Glossary
- Audio Archive
- We make audio recordings of all events at the Book Festival. For selected events, and with the author's consent, we will make recordings and transcripts available via our website while others are kept by the Book Festival for internal use and archives. Recordings cannot be released outside the Book Festival without the written permission of all event participants.
- BNC
- A professional video connector used for Composite and Component Video. Our equipment will only accept Composite Video from the stage, if you are in any doubt as to the output of your equipment please contact us.
- Composite Video
- A signal carrying all the information needed to reproduce a video image over a single cable. Most domestic video equipment will have a Composite Video output, which can usually be identified by a single BNC or yellow phono connector.
- Infra-red system
- All our venues are equipped with systems which broadcast sound to special necklaces worn by hearing impaired customers. These necklaces allow the customer to hear the event either through their own hearing aid or with an earpiece.
- Lapel radio mic
- A small microphone that is worn on the collar, lapel or neckline of your clothes with a radio transmitter that is worn on the belt.
- PA
- Public Address - or the sound system used in each venue to amplify sound for the audience.
- Phono
- The standard connector (usually in Yellow) used for Composite Video outputs by most domestic and professional video equipment.
- Pixel
- A unit of measurement of resolution, where one pixel represents a single dot on the screen or image.
- Portable Appliance Test
- An examination by an electrician, including a visual inspection and a series of tests, to ensure that electrical equipment is safe for use in a UK workplace. Once tested, equipment will usually be marked with a green sticker showing the date that another test is due - generally a year from the date of testing.
- Plasma screen
- A type of flat-panel television display used for displaying presentations in the smaller venues. As it is a television rather than a computer monitor the resolution is relatively low at 640 x 480 pixels.
- Resolution
- A measure of the fineness of detail that can be seen in an image on a computer or video display. An image with a higher resolution than the display it will be seen on will lose some detail, while one that is smaller will seem to be stretched and may appear fuzzy or blurred.
- Roving mic
- Handheld radio mics that are taken around the venue by our ushers to amplify questions from the audience.
- VGA
- A type of computer video connection that is standard on most PCs but not on Apple Mac computers which will require an adaptor to work with the projection equipment at the Book Festival. As the type of adaptor required varies, please let us know the model of your laptop if you are bringing an Apple Mac and need us to provide an adaptor.
- VHS
- The normal standard for domestic video cassette tapes in the UK.
- XLR
- A professional audio connector used for microphones and other similar equipment.