Quick Overview
Please note that there are different common names for this artifact.

The received radio frequency signal is too strong, parts of the signal get lost by converting from analog to digital, resulting in a washed out image.

Auto-prescanning usually adjusts the amplification at the receiver in a way, that the received signal could be processed without any loss. Else the receiver gain must be corrected manually.

See also Data Clipping Artifact, Artifact Overview and Artifacts Reduction Index.

Data clipping artifacts give images a washed-out, non-uniform appearance. If the receiver gain increase, so that the signal level is larger than the maximum ADC value, the reconstructed image brightness was scaled to compensate this. The overall intensity loss as well as the extensive signal is reconstructed outside of the object. This effect is called 'clipping' because on a plot of signal amplitude vs. time, it looks like the top and bottom of the echo has been 'clipped off' with scissors.

See Radio Frequency Overflow Artifact.