Ever hear of PAL, NTSC, or SECAM tossed around but didn't know exactly what they mean? They are acronyms for the various Color Television Standards used around the world. Below is a helpful little guide to those weird acronyms or if you like select a country to see which standard they use.

Country Standards:

NTSC -

(National Television System Committee) - 525 Lines. 30 Frames per second.

The world's first compatible color television system adopted by the United States. In 1953, it became the standard for North America, Japan and several other countries. Often referred to as "Never Twice The Same Color."


PAL -

(Phase Alternation Line) - 625 Lines. 25 Frames per second.

Developed by Telefunken in West Germany, this system was adopted by several European countries in the mid-1960's, and is now the standard of many others throughout the world. Easily remembered as "Peace At Last."

A variation of standard PAL is PAL-N (having a different subcarrier frequency for broadcast). Used only in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. These countries accept standard PAL recordings.


PAL-M

Brazilian version of "Phase Alternation Line" used only in Brazil. 525 Lines, 30 Frames per second. Easily remembered as "Pay A Little More."

PAL-M and standard PAL recordings are not interchangeable without conversion. It is a common practice to service Brazilian clients with NTSC recordings, as they usually prefer to convert in Brazil.


SECAM -

(Systeme Electronique Couleur Avec Memoire) - 625 Lines, 25 Frames per second.

The French standard, adopted by Eastern Europe, Russia and parts of the Middle East in 1967. Often referred to as "Something Essentially Contrary to American Methods."

SECAM utilizes two different types of color sync encoding. Depending on country, it may be either SECAM V (vertical) as used in France and Russia, or SECAM H (horizontal), which is common in the Middle East. 1" and 3/4" SECAM recordings are made with both V and H encoding for color playback in any SECAM country.

1/2" VHS equipment does not allow simultaneous V and H encoding. VHS SECAM V recordings will playback on SECAM H equipment, but only in black and white - and vice versa. Thus, when ordering VHS SECAM conversions/copies, V or H encoding must be specified to assure a proper color playback.