Difference between PAL and NTSC formats. All about NTSC, PAL and SECAM systems

All this is almost a thing of the past. PAL and NTSC belong to analog television, which is slowly being replaced by digital everywhere and irrevocably. However, some time ago, these abbreviations were familiar to everyone who watched or shot video at home: discrepancies in recording standards led to equipment failure to play. Today the problem is not so acute: decoders are used if necessary. And yet, at one time, many copies were broken about the question of the differences between PAL and NTSC, especially considering the strict territorial reference: PAL belonged to Europe, NTSC to the USA and Japan. This alone caused controversy about what was best for a Soviet-Russian person. However, there is no answer to this question and there cannot be: taste and color always take precedence, and neither PAL nor NTSC were broadcast in Russia - SECAM reigns here.

PAL- a color analogue television system adopted in a number of countries in Europe, Africa, and Australia.
NTSC- a color analog television system adopted in the USA, Japan, South Korea and some other Asian countries.

Comparison of PAL and NTSC

Actually, the difference between PAL and NTSC is solely in the specifics of technology. Most video equipment models are omnivorous: they are capable of receiving a signal and reproducing an image of any of the three standards without distortion. First of all, you should pay attention to the horizontal scanning frequency: for PAL 625 lines, for NTSC - 525. Accordingly, the resolution is higher with the European system. But the frame rate is the opposite, 30 Hz versus 25 Hz.
To the eye, the differences between PAL and NTSC are noticeable in the quality of color reproduction. The technically more complex NTSC allows for color distortion, while PAL gives a picture that is close to natural. NTSC is sensitive to phase distortions of the signal and amplitude fluctuations, therefore the predominance of red, for example, or color replacement for it is common. In PAL, which appeared later, these shortcomings were eliminated, however, this was done at the expense of the clarity of the resulting image. In addition, the PAL receiver is more complex in configuration; it contains a delay line; therefore, the assembly cost is higher.
The PAL standard today exists in many varieties, different in specificity. NTSC is represented by three, one of which, NTSC N, corresponds to PAL N, differing almost in no way, so the names turned out to be interchangeable. Japan has its own NTSC J format.
It's all about television. However, abbreviations are very familiar to gamers, and they are biased towards this issue. Or they treated it because the phenomenon had lost its relevance. Some years ago, game console manufacturers and game developers took into account the sales region when releasing content in either PAL or NTSC format. The consoles only recognized their own, refusing to work with strangers. Therefore, the game was localized not only through translation, but also by coding in accordance with the standard. Sometimes, along the way, something was changed or cut out in it, so that the same release in Europe and the USA could differ, and significantly. Those who could choose (and then owners of consoles without region lock) often chose PAL - because the resolution and color quality are slightly higher. But the games could slow down slightly. Naturally, there was no unanimity on this issue. Today, division by region is still relevant for some models of game consoles, but with chips (thanks to the craftsmen) and cross-platform it is not a problem.

TheDifference.ru determined that the difference between the PAL format and NTSC is as follows:

PAL is the standard for European countries, NTSC is for the USA, Japan and some Asian countries.
Scanning frequency for PAL - 625 lines, NTSC - 525.
Frame rate for PAL - 25 Hz, for NTSC - 30 Hz.
NTSC allows for distortion in color reproduction; PAL has lower image clarity.
Games and game consoles vary by sales region: NTSC for the US, PAL for Europe.

All this is almost a thing of the past. PAL and NTSC belong to analog television, which is slowly being replaced by digital everywhere and irrevocably. However, some time ago, these abbreviations were familiar to everyone who watched or shot video at home: discrepancies in recording standards led to equipment failure to play. Today the problem is not so acute: decoders are used if necessary. And yet, at one time, many copies were broken about the question of the differences between PAL and NTSC, especially considering the strict territorial reference: PAL belonged to Europe, NTSC to the USA and Japan. This alone caused controversy about what was best for a Soviet-Russian person. However, there is no answer to this question and there cannot be: taste and color always take precedence, and neither PAL nor NTSC were broadcast in Russia - SECAM reigns here.

Definition

PAL- a color analogue television system adopted in a number of countries in Europe, Africa, and Australia.

NTSC- a color analog television system adopted in the USA, Japan, South Korea and some other Asian countries.

Comparison

Actually, the difference between PAL and NTSC is solely in the specifics of technology. Most video equipment models are omnivorous: they are capable of receiving a signal and reproducing an image of any of the three standards without distortion. First of all, you should pay attention to the horizontal scanning frequency: for PAL 625 lines, for NTSC - 525. Accordingly, the resolution is higher with the European system. But the frame rate is the opposite, 30 Hz versus 25 Hz.

To the eye, the differences between PAL and NTSC are noticeable in the quality of color reproduction. The technically more complex NTSC allows for color distortion, while PAL gives a picture that is close to natural. NTSC is sensitive to phase distortions of the signal and amplitude fluctuations, therefore the predominance of red, for example, or color replacement for it is common. In PAL, which appeared later, these shortcomings were eliminated, however, this was done at the expense of the clarity of the resulting image. In addition, the PAL receiver is more complex in configuration; it contains a delay line; therefore, the assembly cost is higher.

The PAL standard today exists in many varieties, different in specificity. NTSC is represented by three, one of which, NTSC N, corresponds to PAL N, differing almost in no way, so the names turned out to be interchangeable. Japan has its own NTSC J format.

It's all about television. However, abbreviations are very familiar to gamers, and they are biased towards this issue. Or they treated it because the phenomenon had lost its relevance. Some years ago, game console manufacturers and game developers took into account the sales region when releasing content in either PAL or NTSC format. The consoles only recognized their own, refusing to work with strangers. Therefore, the game was localized not only through translation, but also by coding in accordance with the standard. Sometimes, along the way, something was changed or cut out in it, so that the same release in Europe and the USA could differ, and significantly. Those who could choose (and then owners of consoles without region lock) often chose PAL - because the resolution and color quality are slightly higher. But the games could slow down slightly. Naturally, there was no unanimity on this issue. Today, division by region is still relevant for some models of game consoles, but with chips (thanks to the craftsmen) and cross-platform it is not a problem.

Conclusions website

1. PAL is the standard for European countries, NTSC is for the USA, Japan and some Asian countries.
2. Scanning frequency for PAL - 625 lines, NTSC - 525.
3. Frame rate for PAL - 25 Hz, for NTSC - 30 Hz.
4. NTSC allows for distortion in color reproduction; PAL has lower image clarity.
5. Games and game consoles vary by sales region: NTSC for the US, PAL for Europe.

Unlike the black-and-white image transmission standard, which was more or less uniform throughout the world (only the distance between the image and sound transmission frequencies differed), there are several color television standards. The main color television systems are SECAM, PAL, NTSC. System SECAM adopted in the countries of the former USSR, as well as in France. System PAL adopted in Western European countries, except France. System NTSC adopted on the American continent and in Japan. Standards PAL And SECAM were developed on the basis of a single standard for black-and-white images and with the ability to receive a new television signal on old televisions, therefore they are partially compatible with each other (the image scan and brightness are encoded in the same way, but the color balance is encoded differently). Standard NTSC was developed independently of the old standard. At the moment, digital standards are being refined, and in some countries, the introduction of digital standards, the advantages of which are increased picture resolution, increased picture frequency, and also noise immunity of the signal. In Russia, the transition to digital broadcasting is planned for 2010.

NTSC standard

NTSC (National Television System Color) is the first color television system to find practical application. It was developed in the USA and already accepted for broadcasting in 1953, and currently broadcasting using this system is also carried out in Canada, most countries of Central and South America, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. It was during its creation that the basic principles of color transmission in television were developed. This standard defines a method for encoding information into a composite video signal. According to standard NTSC, each video frame consists of 525 horizontal lines of screen along which an electron beam passes every 1/30 of a second. When drawing a frame, the electron beam makes two passes across the entire screen: first along the odd lines, and then along the even lines (interlacing). Supports 16 million different colors. New versions of the NTSC standard "Super NTSC" and "16 x 9" are currently being developed, which will be part of the MPEG standard and the DVD development standard

PAL standard

SECAM standard

System SECAM (SEquentiel Couleur A Memoire), like PAL, uses a 625-line screen image at 25 frames per second. This system was originally proposed in France back in 1954, but regular broadcasting, after lengthy modifications, began only in 1967 simultaneously in France and the USSR. Currently, it is also accepted in Eastern Europe, Monaco, Luxembourg, Iran, Iraq and some other countries. The main feature of the system is the alternate transmission of color-difference signals through a line with further restoration in the decoder by repeating lines. However, in contrast to PAL And NTSC frequency modulation of subcarriers is used. As a result, color tone and saturation do not depend on illumination, but color fringing appears at sharp transitions in brightness. Typically, after bright areas of the image, the border is blue, and after dark areas, yellow. In addition, as in the system PAL, vertical color clarity is halved.
Sources:
http://www.videodata.ru/palsecam.htm
http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE

IEEE1394 interface

(FireWire, i-Link) is a high-speed serial bus designed for exchanging digital information between a computer and other electronic devices.

Various companies promote the standard under their own brands:

Apple - FireWire

Story

in 1986, members of the Microcomputer Standards Committee decided to combine the various serial bus options that existed at that time

in 1992, Apple began developing the interface

IEEE 1394 standard adopted in 1995

Advantages

Digital interface - allows you to transfer data between digital devices without loss of information

Small size - a thin cable replaces a pile of bulky wires

Easy to use - no terminators, device IDs or pre-installation

Hot pluggability - the ability to reconfigure the bus without turning off the computer

Low cost for end users

Various data transfer rates - 100, 200 and 400 Mbps (800, 1600 Mbps IEEE 1394b)

Flexible topology - equality of devices, allowing various configurations (the ability to “communicate” devices without a computer)

High speed - the ability to process multimedia signals in real time

Open architecture - no need for special software

Availability of power directly on the bus (low-power devices can do without their own power supplies). Up to one and a half amperes and voltage from 8 to 40 volts.

Connect up to 63 devices.

IEEE 1394 bus can be used with:

Computers

Audio and video multimedia devices

Printers and scanners

Hard drives, RAID arrays

Digital video cameras and VCRs

IEEE 1394 Device Organization

IEEE 1394 devices are organized according to a 3-level scheme - Transaction, Link and Physical, corresponding to the three lower levels of the OSI model.

Transaction Layer - routing of data streams with support for an asynchronous write-read protocol.

Link Layer - forms data packets and ensures their delivery.

Physical Layer - conversion of digital information into analog for transmission and vice versa, control of the signal level on the bus, control of access to the bus.

Communication between the PCI bus and the Transaction Layer is carried out by the Bus Manager. It assigns the type of devices on the bus, numbers and types of logical channels, and detects errors.

Data is transmitted in frames with a length of 125 μs. Time slots for channels are placed in the frame. Both synchronous and asynchronous operating modes are possible. Each channel can occupy one or more time slots. To transmit data, the transmitter device asks for a synchronous channel of the required bandwidth. If the transmitted frame contains the required number of time slots for a given channel, an affirmative response is received and the channel is granted.

FireWire Specifications

IEEE 1394

At the end of 1995, IEEE adopted the standard under serial number 1394. In Sony digital cameras, the IEEE 1394 interface appeared before the adoption of the standard and was called iLink.

The interface was initially positioned for transmitting video streams, but it also caught the fancy of external drive manufacturers, providing high throughput for modern high-speed drives. Today, many motherboards, as well as almost all modern laptop models, support this interface.

Data transfer rates - 100, 200 and 400 Mbit/s, cable length up to 4.5 m.

IEEE 1394a

In 2000, the IEEE 1394a standard was approved. A number of improvements have been made to increase device compatibility.

A wait time of 1/3 second has been introduced for bus reset until the transient process of establishing a reliable connection or disconnection of the device is completed.

IEEE 1394b

In 2002, the IEEE 1394b standard appeared with new speeds: S800 - 800 Mbit/s and S1600 - 1600 Mbit/s. The maximum cable length also increases to 50, 70 and when using high-quality fiber optic cables up to 100 meters.

The corresponding devices are designated FireWire 800 or FireWire 1600, depending on the maximum speed.

The cables and connectors used have changed. To achieve maximum speeds at maximum distances, the use of optics is provided, plastic for lengths up to 50 meters, and glass for lengths up to 100 meters.

Despite the change in connectors, the standards remained compatible, which can be achieved using adapters.

On December 12, 2007, the S3200 specification was introduced with a maximum speed of 3.2 Gbit/s.

IEEE 1394.1

In 2004, the IEEE 1394.1 standard was released. This standard was adopted to enable the construction of large-scale networks and dramatically increases the number of connected devices to a gigantic number of 64,449.

IEEE 1394c

Introduced in 2006, the 1394c standard allows the use of Cat 5e cable from Ethernet. It can be used in parallel with Gigabit Ethernet, that is, use two logical and mutually independent networks on one cable. The maximum declared length is 100 m, the Maximum speed corresponds to S800 - 800 Mbit/s.

FireWire connectors

There are three types of FireWire connectors:

4pin (IEEE 1394a without power) is used on laptops and video cameras. Two wires for signal transmission (information) and two for reception.

6pin (IEEE 1394a). Additionally two wires for power.

9pin (IEEE 1394b). Additional wires for receiving and transmitting information.

Integration

Audio and video equipment (digital CD, MD, VideoCD and DVD players, digital STB and Digital VHS) can already be integrated with computers and thus controlled. This equipment can be used to create systems by simply connecting devices to each other using a single cable. After this, using a personal computer acting as a controller, you can perform the following operations: record from a CD player onto a mini-disk, store digital radio broadcasts received via STB, enter digital video into a personal computer for subsequent editing and editing. Of course, it remains possible to directly exchange data between audio and video equipment without using a computer or, conversely, exchange data between two computers without regard to audio or video, as in local networks based on traditional Ethernet technologies.

NEC recently announced the development of a chip designed to support hardware routing between two IEEE-1394-based networks and enable their interoperability in future IEEE-1394 broadband home multimedia networks. This dual-port chip also includes firmware that automatically configures the network and allows connections to other network devices, including mobile devices. Thus, the home network can be extended beyond the boundaries of a specific home for a distance of up to one kilometer. Meanwhile, Sony continues to develop the concept of a home network based on the IEEE-1394 standard, and intends to support developments with a practical focus by releasing even more capacious, high-speed, compact, low-power components for a wide range of applications and subsequent integration into system chipsets. Today Sony is showing off new consumer electronics that can form a home network using i.Link. All this architecture bears the proud name Home Audio/Video Interoperability (HAVi)). It seems that thanks to the efforts of Sony, we will soon really live, if not in a digital house, then at least in a digital apartment. However, the IEEE-1394 standard, which is increasingly attracting the attention of not only manufacturers of audio and video devices, but also developers of equipment for personal computers, will no doubt soon become a new network standard ushering in the coming digital era.

In the operating system released in the fall of 2000 Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition For the first time, built-in support for local networks based on IEEE-1394 controllers appeared. Such a network has a data transfer speed four times greater than Fast Ethernet and is very convenient for a home or small office. The only inconvenience when building such a network is the short maximum length of one segment (cable length up to 4.2 m). To eliminate this drawback, signal amplifiers - repeaters, as well as multiplier-hubs for several ports (up to 27) are produced. Recently, the new USB interface (version 2.0) has been actively competing with the IEEE-1394 interface, which provides data transfer at speeds of up to 480 Mbit/s versus the old 12 Mbit/s, that is, 40 times faster than the existing USB standard! The USB bus has become widespread due to its low cost and powerful support in the form of a controller built directly into chipsets for motherboards. At the same time, it was stated that high-speed USB 2.0 would also be implemented in the form of a controller built into the chipset (Intel ICH3). However, Microsoft has announced that it will prioritize support for the IEEE-1394 interface rather than USB 2.0, and, in addition, the asynchronous nature of USB transmission does not allow it to seriously compete with FireWire in the field of digital video.

Thus, IEEE-1394 remains the international standard for a low-cost interface that allows you to integrate all kinds of digital entertainment, communications and computing devices into a consumer digital multimedia complex. In other words, all IEEE-1394 devices, such as digital photo and video cameras, DVD devices and other devices, fit perfectly both with personal computers equipped with a similar interface (both Mac and PC computers support it), and between yourself. This means that users can now transfer, process and store data (including images, sound and video) at high speeds and with virtually no degradation in quality. All these distinctive features of IEEE-1394 make it the most attractive universal digital interface of the future.

http://www.videodive.ru/scl/ieee1394.shtml http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fLggMWeiVQ(video about how to remake an IEEE 1394 connector) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrJA54IdREc(video about a laptop with IEEE 1394 connectors)

I bet many have heard the terms PAL, SECAM and NTSC. Televisions and TV tuners, in the process of setting up channels, often suffer from questions about choosing one of them. The situation gets worse when it additionally offers several subtypes of any of the three formats to choose from. And what to choose? And most importantly, how do all these formats differ from each other? We will now look into all this.

There are three systems in the world analog color television - NTSC, PAL And SECAM, similar in many ways, and at the same time, differing in a number of parameters. This situation often requires the use of special decoders to convert video recordings from one standard to another.

A television picture consists of lines (lines) sequentially displayed on the screen. This method of image formation is called line scan, and the cycle of complete image (frame) change is personnel scanning. The more lines on the screen, the better the vertical clarity of the image, and the increased frame rate eliminates the possible flickering effect.

The figure shows the predominant use of color TV standards by region.

Basic parameters of TV signals

Due to the limited bandwidth of communication channels, each frame in all TV standards is transmitted in two steps or, as they say, consists of two fields. Initially (in the first field) even lines are displayed, then odd ones. This scanning is called interlaced and, unlike horizontal scanning, it somewhat degrades the image quality, but allows the TV signal to fit into the standard frequency band of communication channels.

The frequency spectrum of a complete color TV signal is shown in the figure, from which it can be seen that the TV signal consists of brightness, color and sound signals transmitted through communication channels using separate carrier frequencies. The main differences between the standards are in the way color is encoded based on modulation of the carrier frequency of the color signal.

When displaying a received television signal, the color component is superimposed on the brightness component. Therefore, when using equipment that does not support one or another standard, it is usually possible to obtain at least a black and white picture. The audio carrier frequency can be different even in variants of the same standard, which is sometimes the reason for the lack of sound during normal video playback.

NTSC

This color television standard ( NTSC) developed in the USA. The first version appeared in 1941, and regular television broadcasts began in 1954. In development NTSC The largest electronic companies at the time, members of the National Committee on Television Systems, took part. National Television System Committee(NTSC)). Currently standard NTSC used throughout most of the Americas, as well as in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines.

Two options are widely used NTSC, denoted by the letter indices M and N. Historically, the first was, and is now the most common version, NTSC M. Then NTSC N (sometimes called PAL N) appeared, today used in some countries in South America. True, NTSC J also works in Japan, but this option differs slightly from the main one - NTSC M.

Main characteristics of the NTSC format

The horizontal scanning frequency for NTSC M is 525 lines per screen, the frame rate is 30. The frequency band occupied by the video signal is 4.2 MHz. NTSC N uses slightly more lines - 625 and a lower frame rate - 25 Hz.

System based NTSC allows you to provide high quality color images, but imposes very stringent requirements on receiving and transmitting equipment. Due to the peculiarities of signal generation in this format, during decoding it is not always possible to completely separate the signal into individual components, so color signals are mixed with brightness signals. And, depending on the brightness of the image area, it may slightly change its color tone.

Phase distortions of the signal, which sometimes occur during transmission, also contribute to a not entirely natural transmission of color tone, and amplitude-frequency distortions cause a change in color saturation.

PAL

Standard PAL(English) Phase Alternation Line) was first used in 1967 in Germany and the UK. Broadcasting in these countries began in slightly different versions, of which there are now even more. PAL is widely used in most countries in Western Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

In fact, PAL is an advanced NTSC system that eliminates the sensitivity of the transmitted signal to phase distortion by changing the method of modulating the color carrier frequency. True, this led to some deterioration in clarity, which is partly compensated (in some versions of the standard) by an increased number of lines.

The PAL standard has the largest number of used varieties.

SECAM

Standard SECAM(French) Sequential Couleur Avec Memoire) - sequential color transmission with memory was developed in France. Regular broadcasting using it began in 1967, in France and the USSR. IN SECAM 625 lines are used at 25 frames, or 50 fields per second. Now SECAM used in France and some European countries, some former CCCP countries and Africa.

The peculiarity of the system is that color difference signals are transmitted via frequency modulation. Whereas PAL and NTSC use quadrature amplitude modulation. Frequency modulation, as well as alternate (through the line) transmission of two color signals, made it possible to get rid of excessive sensitivity to distortion, but somewhat deteriorated the clarity, which, however, is not always fundamental in the conditions of receiving terrestrial television and is most noticeable in cable systems. SECAM allows you to achieve more natural color rendering due to improved separation of color signals from brightness.

For recording on magnetic tape, a type of standard was used - MESECAM, in which the color difference subcarriers are moved to lower frequencies (approximately 1.1 MHz), which minimizes the impact of tape speed variability on color quality.

Comparison of formats

A list of the main differences between the standards is summarized in the table. As can be seen, there are significant differences in carrier frequencies and the total frequency band occupied in communication channels.

However, today it is unlikely that readers will have to suffer seriously due to problems and incompatible formats. No matter how you output video from your computer, you will almost always be able to choose from at least two formats PAL or NTSC.

2 years ago