| Acronyms | Description |
| Aspect Ratio | Ratio between Width & Height. Normal is 4:3 and for wide screen its 16:9 |
| AM LCD | Active Matrix LCD |
| AV | Audio/Video |
B
| Acronyms | Description |
| BNC | A high frequency connector, sometimes used in video |
C
| Acronyms | Description |
| CATV | Cable Television |
| CCD | Charged Coupled Device |
| CCIR | Committee Consultative International Radiocommunications (French) |
| CCTV | Closed Circuit Television |
| CD | Compact Disk |
| cdm˛ | Candela per metre squared. Standard measurment of brightness |
| Chrominance | Colour signal |
| CMOS | Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor |
| Component Video | A Video signal split into 2 or more signals. The usual is 3. |
| CRT | Cathode Ray Tube |
| Cs | Composite Sync |
| CV | Composite Video. See CVBS |
| CVBS | Colour, Video, Blank & Sync. Analog signal. YUV - Y represents the luminance of the picture and includes the sync pulses, (by itself it is the monochrome picture). U and V represent hue and saturation or chrominance, they are the color information. |
| Contrast Ratio | The difference between the brightest and the darkest spot on the screen. Formula: Contrast Ratio= Luminance on White raster/Luminance on Black raster. |
D
| Acronyms | Description |
| DAB | Digital Audio Broadcasting |
| DAC | Digital to Analogue converter |
| DAT | Digital Audio Tape |
| DDC | Display Data Channel (a VESA standard) |
| DFD | Dye Foil Display |
| DFP | Digital Flat Panel |
| DIN | Deutsche Industrie Norme (German standard) |
| DMD | Deformable Mirror Device |
| DPI | Dots Per Inch |
| DPMS | Display Power Management Signalling, detects if a picture is displayed, if not, the display goes to standby |
| DSTN | Double STN, removes colouration using 2 layers of STN |
| DTV | Digital Television |
| DV | Digital Video |
| DVB | Digital Video Broadcast |
| DVC | Digital Video Cassette |
| DVD | Digital Versatile Disk (sometimes called Digital Video Disk) |
| DVE | Digital Video Effects |
| DVI | Digital Video Interface |
E
| Acronyms | Description |
| ECD | ElectroChromic Display (Also know as Electro Chemical Display) |
| EDID | Extended Display Identification Data (or the other bloke did it) |
| EDTV | Enhanced Definition Television (Like HDTV) |
| EGA | Enhanced Graphics Adapter (Now replaced by VGA, SVGA & XGA) |
| EL | Electro Luminescent |
| ELOD | Electromagnetic Optic Display |
| EMC | Electro Magnetic Compatibility. Class A is for Commercial and Class B, the higher specification is for Consumer |
| EMOD | Electro Magneto Optic Display |
| EOD | Electro Osmotic Display |
| EPD | ElectroPhoretic Display |
| EWD | Electro Wetting Display |
F
| Acronyms | Description |
| FCC | Federal Communications Commission USA Authority dealing with Electrical Interference |
| FED | Field Emission Display |
| FAQ | Frequently Asked Questions |
| FLCD | Ferroelectric LCD |
| FPD | Flat Panel Display |
| FPMPMI | Flat Panel Monitor Physical Mounting Interface, like VESA |
| FSTN | Film STN, improving colouration by using polymer compensating film |
G
| Acronyms | Description |
| G+S | Green + Sync signal |
H
| Acronyms | Description |
| HDTV | High Definition Television |
| HMD | Head Mounted Display |
| Hs | Horizontal Sync |
I
| Acronyms | Description |
| IDTV | Improved Definition Television (Like HDTV) |
J
| Acronyms | Description |
| JPEG | Joint Picture Experts Group |
K
| Acronyms | Description |
| K | Kilo = 1000 |
L
| Acronyms | Description |
| LETFEL | Laterally Emitting Thin Film Electro Luminescent |
| LCD | Liquid Crystal Display |
| LCOS | Liquid Crystal Over Silicon micro display |
| LED | Light Emitting Diode |
| LEP | Light Emitting Polymer |
| Luminance | The Black and white part of a picture |
| Lux | A measurement of Light ( 1 foot-candle = 10.76 Lux) |
M
| Acronyms | Description |
| MESECAM | Middle East SECAM (see secam B, G, D, K) |
| MJPEG | Motion JPEG |
| MPD | Magnetic Particle Display |
| MPEG | Motion Picture Experts Group |
| MPEG 1 | MPEG used for coding of Picture & sound for CD and Video CD) |
| MPEG 2 | MPEG Digital form of coding of Picture & sound, DVD and DTV |
N
| Acronyms | Description |
| NICAM | Near Instantaneous Companded Audio Multiplex |
| NTSC | National Television System Committee. Japanese & USA Television system |
O
| Acronyms | Description |
| OELD | Organic Electro Luminance Display |
| OLED | Organic Light Emitting Diode |
| OSD | On Screen Display |
P
| Acronyms | Description |
| P&D | Plug and Display standard (a VESA trade mark) |
| PAL B/G | Phase alternation line system. PAL B/G for most of Europe |
| PAL I | Phase alternation line system. PAL I for UK |
| PDLC | Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal |
| PDP | Plasma Display Panel |
| Pixel | Lowest form of addressable point on a display |
| PIP | Picture In Picture |
| PL LCD | Photoluminescent Liquid Crystal Display |
| PSI | Its us, at Product Shop International or the twenty third Greek letter or a Para-psychological phenomena |
Q
| Acronyms | Description |
| QVGA | Quarter Video Graphics Array, 320 x 240 resolution |
R
| Acronyms | Description |
| RGB | Red, Green & Blue signals (Primary colours making up a Colour picture) |
| RGBS | Red, Green, Blue and Sync signals |
| RMA | Return Manufacturers Authorisation |
| RS232 | Serial method of data transmission |
S
| Acronyms | Description |
| Scart | Universal Domestic 21 pin connection for TV and Video |
| SeCAM | Sequential Colour a Memory. French TV system |
| SDI | Serial Digital Interface |
| SMPTE | Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (They recommend technical standards) |
| SPD | Suspended Particle Display |
| SPG | Sync Pulse Generator (also called Black Burst Generator |
| STN | Super Twisted Nematic LCD |
| S-Video | Y/C video Luminance and Chrominance signal |
| SVGA | Super Video Graphics Array |
| SXGA | Super X Graphics Array |
| SYNC | Short for Synchronization |
T
| Acronyms | Description |
| TBD | Twisting Ball Display |
| TFEL | Thin Film Electro Luminescent |
| TFT | Thin Film Transistor |
| TLA | Three Letter Abbreviations |
| TMDS | Transmission Minimised Differential Signalling |
U
| Acronyms | Description |
| U | Nothing Yet |
V
| Acronyms | Description |
| VESA | Video Electronics Standards Association |
| VFD | Vacuum Fluorescent Display |
| VGA | Video Graphics Array or Adaptor |
| Vs | Vertical Sync |
W
| Acronyms | Description |
| W | Nothing Yet |
X
| Acronyms | Description |
| XGA | X Graphics Array |
Y
| Acronyms | Description |
| Y | Luminance signal |
| Y/C | Luminance and Chrominance signal used in S-Video & S-VHS |
| YUV | Composite Video. See CVBS |
Z
| Acronyms | Description |
| Zebra | A striped animal (nothing to do with Displays but we had to have something to fit here) |