• A television designed for PAL video is incompatible with NTSC video.tv control and tv 3 image by chrisharvey from Fotolia.com
  
  NTSC and PAL are the most common formats for video recording and playback. NTSC stands for National Television System Committee and is used throughout North America and most of South America. PAL, which stands for Phase Alternation Line, is predominant in Europe, Africa and many parts of Asia. The two formats are incompatible with each other because of key differences in frame rate and resolution.
  
  

Compatibility

• The most notable difference between NTSC and PAL formats is compatibility. Because these formats are used in specific regions of the world, televisions designed for use in one region will not work in another. DVD movies can be sold in either format and will be incompatible with the other type of DVD player. For example, a DVD purchased in Europe will not work in an American player. There are methods of conversion, both professional and personal, which range from computer video editing software to dedicated machines designed solely for video conversion, but in converting between the two formats, the frame rate and lines of display in the video must be adjusted.
  
  

Frames Per Second

• Broadcast signals and recorded video formatted for PAL devices display 25 frames per second, while NTSC video displays 30. The lower frame rate for PAL video is a result of European broadcast standards, in which a 50-hertz power supply is used. The PAL lines go out at 50 fields per second, or 25 alternating lines. Conversion from PAL to NTSC requires the insertion of an additional five frames per second in order for the video to display properly on an NTSC device. The same is true in reverse, requiring the removal of five frames per second when converting from NTSC to PAL.
  
  

Resolution

• While PAL video produces fewer frames per second, it has more lines than NTSC which allows higher-resolution video. PAL television broadcasts contain 625 lines of resolution, whereas NTSC broadcasts contain only 525. The additional lines available in PAL enable more visual information to be transmitted and displayed, allowing for higher resolution and picture quality. NTSC video converted to PAL will often use black bars to fill in the difference in screen size. The outcome of this process is similar to that of letterboxing.