PAL and NTSC help at DVinfo.net

Mitch Buss · May 17th, 2004, 11:42 AM

I know that this is going to be a very amature question, but I am still quite new at all of this, but could someone shed some light as to what exactly PAL and NTSC formats are. What is their quality and anything else that might be helpful. Please.

Frank Granovski · May 17th, 2004, 01:50 PM

You can read up about these 2 major broadcasting types here:

http://www.adamwilt.com

You indicate, "WI" USA as your location. North America uses NTSC so I wouldn't worry about PAL.

Rob Lohman · May 18th, 2004, 02:44 AM

For a quick technical comparison see this page.

Basically NTSC operates at a higher framerate but lower resolution
than PAL does.

Or to keep it a bit geared towards DV:

NTSC: 720x480 at 29.97 frames per second (or 59.94 fields per second)
PAL: 720x576 at 25 frames per second (or 50 fields per second)

Mitch Buss · May 18th, 2004, 11:41 AM

Thanks for your replies. Now I have another question, what are the fields that are scanned? I did not understand this and have been wondering about it. Thanks for your help.

Ken Tanaka · May 18th, 2004, 11:48 AM

Video is composed of two sets of lines, called "fields". Analogously, the lines are like teeth in a comb. Each field's lines fit between the others', just like taking two combs and meshing their teeth together. This is called "interlacing".

Mitch Buss · May 18th, 2004, 11:55 AM

Thanks Ken, I appreciate the help.

Rob Lohman · May 19th, 2004, 02:26 AM

To futher expand the thought:

We think in full still frames most of the time. Ie, a picture we take
is one full frame of content.

Analog video we see on a TV is interlaced (the reason lies in the
problems they had when developing TV systems and signals way
back, especially with color). What they do is send one half of your
picture first and then the second half 1/60th (NTSC) of a second
later. Each picture "interlaces" the other, so you get:

line 1 is line 1 from picture 1
line 2 is line 1 from picture 2
line 3 is line 2 from picture 1
line 4 is line 2 from picture 2
... etc.

But each half of the picture is acquired at a different point in time
(1/60th of a second apart which yields a 30 frames per second rate)
and thus if you have small movement it will produce interlacing
jaggies where a line can be in a different place from field to field
due to it moving.

May 17th, 2004, 11:42 AM	#1
Mitch Buss Regular Crew Join Date: May 2004 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 184	PAL and NTSC help I know that this is going to be a very amature question, but I am still quite new at all of this, but could someone shed some light as to what exactly PAL and NTSC formats are. What is their quality and anything else that might be helpful. Please.

May 18th, 2004, 02:44 AM	#3
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	For a quick technical comparison see this page. Basically NTSC operates at a higher framerate but lower resolution than PAL does. Or to keep it a bit geared towards DV: NTSC: 720x480 at 29.97 frames per second (or 59.94 fields per second) PAL: 720x576 at 25 frames per second (or 50 fields per second) __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

May 18th, 2004, 11:48 AM	#5
Ken Tanaka Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,943	Video is composed of two sets of lines, called "fields". Analogously, the lines are like teeth in a comb. Each field's lines fit between the others', just like taking two combs and meshing their teeth together. This is called "interlacing". __________________ Lady X Films: A lady with a boring wardrobe...and a global mission. Hey, you don't have enough stuff! Buy with confidence from our sponsors. Hand-picked as the best in the business...Really! See some of my work one frame at a time: www.KenTanaka.com

May 19th, 2004, 02:26 AM	#7
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	To futher expand the thought: We think in full still frames most of the time. Ie, a picture we take is one full frame of content. Analog video we see on a TV is interlaced (the reason lies in the problems they had when developing TV systems and signals way back, especially with color). What they do is send one half of your picture first and then the second half 1/60th (NTSC) of a second later. Each picture "interlaces" the other, so you get: line 1 is line 1 from picture 1 line 2 is line 1 from picture 2 line 3 is line 2 from picture 1 line 4 is line 2 from picture 2 ... etc. But each half of the picture is acquired at a different point in time (1/60th of a second apart which yields a 30 frames per second rate) and thus if you have small movement it will produce interlacing jaggies where a line can be in a different place from field to field due to it moving. __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

May 17th, 2004, 01:50 PM	#2
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	You can read up about these 2 major broadcasting types here: http://www.adamwilt.com You indicate, "WI" USA as your location. North America uses NTSC so I wouldn't worry about PAL.

May 18th, 2004, 11:41 AM	#4
Mitch Buss Regular Crew Join Date: May 2004 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 184	Thanks for your replies. Now I have another question, what are the fields that are scanned? I did not understand this and have been wondering about it. Thanks for your help.

May 18th, 2004, 11:55 AM	#6
Mitch Buss Regular Crew Join Date: May 2004 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 184	Thanks Ken, I appreciate the help.