This question is particularly important when buying VHS tapes. If you live in North America or Japan, your VCR is (most likely) set up to only play NTSC VHS tapes. If you live in Europe or Australia, your VCR is (most likely) set up to only play PAL VHS tapes. There is also another Region Code Called SECAM that is used in parts of Africa and Russia, but these are not carried by Freedom Footbags.

Most VCR's in America use the NTSC format. The PAL format is used extensively in Europe, Asia and Australia. Unless you have a VCR that can switch between and play both PAL and NTSC, you will not be able to play an NTSC tape in a PAL player, and vice versa.

PAL and NTSC are the television standards for different parts of the world. There is also a third - SECAM. NTSC covers the United States, Canada, Japan, and a few other places. SECAM covers France and Russia. PAL covers the rest of the world. PAL, SECAM, & NTSC are basically a different way of displaying the picture on the television. The main differences are in the number of horizontal lines displayed on the screen, and the number of frames per second displayed.

NTSC and PAL are two different video standards used by countries around the World, and the two standards reflect how many horizontal lines run across a TV set to comprise the video picture. A VHS tape, DVD, or TV is either NTSC or PAL. The United States, Canada, and Japan use NTSC. Britain and many European countries use PAL. Unfortunately, the two are not interchangeable. So for example, if you got a PAL tape from your cousin in England, it would not work on your VCR and TV.

Our DVD's are NTSC. If you require PAL output you can purchase an NTSC/PAL converter to view the dvd's, or your DVD player may support NTSC/PAL conversion internally. Most of the DVD player does have the converters.

DVD discs are still either PAL or NTSC standard. Also, similar to multisystem VCRs, DVD players will not convert video standards. When you're playing an NTSC-standard DVD, it will output an NTSC signal. When you're playing a PAL-standard DVD, it will output a PAL signal. There are two ways to watch both PAL and NTSC DVDs. You can either view your DVDs on a multisystem TV, or purchase a Tenlab video converter to convert your DVD player's output signal.

From a hardware point of view there is. A consumer CD-i player is localized for a specific broadcast system. The output signal of the video connectors is according to this local system. You can tell which broadcast system is used by looking at the version indication after the normal type ID (refer to What does the /00, /20, etc. after the type-indication mean?).

There are two television broadcast standards: NTSC is used in the US and Japan, and PAL the rest of the world. These formats define the number of lines and frequency of a TV picture. For PAL it is 625 lines @ 50Hz, and for NTSC it is 525 lines @ 60Hz. (Back to top)

Different countries use different methods of recording and playback. Please go to Video Standards for a complete explanation of this.

DVD-V has the same NTSC vs. PAL problem as videotape and laserdisc. The MPEG video on DVD is stored in digital format, but it's formatted for one of two mutually incompatible television systems: 525/60 (NTSC) or 625/50 (PAL/SECAM). There are three differences between discs intended for playback on different systems: picture size and pixel aspect ratio (720x480 vs. 720x576), display frame rate (29.97 vs 25), and surround audio (Dolby Digital vs. MPEG). (See 3.4 and 3.6 for details.

Unfortunately, no. Supporting videos must be uploaded in digital form to save everyone the effort of making and shipping multiple copies of videotapes. We will only accept uploaded videos in QuickTime MPEG-4 or DivX Version 5 formats.

Several Multisystem VCRs with signal converter unit built-in offer front A/V inputs. These inputs were placed there fro quick and easy camcorder hook up. Once the camcorder is plugged in, a VCR allows to convert PAL signal to any other signal during dubing (recording).

NTSC – Stands for “National Television Standards Committee.” This is the video format used in North America, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, the Caribbean, and parts of South America. NTSC has 525 horizontal scan lines and 30 frames per second. PAL – Stands for “Phase Alternation Line.” This video format is used in most European countries. PAL has 625 horizontal scan lines and 25 frames per second.

PAL format is the kind of video standard that is used in many European Countries. NTSC is used in the United States and many other Countries like Japan for example. PAL has nothing to do with the actual videocassette...VHS is a world standard. PAL has to do with the output Hz of the local electric company therefore affecting the speed at which your TV will be refreshed/drawing on the screen. If you are in doubt, call a local TV repair store; they will give you the correct option to order.

Generally yes. Unlike VCR'S the majority of DVD players are capable of playing both NTSC and PAL discs. However, the issue to note is that while your DVD player is capable of playing NTSC it is also necessary for your TV to be NTSC, however it is advisable that you check your TV manual first.

Both formats share the exact same content. Please note that VHS is rapidly becoming obsolete. How much longer Rock ’N Learn will offer VHS is uncertain, but for now we still offer it. Most customers prefer DVD and the ease of menu accessible chapters.

There are two basic formats of television signal. In the UK and Europe (and Japan) the standard is called 'PAL', yet in America the standard format is 'NTSC'. DVD discs can be encoded in either of these two formats, and this should not be confused with Region Coding as this is something completely different. In almost all cases, NTSC discs can be played within the UK and Europe without any problems.