Standards

The history lesson

When television started, set designers used the mains electricity frequency as a reference to stabilise the picture. There are two mains frequencies used around the world (50Hz and 60Hz), which gives two frame rates (25 frames per second and 30 frames per second). This is the biggest source of incompatibility between standards.

When colour was introduced things became even more complicated. The first colour system was developed in America in 1953 and is called NTSC (National Television Standards Committee). This worked fine in a closed circuit, i.e. within your own television station, but when used for broadcast showed variations in colour (which is why it is sometimes referred to as "Never Twice the Same Colour"!).

A more sophisticated version of NTSC was developed in Germany in the late 1960s called PAL (Phase Alternating Lines). Although mostly taken up by countries operating on 50Hz mains electricity, some 60Hz countries (most notably Brazil) also adopted the PAL standard, but running at 525 lines/30 frames which means that if you are sending material you should enquire which standard (PAL or NTSC) is required.

France (a 50Hz country) then invented their own standard called SECAM (SEquential Couleur Avec Memoire). This was primarily to protect their own television set manufacturers, but the system was taken up by many Eastern Block countries at the time as a political move to prevent access to Western transmissions.

In more recent times, since the end of the Cold War, many countries have changed or are in the process of changing the standard they use. This is particularly noticeable in those countries that have been using SECAM, many of whom are converting to PAL. Even the French will no longer have SECAM broadcasts after 2011. If you wish to send DVDs to these countries it is best to consult your contacts in that country for the latest advice. Equally you should check what standard is required for South American countries.

The situation now

The following list is a fairly comprehensive guide, but we cannot guarantee complete accuracy. It should be noted that SECAM DVDs do not exist, and that you should supply PAL DVDs to those countries. An asterisk after the name of a country implies that we are not certain of its current situation or that more than one standard is used. If at all in doubt, please consult your contacts in that country.

PAL		NTSC	SECAM
Abu Dhabi Afghanistan * Albania * Algeria Andorra Angola Argentina Aryenuna Ascension Island Australia Austria Azerbaijan Azores Bahrain Bangladesh Belgium Bhutan Bosnia Herzegovina Botswana Brazil * Britain Brunei Cameroon Canary Islands Cape Verde Cayman Islands * China (Peoples Republic) Christmas Island Cook Island Crete Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Dubai Easter Island England Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fernando Po Finland France Gambia Gaza & West Bank Germany Ghana Gibraltar Great Britain Greece Greenland Guinea Guinea-Bissau Holland Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Ireland Israel Italy Jordan Kampuchea Kenya Kuwait Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg *	Macao Macedonia Madeira Malawi Malaysia Maldives Malta Monaco * Montenegro Mozambique Namibia Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Niger Nigeria Norfolk Island Norway Oman Pakistan Papua New Guinea Paraguay Poland Portugal Qatar Romania Rwanda * Saba and Sarawak Samoa (Western) San Marino Sao Tome Sardinia Saudi Arabia * Scotland Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia * Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Tanzania Thailand Tibet Tonga Tristan da Cunha Turkey Uganda United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay Vanuatu Vatican Vietnam Wales Yemen Yugoslavia Zambia Zanzibar Zimbabwe	Alaska American Samoa Antarctica Antigua Antilles (Dutch) Aruba Bahamas Barbados Barbuda Belize Bermuda Bolivia Brazil * British Virgin Islands Burma Canada Cayman Islands * Chile Columbia Costa Rica Cuba Curacao Diego Garcia Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador Fiji Grenada Guam Guatemala Guyana (Republic) Haiti Hawaii Honduras Jamaica Japan Johnston Islands Korea South Leeward Islands Mariana Islands Marshall Islands Mexico Micronesia Midway Islands Montserrat Myanmar Nicaragua Okinawa Palau Panama Peru Philippines Puerto Rico Samoa (Eastern) St Grenadine St Kitts and Nevis St Lucia St Vincent Surinam Taiwan Trinidad and Tobago United States of America Venezuela Virgin Islands	Afghanistan * Armenia Belarus Benin Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia * Central African Republic Chad Comoros Congo (Peoples Republic) Corsica Djibouti Egypt * France Gabon Georgia Guadeloupe Guyana (French) Iraq Ivory Coast Kazakhstan Korea North Kyrgyzstan Libya Luxembourg * Madagascar Mali Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Moldova Monaco * Mongolia Morocco New Caledonia Polynesia Reunion Russia * Rwanda * Saudi Arabia * Senegal Slovakia Republic * Society Islands St Pierre Syria Tahiti Tajikistan Togo Tunisia Turkmenistan Ukraine Upper Volta Uzbekistan Vietnam Wallis Island