The screen every old television showed on a dead channel: a full-screen storm of black-and-white snow with that unmistakable hiss. Click for fullscreen and you have an instant TV static screen — no plugin, no video to buffer, drawn live in your browser.
Turn on the sound for the classic static noise, switch between black & white snow and full-color noise, and drag the Tune slider to fade from pure static toward a signal breaking through — the color bars ghosting in behind the noise, exactly like a channel almost locking in. There is a rolling hold bar, scanlines and a CRT vignette, so it reads like a real tube, not a flat field of dots.
Looking for the calm blue "no signal" card and test pattern instead? That lives on the No Signal page.
What people use it for
Film, video & horror props
A believable dead-channel effect for a scene, sketch or music video — the static-and-snow shorthand for "something is wrong" since Poltergeist and The Ring. No footage to license.
Retro & vaporwave aesthetic
Cast it to a CRT in the corner of a stream or room for instant analog-era atmosphere, VHS tracking and all.
Static noise on demand
Toggle the sound alone and use the hiss like white noise — some people find the harsher static better at masking sudden sounds.
Screen & speaker test
Full-screen noise exercises every pixel at once, and the hiss is a quick way to check both speakers are alive.
Frequently asked questions
What causes TV static and snow?
On an analog set an empty channel had no broadcast to display, so the TV amplified faint radio noise from the atmosphere and electronics into random dots and hiss. A small part of that noise is even microwave radiation left over from the early universe.
Is the static noise the same as white noise?
It is close — static is essentially shaped white noise with more high-frequency content and occasional crackle. If you want a smoother, softer sound for sleep, the white noise player is gentler.
Can I get color static instead of black and white?
Yes. Classic TV snow is black, white and grey, but the Color button switches to full RGB noise. Use the Tune slider to bring a signal through the snow.
Does it need a video download?
No. The static is generated live on a canvas and the sound is synthesized in real time, so nothing is downloaded and it never loops.
Is flashing static safe to watch?
For most people, yes, but rapidly flickering high-contrast noise can affect people with photosensitive epilepsy. This page respects your system's reduce-motion setting, which slows the flicker and calms the effect; if you are sensitive to flashing, keep the window small or avoid fullscreen.