[$threadinfo[title]]

[alexa999]

Can someone tell me what the difference between PAL and NTSC is?
And what they are? And if there are any other formats or whatever than PAL and NTSC?
This is me about this ---> :blink: :crazy: :confused:

[Knuckles]

Well, NTSC is normally the US version of the game in english only. Pal version is the Europe version with multilanguages (English, french, spanish, etc.).

In emulation you can notice that the PAL games runs at 50 fps and NTSC at 60fps. Also, You have to be carefull in cadridge/console. PAL games won't runs on a NTSC system and vice versa.

There is also JAP games , all in japanese ( Perfect Dark looks horrrible!) But they can appear as PAL or NTSC, This is what I found strange....

That's all I know (I think) , maybe someone will complete what I said (I hope).

[alexa999]

How do I know if my games and my system are PAL or NTSC? (I am trying to find this out with my sega genesis and all my genesis games. I have a genesis 2.)

[Noupe]

They are two different TV Video standards.

PAL stands for Phase Alternation (or alternating) Line and is used in Europe and a few other parts of the world.

PAL provides for 625 lines of resolution at 25 frames per second.
The field frequency is 50Hz.

NTSC stands for National Telvision System Committee and was made a standard by the American FCC. It is used in North America and Japan or something like that.

NTSC provides for 525 lines of resolution at 30 (or 29.something) frames per second with a field frequency of 60Hz.

If you want more information, just do a Google search or visit some tech site like http://www.whatis.com/

[Clements]

PAL uses more scanlines than NTSC giving a better quality picture, but NTSC has a higher refresh rate to reduce visible flicker. The following site explains pros and cons of each method:

http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Contrib/WorldTV/compare.html#pal

[alexa999]

PAL uses more scanlines than NTSC giving a better quality picture, but NTSC has a higher refresh rate to reduce visible flicker. The following site explains pros and cons of each method:

http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Contrib/WorldTV/compare.html#pal
Well, all my games run on my genesis.:plain: But I still cant tell if the genesis is PAL or NTSC.:blush:

[Clements]

I'm guessing NTSC considering the Genesis wasn't released in Europe which is a PAL territory, it's called the Megadrive here. The Genesis is it's American name which is a NTSC region.

[alexa999]

I'm guessing NTSC considering the Genesis wasn't released in Europe which is a PAL territory, it's called the Megadrive here. The Genesis is it's American name which is a NTSC region.
Would my genesis say genesis then? Because it does. So is it NTSC?

[Doomulation]

On a side note...I know that Japan is using some PAL. I'm bot sure of n64 games, however...but other things...I just don't remember, however, but Japan uses some PAL.

I know, though, that japan uses PAL dvds.

[alexa999]

My genesis says genesis, so is it NTSC?

[DuDe]

Yes.

[Juli]

You're right about many points... PAL has the highher resolution but the lower fps so sometimes a game might flicker. Many games are not even optimized for PAL then you can see the so-called PAL balk on top and at the bottom of the picture (50 lines missing on top, 50 at the bottom).

But most games can handle it well (all GC games e.g., nearly all N64 games). And now a new standard has come to Europe:

PAL 60! The high resolution of PAL with the high refresh rate of NTSC. Some games are already using it: Metroid Prime or Zelda Wind Waker for example (Zelda Master Quest too... even the converted N64 rom).

However, I do not know why NTSC games are not working on PAL consoles and the other way around... I guess it is a real copy protection because the console is not interested in the colors used in the console... it is the same for VHS systems... your video recorder/DVD player does not need to know NTSC (if you live in Europe - if you live in America it is the opposite) or any color systems... your television has to know it... if it does not you've already lost...

in Europe we have the problem that there are even a few TVs out which do not support PAL60... games like Zelda-The Wind Waker cannot be played on them at all!

c ya

Juli

[Doomulation]

That's because ntsc and pal are two diffrent systems. Even though they may be using the same fps, it's still not the same system.

[nephalim]

On a side note...I know that Japan is using some PAL. I'm bot sure of n64 games, however...but other things...I just don't remember, however, but Japan uses some PAL.

I know, though, that japan uses PAL dvds.
That's not true. Japan is NTSC, in the exact same way that the USA is. In fact, PAL is quickly fading into oblivion, nearly all PAL games and European TV sets support NTSC.

A question, isn't European NTSC and American NTSC (or is it PAL?) not the same thing? Is it like the refresh rate is the same, but the FPS or resolution isn't?

[2fast4u]

in Europe we have the problem that there are even a few TVs out which do not support PAL60... games like Zelda-The Wind Waker cannot be played on them at all!

actually they can ... well kinda. i had an old tv which didnt handle 60 hz well, .. and after about 20 mins the display went poof in flickering ;)

btw, even older cube games like mario sunshine or burnout already have 60 hz support.

[Doomulation]

That's not true. Japan is NTSC, in the exact same way that the USA is. In fact, PAL is quickly fading into oblivion, nearly all PAL games and European TV sets support NTSC.

A question, isn't European NTSC and American NTSC (or is it PAL?) not the same thing? Is it like the refresh rate is the same, but the FPS or resolution isn't?
Wrong. Japan DVD is PAL. Check it yourself.
And the european ntsc and usa ntsc is the same, afaik. You can use ntsc on those televisions. PAL fading away? I don't think so...at least not yet. There's PAL60, too, which is kindof new.

[URAMetroid]

OK, for what I know about this.

NTSC: is the standard for the US and Japan.

PAL: is used in mainly Europe.

Both have Pros & Cons to them, PAL runs at a higher res then NTSC, NTSC runs at 60 Hz and now PAL also runs at 60 Hz.

I live in the US, so I only use NTSC (and I think NTSC runs at 29.95FPS and a lot of NTSC DVD's run at 24.95FPS).
But the one thing I wonder about is:

If NTSC runs at 60 Hz and about 30FPS and older PAL runs at 50 Hz and at 25FPS, does PAL60 also run at 30FPS or at 25FPS?

Because both standards are interlaced (all odd lines are drawn first, then all even lines (so for the first pass, line 1,3,5,7,9 all the whey to the last odd line
are drawn, then for the second pass, all the even lines 2,4,6,8,10 all the whey to the last even line are drawn last).
So if you do the math:

Total FPS * 2 = Hz (the two is for how many passes to make one frame on an interlaced TV)
OK, for NTSC about 30FPS * 2 = 60 Hz, and for PAL 25FPS * 2 = 50 Hz get it?

So does PAL60 run at 30FPS?

[Doomulation]

Afaik, yes. There was a link to the ... comparison between the two earlier in the thread. Read it.

[nephalim]

Wrong. Japan DVD is PAL. Check it yourself.
And the european ntsc and usa ntsc is the same, afaik. You can use ntsc on those televisions. PAL fading away? I don't think so...at least not yet. There's PAL60, too, which is kindof new.

I OWN a Japanese DVD player! Japanese DVD is NOT PAL! Are you going to start telling me there are hundreds of spiders in the Oceanside Cave Again? :getlost:
EDIT: I am not going to continue this, but your insistence is downright amazing. Your statements continually make less and less sense as you get desperate. :getlost:
If I ever had doubts you are a man, there is no doubt now.

As for PAL fading away, I am speaking specifically of PAL50.

[Doomulation]

You know I've READ about the DVD regions. And japan is part of the european pal. But whatever, I'm not going to argue.
Pal50 is fading away, you're right, why didn't you say so from the beginning? :P
:party:

[URAMetroid]

Yes I read the link, and I already knew most of that, so if you don't like people typing what's on top of there mind, then keep it to your self!
And where the hell did you read that about DVD being PAL?

[Doomulation]

There are 8 regions (also called "locales"). Each region is assigned a number. Players and discs are often identified by the region number superimposed on a world globe. If a disc plays in more than one region it will have more than one number on the globe.
1: U.S., Canada, U.S. Territories
2: Japan, Europe, South Africa, and Middle East (including Egypt)
3: Southeast Asia and East Asia (including Hong Kong)
4: Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central America, Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean
5: Eastern Europe (Former Soviet Union), Indian subcontinent, Africa, North Korea, and Mongolia
6: China
7: Reserved
8: Special international venues (airplanes, cruise ships, etc.)
Source from http://www.thedigitalbits.com/officialfaq.html#1.10
Originally came from http://www.doom9.org

[Noupe]

Wrong. Japan DVD is PAL. Check it yourself

There are 8 regions [truncated]

The problem here is that you are mixing up DVD regions and TV/Video standards. Yes, Japan and Europe both adhere to region 2. This does not, however, mean that they have to use the same video standard.

Europe uses PAL and Japan uses NTSC. The DVDs sold in Europe are not necessarily the same as the ones sold in Japan even if they happen to share the same region.

[Doomulation]

I'm not implying any of the sort :)
I was just saying I knew japan was using PAL for dvds.

[Noupe]

And this is the core of it all; Japan is NOT "using PAL for dvds."

The DVD region system has nothing to do with the TV/Video standard used in specific parts of the area that the region cover.

Yes, Europe and Japan both belong to region 2. But this does not mean that "japan was using PAL for dvds."

When the DVDs are manufactured the difference is that the movie is encoded to PAL for all the discs shipped to Europe and the same movie is encoded to NTSC for all discs that ship to Japan. Of course, both discs still have the region code set to "2", but that, my friend, does not mean that all discs with a 2 have to be PAL-only (or NTSC-only for that matter).