Phase Alternate Line: a commonly used colour TV system and is the standard for all TV and video equipment used in the UK. The PAL system uses 625 lines to make up a video or TV picture and scans at 50Hz. Unless otherwise specified, PAL video equipment is only compatible with PAL software and TV broadcasts.
The PC Card Standard defines a 68-pin interface between the peripheral card and the socket into which it gets inserted. It defines three standard PC Card form factors, called Type I, Type II and Type III. All PC Cards measure the same length and width, differing only in thickness. Smaller cards can fit in larger sockets. In addition to electrical and physical specifications, the PC Card Standard defines a software architecture to provide "plug and play" capability across the widest range of products. For Panasonic Products it is a device to allow a memory card to be plugged into a computer for the transfer of data.
Pulse Code Modulation. Analogue sounds are converted to a digital bitstream signal. 16 bit (48khz) PCM stereo recording allows record and playback with the same sound quality as DAT, which surpasses even CD. Also, in the 12 bit (32khz) mode audio dubbing is possible, utilising 2 stereo channels for the original sound track and 2 more for either narration or music.
Short for: PICture Element, Pixels are the tiny dots of information that make up a digital image. The more pixels there are on the camera's image sensor (CCD or CMOS) or display?s, the higher the image resolution will be. The higher the resolution, the clearer an enlarged print can be.
Progressive scan is a method of displaying an image on a cathode ray tube like a standard television (not an LCD or plasma screen.) A progressive scan system displays the entire image once every sixtieth of a second. The true framerate is therefore 60 frames per second.