There is so much jargon in wildlife camera technology and it can be overwhelming. We have put together a list of meaning to cut through the confusion and help you understand.
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
A
Aperture
This is the area of the lens that gathers the light and the iris controls this.
Ariel booster
A device for a wireless camera that can boost a signal to the receiver.
AV
AV or Audio visual. Another term for sound and motion. Many handykam equipment uses AV connectors.
B
BNC
Short for Bayonet Neil Concelman connector. It is a type of connector with a bayonet locking mechanism that is mainly used in professional video connections. Most cables are supplied with BNC connectors to improve quality.
Brood
A term for sitting on (eggs); “Birds brood”; “The female covers the eggs”
C
CCD
Short for Charged Coupled Device. This is a type of image sensor in a camera responsible for transforming light into electrical signals. This is a dedicated technology for camera, but there are other alternatives like CMOS.
CCTV
Short for Closed Circuit Television. Usually a security system using cameras to record footage over a closed circuit network of cables.
Cedar
Short for Western Red Cedar. A durable aromatic wood, perfect for bird boxes.
CMOS
Short for Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor. This is the image sensor of the camera responsible got transforming light into electrical signals. This technology is extensively used in memory chips. They are similar to CCD cameras which offer a slightly superior technology although a cost effective alternative.
Compression
This is the term used to make a file size smaller. It depends on what format you are using and the amount of compression. Ie Bitmap image may be 240kb and Mpeg version may be 24kb.
Connector tray
A piece of wood that sticks out to allow you to wrap the cables around to keep them tidy.
Connectors
Electronic parts that allow the connection of two pieces of equipment or cables. Usually made up of male and female connectors.
D
Day night camera
A camera that can see in day and night.
DC
Short for direct current. A small device that runs on electricity that flows in one direction.
Drill bit
Drill bits are the working end of drill tools. Bits are interchangeable, meaning that they can be removed from the end of the drill.
DVR
Short for Digital Video Recorder. This is a device that records video footage as a digital file on a hard drive. Most DVR’s allow you to record several cameras at once and review it at a later stage.
E
F
False ceiling
A part of the nest box that allows cables to be stored away.
Feeder
A specialist product we produce, allowing you to watch birds as they feed. Feeder – Click here
Field of view
The view of the camera in relation to the angle, distance of the object.
Frame rate
Video is made up of still images glued together to give an animation effect. The higher the frame rate, the more smooth the movie will appear.
G
GHz
Unit of frequency equal to one billion cycles per second. Most wireless cameras are based on GHz.
H
Hole protector
A device made of metal, used to protect a nest box hole from predators.
Hole sizers
Plates with various sizes to restrict certain birds into your nest box. Usually 28mm is good for sparrows, 32mm for tits etc. All nest box packages come with a set of hole sizes.
I
IR
Short for Infra red. Invisible frequency of light enabling you to see in the dark.
J
K
L
M
Megabyte
One million bytes. SI Symbol: MB; 1,048,576 bytes; a mebibyte. Frequently abbreviated MB
Motion capture
Software we sell that allows you to automatically record only when there is motion. This is a good way to reduce filesize and post editing. Click here Motion capture software
N
O
P
Phono
See RCA
Plywood
A wood made from several veneers (called plies), which are stacked together with the direction of each ply’s grain in different directions (often 90 degrees) The plies are bonded under heat and pressure with strong composite material. It is vary strong and durable. We use highest quality FSC graded wood.
Power supply
A device that connects into the mains and then produces the correct amount of power for a camera to operate.
Pulley
A Handykam term for a rod used to pull cables through a wall.
Q
R
RCA plug
Short for Radio Corporation of America. The RCA jack often also called a phono connector or CINCH/AV connector. It is a type of electrical connector which is used for Audio/video market.
Roost
The place where a bird sleeps (usually its nest or a branch); sleep; to come back home.
S
Scart
Short for Syndicat des Constructeurs d’Appareils Radiorecepteurs et Televiseurs is a French-originated standard. It is 21 pin connector used for audio/visual equipment. It is also known as Euroconnector or Peritel.
Semi-wireless
Where a DC cable is used to connect power to a camera allowing it to be continuously stream an AV signal without the need of batteries.
Shielded cable
Cable that has extra protection to prevent loss of signal or interference. Many of our cables use high quality shielded cables
Splitter
A device that allows you to watch an AV signal on many devices like TV’s, computers etc at the same time. Click here: Splitter.
Switcher
A device that allows you to switch between cameras without the need to plug and unplug cables. Click here for Switcher.
T
Testing kit
A kit used by handykam to test equipment.
Tree protector
A device for protecting a tree when you mount a nest box up with wire. All nest box packages comes with this.
TVL
The definition of TVL is Television Lines or Lines of Horizontal Resolution (LoHR). It is the international standard for measuring the resolution of a camera.The TVL amount of horizontal lines in proportion to the height. The more lines = higher resolution or better quality image.
U
USB capture device
A device we sell that allows you to connect any AV camera to a PC. The device is USB based and plugs into a USB2 port. The software that comes with the device allows you to capture, edit and delete footage. Click here: PC USB capture device MAC USB capture device.
V
W
Wired
Camera setup that uses a wire to transmit audio and visual information.
Wireless
Radio-based system that allow transmission of information without physical connection such as copper wire or optical fibre.
