Infrared (IR) - An outdated wireless technology that has been mostly replaced by Bluetooth to connect personal computing devices.
Pixel - A small spot on a fine horizontal scan line. Pixels are illuminated to create an image on the monitor.
Resolution - The number of pixels on a monitor screen that are addressable by software (example: 1024 x 768 pixels).
Video capture card - An adapter card that captures video input and saves it to a file on the hard drive.
FireWire 800 - A data transmission standard used by computers and peripherals (for example, a video camera) that transmits at 800 Mbps. Also called 1394b.
Dxdiag.exe - A command used to display information about hardware and diagnose problems with DirectX.
UDF (Universal Disk Format) file system - A file system for optical media used by all DVD discs and some CD-R and CD-RW discs.
DirectX+ - A Microsoft software development tool that software developers can use to write multimedia applications such as games, video-editing software, and computer-aided design software.
KVM Switch - A switch that allows you to use one keyboard, mouse, and monitor for multiple computers. Some KVM switches also include sound ports so that speakers and a microphone can be shared among multiple computers.
Micro-A connector - A USB connector that has five pins and is smaller than the Mini-B connector. It is used on digital cameras, cell phones, and other small electronic devices.
MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) - A set of standards that are used to represent music in digital form. A MIDI port is a 5-pin DIN port that looks like a keyboard port, only larger.
FireWire 400 - A data transmission standard used by computers and peripherals (for example, a video camera) that transmits at 400 Mbps. Also called 1394a.
Plasma monitor - A type of monitor that provides high contrast with better color than LCD monitors. They work by discharging xenon and neon plasma on flat glass and don't contain mercury.
Micro-B connector - A USB connector that has five pins and has a smaller height than the Mini-B connector. It is used on digital cameras, cell phones, and other small electronic devices.
Mini-B connector - A USB connector that has five pins and is often used to connect small electronic devices, such as a digital camera, to a computer.
LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) monitor - A monitor that uses LCD technology. LCD produces an image using a liquid crystal material made of large, easily polarized molecules. LCD monitors are flatter than CRT monitors and take up less desk space. Also called a flat-panel monitor.
Hot swappable - The ability to plug or unplug devices without first powering down the system. USB devices are hot swappable.
Refresh rate - As applied to monitors, the number of times in one second the monitor can fill the screen with lines from top to bottom. Also called vertical scan rate.
Touch screen - An input device that uses a monitor or LCD panel as a backdrop for user options. Touch screens can be embedded in a monitor or LCD panel or installed as an add-on device over the monitor screen.
Secure Digital (SD) card - A type of memory card used in digital cameras, tablets, cell phones, MP3 players, digital camcorders, and other portable devices. The three standards used by SD cards are 1.x (regular SD), 2.x (SD High Capacity or SDHC), and 3.x (SD eXtended Capacity or SDXC).
File system - The overall structure that an OS uses to name, store, and organize files on a disk. Examples of file systems are NTFS and FAT32. Windows is always installed on a volume that uses the NTFS file system.
LED (Light Emitting Diode) - A technology used in an LCD monitor that uses less mercury than earlier technologies.
HDMI connector - A connector that transmits both digital video and audio and is used on most computers and televisions.
CRT (Cathode-ray tube) monitor - A type of monitor first used in older television sets.
Barcode reader - Used to scan barcodes on products at the points of sale or when taking inventory.
Mini-HDMI - A smaller type of HDMI connector used for connecting some devices such as a smartphone to a computer.