What is a video rf signal?

Some devices that connect to a TV, such as older videogame consoles and the home computers of the 1980s, naturally output a composite signal. This may then be converted to RF with an external box known as an RF modulator that generates the proper carrier (often for channel 3 or 4 in North America, channel 36 in Europe). The RF modulator is preferably left outside the console so the RF doesn't interfere with the components inside the machine. VCRs and similar devices already have to deal with RF signals in their tuners, so the modulator is located inside the box. Also, most early home computers usually employed an internal RF modulator.