Pre-trigger and post-trigger acquisition for no dead time acquisition system

Pre-trigger and post-trigger acquisition for a no dead time acquisition system, where the data being displayed does not include a related trigger event, has a variable record length buffer having a maximum record length equal to a maximum desired pre-trigger interval, and has a trigger FIFO and timer for delaying the related trigger event. The record length of the buffer is determined by the desired pre-trigger interval, and fast rasterizers access the oldest data that encompasses the desired pre-trigger data. A first trigger event in the trigger signal may be delayed by a desired post-trigger interval before the fast rasterizers begin drawing the waveform data that encompasses the desired post-trigger data.