The world of TV and audio products is full of exciting features and confusing acronyms. Our jargon busters aim to help you translate the technobabble and decide which features will be most useful for you.
AirPlay is Apple's standard for streaming high quality music and other media over Wi-Fi or Ethernet. You can use it to stream your music from an AirPlay-compatible Apple device or iTunes on your computer to an AirPlay-compatible Pure product. If you have the iOS Pure Lounge app you can also use AirPlay to stream all the Lounge content to your AirPlay-compatible Pure product. If you use iTunes, AirPlay can also stream to multiple systems in multiple rooms. Airplay enables two way synchronization – change the volume on one device and the changes will be mirrored on the other.
See Pure Connect app.
An optional rechargeable battery pack for portable Pure products, ChargePAK is a fit-and-forget solution that charges in-unit while your Pure product is connected to the mains so that it's ready to go when you are. ChargePAKs are more economical than regular batteries and significantly kinder to the environment, because they reduce the amount of hazardous materials sent to landfill. Several ChargePAK models are available: you can find out which one is suitable for your product by checking its details on this site or on the Pure support site at http://support.pure.com.
Available on some Pure digital radios, Listen Later enables you to save your favourite digital radio programme and play it back later. Listen Later memory holds up to about 45 minutes worth of recording (depending on the bitrate of the broadcast) and the programme is stored in memory until the unit is switched off or the programme is overwritten.
An Apple certification standard that guarantees iPad compatibility.
An Apple certification standard that guarantees iPhone compatibility.
An Apple certification standard that guarantees iPod compatibility.
Pure music streaming and radio systems bring an entire world of audio entertainment simply and easily within your reach. They connect to the internet using the same Wi-Fi standard as laptop computers, and allow you to listen to thousands of internet radio stations; play on-demand radio programmes, podcasts and ambient sounds; stream millions of music tracks via the Pure Music subscription service and play music streamed from your PC or Mac. Pure Stream compatible devices also let you stream music from your iPod touch, iPhone, iPad or Android device using the Pure Connect app. Music streaming and radio systems also receive broadcast digital and FM radio, and update themselves automatically, downloading and adding new product features as soon as they become available.
Pure PowerPort is a USB power socket suitable for USB-powered accessories such as mobile phone chargers, LED lamps, USB fans and more. PowerPort is not suitable for use with data accessories such as USB hubs.
Pure connect (connect.pure.com) is an online media portal that provides Pure music streaming and radio systems with access to thousands of internet radio stations, on-demand programmes, podcasts, ambient sounds, and millions of music tracks via the Pure Music subscription service. Pure Connect makes the huge quantity of listening available on the internet manageable with its powerful search function and ability to save and share favourites and playlists.
The free Pure Connect app is available for iPod touch, iPhone, iPad and Android devices and gives you access to thousands of internet radio stations, on-demand programmes, podcasts, ambient sounds and millions of music tracks via the Pure Music subscription service. You can also use it to stream music stored on your Apple or Android device to Pure Stream-compatible music streaming and radio systems. The Pure Connect app is available from the Apple App Store and Google Play.
The Pure Music subscription service gives you instant access to millions of tracks from one of the world's largest music catalogues covering almost every conceivable artist and genre. You can listen to Pure Music on Pure music streaming and radio systems, on the Pure Connect website and on iPod touch, iPhone, iPad and Android devices running the Pure Connect app. Pure Music is currently available in the UK only. Please check this website periodically for news of availability in other countries.
A collection of evocative ambient sounds available via Pure music streaming and radio systems, the Pure Connect app, or the Pure Connect website.
This feature that enables you to use the Pure Connect app to stream music stored on your iPod touch, iPhone, iPad or Android device to a Pure Stream compatible Pure music streaming and radio system connected to the same Wi-Fi network. You can also use it to control the Pure Connect content (internet radio stations, on-demand radio programmes, podcasts and music from the Pure Music subscription service) playing on your music streaming and radio system.
RF (Radio Frequency) remote controls have a longer range than infrared remotes and do not need line-of-sight.
On some Pure digital radios you can pause and rewind live digital radio at the touch of a button. From the moment you begin listening to a digital station, the audio is saved to internal memory (usually up to a maximum of 15 minutes), so that if your listening is interrupted you can pause, rewind and listen again.
SD (Secure Digital) memory cards are widely used in digital cameras, digital camcorders, laptops, PDAs, media players and mobile phones.
A touch-sensitive handle used on some Pure products. One touch snoozes the alarm or illuminates the clock.
A USB port which enables you to play MP3 and WMA files stored on a USB memory stick.
A mini USB input for product upgrades. When new features and improvements become available, software upgrades and full instructions are posted on the Pure support pages (http://support.pure.com) and registered users are notified by e-mail. To run updates you'll need an internet-connected PC running Microsoft Windows and a USB cable to connect your PC to your Pure product.
The popular wireless technology used by laptop computers. All our streaming music and radio systems use Wi-Fi and are certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance.
5.1 is a surround sound system that comprises five speakers – three speakers positioned left, middle and right of your screen and two additional speakers positioned rear left and rear right of your room, plus a subwoofer for the low frequency sounds (the “.1” in 5.1).
A surround sound system that comprises seven speakers - three speakers positioned left, middle and right of your screen, two speakers positioned rear left and rear right of your room, two speakers positioned to the side of your room, plus a subwoofer for the low frequency sounds (the “.1” in 7.1). Due to the advanced nature of this format, 7.1 is currently only to be found on Blu-ray discs.
There are two main types of high definition (HD) picture – 1080i and 1080p. HD TV is broadcast in 1080i, but high-definition Blu-ray discs are recorded in 1080p, which is marginally more detailed and realistic. This is because on 1080p the 1,080 horizontal lines are scanned progressively, or one after another.
With 1080i even then odd lines are scanned alternately to make up the picture, however the difference is really quite subtle. 1080p is not broadcast, because the pictures would simply take up too much space, or bandwidth.
This is an additional narration for visually impaired people that describes significant visual information, such as body language and scenery.
If you leave your equipment switched on when not in use, this handy energy-saving feature will switch it into standby after a given period.
AVI is a file format containing about both audio and video
A high-definition DVD format developed by Sony. A Blu-ray disc can hold nine hours of high-definition (HD) video and around 23 hours of standard-definition (SD) video on a 50GB disc. Blu-ray pictures are recorded in 1080p, which is subtly more detailed and realistic than the 1080i HD broadcast signal.
There are two types of digital audio connections - coaxial (wire) and optical (fibre optic).
DivX represents a group of codecs used to carry both audio and video
Electronic programme guides display schedules of the week’s digital programmes onscreen - a bit like having an electronic TV guide at the touch of a button.
A service that provides digital television through an aerial. The service is ‘free to air’, which means that viewers don’t need to subscribe to watch the broadcasts.
A free-to-air service launched in 2010, offering all the usual Freeview content plus a handful of high-definition channels. To watch it you’ll need a specific Freeview HD set-top box or HDTV.
Full HD is often used interchangeably with the term 1080p. Although it is true to say that a Full HD TV has a resolution of 1920 x 1080, there is a little more to it than this.
Not to be confused with ‘Full HD’ the HD Ready logo appears on TV’s that are compatible with HDTV (High Definition TV) signals.
Hard disk drive. Familiar to computer users, these devices are now appearing in PVRs and some DVD recorders as a convenient and flexible way of recording TV programmes. The larger the hard-disk size, the more recordings you can store.
High definition socket for connecting HDTVs to high definition equipment such as HD games consoles or Blu-ray players. Some standard DVD players also feature an HDMI output. This is a high-definition video socket, which many manufacturers claim will enhance standard-definition DVD pictures when connected to a HD ready TV.
HD TV transmits a high-definition TV signal with roughly twice the standard picture resolution as normal standard-definition television.
MPEG is a file format containing for video
Picture-in-picture displays a small image of another channel or DVD in the corner of the screen while you watch the main image.
A programmable video recorder is a digital television hard-disk recorder. You programme it using an onscreen display of TV listings, which makes it much easier to use than a VCR or DVD recorder. This often represented by a + symbol after Freeview.
Standard definition is the quality of picture we’re used to. It is broadcast in 576i resolution (576 vertical pixels, interlaced scanning).