Platform SDK: Broadcast Architecture

B

back channel
The segment of a two-way communications system that flows from the consumer back to the content provider, or to a system component, to provide feedback.
bandwidth
Literally, the frequency range of an electromagnetic signal, measured in hertz (cycles per second). The term has come to refer more generally to the capacity of a channel to carry information, as measured in data transferred per second. Transfer of digital data, for example, is measured in bits per second.
baseband
Describes transmissions using the entire spectrum as one channel. Alternatively, baseband describes a communication system in which only one signal is carried at any time. An example of the latter is S-video or a composite video signal that is not modulated to a particular television channel. See also broadband.
broadband
Describes high-frequency transmissions over coaxial cable or optical fibers, involving sending several data streams simultaneously. Broadband is also sometimes used to describe high-speed networks in general. See also baseband.
broadcast
In general terms, a transmission sent simultaneously to more than one recipient. Broadcast Architecture uses a version of broadcasting used on the Internet known as multicast. In multicast, each transmission is assigned its own Internet Protocol (IP) multicast address, allowing clients to filter incoming data for specific packets of interest at the network interface card.
Broadcast Architecture
The Microsoft computer software and hardware design that enables personal computers to act as clients of broadband digital and analog broadcast networks.
broadcast client
A personal computer that can receive and display broadband digital and analog broadcasts, blending television with new forms of information and entertainment. Broadcast client programming can include television, audio, Web sites, and computer data content.
broadcast receiver card
A printed circuit board or adapter that can be plugged into a computer to receive and process broadcast signals, such as television or other broadcast data. One type of broadcast receiver card is a satellite receiver card. Another is an analog television tuner card.