Split screen (computing)

Various methods to display multiple signals on a 4:3 screen (diagram is 16:9): 1+3, 3+1 (1:1), 2×2, 3×3, 4×4 (4:3), 1+1 (2:3 vertical, 8:3 horizontal), 4×3 (1:1), 1 in 12 (4:3).

Split screen is a display technique[1] in computer graphics that consists of dividing graphics and/or text into non-overlapping adjacent parts, typically as two or four rectangular areas. This allows for the simultaneous presentation of (usually) related graphical and textual information on a computer display. TV sports adopted this presentation methodology in the 1960s for instant replay.[2]

Originally, non-dynamic split screens differed from windowing systems in that the latter allowed overlapping and freely movable parts of the screen (the "windows") to present both related and unrelated application data to the user. In contrast, the former were strictly limited to fixed positions.

The split screen technique can also be used to run two instances of an application, potentially allowing another user to interact with the second instance.

  1. ^ David Pogue (October 13, 2005). "Split Screen Magic at Two in the Morning". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Peter Morris (2006). A Game of Inches: The Stories Behind the Innovations That Shaped Baseball. Ivan R. Dee. p. 554. ISBN 9781566636773.