NTSC vs PAL: difference in compatibility

I wonder if there is a difference between compatibility of NTSC and PAL camera's of the same model. Checking on the supported camcorder list one can read the Sony HDR XR500 is compatible for NTSC but isn't mentioned in the PAL list.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3290?viewlocale=en_US#2
I'm thinking of buying this camera in a PAL version and use iMovie09 and FCE 4. Does anyone knows of this will work without any third party software?
Thanks in advance...

I have heard that there is no such a thing as NTSC HD or PAL HD and that HD is just HD regardless of the country it's in. Is that true?
Yes, its true. As far as "definition" goes, there is no difference between a 1080 image shot in a PAL region and a 1080 image shot in an NTSC region. However, which frame rate you intend to shoot at eg 50i / 60i, 25p / 30p etc will certainly make a difference. Most consumer level HD camera's are restricted depending upon the electrical frequency of the market region they are being sold in. If your camera was purchased in a 60Hz ( NTSC ) region then its likely your camera will only support 60i, 30p 24p etc. If its purchased in a 50Hz (PAL) region then it's likely to only support 50i, 25p etc.
Generally it is only the higher end pro camera's that support switching between systems ... neither the HV20 nor the XH-A1 have this capability.
Could I rent an HD camera in Europe and shoot stuff with it there and then bring the resulting tapes back here to the U.S. and play them on my U.S.-purchased HD cameras and decks and load it into my current FCP setup in L.A. without any problem?
Well that would depend on what camera you rented as compared to what your current setup is ... what's your current setup and what do you have in mind to rent?

Similar Messages

IMovie - iDVD and a NTSC versus PAL question

I have some questions about creating iMovie for use in iDVD and about the various formats. Here goes:
I have a large number of travel photos taken in various cities that I need to use to create a project in iMovie. In addition, I have a couple of smallish video segments that go with each of these cities. I want to be able to get to any section from the DVD menus. The sections being defined as the either the videos or the photos for each individual city. Also, I need to be able to create both NTSC and PAL formatted DVD's from this exercise.
Now, as I understand it, there's several ways I can approach this:
First, I can use iMovie to create discreet projects for each segment. The individual city videos being one type. The photo shows of the individual cities being another type. Then export each of these via the media browser and import them individually into iDVD. But that then begs the question of NTSC versus PAL. Since I have to choose a project format in iMovie (NTSC or PAL), does that imply that I've got to have separate projects for each one of the cities NTSC or PAL versions? Or can I just use the NTSC project and cut the DVD in either NTSC or PAL format based on the settings in iDVD? If I use this route, what's the best export format to use for optimal appearance on the finished DVD?
Second, I can create one long project in iMovie. Put chapter markers in it and export it to the media browser. Then, import it into iDVD and use the chapter markers referenced from the various menu picks. If I go this route, once again, how do I account for the NTSC versus PAL differences? And again, what's the best export settings for optimal viewing?
I guess much of this question relates to the issue of having to specify a format in both iMovie and iDVD. If I choose NTSC in iMovie, but use PAL in iDVD, other than the obvious format mismatch, what actually happens by doing this? Or, turn it around. Use PAL in iMovie and NTSC in iDVD. Again, what's the ramifications of doing this?
Just trying to figure out the best way of going about this and what the tradeoffs are for each approach. Any insight you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Oh... and sorry to have been so long winded.
Many thanks in advance,
Tom

Hi
Oh Dear. Is this an assigned task from an editing turor. Then He/She is mean.
a. If You want a DVD - Then You should not use iMovie'08 or 09 or 11 as they can not export interlaced video to iDVD as it needs but discard every second line resulting in a less quality DVD. Use (for SlideShows and Movies)
• iMovie up to HD6 (SlideShows or Movie) - or -
• FinalCut any version (SlideShows or Movie) - or -
• FotoMagico (if You make only a SlideShow - can not do movies)
If persisting with iMovie'08-11 - Then DO NOT use "Share to iDVD" from within any version of iMovie (not 3 - HD6 either) as they do a bad job. But in iM'08-11 "Share to Media Browser" and as Large. In iM HD6 or FCE/P Save as QuickTime .mov and import this into iDVD.
b. NTSC and PAL - If DVD is to be sent to EU (PAL) - then most DVD-players also playback NTSC so conversion is not needed (mostly).
There are NO way to make a combo version PAL & NTSC - They do not exist.
If You make a PAL iMovie /FC project - then DO NOT let iDVD convert to NTSC (or other way either)
• it can do so - BUT Result is severely BAD
I use JES_Deinterlacer to make the conversion and it's so much better. (free on internet)
But absolutly best result is by doing two versions in the movie-editor - one PAL and one NTSC version.
c. Use High quality DVD brand - I only use Verbatim DVD-R
and set down burn speed to x4 - Less burn errors and plays on many more Players.
Just to start with.
Take one Q at a time and we can fix this.
Yours Bengt W

Follow up from Real Pro thread - NTSC and PAL and AVCHD and FCE

Interesting topic line but can I just check one thing out from PAL land.
With an HD/AVCHD camera it is not recording in either PAL or NTSC as this is a analogue mode - so the issue issue of format is only relevant if i playback on a analogue TV. We have a digital tv so i record on AVCHD, deal in that format in FCE and burn to DVD (not sure in what format) play on DVD player through the digital TV.
If that is all correct then why do the manufacturers, in my case Canon HF10, talk about an NTSC and PAL version and then price differently - comparing the spec sheets from the Canon site I can see no difference. Am I missing something?

Hi Tom
The thing i was trying to establish was whether really there was a difference (other than price ) in the so called versions of the Canon HF10. The specs are exactly the same. My assumption is that as the cam records in AVCHD unless you intend to play back thro a PAL or NTSC TV (bearing in mind most European PAL sets play NTSC as well) it makes no odds which camera.
My plan- and this is what I need to check - is to record and import into FCE taking your advice not to record in the highest quality to save rendering on import. After editing can export through FCE to PAL or NTSC DVD version for playing on TV.
Does that sound right
PS I have found your book on FCE very helpful to date !!!!

Ntsc vs pal

pal vs ntsc
Posted: Oct 18, 2006 8:27 AM Reply Email
i got some footage of a wedding that was shot in ntsc format on vhs that was burnt do a dvd. i recorded the dvd onto my computer using final cutpro (dvd to cmaera to computer). I saved it as a quick time movie, now i want to burn into a pal format film so it can be shown in England. How can i do this with idvd.
I tried changing the prefernces to pal and i tried changing the video mode in the project info to pal but i get an message when i click burn that says TV standard conflict. i still go ahead to burn but it comes beack with an encoding error.
is there anyway i can change the format (ntsc to pal) using finalcut express

to playback your ntsc dvd (vhs for that matter) you need either
- a dvd player or vhs deck that does true ntsc playback plus a monitor or projector that handles true ntsc
or
- a dvd player or vhs deck that does "ntsc playback on pal" (i believe that's what it was called) with a regular tv. it's a rough scaling of the video-image and it drops a few frames here and there to compensate for the frame-rate difference. this is of course not as good as a proper conversion, but for home-viewing is more than good enough.
this last pont also explains what is the point of places offering proper conversion...
discs created in dvd sp usually are set to play in all regions - though can be made to play only in 1 region, you'll have to check this with the person who created the disc or by popping it into a different region player
hope this helps

FCE 4: NTSC AND PAL?

Hi, this summer I bought FCE, but I really still have to learn using it. Now I saw that between the description of the FCE 4 upgrade, it says that you can use Pal and NTSC footage in the same timeline. This means that if I upgrade I can use in the same movie some shots from my NTSC camera and some of my Pal camera and then export the all movie in whatever format I may like? (NTSC or PAL)
I'm asking because, if this is true and the results are good, This can be a good thing to kick out of my pocket another 100 €...
Thanks in advance for any help.

Sandbox Test
1) being is a PAL orientated country, I download some NTSC footage from iStock Photos (iStock_000003835610DV.mov - NTSC, no sound, 720 x 480 px).
2) opened FCE4, and created a new sequence as "PAL DV 48kHz"
3) imported the NTSC footage
4) dropped the NTSC footage into the timeline, and it prompted me to either match the clip or not. for this purpose i said no, and the NTSC footage was converted to match the sequence settings.
5) the canvas view was at 72% whilst when i looked at the NTSC footage in the viewer it was 50% - PAL 720x576 whilst NTSC 720x480.
6) playback in the timeline without rendering, and all looks good.
7) exported as movie (not self-contained).
8) playback in QT7.4 side-by-side the original footage and naturally the width's match, but the FCE4 converted material was stretched to fill the difference.
9) changed the aspect/size to match that of the original footage and all looked normal.
I guess the morale here is mixing footage of different sizes will need some manipulation to make the final output look normal.
I am sure others more experienced with mixed media will correct my knowledge inaccuracies...
I hope this helps
Message was edited by: peterjohndean

NTSC to PAL, anyone?

Hello There,
I'm about to buy Premier and I'm excited about it. I'm learning and you'll see that from my question.
Can anyone tell me if Premier has the ability to output an NTSC project to PAL? My camera is NTSC. My client needs a PAL end result.
Or, if that's not possible, what program will do the job and how's the quality of the result?
Thanks,
BT

Crellin Sound wrote:
Hmmmm,
Just how tricky is the frame rate conversion going from NTSC to PAL? We'll probably shoot at 24fps, but one never knows. There's a possibility that this could go to TV.
And just how much visual color difference is there between NTSC and PAL? Does the difference between 16 - 235 for NTSC and 0 - 255 for PAL really matter? Is it noticeable?
Thanks,
BT
Well, make sure you know at least what you are shooting
I just gave it a try using AME, max render quality & frame blending and the result is... let me put is this way: you'll see the difference comparing both clips, especially if the source is interlaced, for progessive its a quite a bit better. Some people would say just play it back at 25 fps, the lesser speed is visually below being perceivable, but you will get audio shifting.
Using time remapping might be better, I had good result using Apples Compressor which uses optical flow for rendering intermediate frames (which is not good for CG, by the way). After Effects has similar capabilities, but I haven't used them yet.
As long as you stay in HD you wont notice any color differences since there arent any. Both use the same color space.

NTSC versus PAL

Can someone please tell me what the difference is between NTSC and PAL models?
On the list with camcorders compatible with Macs some of them are tested on NTSC and others on PAL. Will I have a problem choosing any of them?
Thank you very much in advance.

NTSC and PAL are analog television standards. Most European countries, including Greece, use the PAL standard. If you live in Greece and you plan to shoot video for use in your home country, then you should select a camcorder that supports PAL.
Here are links to more information about the PAL and NTSC video standards and usage.
Some PAL devices (camcorders, tape/DVD players, televisions, etc) also support NTSC but you have to read the features/specifications carefully.

NTSC to PAL - Large file size?

Hi,
I just used compressor to transfer NTSC to PAL. I used the standard preset in compressor for PAL DV.
It is a 90 minute video and wound up being 20gb in size. When I drop the file into dvd studio it shows up as only 4.1gb (which is about the same size as the NTSC compression)
How come such a strange file size difference, and how come it doesnt show up in compressor as the 20gb size?
I'm using final cut studio

DVD SP predicts the size of your encoded movie to burn on a standard DVD. You cannot burn 20 GB on even a dual-layer DVD disk, right? So 4.1 GB is the size that will be recorded on your standard DVD disk. You can change it if you plan to burn a dual-layer one.

DVI to Video adapter switches from NTSC to PAL

I just bought an apple dvi to analog video adapter to connect my mac mini to my tv.
It worked like a charm the first time, but seems to reset for no reason from ntsc to pal output. This is really annoying because the pal output is nearly impossible to read, making it painful to switch it back. It's weird because it boots into ntsc just fine and the login window looks good. But as soon as I log in from either account, it opens in pal. When I change it, it will change back over night.
I tried using both composite and s-video plugs. The TV is a sony wega xbr (US).

I assume you have the previous generation mini even though you have posted in the forum for the newer one. The newer one wouldn't work at all from the adapter you describe. Anyway...
...OS X's display preferences files may have corrupted somehow. Especially since it worked before and now it doesn't. That really sounds like a problem with the configuration of the Mac.
In /Library/Preferences is a file called com.apple.windowserver.plist. Navigate your way to it and throw it in the trash. Also, in your main user account (folder with your name on it) under ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost will also be found a file com.apple.windowserver.xxxxxxxxxx.plist where the xxxxx is a hexidecimal string. Throw that file in the trash, too. Now restart.
When OS X restarts and finds those files missing from their expected location, it creates fresh copies with default values. This will give a clean start with any attached display.

DVD Footage for FCP Edit - how to tell if NTSC or PAL?!

Hi all, apologies if this seems like a stupid request but I have a job at the moment calling for me to extract footage from a DVD, edit in FCP, add a few bits from Motion etc., but I can't work out if the DVD is NTSC or PAL!
I intend to extract the video (no issues with copyright) via DVDxDVPro but am unsure if the DVD has been encoded in NTSC or PAL. The footage it contains is from both the States (NTSC) and South Africa (PAL) so how do I tell? I don't want to go through a standards conversion if I can help it.
I am keen to try to retain as much quality as possible (client can't provide tape) so also any thougts on the best output from DVDxDVPRo for FCP editing?
Thanks all,
Best wishes
Michael

Hi Thomas, that's it!
Thanks for this - it clearly shows the TV standard and the resolution plus 4:3 etc., so everything I needed for confirmation.
Glad I cheked because it was in Pal - thought the conversion in DVDxDVPro looked a bit ropey.
This realy baffled me - seemed so simple but couldn't find a way to tell the standard. Learn something everyday...
I am using DVCPro for export from DVDxDVPro - anyone thoughts on a better option?
Thanks again for the answer - and so quick on a Sunday too!
Kind regards
Michael

Where can I check to see if project has been imported in NTSC or PAL?

I have been importing DV tapes from both NTSC and PAL DV camcorders and I think I may have made a mistake on a take and recorded an NTSC tape in PAL. I can't find anywhere that tells me if my projects are in PAL or NTSC. Does anyone know how I can check?
Thanks
Kevin

[email protected] wrote:
...I tried what you said but it only gives me the option to see codecs under 'more info' when I view the info on the thumbnail files and then it still doesn't tell me if it is Pal or NTSC. When I right click on the file in the finder the only info I get is that it is a DV Movie....
.... ooops..
in case you own QTpro or the free tool Mpeg Streamclip, open file, hit Apple-I and read in the info framerate/fps: 25=PAL, 29.97=NTSC..

NTSC and PAL

Under iDVD preferences and the Projects tab it asks a few things that I know nothing about:
1) Video Mode: NTSC or PAL. What are those and when would I use one over the other?
2) Encoding: Best Quality or Best Performance? Which is better to use and if I use Best Performance do I want to "Enable background encoding"?
Thanks. -Jeff

there are no NTSC DVDs, there are only DVDs that have 29.97fps, 720x480 MPEG-2 video to maximize video quality on an NTSC analog output
... and THAT makes them NTSC DVDs.
Jeff asked: ) Video Mode: NTSC or PAL. What are those and when would I use one over the other?. Jeff, the are video standards used in different places around the world. If all your DVDs are intended for use in the US, just select NTSC and don't worry about it.
PAL and NTSC are analog modulations
... that differ mostly in the way the chrominance signal is treated (besides the image size and frame rate).

NTSC to PAL DVD

I am attempting to make a PAL DVD in DVDSP 3. I changed the disc and encoding settings to PAL and encoded my stand alone movie from media 100 which was 720x480 as PAL.
I watch the DVD on my g4 apple dvd player and it's fine, but when I watched it on my apex dvd player, I saw these lines running across horizontally. Thick lines, mostly on fast motion, but other places too.
When my client watches the same dvd on his computer, (mac 0s 9 i believe) he sees what I see on the apex.
Question: Is this normal, since my monitor is NTSC to see these lines? Normally when I've watched a PAL piece on a PAL player on an NTSC monitor, I see color problems and tracking problems... but not these lines...
Also: What is good for a stand alone program, to convert files from NTSC to PAL?
Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me.

You can't just encode from one standard to another
You need to use a standards converter, or have original PAL footage
What do you mean by "I changed the disc and encoding settings to PAL and encoded my stand alone movie from media 100?"
Just changing to PAL in DVD SP if the original footage is NTSC doesn't change the source footage and creates a PAL DVD.

NTSC to PAL Compression for DVD Studio Pro

I am trying to make PAL MPEG2s using Compressor. My videos are roughly 15 minutes long (I have 6 going onto one DVD). I altered one of the Presets to PAL, 16x9, one pass VBR, 4.5 to 7 data rate, best for the motion setting. And I get the typical odd chunky feeling during motion within the frame. Meaning frames look removed (or added) during movement. I looked at it not only on my MAC but on a PAL DVD routed to a true PAL monitor.
Any advice for settings I should try? I have two tests rendering - I moved up to 2 pass VBR, 5-8 data rates, better motion and best motion. I should be able to look at them this evening; but from the folks I talked to, I'm not hopeful. Has anyone figured a way to make PAL MPEG2s look good short of having PAL masters made and a large Post house do the files on their very expensive equipment?
Thanks,
Cindy S.

What version of Compressor are you using? Compressor 2 has frame rate conversion settings under the Frame Controls tab (offering various levels of quality).
In any case, you might want to try the freeware utility JES Deinterlacer since it supports fairly good NTSC to PAL conversion using either frame blending or a form of inverse telecine (to convert from NTSC's 29.97fps to PAL's 25fps). If you're using Compressor 1.X then this may be your best option unless you are willing to spend some money on an alternative, third-party solution.
You can download JES Deinterlacer from VersionTracker.com -- it comes with instructions.<small><hr width="75%"><small>If this suggestion helps in any way, a confirmation or acknowledgment would be appreciated, since that would also help others who may be having the same difficulty. Do for others as you would have them help you.<center>Thanks for sharing, Waymen.</center></small>

HD NTSC to PAL Debacle

Dear Compression sages,
I'm attempting to convert my NTSC DVCpro HD 720 Quicktime to PAL to make a PAL DVD in DVDSP. So I need a PAL mpeg2. My trouble starts here.
In compression I followed all the settings to convert to PAL. The resulting mpeg was a little rough in terms of quality, but it was the best I could get it. It seemed to play alright.
But to my horror when I dropped the clip into the DVDSP timeline I discovered that all the subtitles I had made in my NTSC DVDSP project gradually went out of sync. The DVDSP project had been fully converted to PAL, every menu. But this gradual de-syncing of the subtitles confused me. And this is not the kind of project that I can easily move the subtitles over. 26 min, heavy on the lines, 5 subtitle tracks.
I checked the audio sync and it seemed to be in sync, but I couldn't be clinically certain frames weren't being dropped towards the end. I did some research and discovered that many people had been having trouble with conversions from NTSC to PAL. Out of sync audio issues, frames being dropped, etc.
In desperation I consulted a friend, who recommended I use a FCP plug-in to do the conversion called Nattress Standards Conversion. He said he had had frame dropping issues with other transfers, but that the NSD plug-in had worked great.
I downloaded the plug-in, and attempted to follow the instructions (bellow) only to find that on step 9, it did not recognize the proper aspect ratio of my HD footage, giving me 4:3 instead of 6:9. I tried switching a few settings, but to no avail. Everytime I dragged and dropped the origional source clip into the filter interface the clip in the viewer altered to 4:3 ratio. Blast, I thought. Probably some little setting I will never discover.
So here I am, back on the compression forums. Has anyone successfully used compressor to convert NTSC HD to PAL without getting drop frames or subtitles gradually going out of sync? How on earth do I do this conversion without horrific results?
NTSC to PAL conversion for Nattress:
1. edit the NTSC clip to an PAL timeline
2. nest the NTSC clip to allow the plugin to scale the converted clip. Because the pixel
dimensions of NTSC video are smaller than PAL, the clip will appear shrunk down in
the timeline canvas viewer. This is normal. The nesting of the clip will allow the
plugin to correctly scale it to PAL pixel dimensions. (select clip and go to the Se-
quence Menu and select Nest Items - make sure the pixels dimensions of the nest
are PAL sized)
3. apply the G Converter plugin to the nested sequence in the PAL timeline. Make sure
the plugin goes onto the nest itself, not the clip that it contains.
4. open the nest in the viewer (control click on the nest and select "Open in viewer" or
select nest then press return)
5. select the ﬁlter tab in the viewer
6. set the correct settings for the desired conversion. In this case, we select Source
Pixel size to be 720 x 480 (NTSC), lower ﬁeld order for source (in this case a NTSC
DV clip) and destination (PAL DV timeline).
7. if you desire the PAL output to be de-interlaced, this can be performed in one step by
selecting progressive output
8. if you would like to experiment with the conversion algorithm using "Smart De-
Interlacing" then this can be selected in the De-Interlace options. The Tolerance
control affects the smart de-interlace and it's effects can be seen by selecting "View
Smart Mask" in the De-Interlace Options.
9. the original NTSC clip that was edited to the PAL timeline must now be dropped from
the project browser onto the Source Clip image well in the ﬁlter. The plugin will use
this video clip for all the image data for the conversion. This is the important step
that makes this plugin different from any other, and is vital to it's successful operation.

I downloaded the plug-in, and attempted to follow the instructions (bellow) only to find that on step 9, it did not recognize the proper aspect ratio of my HD footage, giving me 4:3 instead of 6:9. I tried switching a few settings, but to no avail. Everytime I dragged and dropped the origional source clip into the filter interface the clip in the viewer altered to 4:3 ratio. Blast, I thought. Probably some little setting I will never discover.
Email Graeme Nattress with your problem. He does a good job supporting his plugins.
x

NTSC vs PAL: difference in compatibility

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