for display in Web Browsers. HTML can be created directly with text editors or Web publishing programs, such as DreamWeaver, or it can be the output of other programs that make dynamic webpages on the fly. When you select "view source" from your Web browser, the code that you are viewing is HTML.

HTTP - Hypertext Transfer Protocol, conventions to transfer information in Web systems.

Hz - the abbreviation for hertz, or cycles per second. This is a measurement for frequency. You often hear Hz referred to in a computer's CPU speed, or a monitor's refresh rate. The CPUs in Personal Computers just passed from commonly being measured in MHz to being measured in GHz. Monitor refresh rates are most frequently measured in KHz. Khz means kilo-hertz. Kilo means 1,000. So 2 KHz is 2000 hertz. MHz means maga-hertz or 1,000,000 Hz. GHz means giga-hertz or 1,000,000,000 Hz. THz mean Tera-Hertz or 1,000,000,000,000 hertz.

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IFF - See bitmap; file format

IIS - (Internet Information Services) Microsoft's suite of Internet-related software included with the Windows 2000 and above operating system software. IIS provides both FTP server and web server capability.

Image Processing - enhancing and manipulating an image, such as by adjusting its size, resolution, or color palette.

Incremental revenue (incremental sales) - Revenue gained from marketing and merchandising activity that would not have been generated through the standard course of business.

Infinite Loop - See loop, infinite.

Information Display Systems - See digital signage

In-Store Digital Media - See digital signage

Interactive - where man meets machine and interacts, the most common form of interactive system is a touch screen or buttons on a kiosk type display device.

Interactive display - A display that invites and often responds to interaction from shoppers via buttons, touch screens, functioning product samples or other means.

Interactive Digital Signage - An interactive layer is added to a digital signage system, allowing the targeted audience and users to engage with the on-screen content in real-time by means of a specialized devices, touch screen, or mobile phone.

Interactive Kiosks - usually free-standing information displays that allow users to retrieve information through touch-screens, buttons, and video displays. Interactive kiosks are frequently controlled by computers running software written with multimedia authoring software.

Interactive Script - a script in which the viewer controls the direction of the production.

Intercepts - Interviews with shoppers and/or retail personnel that usually occur either on the sales floor, at checkout, or in the parking lot prior to or immediately after a store visit.

Interlace - a process used to refresh video displays and some computer displays that alternately scans every other horizontal scan line in the display. Interlaced displays often flicker, especially when showing static images containing narrow horizontal lines.

Internal communications - a term referring to communication within a company or supply chain. Also used to refer to the policies, departments, and specific technologies. Telephones, faxes, computers, bulletin boards, memos, newsletters, and email are all part of a company's internal communications.

Interrupt scheduling - a type of scheduling for pages that causes a scheduled page to play at a precise time, interrupting any other script activity currently occurring.

IP address - an address in four-part numerical format that uniquely identifies a computer accessible over a TCP/IP-based network or the Internet. For example, 127.0.0.10.

IP Multicast - (Internet Protocol Multicast) IP Multicast is a networking transmission protocol allowing multiple computers to simultaneously receive the same transmission. This is faster than sending packet to each individual computer, and is an efficient way to update many remote locations simultaneously. Each player site is "tuned in" for the packets being sent by the broadcast server. The question then arises, how can each remote site deliver customized content to its localized audience? The answer is in the fact that each player knows where it is, and makes intelligent choices about what parts of the broadcast it needs, if any. IP Multicast is not limited to the Internet and terrestrial connections, but can also be broadcast over Satellite to be received by inexpensive VSAT dishes -- often already part of a company's infrastructure for their WAN. In this way, multimedia networks of unlimited sizes can be created.

ISA - (Industry Standard Architecture) a standard expansion bus for internal devices on the PC platform.

ISP - (Internet service provider) a company that provides web hosting, FTP hosting, email and other Internet services.

IT - (Information Technology) IT is used to apply to everything having to do with computers, networking, and information systems. The "IT field" means the jobs and industry that surrounds configuring, installing, and keeping computers running. The term MIS (Management and Information Systems) is also frequently used. Most medium to large size companies have an IT or MIS department.

 

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Kerning - an adjustment of the normal space between certain combinations of characters, to eliminate excess space.

kHz - the abbreviation for kilohertz, or thousands of cycles per second.

Kiosk - An electronic kiosk houses a computer terminal that employs kiosk software with a simple graphical user interface (GUI) to allow users to obtain information or conduct a transaction while preventing users from accessing system functions. Kiosks may store data locally, or retrieve it from a network. Kiosks commonly include a touch screen, but some use keyboards.

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LAN - (local area network) a network of computers sharing a single server or servers in a single location, typically in an office or building. See also WAN.

Laserdisc - a video storage medium that can play back high-quality video images and sound from a laser-read optical disc.

Layout, screen – referring to segmentation of digital signage screens. Also see Zoning.

LCD - (Liquid Crystal Display) LCDs are thin displays used for digital signage, TVs, computer monitors, wristwatches, digital thermometers, microwaves and countless other technologies -- possibly the most common and diverse electronic flat screen technology in use today. LCDs contain two thin transparent surfaces (usually glass), with grooves full of a liquid crystal substance. Thin film transistors (TFTs) on the surface material apply an electric current to the liquid crystals. This current will polarize the crystals, making them twist. This twisting blocks light. When turned off, the liquid crystals go into random alignment and let light pass through. LCDs require less power than a plasma screen, so it is more commonly used with battery-powered devices.

LCD projection panel - a portable display unit that is placed on top of an overhead projector and connected to a computer so that the computer's display can be projected onto a large screen.

LED - (light emitting diode) diodes are electronic components that let electricity pass in only one direction. Light emitting diodes are diodes that emit visible light when electricity is applied, similar to a light bulb. When many LEDs are side-by-side, they can create pictures, such as the scrolling red LED signs found everywhere. LED displays are often confused with LCDs (liquid crystal displays), but they are different technologies. Most outdoor digital billboards use LED technology.

LED/OLED - Acronym for "light emitting diode/organic light emitting diode."  Semiconductor diodes that light up when electrified. Organic LEDs utilize organic compounds and are considered more flexible.

Linked content - content that is referenced by a script, but is not sent as part of the script when that script is sent to media players. Linked content can be updated at a separate time from normal script content or from an independent source.

Local affiliate - Local television and radio affiliates broadcast national content while retaining regional control. For instance, major metropolitan areas may have CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, UPN, and WB networks each represented by local channels.

Local Area Network (LAN) - A group of computers linked together within a limited physical space, usually to share printers and software.

Location based advertising - the placement of advertisements near an actionable location. In other words, location based advertising deals with strategically placing messaging near where buyer behavior can be most immediately influenced, and converted into a sale. This most often applies in retail settings, such as shopping malls.

Location based media - refers to any public display media, such as signs, billboards and posters located out of home, usually near where the audience is near the point of purchase decision.

Log file - a text file consisting of timestamped status and error messages, detailing the operational history of a given piece of software.

Login - a name or account under which someone gains a certain level of access to a computer.

Loop - a setting determining the number of times a sound, media clip or animation should repeat when it runs.

 

 

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Mailing list(s) - An electronic list of e-mail addresses designated by a single name, to which a common message may be sent when the message is "posted to the list".

Managed Services - Managed services is the practice of transferring day-to-day related management responsibility as a strategic method for improved effective and efficient operations. The person or organization that owns or has direct oversight of the organization or system being managed is referred to as the offerer, client, or customer.  The person or organization that accepts and provides the managed service is regarded as the service provider.

Typically, the offerer remains accountable for the functionality and performance of managed service and does not relinquish the overall management responsibility of the organization or system.

Marquee - the term marquee is often used to describe scrolling text effects for displaying headline news or short messages. Also see crawling text.

MCI - (Media Control Interface) The standard method of controlling multimedia devices before DirectShow for Windows platform. It is a standard for communicating with devices that support VCR-like operations like play, pause, stop, etc., such as MPEG playback cards. A given device might offer both MCI and DirectShow drivers.

Media Player - a media player, sometimes referred to as “player,” is a PC specifically designed to stand up to the rigors of a digital signage network. High-end graphics cards, small form factors, good processing speed and great cooling are what make a Media Player.

Media Processor - See media player

MHz - the abbreviation for megahertz, or millions of cycles per second.

MICR - Magnetic Ink Character Recognition, or MICR, is a character recognition technology used primarily by the banking industry to facilitate the processing of checks. The technology allows computers to read information (such as account numbers) off of printed documents.  Unlike barcodes or similar technologies, however, MICR codes can be easily read by humans.

MICR characters are printed in special typefaces with a magnetic ink or toner, usually containing iron oxide. As a machine decodes the MICR text, it first magnetizes the characters in the plane of the paper. Then the characters are then passed over a MICR read head, a device similar to the playback head of a tape recorder. As each character passes over the head it produces a unique waveform that can be easily identified by the system.

The use of magnetic printing allows the characters to be read reliably even if they have been overprinted or obscured by other marks, such as cancellation stamps. The error rate for the magnetic scanning of a typical check is smaller than with optical character recognition systems. For well printed MICR documents, the "can't read" rate is usually less than 1% while the substitution rate (misread rate) is in the order of 1 per 100,000 characters.

MID - the file-type extension used for MIDI compositions. See also MIDI; file format.

MIDI - (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) a hardware and software standard for electronic musical instruments and related equipment. MIDI also defines the standard file format (.MID) used for MIDI compositions.

Mixer - in the Sound menu, a set of control panels that allow you to adjust the volume and pan settings of all sound sources in a script.

Mobile Apps - Mobile software is designed to run on handheld computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), enterprise digital assistants (EDAs), smart phones and cell phones. Since the first handheld computers of the 1980s, the popularity of these platforms has risen considerably. Many cell phone models of the late 2000s include the ability to run user-installed software.

Mobile Click - the user’s phone number is treated much like a web “cookie”, adding a layer of measurability to track user statistics across digital signage networks. It enables the dynamic digital signage system to recognize a unique user engaging with a social media application via a mobile phone.

Motion Displays - any signs or displays with moving elements.

Mobile Phone Top Up - The act of adding additional funds to your pre-paid calling card or phone, also known as 'pay as you go'. Self service kiosks enable consumers to deposit cash and other forms of payment to add additional minutes to their card or phone.

MOV - the file-type extension for digital video files in the QuickTime format. See file format.

MP-3/MP-4 Players - A digital audio player, sometimes referred to as an MP3 or MP4 player, is a consumer electronic device that has the primary function of storing, organizing and playing audio files. Some DAPs are also referred to as portable media players as they have image-viewing and/or video-playing support.

MPEG - (Motion Picture Experts Group) a universal standard used for the compression of digital video and audio sequences. MPEG sacrifices some image quality to achieve very high compression.

MPEG-4 - MPEG-4 is the latest compression standard developed by MPEG, the same group that brought us MPEG-1 and MPEG-2. MPEG-4 brings higher levels of interaction with content, controlled by the content developers. It also brings multimedia to new types of networks, including those employing relatively low bitrates, and mobile ones.

MSF - (minutes, seconds, frames) a way of measuring time on a compact disc (CD), expressed in the format mm:ss:ff, where mm is minutes, ss is seconds and ff is frames.

Multichannel Player - a player that outputs multiple streams of unique content to multiple display devices.

Multi-tile - a multi-tile divides the source image into several "slices", which are tiled together to produce a final image of the desired size. See also tiling

Multimedia - the combination of various presentation media such as text, sound, graphics, animation, and video.
Multimedia displays - TVs, plasma display panels, LCDs or other video display devices delivering multimedia content, often connected to a computer. A touch screen is also a type of multimedia display but with interactive capability.

Multimedia Signs - See digital signage

Multi-style button  - a selector-like button in the Text and Clips menus, used to access a variety of styles that can be applied to text or graphics. See also selector.

Multi-Touch - Multi-touch is a method of interacting with a computer screen or Smartphone.  Instead of using a mouse or stylus pen, multi-touch allows the user to interact with the device by placing two or more fingers directly onto the surface of the screen. The movement of the fingers across the screen creates gestures, which send commands to the device. The term Multi-Touch is a trademark of Apple, Inc.

Multi-touch requires a touch screen (screen, overlay, table, wall, etc.) or touchpad, as well as software that recognizes multiple simultaneous touch points, as opposed to the single touch screen (e.g. computer touchpad, ATM), which recognizes only one touch point. This effect is achieved through a variety of means, including: heat, finger pressure, high capture rate cameras, infrared light, optic capture, tuned electromagnetic induction, ultrasonic receivers, transducer microphones, laser rangefinders, and shadow capture.

Many products using multi-touch interfaces exist and are being developed. Multi-touch is used on portable devices including the Apple iPhone and iPod touch, HTC Hero, Microsoft's Zune HD, Samsung Moment, Motorola Milestone and the Palm Pre, as well as desktop products such as the Microsoft Surface and the DELL Latitude XT2.

Mystery shopper - A brand or retail representative who visits a store anonymously to evaluate store conditions, customer service or other things without influencing the actions of store personnel.

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Narrowcasting - Narrowcasting describes the technology that is capable of delivering the multimedia programs to specifically targeted group of digital signage screens, including plasma, LCD and LED displays, placed in public places for advertising or information dissemination. Usually the screens are controlled by a central management system. The receivers or media players for each display are more intelligent in receiving the up-to-minute content from multiple sources and dynamically displaying the rich-media contents according to the designate programs. In contrast to traditional broadcasting, the programs for the targeted group of displays are far more timely, relevant and effective which opens a new dimension for advertising companies to offer enhanced sponsorship programs or businesses to reach their employees without geographic boundary.

Narrowcasting Networks - Narrowcasting networks are a new type of digital media designed to reach targeted portions of the public. They employ selective broadcasts of media-rich content to a variety of types of "receivers". These receivers are typically some form of television, computer monitor, or flat screen display such as plasma display panels (PDPs) or liquid crystal displays (LCDs) with a multimedia player attached. They emulate the appearance of signs, billboards, and kiosks, located in prime locations for exposure to your desired demographics. These players can then be selectively updated with scheduled, rapidly produced, and rapidly adapted programming. Narrowcasting networks may display targeted messaging to bus terminals, retail outlets, sports arenas, theaters, outdoor billboards, office buildings, and other public venues. More narrowcast networks are springing up around the world as the cost of deployment decreases, and the ease of maintenance increases.

Network administrator - an information technology professional responsible for setting up, maintaining, and securing a computer network. Network administrators often work in, or run, the IT department of a company.

Network Operations Center (NOC) - A network operations center (or NOC, pronounced "knock") is one or more locations from which control is exercised over a computer, television broadcast, or telecommunications network.  Large organizations may operate more than one NOC, either to manage different networks or to provide geographic redundancy in the event of one site being unavailable or offline.

NOCs are responsible for monitoring the network for alarms or certain conditions that may require special attention to avoid impact on the network's performance. For example, in a telecommunications environment, NOCs are responsible for monitoring for power failures, communication line alarms (such as bit errors, framing errors, line coding errors, and circuits down) and other performance issues that may affect the network. NOCs analyze problems, perform troubleshooting, communicate with site technicians and other NOCs, and track problems through resolution. If necessary, NOCs escalate problems to the appropriate personnel. For severe conditions that are impossible to anticipate – such as a power failure or optical fiber cable cut – NOCs have procedures in place to immediately contact technicians to remedy the problem.

Network operator - a company that manages and maintains a large computer network. Media network operator often refers to an advertising network operator, which is a company owning and operating a large number of remote location-based multimedia players delivering targeted messaging to high traffic locales.

Newscasting - sending news out over the Internet, either point-to-point, or with multicast for client computers to receive and display.

New Media Triad - the media distribution model by which brands and advertisers can engage with consumers using various digital media, all within an integrated campaign.

The Nielsen Company - One of two leading auditing services that collect point-of-sale scanner data from retailers to provide syndicated tracking and analysis of product sales, market share and other performance benchmarks. It also is the leading syndicator of audience measurement analytics for television advertising and other mass media. Through its Nielsen In-Store division, the company will offer syndicated data on in-store audience levels and ad placement.

NTSC - (National Television Standards Committee) the color video and broadcasting standard used mainly in North America and Japan. NTSC screen resolution is 525 lines and its refresh rate is 60 Hz. The NTSC broadcast system was replaced with the all-digital ATSC broadcast system in the United States on June 12, 2009.

Null-modem - a cable used to connect the serial ports of two computers that are physically close together. The connection simulates a modem connection, but can usually run at a higher baud rate because there is no telephone line noise.

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OTS - (Opportunity To See) the probability a screen has to be viewed by consumers. It is unlikely that a screen will be seen if it is hidden away or placed in a low dwell-time area. OTS is expressed as a percentage ratio comparing the amount of people who actually see the screen to the amount of people that entered the venue where the screen is installed. OTS is a useful variable for brands and advertisers.

Out-of-home advertising - refers to advertising delivered in locations other than the home. Primary examples include billboards, movie theaters, and gas stations.

Out wipe - the way in which an element moves off a page. See also element wipe; page wipe.

Out-of-Home Media Networks - Out-of-Home Media Networks are like private television channels run by companies, organizations, and advertisers without having to have a complete television studio. For example, a growing number of companies are finding it viable to install small pilot programs where they push rapidly produced content, such as news, weather, and stock quotes, mixing in advertising. As the pilots prove successful in driving consumer behavior, the network can be expanded from dozens of screens, to hundreds or thousands, located throughout a country or region. Such out-of-home media networks are sometimes referred to as location-based media, or location-based advertising, because they appeal to the target audience at or close to the point of purchase, such as shopping malls, retail chains, or franchise operations.

Outernet - a term used to describe out-of-home electronic display networks. See Out-of-Home Media Networks.

OVAB - (Out-of-home Video Advertising Bureau) the official resource for information on out-of-home video advertising, marketing and metrics.

Overlay - a feature of most video cards that allows particularly smooth digital video playback without overloading the computer's CPU.

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P.O.P. - (point of purchase) the term usually refers to the industry concerned with customer behavior at the location of the purchase decision. POP is considered one of the most important aspects of advertising and merchandising. It is believed that the most critical time to influence buyer behavior is when they have money in hand.

PAL - (Phase Alternating Line) the color video and broadcasting standard used mainly in western Europe and South America. PAL screen resolution is 625 lines and its refresh rate is 50 Hz. The PAL broadcast standard has been largely replaced in respective countries with the all-digital DVT-T standard.

Pantone Colors - A standardized color system for printing patented by Pantone Inc. The Pantone Matching System (PMS) utilizes a palette of standard colors that can be mixed in precise combinations to recreate a wide range of colors consistently across different printing presses and substrates.

Passive Interactivity - where a consumer interacts with a media systems device without doing so consciously, for example triggering a motion sensor.

PCI - (Peripheral Connect Interface) an advanced expansion-bus standard for internal peripheral devices, used most commonly by high performance graphics adapters.

PCI Compliance - The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard is a worldwide information security standard assembled by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC). The standard was created to help organizations that process card payments prevent credit card fraud through increased controls around data and its exposure to compromise. The standard applies to all organizations which hold, process, or pass cardholder information from any card branded with the logo of one of the card brands.

Validation of compliance can be performed either internally or externally, depending on the volume of card transactions the organization is handling, but regardless of the size of the organization, compliance must be assessed annually. Organizations handling large volumes of transactions must have their compliance assessed by an independent assessor known as a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA), while companies handling smaller volumes have the option of self-certification via a Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ). In some regions these SAQs still require signoff by a QSA for submission.

Enforcement of compliance is done by the bodies holding relationships with the in-scope organizations. Thus, for organizations processing Visa or Mastercard transactions, compliance is enforced by the organization's acquirer, while organizations handling American Express transactions will deal directly with American Express for the purposes of compliance. In the case of third party suppliers such as hosting companies who have business relationships with in-scope organizations, enforcement of compliance falls to the in-scope company, as neither the acquirers nor the card brands will have appropriate contractual relationships in place to mandate compliance. Non-compliant companies who maintain a relationship with one or more of the card brands, either directly or through an acquirer risk losing their ability to process credit card payments and being audited and/or fined.

PDP - (Plasma Display Panels) PDPs, also known as gas plasma displays or plasma screens, are flat screen display devices that are used for television, computer monitors, and dynamic signage. They consist of two layers of glass surrounding cells of xenon and neon glass. Surrounding electrodes switch the cells on and off, causing them to emit light and create the picture. This emitted light makes PDPs have an appealing vibrancy that competes with Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs), the technology of traditional televisions.

PEG channel - (Public, Education, or Government Channel) PEG is a commonly used acronym by the local television industry to describe publicly funded access stations. These may be run by municipalities, school districts, or volunteers.

Periodic scheduling - a type of scheduling that defines ranges of time within which events are allowed to play.

Permissions - attributes that may be associated with a folder to restrict the types of access that different users have to it.

Pipe - a software/hardware construct that moves data from one location to another.

Pixel Resolution - resolution measurement in terms of discernable pixels on a given digital display. Usually expressed in horizontal then vertical pixels, such as 1366 x 720.

Plasma - Just as solids, liquids and gases are states of matter, plasma is a state of matter. Specifically, plasma is ionized gas. That is, gas that has been given an electrical charge by being stripped of electrons. Such ionized gas is the most abundant observable form of matter in the universe, being a main ingredient in stars and nebulas. And as if we're not already seeing enough of the stuff, it's also what goes inside those flat panel displays called "plasmas" that are popping up all around us. Why? Because when you apply an electromagnetic field to plasma, it glows, making for a nice, vibrant TV screen, computer monitor, or digital signage.

Plasma display panels - Plasma display panels are components in the current generation of flat panel televisions, computer monitors, and digital signage. They consist of a material called "plasma", which is an electrically charged noble gas (usually argon, xenon, or neon) sandwiched in millions of compartments between 2 panes of transistor-covered glass. An electrical charge is applied to the gas to make it glow red, green, or blue. This is similar both to how neon signs work (the application of an electrical charge to a noble gas), and how cathode ray tube (CRT) works, in illuminating cells red, green or blue to create an image.

Plasma screen - A type of flat-panel display or screen. Plasma screens are said to have better viewing angles than LCD screens, but use more power and are not as conducive for bright venues.

Playlist – refers to the list of media clips and their play order by time or other heuristics to be displayed on the digital signage screen.

Playlog – a record of information created from the digital signage system reflecting the content played, system performance, and other data. Synonyms are billing log, performance log, and audit Log.

PNG - the file-type extension for images in the PNG (pronounced "ping") format. PNG is a relatively new and advanced format, featuring both compression and extensibility.

Photo Kiosk - An interactive kiosk which allows users to print pictures from their digital images. Two major classes of photo kiosks exist:

• Digital Order Stations - This type of photo kiosk exists within retail locations and allows users to place orders for prints and photographic products. Products typically get produced instore by a digital minilab, or at another location to be shipped directly to the consumer, or back to the store to be picked up at a later time. Digital Order Stations may or may not support instant printing, and typically do not handle payments.
• Instant Print Stations - This type of photo kiosk uses internal printers to instantly create photographic prints for a self serve paying customer. Often located in public locations (hotels, schools, airports), Instant Print Stations handle payments. Often such systems will only print 4x6 inch prints although popular dye sublimation photo printers as of 2008 allow for 4x6, 5x7, 8x10, 8x12. It's more a matter of resupply labor economics and chassis size.

Polling interval - the length of time that may elapse before a media player checks for a certain condition, such as whether a job has been delivered to its job folder, or whether its script has been updated.

Port, IP - a numerically designated access point for messages of a particular type in TCP/IP network communications.

Point of Purchase Advertising - any form of advertising, signage or communication within a retail environment that is designed to influence or assist the consumer in locating and purchasing a product or service. POP Advertising includes shelf edge marketing, aisle end gondolas and other forms of promotional retail fixture.

Proof of Play - proof of play is a built-in feature of proper digital network management software. It is a secure document where advertisement flight details are logged every single time an advertisement is sent to the screen. It records the date, time of day, and for how long the advertisement was displayed. Technically the proof of play only states that the advertisement was sent to the screen. Additional network features (playlog) and technology is required to tell if the screen was actually switched on and working at that specific time. Proof of play, combined with other measurable variables, is important in calculating how many people actually looked at your advertisement in order to determine ROI.

Public IP Multicast Displays - a device capable of receiving an IP multicast transmission and displaying the contents, often used to update large numbers of visual display devices including digital signage.

Push Software - software that pushes news and information from a broadcast server to a media player client. Push technology can be used to deliver vital information to screens without the player asking.

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Qualitative research - In broad terms, anecdotal research. The analysis of narrative feedback derived from a handful of consumer focus groups is an example of qualitative research

Quantitative research - In broad terms, data-driven research. The analysis of scanner data to forecast sales is an example of quantitative research.

Queue Management - Queue areas are places in which people in line (first-come, first-served) wait for goods or services.  Examples include checking out groceries or other goods that have been collected in a self service shop, in a shop without self service, at an ATM, at a ticket desk, a city bus, or in a taxi stand.

Quick-access Button - in the File menu, a button that leads directly to a specific folder, eliminating the need to navigate step-by-step to the folder.

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Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) - A technology in which the location of a specific pallet, display, shipping case or individual SKU can be verified by an attached data chip called an electronic product code. The chip emits radio waves that continuously broadcast its data to nearby readers, which can be attached to a door, forklift, shelf or hand-held device. To date, the technology's advancement in the retail industry has been driven largely by Wal-Mart and its efforts to track product shipments to stores; Walgreens has been testing its capabilities for determining in-store marketing effectiveness for several years.

RAS - (remote access service) a service provided by Windows Dial-Up Networking to establish a network connection with another computer via modem.

Remapping - automatically rearranging and/or adjusting the color palettes of images so that they share colors, with the least possible distortion of the images' intended appearance.

Remote Management/Monitoring - Sometimes referred to as Remote Infrastructure Management (RIM), this refers to remotely managing information technology (IT) infrastructure such as workstations (desktops, laptops, notebooks, etc), servers, network devices, storage devices, IT security devices, etc of a company.
Major sub-services included in RIM are:

• Service desk / Help desk
• Proactive monitoring of server and network devices
• Workstation Management
• Server Management
• Storage management
• Application support
• IT security Management

Request For Proposal (RFP) - More commonly used acronym for "request for proposal," a request by a potential client for suppliers to submit bids on a project. Product manufacturers often require RFPs from marketing agencies and point-of-purchase suppliers.

Request for Quotation (RFQ) - Acronym for "request for quotation." Some use it synonymously with RFP (see above).
Resistive

A resistive touch screen panel is composed of several layers, the most important of which are two thin, metallic, electrically conductive layers separated by a narrow gap.  When an object, such as a finger, presses down on a point on the panel's outer surface the two metallic layers become connected at that point: the panel then behaves as a pair of voltage dividers with connected outputs.  This causes a change in the electrical current which is registered as a touch event and sent to the controller for processing.

Return on Investment (ROI) - In finance, rate of return (ROR), also known as return on investment (ROI), rate of profit or sometimes just return, is the ratio of money gained or lost (whether realized or unrealized) on an investment relative to the amount of money invested. The amount of money gained or lost may be referred to as interest, profit/loss, gain/loss, or net income/loss. The money invested may be referred to as the asset, capital, principal, or the cost basis of the investment. ROI is usually expressed as a percentage rather than a fraction.

Return value - the value that results as the output of a function or the evaluation of an expression.

Roll Out - The act of shipping and installing self service kiosks to their appropriate locations. Steps in a typical roll out include site selection, site preparation, shipping, delivery, installation and on-site quality assurance testing.

Root - a particular folder chosen as the base reference point, relative to which all other paths within a web server or FTP server are defined.

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— S —

SaaS (Software as a Service) - Software as a service (SaaS, typically pronounced 'sass') is a model of software deployment whereby a provider licenses an application to customers for use as a service on demand. SaaS software vendors may host the application on their own web servers or download the application to the consumer device, disabling it after use or after the on-demand contract expires. The on-demand function may be handled internally to share licenses within a firm or by a third-party application service provider (ASP) sharing licenses between firms.

Sampling precision - the degree of accuracy of the scale used to measure the fluctuations in amplitude of a sound that is being digitized. Measured in bits, an 8-bit sample can store one of 256 different amplitude levels, while a 16-bit sample has 256 times greater accuracy.

Sampling rate - the number of samples taken per second when digitizing an analog signal. The quality of the digital reproduction improves as the number of samples taken per second increases. Scaling – refers to the scale of the resolution of video or image content to fit the screen or zone resolution.

Scheduling - creating scripts or playlists that handle particular content over a period of time based on time and date.

SECAM - (Séential Couleur avec Memoire) the video and broadcasting standard used in France, eastern Europe, Russia, and most of Asia and Africa. SECAM has the same screen resolution of 625 lines and 50-Hz refresh rate as PAL.

Section 508 Compliance - Section 508 was originally added as an amendment to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 in 1986. The original section 508 dealt with electronic and information technologies, in recognition of the growth of this field.

In 1997, The Federal Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility and Compliance Act was proposed in the U.S. legislature to correct the shortcomings of the original section 508; the original Section 508 had turned out to be mostly ineffective, in part due to the lack of enforcement mechanisms. In the end, this Federal Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility and Compliance Act, with revisions, was enacted as the new Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, in 1998.

Section 508 addresses legal compliance through the process of market research and government procurement and also has technical standards against which products can be evaluated to determine if they meet the technical compliance. Because technology can meet the legal provisions and be legally compliant (e.g., no such product exists at time of purchase) but may not meet the technical compliance (doesn't meet the Access Board's technical accessibility standards) users are often confused between these two issues. Additionally, evaluation of compliance can be done only when reviewing the procurement process and documentation used when making a purchase or contracting for development, the changes in technologies and standards themselves, it requires a more detailed understanding of the law and technology than at first seems necessary.

There is nothing in section 508 that requires private web sites to comply unless they are receiving federal funds or under contract with a federal agency. Commercial best practices include voluntary standards and guidelines as the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). Automatic accessibility checkers (engines) such as "IBM Rational Policy Tester" and AccVerify, refer to Section 508 guidelines but have difficulty in accurately testing content for accessibility.

Self Check In/Checkout - Self check in and checkout devices are automated alternatives to the traditional cashier-staffed checkout at various businesses.

Self-running script - also referred to as a continuous script; a script designed to run continuously; for example, to demonstrate a product or service, or provide information without interruption.

Sequencer - a hardware device or computer software that is used to compose a musical score, transcribe it into a MIDI file and play or record the result using MIDI instruments.

SKU - The more commonly used acronym for "stock keeping unit," a numerical identification tag given by a retailer to a specific product, brand, flavor, variety and/or package size.

Smart Cards - A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC), is any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits which can process data.  This implies that it can receive input which is processed — by way of the ICC applications — and delivered as an output.  There are two broad categories of ICCs.   Memory cards contain only non-volatile memory storage components, and perhaps some specific security logic.  Microprocessor cards contain volatile memory and microprocessor components.  The card is made of plastic, generally PVC, but sometimes ABS. The card may embed a hologram to avoid counterfeiting.  Using smart cards is also a form of strong security authentication for single sign-on within large companies and organizations.

Squeeze back – referring to a technique that reduces the size of a full screen TV broadcast channel to fit in a multi-zone screen.

Special event - an event that is not associated with a file. Special events can be added like pages in the Main menu, or like elements in the List menu. They are used to control a device or an element, for example, changing the volume of a sound.

Store and forward - a networking term referring to when information is stored at routing points before its ultimate destination. Store and forward can be used to reduce the load on the original server. Players can retrieve their data from other players instead of the original broadcast site.

Surge Protector - A surge protector (or surge suppressor) is an appliance designed to protect electrical devices from voltage spikes.  A surge protector attempts to regulate the voltage supplied to an electric device by either blocking or by shorting to ground voltages above a safe threshold.   Many power strips have surge protection built-in; these are typically clearly labeled as such.  However, sometimes power strips that do not provide surge protection are erroneously referred to as surge protectors.

Sustainability - The development of environmentally sound business practices and products.

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TAPI - a standard for PCs that allows applications to easily use serial devices (such as modems) that have already been configured in Windows.

TCP/IP - a networking protocol designed for flexible, high-speed communications, used for LANs and the Internet.

Template – refers to a reusable visual presentation styles with swappable assets such as image and text overlay. Templates are commonly used in digital signage content publishing system for displaying weather, news, live feeds or data on screen dynamically.

Test market - A limited, controlled geographical area in which a new product or marketing plan is launched as an experiment. Results from the launch are carefully monitored in order to revise and develop plans for expansion into other markets.

Through-Glass - this technology is a projected moving image. It is considered passive signage because users cannot interact with the window using this specific technology.

Ticker - a ticker or crawler is a small screen space dedicated to presenting headlines, promotions and other vital pieces of information.

Timeout - a time limit for an operation. If the timeout period expires before the operation completes successfully, some default or alternative action is taken.

Topology - physical and logical layout of a networked system.

Touch-Enabled Glass - just as with the “through-glass” technology, touch-enabled glass is a projected moving image. However, this glass display will change and update based on interaction from a user, touching the window.

Touchscreen - A touchscreen is a display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touch or contact to the display of the device by a finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus. However, if the object sensed is active, as with a light pen, the term touchscreen is generally not applicable. The ability to interact directly with a display typically indicates the presence of a touchscreen. The touchscreen has two main attributes. First, it enables one to interact with what is displayed directly on the screen, where it is displayed, rather than indirectly with a mouse or touchpad. Secondly, it lets one do so without requiring any intermediate device, again, such as a stylus that needs to be held in the hand. Such displays can be attached to computers or, as terminals, to networks. They also play a prominent role in the design of digital appliances such as the personal digital assistant (PDA), satellite navigation devices, mobile phones, and video games.

Trackball - A trackball is a pointing device consisting of a ball held by a socket containing sensors to detect a rotation of the ball about two axes—like an upside-down mouse with an exposed protruding ball. The user rolls the ball with the thumb, fingers, or the palm of the hand to move a cursor. Large tracker balls are common on CAD workstations for easy precision.  Before the advent of the touchpad, small trackballs were common on portable computers, where there may be no desk space on which to run a mouse.  Some small thumb balls clip onto the side of the keyboard and have integral buttons with the same function as mouse buttons. The trackball was invented by Tom Cranston and Fred Longstaff as part of the Royal Canadian Navy's DATAR system in 1952, eleven years before the mouse was invented.  This first trackball used a Canadian five-pin bowling ball.

Traffic - data being transferred over a network. Downloading text and graphics represent low-bandwidth traffic while streaming video is higher.

Triggered Content - media that can over-ride planned content when certain pre-determined conditions are realized such as the proximity of a shopper, removal of an item from display for examination or the reading of various inputs such as bar code, loyalty card, biometrics, etc.

Turnkey - The term turnkey is also often used in the technology industry, most commonly to describe pre-built computer "packages" in which everything needed to perform a certain type of task (e.g. audio editing) is put together by the supplier and sold as a bundle. This often includes a computer with pre-installed software, various types of hardware, and accessories. Such packages are commonly called appliances. Turnkey products are synonymous to "off-the-shelf" solutions.

TWAIN - a standard developed to allow imaging devices such as scanners and digital cameras to communicate with PCs.

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UNC - (Universal Naming Convention) a standard format for paths referring to locations directly accessible on a local area network. For example, a video at \\server\shared_files\apnews.wmv.

Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) - An Uninterruptible power supply (UPS), also known as a battery backup, provides emergency power and, depending on the topology, line regulation as well to connected equipment by supplying power from a separate source when utility power is not available.  It differs from an auxiliary or emergency power system or standby generator, which does not provide instant protection from a momentary power interruption.  A UPS, however, can be used to provide uninterrupted power to equipment, typically for 5–15 minutes until an auxiliary power supply can be turned on, utility power restored, or equipment safely shut down.

While not limited to safeguarding any particular type of equipment, a UPS is typically used to protect computers, data centers, telecommunication equipment or other electrical equipment where an unexpected power disruption could cause injuries, fatalities, serious business disruption or data loss.  UPS units range in size from units to back up single computers without monitor (around 200 VA) to units powering entire data centers, buildings, or even cities (several megawatts).

Universal Product Code (UPC)  - A Universal Product Code (UPC) is the unique number assigned to a product for identification purposes, printed on the product's packaging with an accompanying barcode so that it can be optically scanned at checkout to automatically log the sale. Retail point-of-sale systems align UPCs with pricing information so the correct price will be charged (and recorded).

URL - (Universal Resource Locator) a string of text that specifies the location of objects accessible through the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), typically a web address such as a home page. A Web
URL begins with "http://".

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VAR - (value-added reseller) a person or company that sells, services, configures, and/or trains clients to use an advanced product. Application software installations are often set up and maintained for their customers by VARs.

Vending - The first vending machine in the U.S. was built in 1888 by the Thomas Adams Gum Company, selling gum on train platforms.

Vending has gone through significant changes over the decades.   With consumers wanting quick and convenient access to competitively priced products, the vending industry has seen a great deal of growth over the last ten years.  New innovations in service vending machines include internet kiosks and DVD vending.  Cashless vending now allows consumers to use debit cards or precharged 'keys' such as the U-Key for added convenience.  Vending is a multi-billion dollar industry, and growing.

The National Automatic Merchandising Association, or NAMA, is the American national trade association of the food and refreshment vending, coffee service and foodservice management industries.

In 2009, Coca Cola introduced a new “vending” machine that integrates kiosk technology, digital signage, and traditional vending into one device – enhancing the term vending.

Versionation - the process of inserting a serial number into a file name or folder name to indicate the order in which successively newer versions of a file with the same base name have been received on the media player.

VPN - (Virtual Private Network) a VPN is used in Digital Signage networks to provide secure, reliable connectivity as a private network but at much lower cost. Using a VPN the Digital Signage network can operate outside of the Internet or other organizational connectivity infrastructure to assure cost-effective, secure and reliable network operations at required levels.

VSAT - (Very Small Aperture Terminal) VSATs are small satellite dishes used for PrimeStar and DirecTV among other things. In addition to tuning in satellite TV, they can be used to receive data such as IP multicasting. VSAT can be used to create a wide area computer network (WAN) infrastructure.

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WAN (Wide Area Network) - A wide area network (WAN) is a computer network that covers a broad area (i.e., any network whose communications links cross metropolitan, regional, or national boundaries. This is in contrast with personal area networks (PANs), local area networks (LANs), campus area networks (CANs), or metropolitan area networks (MANs) which are usually limited to a room, building, campus or specific metropolitan area (e.g., a city) respectively. WANs are used to connect LANs and other types of networks together, so that users and computers in one location can communicate with users and computers in other locations. Many WANs are built for one particular organization and are private. Others, built by Internet service providers, provide connections from an organization's LAN to the Internet. WANs are often built using leased lines. At each end of the leased line, a router connects to the LAN on one side and a hub within the WAN on the other. Leased lines can be very expensive. Instead of using leased lines, WANs can also be built using less costly circuit switching or packet switching methods. Network protocols including TCP/IP deliver transport and addressing functions. Protocols including Packet over SONET/SDH, MPLS, ATM and Frame relay are often used by service providers to deliver the links that are used in WANs. X.25 was an important early WAN protocol, and is often considered to be the "grandfather" of Frame Relay as many of the underlying protocols and functions of X.25 are still in use today (with upgrades) by Frame Relay.

Wi-Fi - (Wireless Fidelity) a local area network (LAN) that communicates via radio waves on the 802.11 standard instead of wires.

Wildcard - a special character that can be used for pattern-matching in specifying the names of files to work with.

WinScript - WinScript, also known as WSH Script, is uncompiled program code written to be executed by the Windows Script Host.

Wipe - an transitional visual effect that defines the way one or more elements (text and/or graphics) of a screen page moves onto and/or off the page.

Wireless Communications and Devices - Wireless communication is the transfer of information over a distance without the use of electrical conductors or "wires".  The distances involved may be short (a few meters as in television remote control) or long (thousands or millions of kilometers for radio communications).  When the context is clear, the term is often shortened to "wireless".  Wireless communication is generally considered to be a branch of telecommunications.
It encompasses various types of fixed, mobile, and portable two-way radios, cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and wireless networking.  Other examples of wireless technology include GPS units, garage door openers and or garage doors, wireless computer mice, keyboards and headsets, satellite television and cordless telephones.

Word of mouth - The spread of information about a product or store through common human conversation and interaction. The concept became a marketing "discipline" when companies began attempting to trigger word-of-mouth buzz about their products. Also known as "viral marketing," especially in the context of digital media.

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XML - (Extensible Markup Language) XML is a standard data format used for text files and information in computer memory that allows easy data processing and exchange between different applications. XML is commonly used for feeding live data to digital signage screens.

XSL - (Extensible Stylesheet Language) XSL was the original proposal to allow formatting of XML files for display. It has since diverged into XSL FO and XSLT. They each derrive from XSL, but use different parser programs and acheive slightly different goals. XSL FO, which stands for XSL formatting objects, is most often used for outputting PDF files with extreme formatting and pagination control. XSLT, which stands for XSL transformations, is most often used to convert one XML data structure into another.

XSLT - (Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations) XSLT is a standard subset language of XML designed to allow one XML data structure to be transformed into another. For example, XML files can be transformed into HTML pages (the way this website is made), or into WML for display on Web-enabled mobile phones.

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Zoning, Screen – refers to the technique of dividing digital signage screens into multiple content zones. Also see Layout.

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