#4 What are the NTSC, PAL, and SECAM video format
standards?
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.