If you are working with video preparation and formatting for broadcasting, it is important to understand which format to use when. In terms of widely used formats, the two most common are PAL and NTSC. In the early 1950’s these two systems were set up to standardize signal interpretation and color coding across as many TV models as possible in a region. While the color coding became less of an issue over time, the signal type and timing still carried over as part of the different formats, influencing aspects of the content such as refresh rates. For the United States, the signal type is generally NSTC, while PAL is for European and Asian regions, as well as some of Africa and South America.
Since the problems these systems were initially made to fix no longer exist, you may be wondering why these formats are still so widely used. The answer is simply region locking. Many PAL players can play NTSC region content, but not vice versa. This means that the formatting systems have become more of a way to help enforce international copyright laws by preventing certain content from being used outside of it’s intended region. If content is planned to be released in multiple regions, video PAL conversions are often used to reformat the content to be compatible in a specific region.
When picking a video format, NTSC is generally the safest bet since other region formatted hardware can play the content, but if you want to optimize your content for other region, you may want to investigate video PAL conversions. Chromavision is a leading creative and technical services provider offering a wide array of services. These services include video conversion services, which includes converting between region formats. More information can be found on the Chromavision homepage.
