That doesn't explain a thing. The "static" came from weak signals or not tuning properly. Before digital TVs were a thing, analog TVs already had digital tuners

That doesn't explain a thing. The "static" came from weak signals or not tuning properly. Before digital TVs were a thing, analog TVs already had digital tuners, and suppressed the display while switching channels. Analog TVs are not synonymous with static while changing channel.