Analogue Snow

[NotAllThere]

There's an article in this week's New Scientist about the fact that pretty soon , with the switch over to digital, that "snow" you get on an untuned TV will be a thing of the past. Until someone deliberately recreates the effect.

Which, funnily enough, they have.

Go to youtube and select any video. Before it's fully loaded, switch off your internet connection.



I don't know how long it's been around, but I kind of like it. Links nicely with the most recent xkcd

[adubya]

I get the snow effect every time I turn my TV on as it defaults to displaying the analogue-in source. Only when I turn the digital STB on does the TV detect an alternative signal (on the SCART) and switch to that. So until I get shot of the telly then the snow remains

[SupremeSpod]

There's an article in this week's New Scientist about the fact that pretty soon , with the switch over to digital, that "snow" you get on an untuned TV will be a thing of the past. Until someone deliberately recreates the effect.

Which, funnily enough, they have.

Go to youtube and select any video. Before it's fully loaded, switch off your internet connection.



I don't know how long it's been around, but I kind of like it. Links nicely with the most recent xkcd

Very good for generating "random" numbers.

[BrilloPad]

Ernie's been using white noise for random numbers since the 50s.

Wise?

[KentPhilip]

Wise?

Premium bonds.
Ernie is the computer wot picks the winning bonds.


I thought the white noise on analogue televisions came from background radiation from the big bang?

[xoggoth]

Not sure how but I discovered the other day that turning on an ancient analogue video sender I found in the attic completely blocks out the TV, even though we have gone digital. Great for when the missus is annoying me with constant watching of sport on TV.

[Spacecadet]

. Until someone deliberately recreates the effect.

The main issue with that is that it takes more digital bandwidth to transmit the snow effect than it does to send a normal picture

[KentPhilip]

If that's one of those horrid Band IV/Band V "video senders", it's probably tuned to one of the digital multiplexes.

The one I had (it's gone now, honest officer*) had a hideous spectrum that include 350MHz & 700MHz "carriers".


*There's a £5k fine simply for possession of one of these abortions.

A £5K fine for possessing a police officer?