When digital mediations replaced the typically continuous analog signal with discrete data, artifacts like clipping, truncation, and quantization were introduced, raising questions about authenticity and integrity.
This shift led to a crisis of fidelity, challenging the reliability of the signal.
This shift led to a crisis of fidelity, challenging the reliability of the signal.
The Collapse of PAL (rendered version, 2010)
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In a live television performance titled the Collapse of PAL, the Angel of History gloomily reflects on the transition from analog Phase Alternate Line signal (PAL, 625 lines, of which 576 visual) to Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB, 720 x 576 pixels).
She expresses a desire to make whole what has been broken, but remains a passive observer, rationalizing the end of the signal:
“PAL is just not good enough.”
Unbeknownst to her then, resolution will never be an endpoint, but rather an ongoing process of endless bends and breaks. While she mourns the violent ending of the signal, invisible traces of PAL persist, haunting the ‘better’ digital systems.
She expresses a desire to make whole what has been broken, but remains a passive observer, rationalizing the end of the signal:
“PAL is just not good enough.”
Unbeknownst to her then, resolution will never be an endpoint, but rather an ongoing process of endless bends and breaks. While she mourns the violent ending of the signal, invisible traces of PAL persist, haunting the ‘better’ digital systems.