false contouring A picture distortion in digital displays in which dark areas appear as solid blotches. field The odd- or even-numbered lines of a frame.

fill factor In a digital display device, the ratio of pixel area to non-picture areas between the pixels. The higher the fill factor, the smoother-looking the image.

FireWire A wideband digital interface that can carry digital audio, digital video, computer data, and control codes in a single cable composed of three twisted pairs of wires. Officially called IEEE1394 after the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the body that developed the interface.

fixed-pixel display A video display device that uses an array of fixed pixels to create the image. Examples include LCD, DLP, LCoS, and plasma. Contrast with a CRT-based display that has no fixed pixel structure.

fixed-pixel scaler An image scaler that outputs only a single resolution to a fixed-pixel display. A range of output resolutions is unnecessary because the output resolution is factory set for the display with which the scaler is used.

fL See “foot-lambert.”

flat A speaker that accurately reproduces the signal fed to it is called “flat” because that is the shape of its frequency-response curve.

floorstanding speaker A speaker that sits on the floor rather than on a stand.

Foley Sound effects added to a film soundtrack, such as footsteps and doors closing.

foot-lambert (fL) A measure of the amount of light from a video display device.

forward A description of a sonic presentation in which sounds seem to be projected forward, toward the listener.

frame One complete picture in video or film.

frame rate The rate at which frames are displayed, expressed in frames per second (fps). The NTSC television frame rate is 29.97fps; movies are shot and displayed at 24fps.

frequency Number of repetitions of a repeating cycle per second. Measured in hertz (Hz), or cycles per second. An audio signal with a frequency of 1000Hz (1kHz) undergoes1000 cycles per second.

frequency response A graphical representation showing a device’s relative amplitude as a function of frequency.

front projector A video display device that projects an image from a distance onto a separate screen.

full-range speaker A speaker that reproduces bass as well as midrange and treble frequencies.