PAL vs NTSC for Camcorders

[Thronsen]

Hi there-

I know this might be in slightly the wrong forum, but it seemed the best fit.

I was hoping someone could fill me in on the practical differences between NTSC and PAL for camcorders. If you are moving to a PAL country with an NTSC camcorder what sort of limitations would you have? I know its fine on a computer wherever you are, but what about if you are playing back directly from the camcorder to a TV? Or if you burn a DVD from NTSC footage and play back on a PAL TV?

Cant most TVs bought within the last few years handle both PAL and NTSC?

Thanks.

[oddmanil]

PAL TV will play NTSC.

DVD will be fine if you shoot 24p. If not, the video will stutter..

60i or 50i doesn't matter if Blue-ray.

[2Bdecided]

Most "PAL" TVs display "NTSC". You have to use the correct connection though. HDMI is your best bet on a modern TV, RGB SCART is your best bet on an older set.

I'm not sure what you meant with "DVD will be fine if you shoot 24p. If not, the video will stutter.." - if the TV supports "NTSC" and the DVD player it set to output "NTSC", then 24p, 30p, and 60i will play back exactly the same as on any American TV.

Cheers,
David.

[oddmanil]

Most

I'm not sure what you meant with "DVD will be fine if you shoot 24p. If not, the video will stutter.." - if the TV supports "NTSC" and the DVD player it set to output "NTSC", then 24p, 30p, and 60i will play back exactly the same as on any American TV.

Cheers,
David.

Will not most PAL DVDplayers play only PAL?

24p should be easy to convert to 25p.

[2Bdecided]

While I've seen some old "PAL" TVs that don't support NTSC properly, I haven't seen any "PAL" DVD players that won't play "NTSC" discs.

I assume some exist, but I've never seen one - and I've seen a lot of DVD players (over 40 different models).

Some lack a menu option to select what should be done to "NTSC" discs (i.e. played as "NTSC", or converted to "PAL") so you are stuck with whichever the manufacturer chose as the default - but most players include a menu which lets you choose:

1. play everything in "PAL"
2. play everything in "NTSC"
3. play everything in original format without conversion ("MULTI")


No players convert 24p to 25p nicely. If you choose to make the player convert, you'll get a horrible stuttery version. 60i>50i is even worse (sometimes completely unwatchable).


There's a very long and informative NTSC vs PAL sticky thread at the top of here:
http://www.hv20.com/forumdisplay.php?f=4

Cheers,
David.

[Lunchbox]

There is a sticky on NTSC vs PAL discussion as 2BD mentioned. Please continue the discussion in that thread.

http://www.hv20.com/showthread.php?t=3580

Thank you