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by flir 701 days ago
This reminds me of a design for analogue TV from the late 80s/early 90s. Instead of the electron gun scanning in horizontal lines, it follows a space-filling, non-crossing, self-similar curve. Want to upgrade the resolution? Just build a TV that renders the curve one generation deeper, and stuff more data into the analogue broadcast signal. Older TVs can still render the new signal, maybe with a slightly higher noise floor.

(Anyone know what I'm talking about? I assume it was obsoleted by digital solutions, but I'd like to know if there were any serious flaws in the design).
2 comments
FredPret 701 days ago
I think arcade games worked like that. Looked it up and oscilloscopes do, too:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vector_monitor

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namanyayg 701 days ago
The concept you're talking about is a Hilbert Curve. But this is the first time I've heard it applied to analogue tv.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-filling_curve

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flir 701 days ago
Yeah, in my memory the pattern was specifically a Hilbert Curve but rotated 45deg (that can't be right, can it? That would just make things harder). I must have seen it between 1987 and 1997.

Ah! Found this: https://www.ripcorddesigns.com/blog-news/who-needs-rastas-an... - there's even a patent! I was searching on space-filling curve, not Hilbert curve.

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