Wiktionary
n. (context idiomatic broadcasting English) An unintended interruption in a radio broadcast during which there is no sound; a similar interruption of a television broadcast in which there is neither sound nor a video signal.
WordNet
n. an inadvertent interruption in a broadcast during which there is no sound
Wikipedia
Dead air is defined as "a period of silence especially during a radio broadcast," which has been extended, in some formal definitions, to include both audio and video signals (and so to this extent, to television as well as radio broadcasts). Hence, generalizing, the term can be understood to refer to any unintended period of silence interrupting any media broadcast, during which no signal, audio or video, is transmitted. Technically, the absence of sound in a radio transmission implies that only an unmodulated carrier wave is being transmitted, for modes that send one, or absence of the transmitting signal altogether for modes that do not.
The term is most often used in cases where program material comes to an unexpected halt, either through operator error or for technical reasons. Among professional broadcasters, dead air is considered one of the worst things that can occur. Moreover, having dead air during commercial segments or sponsor announcements can cost networks considerable revenue.
As noted, the term "dead air" is also sometimes used in television broadcasting, generally when a television channel has an interruption to its output, resulting in a blank screen or in the case of digital television, a frozen image, until output is restored or an apology message is broadcast. Some television stations also use the related phrases "in black" and "going to black" for transmitting an unmodulated carrier, meaning both a completely black image and a completely silent audio stream are sent; other stations limit the term "in black" to loss of video where audio continues normally, and "dead air" is used for sending an unmodulated carrier signal. However, the terms "dead air" and "in black" are not used when a station is broadcasting no signal whatsoever, even a carrier wave, which is called "going off-the-air."
Dead Air is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band Heatmiser. It was released in 1993 on Frontier Records.
Dead Air is a 2009 American science fiction- horror film directed by Corbin Bernsen and starring Bill Moseley and Patricia Tallman. The story focuses on a radio station that warns its listeners after an explosion unleashes zombies into Los Angeles. Screenwriter Kenny Yakkel explained before the film's release that the "undead" presented are not actual zombies: "It's like a PCP zombie movie, that's my take on it 'cause they're not really dead."
Dead air is an unintended interruption in a broadcast during which the carrier signal is unmodulated.
Dead Air may also refer to:
- Dead Air, a 1986 novel by mystery author Mike Lupica
- Dead Air, a 1991 novel by Bob Larson
- Dead Air, a 2002 novel by Iain Banks
- "Dead Air" (Doctor Who), a 2010 exclusive-to-audio Doctor Who story
- Dead Air (Heatmiser album), 1993
- Dead Air (The Bob & Tom Show album), 2009
- Dead Air, a radio show on Indie 103.1 in Los Angeles from 2004–2009 hosted by Chuck P.
- Dead Air (2007 film), a 2007 Hong Kong supernatural thriller
- Dead Air (2009 film), a 2009 zombie-themed film
- Dead Air (CSI: Miami), an episode in season 4 of CSI: Miami
- Dead Air, the twelfth episode in season 7 of Psych
- A campaign in the game Left 4 Dead
- "Dead Air", a 2014 song by CHVRCHES
Dead Air is a comedy album by The Bob & Tom Show, which was first released in November 2009.
It is a double disc CD compilation which represents original material recorded during their syndicated, daily radio show and other studio numbers which had not been previously presented on air.
Dead Air is an exclusive-to-audio Doctor Who story, produced as part of BBC Books' New Series Adventures line, and the seventh entry in the series to be produced. Written by author James Goss and read by David Tennant, it features the Tenth Doctor travelling alone. It is the Tenth Doctor's final story and was released on 4 March 2010.
Dead Air is a 2007 Hong Kong horror film produced by Teddy Chen ( Bodyguards and Assassins), Hong Kong supernatural thriller Dead Air marks the feature directorial debut of Xavier Lee (documentary Jackie Chan: My Stunts) and the first lead role for AV actor Derek Tsang. The chiller lines up a B-list but nonetheless interesting cast that also includes Leila Tong ( A Very Short Life), Terence Yin (Fear Factors), Raymond Wong Ho-yin (Scare 2 Die), Jo Kuk ( Visible Secret), Wayne Lai (Nightmare Zone), and Susan Tse ( The Haunted School).
Usage examples of "dead air".
We stand before a monstrous diorama, the younger Kennedy in the act of receiving the shot in the pantry that killed him, one hand raised, the other down, the head exploding in the impact, the bodies around him in those strange postures of attention which can be captured only in frieze, trapped movement is grotesque and he puts a hand in my back, pushes, sends me lunging through the serim and I am literally in the pantry, the dead air coursing through my open mouth, the dead forms surrounding me and closer to the plasticine than I am meant to be I can see all of the tiny flaws driven into their faces, the cracked and broken places where the dead spaces of wire and putrefecation begin.
Summer stalked out in the echoing gloom, then stopped, lifted his head, and sniffed the chill dead air.
She merely requested it through The Learning Link, and if WNET could handle it, the station would transmit the show during dead air time, maybe at three A.
Worst, he forgot to change the selector when he shifted from disc to tape, and let a good twenty seconds of dead air go out before he noticed the absence of signal.