Understanding the difference between analog and digital video signals is fundamental to glitch art. Each type degrades and glitches in fundamentally different ways.

Analog Signals

Analog video signals are continuous electrical waveforms. When they degrade, they do so gracefully — introducing noise, color shifts, rolling, and scan line distortions. This graceful degradation is what makes analog video so appealing for glitch art. The artifacts are smooth, organic, and often beautiful.

Digital Signals

Digital video signals are discrete data. When they fail, they tend to fail in blocks — macroblocking, frame freezing, data corruption artifacts. Digital glitches have a distinctly different character: more geometric, more abrupt, and often involving compression artifacts.

In Practice

Most glitch art setups involve both. Analog devices process and glitch the signal, while digital capture cards record the output. Understanding where analog ends and digital begins in your signal chain helps you predict and control the types of glitches you’ll get.