NTSC is an abbreviation for National Television Standards Committee, named for the group that originally developed the black & white and subsequently color television system that is used in the United States, Japan and many other countries. An NTSC picture is made up of 525 interlaced lines and is displayed at a rate of 29.97 frames per second.
PAL is an abbreviation for Phase Alternate Line. This is the video format standard used in many European countries. A PAL picture is made up of 625 interlaced lines and is displayed at a rate of 25 frames per second.
SECAM is an abbreviation for Sequential Color and Memory. This video format is used in many Eastern countries such as the USSR, China, Pakistan, France, and a few others. Like PAL, a SECAM picture is also made up of 625 interlaced lines and is displayed at a rate of 25 frames per second. However, the way SECAM processes the color information, it is not compatible with the PAL video format standard.
NOTE: All DVD players sold in PAL countries play both types of disc formats. Most NTSC DVD players cannot play PAL discs.
Many foreign countries use a different video format standard to broadcast and display video. There are three major video format standards used around the world: National Television System Committee ( NTSC, Phase Alternating Line (PAL), and Sequential Color and Memory (SECAM) . The table below provides a list of countries and the video format standard used in each.
| Country | Video Format Standard |
|---|---|
| Afghanistan | PAL |
| Algeria | PAL |
| Antiqua | NTSC |
| Argentina | PAL |
| Australia | PAL |
| Austria | PAL |
| Bahrain | PAL |
| Bangladesh | PAL |
| Barbados | NTSC |
| Belgium | PAL |
| Bermuda | NTSC |
| Brazil | PAL |
| Brunei | PAL |
| Bulgaria | SECAM |
| Canada | NTSC |
| Canary Isle | PAL |
| Chile | NTSC |
| China | PAL |
| Colombia | NTSC |
| Congo | SECAM |
| Costa Rica | NTSC |
| Cuba | NTSC |
| Cyprus | PAL/SEC |
| Czechoslovakia | SECAM |
| Denmark | PAL |
| Dominican Republic | NTSC |
| Dubai | PAL |
| Ecuador | NTSC |
| Egypt | SECAM |
| Eire | PAL |
| El Salvador | NTSC |
| Ethiopia | PAL |
| Finland | PAL |
| France | SECAM |
| Germany | PAL |
| Ghana | PAL |
| Gibraltar | PAL |
| Greece | SECAM |
| Guatemala | NTSC |
| Haiti | SECAM |
| Honduras | NTSC |
| Hong Kong | PAL |
| Hungary | SECAM |
| Iceland | PAL |
| India | PAL |
| Indonesia | PAL |
| Iran | SECAM |
| Iraq | SECAM |
| Israel | PAL |
| Italy | PAL |
| Ivory Coast | SECAM |
| Jamaica | NTSC |
| Japan | NTSC |
| Jordan | PAL |
| Kenya | PAL |
| Korea | NTSC |
| Kuwait | PAL |
| Lebanon | SECAM |
| Liberia | PAL |
| Libya | PAL |
| Luxemborg | PAL/SEC |
| Malaysia | PAL |
| Malta | PAL |
| Mauritius | SECAM |
| Mexico | NTSC |
| Monaco | SECAM/PAL |
| Morocco | SECAM |
| Netherlands | PAL |
| New Zeland | PAL |
| Nicaragua | NTSC |
| Nigeria | PAL |
| Norway | PAL |
| Oman | PAL |
| Pakistan | PAL |
| Panama | NTSC |
| Peru | NTSC |
| Philippines | NTSC |
| Poland | SECAM |
| Portugal | PAL |
| Puerto Rico | NTSC |
| Qatar | PAL |
| Saba,Sarawak | PAL |
| Saudi Arabia | SECAM |
| Sierra Leone | PAL |
| Singapore | PAL |
| South Africa | PAL |
| Spain | PAL |
| Sri Lanka | PAL |
| Sudan | PAL |
| Surinam | NTSC |
| Sweden | PAL |
| Switzerland | PAL |
| Syria | SECAM |
| Taiwan | NTSC |
| Tanzania | PAL |
| Thailand | PAL |
| Trinidad | NTSC |
| Tunisia | SECAM |
| Turkey | PAL |
| UAE | PAL |
| Uganda | PAL |
| UK | PAL |
| Uruguay | PAL |
| USA | NTSC |
| USSR | SECAM |
| Venezuela | NTSC |
| Yemen | PAL |
| Yugoslavia | PAL |
| Zaire | SECAM |
| Zambia | PAL |
| Zanzibar | PAL |
| Zimbabwe | PAL |