NTSC/PAL quality difference

[johnbatista]

I'm sure this has been addressed somewhere but i don't have the patience to look. What exactly is NTSC and PAL? I mean whats the difference? Is there a recognizable difference in picture quality? Are the U.S. hv20's better quality than u.k. ones? I basically just don't understand anything.. sorry.

[johnbatista]

also when viewing hd footage i get lines:
http://members.lycos.co.uk/beerbroadcasting/heli.jpg
my system is currently athlon 64 4000+, 768mb ram (had to take a gig out it died) and ati radeon x1600 512mb.

[Mal]

Hey there.

1) Get the system that's in your country. I.e. UK & Europe & Aus & NZ, etc. = PAL; USA & Japan, etc. = NTSC

2) The lines are because that footage is interlaced (i.e. it's 50i or 60i), you'd need to watch that on a telly, or deinterlace it for computer monitor, if you didn't want to see the lines.

[Critters]

If you watch the footage on your PC use something like VLC to play it, that has built in deinterlacing which will remove those lines (does it while you watch, does not re-save the file, just to be clear)

[johnbatista]

ah ok, i didn't realise there was a pal and an ntsc model i thought that was something you could change in the camera settings or something. Yeah i have VLC.

So is there a noticeable difference between footage shot on a ntsc and pal?
Like the cine mode, would that look different? Because i read PAL cameras are 25p and you can't change it, so is cine mode on my camera gonna look as filmic as that 'rainy day' video or like a crappy media student project? Because the rainy day thing is 24p ain't it?

[Mal]

ah ok, i didn't realise there was a pal and an ntsc model i thought that was something you could change in the camera settings or something. Yeah i have VLC. So is there a noticeable difference between footage shot on a ntsc and pal? Like the cine mode, would that look different?

In standard definition (SD) there's a bit of a difference because of the frame size (PAL is slightly better than NTSC), but for HD it's pretty much a wash; just that PAL is so much easier to edit.
PAL HV20 = great & simple
NTSC HV20 = great & a tad awkward because of pulldown, etc.

[Worley]

Technically, there are plenty of differences between PAL and NTSC. But to keep things simple, in PAL there are 25 complete pictures per second, each comprising 625 lines (not all lines contain picture information). In NTSC, there are 30 complete pictures a second (actually, slightly fewer), each comprising 525 lines.

PAL has a slightly sharper picture, but movement is jerkier than NTSC.

(Overall, NTSC has more lines of picture information per second than PAL).

Worley.

[johnbatista]

Well thanks a lot guys. One more question.. Does anyone know how an unemployed student can make £682 reeeally quick? haha i need one

[Critters]

male or female? :)

[johnbatista]

haha the student is me

[Worley]

So, you're buying from Amazon (that's the only place I know selling the HV20 for that price).

The answer: get a job! Work in IT, servicing older customers who's kids have moved away. Be polite, take your shoes off at the door, and explain everything you are doing in plain English. They love that, and will happily part with £30 p/h.

In 5 days you'll have all the cash you need.

Worley