GLOSSARY
The BaDoink Glossary will help you understand some of the key terms.

AC3
Also known as Dolby Digital, it's a digital audio format from Dolby Labs. It can support up to 5.1 channels of audio.

ASF
Advanced Streaming Format: Microsoft's answer to Real Media and streaming media generally.

AVI
Audio Video Interleave: The video format most commonly used on Windows PCs. It defines how video and audio are attached to each other, without specifying a codec.

Bitrate
In a bit stream, the number of bits occurring per unit time, usually expressed in bits per second.

CBR/VBR
Constant Bitrate Variable Bitrate. Constant bitrate gives equal bits to each frame of a movie. Variable Bitrate gauges which frames need more bits to maintain a better image. Note: high motion scenes require more bits than low motions scenes

Codec
Coder/DECoder: A codec is a piece of software that lets you encode something - usually audio or video - to a specific format, and can decode media encoded in this specific format again. Popular Codecs: MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, Indeo, etc.

Compression
Compression uses mathematic algorithms to store large amounts of digital data in a relatively small amount of space. There are two main kinds of compression, lossy, and loss-less. Loss-less compression includes the RAR/ZIP format, where the original data is compressed, and when de-compressed, the data has not changed. Lossy compression includes most video compression formats, such as JPEG, MPEG-1/2/4 - this means that when the digital data is compresssed and de-compressed, it is no longer the same as the original (usually denoting a loss of quality).

Digital Video
Digital video is usually compressed because it takes Terabytes (thousands of Gigabytes or for the mathematicians among you: 1012 Bytes) to store an uncompressed movie. Because standard lossless compression is insufficient for video, the video codecs have to get rid of irrelevant information - stuff the human eye won't see or is unlikely to see. Since that is still not enough modern compression, algorithms use keyframes and I and P frames to save space.

DivX
DivX is a video technology that compresses digital video so it can be downloaded over DSL or cable modems in a relatively short time with no reduced visual quality.

Encoding
The process of taking a raw uncompressed file and compressing it to an encoded form while maintaining the quality.

Firewall
A firewall is a protective mechanism that allows only computers inside the firewall to make network connections out through the firewall; it will not allow outside computers to make connections into a given computer network. If a servent outside the firewall tries to download a file from a computer inside the firewall, the firewall will prevent this connection from being made. Usually, this results in a push request message being sent to the servent inside the firewall requesting that that servent connect through the firewall and upload the desired file. If the servent requesting the file is himself behind a (different) firewall, then this upload will also be blocked, and there will be no way for the file transfer to occur.

MPEG
MPEG means Motion Picture Expert Group and it's THE resource for video formats in general. This group defines standards in digital video, among it the MPEG-1 standard (used in Video CDs), the MPEG-2 standard (used on DVDs and SVCDs), the MPEG-4 standard (used in DivX video technology) and several audio standards - among them MP3 and AAC.

MPEG-4
MPEG-4 is a standard defined by the Working Group 11 (Moving Picture Expert Group) of ISO (International Standard Organization) in October 1998 (date of the first draft of the standard). It is the standard for the mature digital era. With its added features, MPEG-4 offers better compression, interactivity, and universal Internet/wireless access to the medium

Spyware
This is also known as "adware". It is a hidden software program that transmits user information via the Internet to advertisers. BaDoink does NOT use Spyware in any form or fashion, or will do business with companies that do.

VideoCD
VideoCDs (VCDs) are simply MPEG-1 data (at a specific resolution/data rate - ie. VCD compliant) burned onto CDs using a special CD writing format. You don't need special CD-Rs to make a VCD (any blank CD-R will do), but you'll need a CD writer tool that supports VCD burning. The .mpg files will then appear as .dat files on the VCD. VCDs can also feature limited interaction (VCD version 2.0), and one popular use for VCDs is for Karaoke. The best thing about VCDs is that they are playable in almost all standalone DVD players (that supports CD-R or CD-R/W reading). A usual 2 hour movie will usually require 2 CDs.

VOB Files
All DVD movies are stored in so-called VOB files. VOB files usually contain multiplexed Dolby Digital Audio and MPEG-2 video. VOB Files are called as follows: vts_XX_y.vob where XX represents the title and Y the part of the title. There can be 99 titles and 10 parts, although vts_XX_0.vob never contains any video, usually just menu or navigational information.

WMV
WMV stands for Windows Media Video. It is a proprietary format developed by Microsoft for video streaming (also available for offline uses). Most WMV files are based on Microsoft's MS-Video V7/V8 technology, similar to MS-MPEG-4 V3.