It can often seem like learning a whole new language when you new to video projection. Below is a simple glossary to help you out with those TLA's (Three Letter Acronyms)!

ANSI
Acronym for American National Standards Institute; coordinates the development of U.S. voluntary standards in both the public and private sectors. ANSI has established the standard followed by projector manufacturers for measuring lumen brightness.

Aspect Ratio
The ratio of width to height of a frame or screen. The most common aspect ratios for projectors are 4:3, 5:4 and 16:9.

Brightness
The thing that makes darkness go away, measured in lumens on a projector.

Bulb
A light source commonly mistaken for the light source within a projector. Bulbs power incandescent room lighting. Lamps power video projectors.

Ceiling
A great place to mount a projector. Usually found opposite a floor when indoors.

Contrast Ratio
The ratio of the maximum white to the minimum black level possible for a particular spot on the image with the background light levels factored out.

Data Compatibility
Relates to the video and computer signal formats the projector is capable of displaying.

DLP™ / DMD
Acronym for Digital Light Processing™; a data projection technology developed by Texas Instruments using a microprocessor to display bright, colorful images in fully lit rooms. Used primarily in portable and ultra-portable projectors, the DLP™ chip is the size of a postage stamp and contains millions of microscopic mirrors — one for each pixel — that flip on an axis, reflecting light through a color wheel to create your image.

Ethernet
A hardware standard used for networking. Current ethernet standards include 10baseT and 100baseT ethernet.

Focus
To clarify a blurry image.

HDTV
Acronym for High Definition Television; a high-resolution television standard using an 1125-line broadcast signal.

Keystone (Keystoning)
The distortion of an uncorrected image projected on a wall or screen, typically shown to be wider across the top and shorter across the bottom, resembling a keystone in a doorway.

Lamp
The bright source of light within a projector partially responsible for your sharp, clear image.

LAN
Acronym for Local Area Network; the local area typically being an office building or technology campus.

LCD
Acronym for Liquid Crystal Display; liquid crystals exist in an intermediate state between liquid and solid, and realign under electrical stimulation. Exceptionally slim and lightweight, they are ideal in word processor, computer, and TV displays.

Lumen
A measurement of the amount of visible light energy that comes from a light source and is perceived by the eye.

Mini jack
An audio connection interface common on personal cassette/CD players, computers and projectors.

Monitor
A computer display. Like the one you're probably looking at right now.

Multimedia
An over-used term relating to an electronic device's ability to produce both visual and audio output. The term is used in relation to projectors when describing their ability to receive and produce visual and audio data.

Network
Connecting two or more computers and/or networkable devices for data sharing or for remote control of devices.

NTSC
Acronym for National Television Systems Committee; the television standard for the United States, administered by the Federal Communications Committee (FCC). NTSC is 525 lines of resolution transferred at a rate of 30 frames per second.

Overhead Projector
In ancient history, overhead projectors were used to give presentations. They involved static pages of see-through "paper" on which black images were printed. Historians suggest ancient presenters even used marking pens to write on these transparent pages.

PAL
Acronym for Phase Alternate Line; the standard color system used throughout Western Europe except in France. PAL-M is the standard system in Brazil. It uses an interlaced format with 25 frames per second and 625 lines per screen.

PC
Acronym for Personal Computer. (Where have you been?)

PDA
Acronym for Personal Digital Assistant, such as a Palm™ or Windows® CE device.

Pin
The connectors used in computer/projector cables. Cables are often identified by the number of pins they contain. A typical computer video cable has 15 pins, and is called a 15-pin video cable.

Power Down
A modern term for turning something off. Applies most commonly to electronics.

Presentation
A speech given to one or more people utilizing some sort of visual support.

RGB
Red, Green, Blue; the chrominance information in a video signal; the primary colors from which all other colors can be construed.

RCA
Also called Composite, RCA jacks are a common connection interface for audio and video sources.

Remote
A small handheld device separate from the projector itself containing projector controls such as volume, brightness, etc.

Resolution
The measurement of a computer screen or projected image measured by the number of pixels wide by the number of pixels high. More pixels per unit of area produce a higher resolution giving more detail in the display of an image.

S-video
A video connection interface. Also a generic name for Y/C, applied to S-VHS or Beta E.

SECAM
Acronym for Systeme En Couleur Avec Memoire (sequential color with memory); the color TV system used in France and throughout the Eastern Block Republics.

Speaker
A device in a projector that gives life to displayed images by emitting sound.

Stereo
An audio playback technology that divides sound into two or more sources, creating a more realistic sound.

Subwoofer
An audio device dedicated to replicating the lowest, deepest sounds ascertainable by the human ear.

SVGA
A video resolution equating to 800x600 pixels in size; acronym for Super VGA.

TFT
Acronym for Thin Film Transistor; technology used with LCD screens, also known as Active Matrix.

UHP
Acronym for Ultra High Performance and/or Ultra High Efficiency; a term typically used with metal halide lamps that power ultra-bright projectors.

Uniform Brightness
Across a lighted surface, uniform brightness refers to the lack of brighter or dimmer areas of a projected image.

USB
Acronym for Universal Serial Bus; a peripheral connection interface for low-speed devices notable for it's hot-swap ability.

VESA
Video Equipment Standards Association; a computer industry association which regulates video output standards for the SVGA graphics modes.

Ventilation
Airflow through a projector's internals for the purpose of cooling the lamp, or light source.

VGA
A video resolution equating to 640x480 pixels in size; acronym for Video Graphics Array.

Wall
The recipient of a projected image. Also used to partition rooms within buildings.

Watt
A measure of electrical power. As it pertains to InFocus® projectors, a watt measures the power of the internal speaker.

Weight
The actual weight of the projector minus power cord, bag, and other optional accessories. InFocus designs and builds some of the lightest projectors on the market.

XGA
A video resolution equating to 1024x768 pixels in size; acronym for Extended Graphics Array.

Zoom
To make an area of an image larger. Most projectors have a zoom lens built in.

Source: InFocus