Offscreen (computer)

The term “ offscreen ” or “ offscreen buffer ” describes a memory area in which a screen content is built up while another screen content is being viewed.

When the screen content in the offscreen buffer is ready, it becomes the visible image and the previous image memory becomes the offscreen buffer. This is the only way to create the impression of fluid movements by quickly switching between the memory areas.

The prerequisite is that the new screen content is max. the time can be calculated in which the finished screen content can be seen. Fluid movements occur from around 25-30 frames per second.