What is the name of the pattern that appears in old TVs when signal is lost(white&black dots)?

Question

What is the name of the pattern that appears in old TVs when signal is lost(white&black dots)?

Answer 1

Snow

Answer 2

technical term is video noise.  even tech geeks call it snow.

Answer 3

I don't know the technical term, but most people just call it static, snow, or fuzz. Often, you'll also see it shimmer or sport the hazy outlines of very distant VHF and or UHF signals. It applies to any television which uses NTSC analog and doesn't blank weak signals. If you're curious, it's the product of cosmic radiation, otherwise a set would be pitch dark when there's plain no signal.