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NTSC vs. PAL


bsbuckeye21

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NTSC is 640 x 480 with 30 FPS, PAL is 768 x 512 with 25.6 FPS. So with just those simple facts, the better looking VCD will be PAL. Also, from many people they seem to think that NTSC doesn't necessarily show the same colours as PAL either, seems to lack a few.

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PAL uses YUV colour-space while NTSC uses YIQ. YUV is generally superior to YIQ as the chrominance components (UV/IQ) are allowed more space in the signal. PAL also uses a higher resolution, as mentioned, but the lower fps can cause a slight flicker in the picture.

 

PAL is widely reguarded as superior to NTSC though. Yet another example of the Americans coming up with their own inferior technology standard. :rolleyes:

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As Darth Iroel stated, you have to make sure your TV is PAL compatible, or otherwise it won't play correctly. Newer TV's here in Europe are starting to have NTSC support built in, so I would assume it's the same in the USA ( with PAL ). Check it out with your TV manufacturer.

 

So, PAL is superior, but be sure you have the hardware to play it back.

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Ok, so even though I would probably prefer PAL, the TV sets here in the US only display NTSC. So I'm forced to use NTSC then? It's that easy of a decision?

 

And Darth Clem, what are you trying to do? Sheesh, the TV (or "tele") was invented in the US.

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Well, I think it's because everyone is waiting for HDTV. Why go for a minor upgrade when a bigger one is right around the corner?

 

HDTV is another example of the Americans choosing an inferior techonolgy standard. World + dog agrees on standard, America does it's own thing. In Europe and Japan HDTV will be ~1125 lines, in the US it will be ~968 lines. So you get a worse system and your TVs won't be compatible with other technologies and media, restricting your choice and potentially lagging behind when new technoligies are released.

 

Some people. :rolleyes:

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Wicket, are you 100% sure? Different HDTV broadcasting stations are at different quality as of now. We have at least half broadcasting at the highest, 1080i standard now.

 

Obviously I'm no expert, but is that the same thing? ^

 

Oh, and US and Japan use NTSC, not just us.

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Well if we're talking about video displays, ok then, Breakin. It's not wise to make general (false) comments like that. Don't turn this thread into a "My country's more innovative than yours!!!" contest. Besides, we all know USA would come on top anyway. (TV, airplane, car, transistor, and on and on...) :cool:

 

But still people, since I live in the states and that's where the video will be viewed, am I forced to convert to the NTSC format? Would some newer sets support both standards? Thanks for all of your input everyone. :)

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The real reason why Europe, Asia and Austrlia get PAL and NTSC TV's is that Asia is itself split into PAL in southern Asia, and NTSC in Northern Asia. This is in part to reduce the effects of piracy.

But with this, the Asian manufacturers, Sony, Toshiba, JVC, et al decided to build TVs to handle both to make it cheaper to produce them over all.

I assume that it is probably a US legal requirement that they only display NTSC, many copyright laws exist in the US, that don't exist elsewhere in the world, just to keep the major movie companies in the country.

Want to see the lack of quality on NTSC, try and watch the abysmal feed given to world for the US Open tennis, so often is the sidelines are all fuzzy, it's not like the shot is out of focus.

 

And you think that the US HDTV standard is bad, then come to Australia, where we decided on a standard that means the TVs have to be specifically built for our country to meet our standard.

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Japan currenlty uses SECAM, not NTSC, which is closely related to PAL (625 lines @ 50Hz/YUV colour space). I am sure about the HDTV standards as I work in a research lab for a large Japanese corporation who shall remain nameless.

 

I apologise if it sounded like I was trying to say that the US is less innovative than other countries. The US is at the forefront of many areas of research. Setting technology standards rarely has anything to do with innovation, it's usually down the politics and the greed of monopolistic broadcasters.

 

1080i may be the highest quality for your region, but that doesn't mean it's the highest possible. All Japanese HDTVs are 1125 lines @ 60Hz, compared with 1080 lines @ 75Hz for US HDTVs. I guess you could argue that the smoother picture on the US standard actually makes it the better technology but I can't really see a flicker on my 50Hz TV so I'd rather go for the higher resolution.

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Wicket - I'm sorry for, as someone stated, trying to turn this into a "my country is more innovative than yours" debate. I just get a bit defensive when someone knocks the US. I recognize we aren't perfect, but I think we do more good than bad.

 

Anyways, back on topic, has there been a definite plan as to what the US HDTV standard is going to be? I heard it was still being debated.

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Originally posted by Wicket the Ewok

Japan currenlty uses SECAM, not NTSC, which is closely related to PAL (625 lines @ 50Hz/YUV colour space). I am sure about the HDTV standards as I work in a research lab for a large Japanese corporation who shall remain nameless.

 

Oh sheesh like I'm supposed to believe you now?! (Just kidding; impressive. ;)) The reason that I though Japan used NTSC as well is that when you start up TMPGEnc it lists NTSC encoding "For North America and Japan."

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