Nintendo gun how does it work

Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. Video Game Peripherals. How does the light gun for a video game work? The computer blanks the screen and then paints just the target object white. If the photodiode senses darkness after one vertical retrace signal and then light after the next, the computer assumes that the gun is pointed at the target and scores a hit.

The computer blanks the screen and then paints the entire screen white. It takes time for the electron beam to trace the entire screen while painting it white. By comparing the signal coming from the photodiode with the horizontal and vertical retrace signals, the computer can detect where the electron beam is on the screen when the photodiode first senses its light.

The computer counts the number of microseconds that pass between the time the horizontal and vertical retrace signals start and the time the photodiode first senses light. CRT displays use an electron gun to activate phosphors in screen hidden behind the display glass.

This gun sweeps across the screen from the top to the bottom at a very dependable frequency. Even though it happens faster than the human eye can detect, every single frame of every single video game or television broadcast is displayed as if some hyperactive robot is drawing it line by line from the top to the bottom.

By contrast, modern digital displays make all the changes simultaneously. They are displayed all at once in their respective standards. Have a pressing tech question, big or small? Shoot us an email at ask howtogeek. Browse All iPhone Articles Browse All Mac Articles Do I need one? Browse All Android Articles Browse All Smart Home Articles Customize the Taskbar in Windows Browse All Microsoft Office Articles What Is svchost. Browse All Privacy and Security Articles Browse All Linux Articles Browse All Buying Guides.

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