Oh man, JWZ’s digital TV plays analogue static when there’s no HDMI input:
Video static is caused by amplifying random radio white noise and feeding it to the input stage of a scanning electron gun. HDMI is digital and DRM’ed all the way through: there is no analog phase here at all!
This TV is playing a built-in MPEG of static, instead of just displaying solid blue or solid black like they used to do.
I think that’s kind of awesome. The map has become the territory.
Skeumorphantastic comments, too.
Snow Crash [Simulated] [jwz.org]