The pedestal bit is a hardware setting found in some video output devices, particularly those supporting composite video signals. It determines whether a fixed voltage (the 'pedestal' or 'setup' level) is added to the black level of the video signal. This adjustment was historically necessary for compatibility with certain analog video standards, such as NTSC, to ensure proper display of black tones. In cybersecurity and hardware security, incorrect pedestal bit settings can inadvertently leak information about device configurations or be exploited in side-channel attacks targeting video output processing.