You’re on vacation in Europe, and in your travels you come across a discount store or a flea market, and find DVDs of your favorite movies for pennies on the dollar compared to your favorite local retail chain back home. You get excited, buy a couple and upon your return home, spend a rainy night on the couch ready to hunker in and enjoy a good flick. After starting your new DVD all you see is a mess on your screen.
What you need to know is that different countries have different standards. This means our TV screens here in the US use a different number of lines to make the picture than that of other countries. The number of lines a screen uses differs from country to country. The three main current standards are : NTSC (National Television Standards Committee. The oldest existing standard) , SECAM (Système Électronique pour Couleur avec Mémoire. Developed in France), and PAL (Phase Alternating Line) .
- NTSC consists of 525 horizontal lines of display and 60 vertical lines
- SECAM uses a 625-line vertical, 50-line horizontal display
- PAL uses a 625/50-line display and variant of NTSC. Different types use different video bandwidth and audio carrier specs. Common types are B, G and H; less common types include D, I, K, N and M. The different types are generally not compatible.
Here in the United States, our standard is NTSC. So remember. if you are buying DVDs while you are out of the country, find out what DVD STANDARD it was made to. If it’s anything other than NTSC, and most likely it is, don’t buy it. While it may only be a few dollars/euros/pounds/yen or whatever…it will be a few less you have in your pocket and you’ll be carrying back a useless DVD that you can use as a drink coaster to remember your trip.
There are some new players recently out that may have the capability to play DVDs with other standards, but it’s not the norm, so play it safe and buy your DVDs in the country you live in. This will guarantee you’ll see what you get!
Tags: DVD, dvd standards, NTSC, PAL, SECAM