Line #27 Main/RasterVision


1	[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/scanlines.png]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Results may vary.]]
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4	Summary: Flicker caused by the mismatch between the framerate the video being recorded is at and the framerate of a TV set or other video onscreen.
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6	In the age of analog television, TV pictures were transmitted as a series of lines that were drawn on the screen extremely fast. The term for this type of image is "raster," from the Latin "rastrum," meaning "rake." Flatscreens don't do this, and instead produce a moving picture as a series of quick stills, as film does.
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8	During the era in which Raster Vision was a genuine phenomenon, movies that showed television tended to aim for CrystalClearPicture, either using a picture drop-in or a special TV set with the same refresh rate as a film camera (24 frames per second). Actual TV sets (in North America, at least) refreshed at 59.94 fps,[[note]]Analog [=TVs=] refreshed at the AC power line frequency, which is 50 or 60hz depending on region. American numbers will be used from here on. To get a decent resolution through a limited bandwidth ''and'' to have a CRT flicker fast enough to be watchable, interlacing was used. Interlacing means showing odd number scan lines in 1/59.94th of a second, then even number lines in the next 1/59.94th of a second. That meant the framerate was technically 29.97fps, but refresh rate was doubled. If the TV flickered at 30hz, that would be annoying at best, and EpilepticFlashingLights at worst.[[/note]] and this speed mismatch produced a strong, unpleasant flicker in the filmed image.
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10	Although precursor examples (such as the [[HologramProjectionImperfection holograms]] in Franchise/StarWars) existed, Raster Vision became common when film and television production fully entered the digital age. As with LensFlare before it, Raster Vision - once an unsightly product of technical limitations - became an aesthetic unto itself. Examples in media are one of two types:
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12	'''Genuine:''' A filmed TV set, with flicker and scan lines. Prior to the advent of videotape,[[note]]That's ''professional'' videotape, not the consumer Platform/{{VCR}} and camcorder formats common in TheEighties and [[TheNineties 90s]]. First noted with Quadruplex 2 inch videotape in 1956.[[/note]] TV shows (except for {{Soap Opera}}s) were generally filmed, rather than taped, and will show flicker.[[note]]At first, tape equipment was not portable, leading to VideoInsideFilmOutside. That was until the advent of portable video cameras in TheEighties, such as Betacam. Even after that, some shows such as ''Series/{{Friends}}'' and ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' were shot entirely on 35mm film. The final complication is that some series (and commercials), such as ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' were shot on film, transferred to videotape, then edited on tape.[[/note]] (Recording a TV set with a camera with the same refresh rate and the correct shutter speed doesn't produce flicker). Scan lines are most noticeable on black and white sets, which have a single, uniform layer of greenish-white zinc sulfide on the inside of the picture tube. The different systems for reproducing color have overlaying patterns (known as the Dot Pitch, more info on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dot_pitch the other wiki]]) that obscure the raster effect to a degree.
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14	'''Simulated:''' Much more common in 21st century media. Scan lines are often much thicker than they were on CRT televisions - a visibly thick line is impractical for picture reproduction - and appear on flat screens and holograms, neither of which reproduce pictures as raster images. The image may also have more detail than the scan lines should be able to provide.
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16	Compare {{Strobing}} and DeliberateVHSQuality. Contrast CrystalClearPicture, which is fixing the de-sync between InUniverse screens and the camera to avoid this effect. The simulated version is commonly used as a HologramProjectionImperfection.
17	----
18	!!Raster Vision examples:
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20	[[foldercontrol]]
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22	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
23	* The 2003 ''Literature/KinosJourney'' anime was animated in a way that resembled scan lines on an old CRT TV.
24	[[/folder]]
25
26	[[folder:Books]]
27	* The cover of ''UniversalHarvester'' has raster lines as part of a design that looks like decaying videotape cranked up.
28	[[/folder]]
29
30	[[folder:ComicBooks]]
31	* Perhaps the earliest example comes from "Captain [=TVideo=]," a spoof on ''Series/CaptainVideo'' that appeared in a 1954 issue of ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'' magazine (still a comic book at the time). ''Every single panel'' is covered with hand-drawn horizontal lines, which add to the spoof's running joke that the production values of ''Captain Video'' were terrible (which, by all accounts, they were).
32	[[/folder]]
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34	[[folder:Film -- Animation]]
35	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'': Raster lines can be seen on the TV screen when Miguel watches old video tapes of Ernesto in the attic.
36	* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', these can be seen on the Lee family's TV when they watch an episode of the ''Jade Palace Diaries'' and an ad for 4*Town.
37	[[/folder]]
38
39	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
40	* Common in the films of the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse.
41	* ''Film/{{Videodrome}}'': While the film averted the trope by being the first to feature low-flicker television, the trope is used in stylized form on the poster's logo, however.
42	* Used for a VideoPhone showing only [[InvisiblePresident the back of the President's head]] in ''Film/TheCrazies1973.'' Had the president turned around, the viewers would have seen it was [[CreatorCameo director]] Creator/GeorgeRomero.
43	* Used in ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope]]'' for the holograms. This is an early use of Raster Vision as an aesthetic - the crummy holograms fit in with the worn-out nature of the tech shown in the movies.
44	* Seen on the Nostromo's various computer monitors in ''Film/{{Alien}}'' (but see ''VideoGame/AlienIsolation'' under video games, below).
45	* ''Vertical'' raster bars appear on the TV set inside the Construct in ''Film/TheMatrix''.
46	* Once LaResistance has unlocked the data from the mind of ''Film/JohnnyMnemonic'', J-Bone hijacks the airwaves to wide-band (broadcast) the cure for Neural Attenuation Syndrome to the masses. His broadcast is twitchy and low-resolution, but still coherent. This undermines the EvilPlan of Pharmakom and the Yakuza to keep much of humanity tethered to a cure to the disorder they created.
47	* In the original ''Film/RoboCop1987'', the title character sees in raster lines after becoming a cyborg. The same applied to the TV series adaptation.
48	* On the close-up shots of televisions in ''Film/LethalWeapon''.
49	* In the holographic interface in ''Film/{{Paycheck}}''.
50	* Used for some (but not all) video screens in ''Film/{{Interstellar}}''.
51	* Appears on the final TV screen shown in ''Film/DontBreathe''.
52	* Used not only for video footage but for the ''poster'' of ''Film/EuropaReport''.
53	* ''Film/{{Contact}}'' features a lot of this, with a whole scene dedicated to showing a science team trying to make sense of a TV signal from deep space.
54	[[/folder]]
55
56	[[folder:Miniseries]]
57	* Appears on the spaceship's black and white monitors screen in ''[[Series/AscensionMiniseries Ascension]].''
58	[[/folder]]
59
60	[[folder:MusicVideos]]
61	* In the video for "Ghost", part of the WebAnimation/MysterySkullsAnimated series, this effect is used for a flashback... as shown in a ''picture frame''...
62	* The video for Music/WeirdAlYankovic's "Word Crimes" includes a snippet recreating the Windows 95 desktop as seen on a CRT monitor.
63	* Used for the opening seconds of Music/MeghanTrainor's "NO" video.
64	* Used in the video for "Crack" by Music/TheLeftRights (the part that recreates Super Mario Bros.)
65	[[/folder]]
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67	[[folder:Television]]
68	* Occurs naturally on the CRT VideoPhone screens in ''Series/BabylonFive.''
69	* Appears in the period-correct screens on ''Series/StrangerThings''.
70	* Appears on the TV screens in ''Series/TheManInTheHighCastle'' (which, somewhat oddly, are 16:9 [=CRTs=] - in the 1960s.)
71	* Used in the archival footage in the Creator/{{Netflix}} documentary series ''Wild Wild Country''.
72	* Used throughout the ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'' episode "Final Cut" for everything CaughtOnTape by Fleet News Service.
73	[[/folder]]
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75	[[folder:VideoGames]]
76	* In order to recreate the feel of the Nostromo from ''Alien'' in ''VideoGame/AlienIsolation'', CRT screens were videotaped, with that footage then dropped into the game and displayed on in-game screens for the proper analog feel.
77	* ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'': Most of the secret minigames that appear since the second installment are made to resemble a typical Atari game, complete with raster vision.
78	* Used for the dispenser screens in ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2.''
79	* Used on the futuristic computer screens of the Combine in ''VideoGame/HalfLife2''
80	* Shown in ''VideoGame/{{SOMA}}''. Especially odd for the setting, being in the year 2104 using flat-screen monitors.
81	* Raster lines appear as an overlay on kill screen playbacks in ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}''.
82	* This actually has been promoted to a full-on ''feature'' on some emulators and retro game compilations, to emulate the look of playing the game on a CRT TV. The reason being is that old game consoles actually did have more pronounced black lines compared to watching TV normally -- they displayed in a non-interlaced format where only one of the video fields would get used, and at double the rate it normally would be. With the other field going completely ignored, this gave the image a scan line look and to some degree helped mask the lower resolution of early game consoles. Since some people prefer it to look that way as opposed to ultra-sharp and blocky pixels, this option has become a bit commonplace. Just to name one example, the [[https://stella-emu.github.io/ Stella]] Platform/Atari2600 emulator includes this option.
83	** Which makes sense given that games were developed on CRT monitors. The art was made to be viewed through scan lines. It's especially noticeable with the 16-bit era where the expanded color range mixed with the scan lines is processed by the brain much more efficiently than clear blocky pixels on modern screens, giving the [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cezinqq.jpg illusion]] of greater detail than what's really displayed.
84	[[/folder]]
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86	[[folder:Web Comics]]
87	* While not animated several screens in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' have lines on them to emulate this effect, such as [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20150925 these ones in Paris,]] the simulated effect can also be observed on [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20151014 Madame Desmana's holographic head.]]
88	[[/folder]]
89
90	[[folder:WebVideo]]
91	* The outro for ''WebVideo/GameGrumps'' takes the form of a CRT screen (with the show's logo burned into it).
92	[[/folder]]
93
94	[[folder:WesternAnimation]]
95	* The Ellipse-Creator/{{Nelvana}} adaptation of ''Franchise/{{Tintin}}'' liked to show screens with flickering bars.
96	[[/folder]]

Context Main / RasterVision