TV jargon busterJargon explained J - Z

LCD TV Type of flat panel where light shines on to liquid crystal cells on screen that let varying amounts of colour through to create a picture.

LCD TVs offer the widest number of screen size options 

Multiplex A group of digital TV channels grouped together for broadcast. A multiplex can also carry radio and interactive TV content.

Native resolution The number of pixels on screen (width x height).

Optical output If you use surround sound, be careful. There are two types of connection, coaxial and optical. If you already have a surround sound system, make sure you buy a DVD recorder with the same connections.

Phono sockets Dedicated red and white sockets to allow you to connect your TV to a stereo amplifier – useful if its built-in speakers aren't that good.

Picture enhancement features Be wary of these digital effects, designed to make pictures sharper and movement smoother. Our tests show they sometimes degrade picture quality.

Picture in picture (PiP) Picture-in-picture displays a small image of another channel or DVD in the corner of the screen while you watch the main image.

Plasma TV Type of flat panel where tiny gas cells emit ultraviolet light that strikes red, green and blue spots on screen to make a picture.

On screen guides make it easy to record on a PVR

PVR  A Programmable Video Recorder is a digital television hard-disk recorder. You programme it using an on-screen display of TV listings which makes it much easier to use than a video recorder.

Rear projection TV Reds, blues and greens of TV images are projected on to a mirror and then reflected onto the screen.

Resume Resume means the player will start the disc where you stopped it (instead of at the beginning each time). Models with multi-disc resume remember where to start playing the disc even after you’ve removed it and reinserted it.

RF Input Connects to your aerial and allows the broadcast signal to be received by your tuner.

RGB This is a high-standard analogue video signal that splits the red, green and blue components to give the best picture. The best Scart sockets carry an RGB signal.

S-video input If you're short of Scart inputs s-video can provide an alternative. S-Video signals are split into colour and brightness but are slightly inferior to Scart RGB. It’s usually used to plug other AV equipment, such as camcorders and games consoles, directly into your TV.

Scart All-purpose 21 pin socket to connect equipment such as DVD players and VCRs to your TV. Most TVs now come with at least two Scart sockets. If you need more, you can buy a Scart switching box for £10 or so to expand your TV's capacity. For the best picture, look for Scarts that support the high-standard RGB signal. This splits the video signal into its red, blue and green components to give an improved picture.

Scart sockets Two Scart sockets give you more versatility. The first connects to the TV and carries the higher quality RGB signal and widescreen switching information that tells your telly when to switch between conventional and widescreen formats. The second Scart socket links to your recorder (video or DVD) – ideally this should carry RGB too, though often it doesn’t.

S/P-DIF Sony/Philips digital interface format: used to carry digital audio by surround sound systems. There are two types: optical (sometimes called TOSLINK) and coaxial.

Surround sound All DVD players can be connected to external surround-sound decoders (Dolby Digital 5.1 etc), amplifiers and speakers so you can experience ‘cinema-like’ surround sound. Virtually all DVDs have the surround sound tracks on them.

Some players have a built-in Dolby Digital surround-sound decoder, but you’ll still need additional surround sound amplifiers and speakers to get the home cinema experience, so there’s really any advantage over using an external decoder.

However, on occasion, a DVD-Audio surround sound decoder is also built-into the player. These are included so that players which can play back audio discs recorded in the higher-quality DVD-Audio format can also decode the surround sound tracks, which often come with these discs. This makes more sense but again you’ll still need external amplifiers and speakers to hear this surround-sound.

UHF modulator If your TV doesn't have a Scart input (Scart isn't usually available on older models), you'll need a set-top box with a UHF modulator, which connects to the TV's aerial socket.

UHF loopthrough None of the Freeview set-top boxes let you watch one digital programme while recording another on your VCR. However, if you opt for a box with a "UHF loopthrough", you can record a digital programme while watching an ordinary analogue channel (or vice versa), with minimal disruption to your TV and VCR connections.

VGA A VGA input lets you connect your PC - effectively turning your TV into a PC monitor. Digital DVI sockets provide an alternative but in our tests VGA looked better on the screen. DVI can over enhance the picture, making it too sharp.

Video on demand (VOD) VOD services let you to either 'stream' TV, allowing viewing in real time, or 'download' to a set-top box before viewing starts.

Video input If you're short of Scart inputs composite video can provide an alternative. Composite video (usually a yellow phono socket) is the lowest quality video connection. It’s usually used to plug other AV equipment, such as camcorders and games consoles, directly into your TV.