Is NTSC the same as PAL?
 

Or are they relatively different things?

no, pal is a european format, ntsc is an american one. both are incompatible.

Ok, thanks.

You know if PAL is compatible with VHS?

pal is just a way to encode color when it's broadcast onto TV systems... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAL#PAL_vs_NTSC

VHS is a whole another thing - a format rather than a code. And yes, PAL VHS videocassettes do exist, obviously. why you asking?

And let's keep it that way!

Yeah, once I bought a "Screaming Fields of Sonic Love" VHS in the U.S. and back home it fucked up my VHS player.

pal has better resolution by about 20%

australia uses the pal format which is virtually the same as secam which is what most of the asian nations use. the pal res is 576pixels of vert res when ntsc is around 480 vert res. most tvs sold in australia have a pal ntsc switch, if set to pal an ntsc tape or dvd will scroll vertically as if your tvs vertical hold is out of sync.

I'd like to add that the frame rates are different too.
Pal 25fps / NTSC 29.97fps

I'm trying to order a video on the net and the site needs to know what I want, they say they have no PAL so it may not work for me whatever they have. But isn't PAL the standard format for America?

What does American tend to use?
What does Australia tend to use?

the us is ntsc, inferior colour rendering for faster frame rate as toklosh pointed out. and you can buy it you can always find someone who can copy it for you

NTSC wiki
PAL wiki

So my video player says NTSC playback on it, so I guess I can buy American Videos?

This shit confuses the fuck outta me.

ok so your video plays it back fine, but your tv may not if you dont have an ntsc / pal switch on your tv

Yeah, I read a bunch of stuff on Wikipedia but I'm still confused and mainly I guess because I don't want to order the wrong thing.

You might be able to view the tape, but chances are, you'll see it in black and white with a flickering image.

So best go with the expensive dvd option?

yeah but remember we are region 4 here in aus, unless you are gonna play on your comp, but then you usually only get to change your region code a few times.

I found a code a few years ago for my dvd player on the net when I was given Dig as a gift which made it all regions.

Thanks, gentlemen.

I think and NTSC video should be fine if your video player says it can play them back and your TV is fairly new (bought in the last 10 years ish). Most newish tv's, in Europe at least, will playback NTSC.

no, diff number of lines, different frame rates (29.97 vs 25 frames per second) and different color information, and then there's NTSC in Japan and U.S., and France has Secam.

all of these formats are VHS recordable. the question has to do with your monitor. a PAL signal won't display correctly on an NTSC monitor and vice versa)

--

my dvd-rom drive can play both.

PAL runs at 25 frames per second I do believe,

NTSC is 24

hrong, amigo

pal is at 25 but NTSC is 29.97 (or 30 to simply fy)

the number of lines varies slightly also, with PAL having 525 lines and NTSC has 480, so PAL has a slower frame rate but a higher definition.

24 frames per second is the framer rate of film, which has been copied by " 24P" video. 24 Progressive frames per second.

PAL and NTSC differ in that they are interlaced. meaning that NTSC has actually 60 fields that are made of 1/2 a frame each by lines that "interlace" like a mesh of sorts.

thanks, I thought NTSC ran at the same rate as film

oh no, for TV films go through a process alled TELECINE which actually changes the length of the movie-- speeds it up a little. telecine involves expensive equipment that "videotapes" each movie frame & recomposes it as a video timeline.
of course there are new cheap adaptations of that but an industrial telecine machine ain't cheap.
actually, PAL is closer to film rate so many indie filmmakers used to shot in PAL (for cheap) and then print to film but with 24P and HD video that is not needed any more.