1. That portion, in facsimile, of the subject copy which is seen by the scanner at any instant; it can be considered a square area having dimensions equal to the width of the scanning line.

2. In television, any segment of a scanning line, the dimension of which along the line is exactly equal to the nominal line width; the area which is being explored at any instant in the scanning process. Also known as critical area; elemental area; pixel; recording spot; scanning spot.