HTPC – Home Theater Personal Computer – A PC based computer which usually streamlined for media applications & streaming. Can be used with a tuner card to watch, record, or stream media on computers.

WMC – Windows Media Center – Microsoft’s main entertainment center product which can be found on certain versions of Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.

WMCE – Windows Media Center Extender – A WMC compliant device that can extend viewing to a television.  The XBOX 360 is the most common example.

HDHomeRun – A product by SiliconDust that can tune in OTA digital TV via an antenna and serve them to computers on a home network.  The Elgato version allows streaming the signal to Macs, iPads, and iPhones.

Roku – a device for streaming Internet based media like NetFlix and Hulu to a television

WD TV Live – Western Digital’s Roku like device

HDVP – High Bandwidth Digital Content Protection – A technology designed to protect HD content.

HDMI – High Definition Multimedia Interface – A standard that provides for the transmission of audio and video signals over a single cable. Max bandwith of an HDMI cable is ~37Mbps.