Lock-out device

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A lock-out device is a system which is designed to detect the first signal(s) it receives, and ignore subsequent signals. The most well-known application of this technology is in game shows; particularly trivia shows. Lock-out devices are used to determine in real-time which contestant has "rung in" first.

The first contestant to activate their signaling device, which is typically a hand-held or podium-mounted button, registers a signal with the system. The system usually has some indicator of which contestant has signalled, such as a light. The system then any subsequant signals from other contestants, allowing the relevant parties to clearly determine who has signalled first.

[edit] History

Lock-out devices were not always mainstays in game shows. Early game shows lacked this technology, and those that required it made use of alternate, less-precise, systems. For example, the 1969 game show He Said, She Said required contestants to raise their hands, while the host and production staff determined visually which had raised their hands first. Another early system was to assign each player's signaling device a different sound effect, and determine audibly which sounded first. In general, though, a majority of early multi-player game shows - even those dealing with trivia - simply lacked the gameplay element of pitting contestants against each other simultaneously. Shows instead took to having contestants alternate turns, such as in Twenty One, Pyramid, Password

Perhaps the most famous modern game show to use a lock-out device is Jeopardy!, which uses a sophisticated system that is so fundamental to the game, mastering the signaling device is commonly said to be as or more important than knowing the answers to the questions. Poor performance has been regularly blamed failure to master the lock-out system, and on celebrity editions, celebrity contestants have been known to claim their signaling devices to be broken.