vertical blanking interval

noun

: the pause between the last line of an image (as on a television display) and the first line of the next image

WorldGate's system allows a TV viewer to click from a show or commercial to a related Web site. The system works over cable, using a set-top box and TV's vertical blanking interval.

—Bradley Johnson, Advertising Age, 10 Feb. 1997

Although most of the broadcast television signal is video, there are also some data streams that go along for the ride. This information is embedded in a part of the signal called the vertical blanking interval.

—J. D. Biersdorfert, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2004

called also blanking interval

Note: The vertical blanking interval was originally required to keep the electron gun of a cathode-ray tube from drawing on the screen while it returned to the starting point after each cycle. In more recent types of displays, the brief gap has proven useful for carrying other types of information that accompany the signal.

Word History

First Known Use

1966, in the meaning defined above

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