A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. A showerthought should offer a unique perspective on an ordinary part of life.
The static on old CRT TVs with rabbit ears was the cosmic microwave background. No one in the last 25 years has ever seen it.
#CHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSH
Hair stands up
DAE remember that movie White Noise? The climax was fucking horrifying and I have to admit that it haunted me for quite a while.
For better or worse, kids today probably won't get it.
Is it worth scarring myself to know the context?
That's not background, that's a free channel that showcases a polar bear in a snowstorm.
The ant races
By the way, the picture illustrating the post isn't actually displaying the real thing - the noise in it is too squarish and has no grey tones.
TV static in recent movies and shows that are set in the past almost always instantly pull me out of the narrative because no one seems to be able to get it right and some are just stunningly bad. It's usually very subtle, so much so that I'm not sure I could even describe what's wrong. Makes me feel old to notice it.
I think the problem is because CRT displays didn't have pixels so the uniform noise which is static was not only uniformely spread in distribution and intensity (i.e. greyscale level) but also had "dots" of all sizes.
Also another possible thing that's off is the speed at which the noise changes: was it the 25fps refresh rate of a CRT monitor, related to that rate but not necessarily at that rate or did the noise itself had more persistent and less persistent parts?
The noise is basically the product of radio waves at all frequencies with various intensities (though all low) with only the ones that could pass the bandpass filter of the TV tuner coming through (and being boosted up in intensitity by automatic gain control) and being painted along a phosphorous screen (hence no pixels) as the beam draw line by line the screen 25 times per second so to get that effect right you probably have to simulate it mathematically from a starting point of random radio noise and it can't be going through things with pixels (such as 3D textures) to be shown and probably requires some kind of procedural shader.
My grandpa always just called it "The ant races"
I saw on 'how it's made' a conveyer belt of a bunch of apples and it reminded me of the TV static the way they all rolled around forming random structures like a crystal. From then on I always think of apples on a conveyerbelt when I see static.
I have actually, we had a big old crt tv way back when
As person born after 2000, I used to play a lot of games on them Wii and GameCube mainly. The image and responsiveness really felt different. I do kinda miss them
I was born after 2000 (though not too long after) and this is actually one of my core memories. I think about the sounds of the static and the sound of the CRT turning off all the time.
Also, we had a really old tv in our basement till at least 2008 that had no remote, just knobs and I remember messsing with the “hue” dial all the time trying to figure out how it worked.
The only reason that tv worked so late is that we had a black box connected to the antenna which I later learned was converting the digital signal to analog for the TV.
Also, you’ve just reminded me that I remember the switch from analog to digital. Specifically, I remember watching Elmo talking with some adult on TV about the change. Now I really want to find that video. I think the guy was wearing a suit had short dark hair and glasses. I also think the background was pinkish purple. I want to know how accurate my memories from so long ago are. (I’ll add the link to the video in an edit if I can find it)
Edit: I cannot find the video :(
Opening line of Neuromancer doesn't make much sense any more "The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.”
No one in the last 25 years has ever seen it.
I mean you can still find a CRT today and turn it on if you like, they're less common for sure, but they're still around if you're looking for one
My family had several tvs that did this until around 2013
The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel. - William Gibson, Neuromancer
One of the most beautiful opening lines to a novel.
Maybe not directly on their TV set, but there are more than enough references to it in TV and film media that it's still known almost universally.
Everything from old beloved films to Modern period shows. Its literally an overused way to establish the narrative isnt taking place in the present.
CRTs were fairly common until the early-mid 10s
I'd say born after 2008ish aren't likely to be familiar with them, except seeing the odd one in their grandparents bedroom
On a CRT? Sure, probably a lot haven't seen it. On a modern TV? Still possible for some - mine does this if I hit the channel button rather than volume accidentally.
I was born in the 90s, my brothers were born in the early 2000s. We had a CRT into the early 2010s . Maybe people who weren't poor haven't seen real TV static but even then I doubt it. Hell, remember those god awful "flat screen" CRTs? My old station still had one of those that we used to watch TV on in 2018-19. It's probably still there lol
I actually liked the flat screen crts. I have a 1080p flatscreen crt and I love it. Can’t use it though because I’m scared my kids will get crushed by it.
yeah i have
I think they call it "analog horror noise" now, along with vhs cassettes.
...
Feel the passage of time XD