test pattern

American  

noun

Television.

1. a geometric design broadcast to receivers for testing the quality of transmission, often identifying the transmitting station and channel.

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Etymology

Origin of test pattern

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

Jackson’s image glows blood-red, then flips to a television test pattern as the kids file out into the world.

From Los Angeles Times

During the evening, Mr. Morrisett told the guests that his daughter Sarah was so mesmerized by TV that she would watch the test pattern on weekend mornings until cartoons began.

From New York Times

Writer-director-producer Shatara Michelle Ford saw her movie “Test Pattern” nominated for first feature, first screenplay and female lead for Brittany S. Hall.

From Los Angeles Times

Our New Generation prize, given to a breakout filmmaker or performer, was awarded jointly to Shatara Mitchell Ford, who made one of the year’s sharpest debut features with “Test Pattern,” and Tatiana Huezo, who made a powerful swerve from nonfiction into fiction with the devastating “Prayers for the Stolen.”

From Los Angeles Times

“All Light, Everywhere,” “Bergman Island,” “The Card Counter,” “C’mon C’mon,” “Flee,” “In the Same Breath,” “The Lost Daughter,” “Mass,” “The Mitchells vs. the Machines,” “MLK/FBI,” “Nightmare Alley,” “Pig,” “Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time,” “President,” “Raya and the Last Dragon,” “The Suicide Squad,” “Test Pattern,” “Tick, Tick … Boom!,”

From Los Angeles Times