Term

Meaning

Codec

A codec is a device or computer program capable of encoding and/or decoding a digital data stream or signal. The word codec is a portmanteau of 'compressor-decompressor' or, most commonly, 'coder-decoder'.

Tree Menu

The tree menu is found on the left hand pane of the Mediacaster User Interface. It contains all the Clients or Groups and their attendant Media, Players, Playlists, Overlays and Schedules.

Toolbar

The toolbar is found on the top of the application under the standard Windows menu bar. It has quick link icons for the main product functions.

Player

A Player in Mediacaster is the device that plays the media content the user defines. Players are configured in two separate locations – on the player device and in the Mediacaster Manager.

Playlist

A Playlist is a container for a group of media files that maintains a sequence of play for them.

Overlay

An Overlay is a collection of screen elements that conform to a design template. The screen elements include text, text files, media, RSS, ODBC data sources, web pages and pictures.

Schedule

A Schedule is a container for a group of Playlists or Overlays and times and dates when the Playlists or Overlays should be displayed.

Media

Media files are all audio and video files. Some of the media files supported by Mediacaster are images (.bmp, jpg, .ico, .gif), videos (.mov, .avi, .mpg, .m1v etc.), Flash (.swf) and PowerPoint (.pps)

Channel

A Channel is a container for a group of Players. This makes it easier to manage large groups of Players globally.

ODBC Database

An ODBC compliant database allows other applications to connect to and access information from the database with a standard set of commands. Mediacaster can therefore connect to any ODBC compliant data source.

RSS

RSS (an abbreviation for Really Simple Syndication) is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works—such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video—in a standardized format.

Plugin

A plugin is a sophisticated element (usually Flash) that can be implemented in an Overlay design in Mediacaster.

GPS

GPS, which stands for Global Positioning System, is a radio navigation system that allows land, sea, and airborne users to determine their exact location, velocity, and time 24 hours a day, in all weather conditions, anywhere in the world.

VOD

Video On Demand (VOD) systems allow users to select and watch/listen to video content on demand.