Digital On-screen Graphic

From Freepedia

DOG redirects here. For the animal see Dog

A Digital On-Screen Graphic is a watermark-like station logo that many television broadcasters overlay over a portion of the screen-area of their programmes to assist viewers in identifying the channel. They are thus a form of permanent visual station identification, increasing brand recognition. In some cases, the graphic also shows the name of the current programme. Some networks use an on-screen graphic to advertise later programmes in the day's television schedule – this is generally displayed after the opening, during in-programme credits, and when returning from a commercial break.

The graphic identifies the source of programming even if it is time-shifted – that is, recorded to videotape, DVD, or via a digital personal video recorder such as TiVo. Many of these technologies allow viewers to skip or omit traditional between-programming station identification.

In the United Kingdom, Digital On-Screen Graphics are commonly known by the acronym DOG or the expanded acronym DOG tag and are commonly displayed on the top left courner of the screen.

In Canada and the United States, they are known as bugs and are commonly displayed on the bottom right corner of the screen.

In the UK, DOGs were first used on satellite and cable television systems in their early days, when broadcasts were unmarked in the bouquet.

On British digital systems such as Sky Digital and Freeview, where channels have a set EPG number and a name displayed across the top of the screen when changing channel, large or intrusive DOGs have been deemed unnecessary by most users. More recent additions are graphics which appear at the end of a programme to tell the viewer what's up next, these have been classed as even more unnecessary as most EPG systems also tell the viewer what's on now & next, and as this information is also announced over the end credits, many viewers want to see the end to these additions. Indeed, BBC1 & 2 dropped them after a short period in late 2004 after numerous complaints.

Many news broadcasters place a clock alongside their DOG, giving it legitimacy if it is moved into an unorthodox position, such as the bottom left. In the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, DOGs may also include the show's parental guideline rating.