a) A system in which the components are time-multiplexed into one channel using time-domain techniques; that is the components are kept separate by being sent at different times through the same channel. There are many different MAC formats and standards.

b) A means of time multiplexing component analog video down a single transmission channel such as coax, fiber, or a satellite channel. Usually involves digital processes to achieve the time compression.

c) A large family of television signal formats sharing the following two characteristics: color remains in a component rather than composite form, and luminance and chrominance components are time compressed so that active line time remains constant, with chrominance following luminance.

Most of the MACs also include digital audio/data channels. Since they are non-composite, MACs do not suffer from any cross-luminance or crosscolor effects. Since they are time compressed, they tend to have a greater base bandwidth than composite signals. See also ACLE, A-MAC, B-MAC, D-MAC, D-MAC, D2-MAC, HD-MAC, HD-MAC60, MAC-60, MUSE, and S-MAC.