Glossary
Broadcast Technician Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential broadcast technician terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key broadcast technician vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in broadcast technician training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Bitrate
- Data rate.
- EAS
- Emergency Alert System.
- Encoder
- Converts signals.
- FCC
- Federal Communications Commission.
- IP video
- Video over networks.
- Live broadcast
- Real-time transmission.
- Live truck
- Remote broadcast vehicle.
- Master control
- Final signal control.
- On air
- Broadcasting live.
- Playout
- Scheduled broadcast system.
- Rundown
- Show order.
- Studio
- Recording space.
- Switcher
- Selects video sources.
- Transmitter
- Sends the signal.
- Waveform monitor
- Measures video signal.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Broadcast Technician practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Broadcast Technician training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.