frame buffer

frame buffer

An area of memory used to hold a frame of data. Typically used for screen output, the buffer is the size of the maximum image that can be displayed on the screen. The memory, which is either a separate memory bank on the display adapter or a reserved part of regular memory, holds a bitmapped image while it is being "painted" on screen. Sophisticated graphics systems are built with several memory planes, each holding one or more bits of the pixel. See also frame grabber.

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frame buffer [′frām ‚bəf·ər]

(computer science)

A device that stores a television picture or frame for processing.

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(hardware)

frame buffer - Part of a video system in which an image is stored, pixel by pixel and which is used to refresh a raster image. The term "video memory" suggests a fairly static display whereas a frame buffer holds one frame from a sequence of frames forming a moving image. Frame buffers are found in frame grabbers and time base correction systems, for example.