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PAL vs NTSC
or, Which DVD Do I Buy?
There has been endless debate on the relative merits of the quality of PAL images versus the quality of NTSC images. In this article, I want to present you with the arguments for and against both PAL and NTSC on DVD so that you can make an informed decision when purchasing your DVDs in regards to the best version to buy. As you will see in this article, it is not necessarily the case that PAL is always better or that NTSC is always better. However, I aim to point out the reasons why you should prefer one format over the other, and in which circumstances you should prefer one format over the other.
As an aside, if you are not familiar with the concept of 16x9 enhancement, I strongly recommend that you read more about 16X9 as your understanding of the remainder of this article will be significantly enhanced if you understand 16x9 enhancement.
As a further aside, if you have a Region 1 DVD player you in all likelihood cannot play PAL DVDs both for reasons of Region locking and because the great majority of Region 1 DVD players have had their PAL playback ability disabled, not to mention the fact that most NTSC display devices cannot display PAL images.
They're Not Really PAL or NTSC
The first thing I need to clarify about DVD is that PAL and NTSC are words and formats that are applied to DVD for convenience, and because of historical convention. There is nothing fundamental about a DVD which makes it either PAL or NTSC, but for simplicity and brevity, I will continue to use these terms throughout this article.
At their heart, DVDs are merely carriers of data files with compressed audio-visual information contained therein. This information can be placed on DVD in one of two resolutions; 720 x 576 pixels (PAL DVDs), or 720 x 480 pixels (NTSC DVDs), and with various frame rates (24, 25, and 30 frames per second are common). The DVD player itself takes this data file and formats it appropriately for display in either PAL or NTSC.
The Issue Of Resolution
In principle, PAL DVDs have a compelling advantage over NTSC DVDs. PAL DVDs have 576 pixels of vertical resolution versus 480 pixels of vertical resolution. That's a 20% increase in resolution for a PAL DVD as compared to an NTSC DVD. Increased resolution translates into a better looking image. However, this is an overly simplistic way of looking at the whole PAL vs NTSC issue as there are other factors that need to be taken into account.
Active Pixels & 16x9 Enhancement
Because programming can be presented on DVD in various aspect ratios, it is useful to consider the active pixels in a given image when considering the overall resolution of a DVD. For a widescreen image, not all of the pixels available on a DVD are actually used for the image. Some of them make up the black bars above and below the image. The format that provides the most overall active pixels for a given aspect ratio will in theory be the best possible format. Complicating the issue is the difference in active pixels when a DVD is 16x9 enhanced.
Other common analoge television systems are SECAM and NTSC. PAL was developed by Walter Bruch at Telefunken in Germany, and the format was first introduced in 1967. Telefunken was later bought by the French electronics manufacturer Thomson. Thomson also bought the Compagnie Generale de Télévision where Henri de France developed SECAM, historically the first European colour television standard. Thomson nowadays also co-owns the RCA brand for consumer electronics products, which created the NTSC colour TV standard before Thomson became involved. The term "PAL" is often used informally to refer to a 625-line/50 Hz (principally European) television system, and to differentiate from a 525-line/60 Hz (principally North American/Central American/Japanese) "NTSC" system. Accordingly, DVDs are labelled as either "PAL" or "NTSC" (referring informally to the line count and frame rate) even though technically neither of them have encoded PAL or NTSC composite color.
To read more please visit PAL NTSC 102 | 
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