Channel 3/4 output

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A channel 3/4 output was a common output selection for most audiovisual devices sold in North America, that are intended to be connected to a TV using a Radio frequency (RF) signal. This channel option was provided because it was rare to have broadcast channels 3 and 4 used in the same market. The choice allowed the user to select the unused channel in their area so that the connected device would be able to provide video and audio on an RF feed to the television without excessive interference from a broadcast signal.

RF Modulation was common on equipment deployed in North America. Other countries had the RF output for video equipment on different groups of frequencies. For example, equipment sold in Europe, South Africa and Hong Kong used UHF channels 30 - 39 for this purpose. Equipment sold in Japan used channel 1 or 2 (Channel 13 - 16 is for cable converter).

In Australia, some manufacturers used the channel 3/4 output, while other manufacturers would use the UHF channels 30 - 36 for this purpose. It become common for VCRs sold in that market since the mid-1990s to use this output specification as well. The other common output frequency set in Australia was Channel 0 and 1 on the VHF band throughout the 1980s. This was because most televisions that were deployed on the Australian market before model-year 1980 could not receive the UHF band.

It also is common to have this type of RF output on video cassette recorders (VCRs), early DVD players and video game consoles.

VCR's ubiquity was responsible for making consumers familiar with RF modulation, which could explain its lasting popularity and use in all-digital mediums like DVD and video game consoles. A better explanation might be its familiarity and ease of use, along with legacy televisions, which couldn't readily support newer technologies like composite or S-video.

DVDs relatively later entrance to the marketplace means that most players after the early generations don't natively support RF modulation, instead relying on converters, which could also amplify the signal.

First through early Fifth-generation video game consoles commonly used this method to connect to the television, which was used as the audio and video device for the game. In many cases, an RF modulator was used to take the composite output from the game and modulate it before sending the signal to the television. Late Fifth through current generation video game consoles retain the ability to output through RF modulators, usually through a separately purchased adapter.