Audio Equiptment

Terms	Definitions
Digital Audio Equipment	1. Computer 2. Mixer 3. Microphones 4. Speakers 5. Headphones 6. Cables/Connectors
Audio Cables	1. RCA 2. XLR 3. Mini 4. 1/4" 5. Fiber Optic 6. Firewire
RCA Cable	Red, white and yellow cables. Commonly used with electronic devices such as televisions, video cameras and DVD players.
XLR Cable	Used for microphones; best audio quality; used by professionals
Mini	Found in many consumer electronic devices such as Mp3 players; poor overall quality
1/4"	Used in music industry for guitars, amps, speakers; also called Phono.
Fiber Optic	Used to connect digital signal from receivers to DVD players, DVRs, TVs
Firewire	Most common way to connect digital audio and video to a computer
Microphone Pickup Patterns	1. Omnidirectional 2. Cardiod 3. Shotgun
Omnidirectional	Captures sound from all directions
Cardioid	Heart shaped pickup pattern. Captures sound a close range. Very little sound is picked up from sides and rear.
Shotgun	Unidirectional - captures sound in the direction the microphone is pointed.