The display of a video
frame as two successive
fields, each containing half the picture information.
This system arose from limitation of early
video display units. Each
field is scanned onto the
CRT from top to bottom, in a series of horizontal
lines, (scanned left to right). The
frequency at which these lines are scanned is reduced by a factor of 2 through the use of interlacing, thus lowering the design demands on the drive electronics.
Contrast:
progressivescanning