General Terms

Digital rights management (DRM) is a term for access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals to limit the use of digital content and devices. The term is used to describe any technology that inhibits the use of digital content that is not desired or intended by the content provider. The term does not generally refer to other forms of copy protection, which can be circumvented without modifying the file or device, such as serial numbers or keyfiles.

A buffer contains data that is stored for a short amount of time, typically in the computer's memory (RAM). The purpose of a buffer is to hold data right before it is used. For example, when you download an audio or video file from the Internet, it may load the first 20% of it into a buffer and then begin to play. While the clip plays back, the computer continually downloads the rest of the clip and stores it in the buffer. Because the clip is being played from the buffer, not directly from the Internet, there is less of a chance that the audio or video will stall or skip when there is network congestion.

A content management system (CMS) is a database used to manage workflow in a collaborative environment.

A content delivery network or content distribution network (CDN) is a system of computers containing copies of data placed at various nodes of a network.

SDK is an acronym for Software Developers Kit. This refers to a set of development tools that allows for the creation of applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar platform.

Open captions provide the same functionality as closed captions, except they are permanently enabled; open captions cannot be turned off by the user.

Please see the closed captions article here for more information.

Closed captioning is the process of displaying text on a television, video screen or other visual display to provide additional or interpretive information to individuals who wish to access it. Closed captions typically show a transcription of the audio portion of a program as it occurs, either verbatim or in edited form.  Occasionally closed captioning will including non-speech elements. A device or application is required to interpret and decode the embedded closed captions in order to display them on-screen and toggle on/off.

The byte  is a unit of digital information in computing and telecommunications that most commonly consists of eight bits.

A bit (a contraction of binary digit) is the basic unit of information in computing and telecommunications. 

Bandwidth is the amount of information that can be sent via a connection. Generally, this is measured in bits per second.  This is also referred to as throughput. At Encoding.com, we charge via the amount of information transmitted to and from the Encoding.com platform. Think of it as GB in + GB out = charges applied, based on what monthly or pre-paid plan you subscribe to with us.