Video Services

Television standards by Country
Television standards by Country
Go global
International television broadcast standards

Television pictures are made up of images transmitted as a sequence of lines that make up a frame.  Each frame consists of two fields where half of the lines are in field one and the other half in field two.  These are then shown interlaced on the display device to give an impression of smooth motion and also reduce the bandwidth required for transmission.  There are three main systems in the world, NTSC, PAL and SECAM.
 
 NTSC (National Television Standards Committee)

Developed in the USA , the oldest existing standard was first used in 1954.  It employs 525 horizontal lines of display and 60 vertical lines.  Only one type exists, NTSC M.  It is sometimes irreverently referred to as "Never Twice the Same Colour".

NTSC uses a frame rate of 29.97/second with 525 horizontal lines per frame.  The original frame rate of 30 had to be changed with the advent of colour transmissions.

PAL (Phase Alternating Line)

German engineer Walter Bruch patented his invention in 1963 and the German electronics corporation Telefunken first used the system commercially in August 1967.  This is also a 625 / 50-line display and a variant of NTSC.  Different types use different video bandwidth and audio carrier specifications. Common types are B, G and H; less common types include D, I, K, N and M.  The types are generally not compatible.  Proponents call it "Perfection At Last" but critics refer to it as "Pay A Lot" due to the cost of the enormous circuit complexity.

PAL uses a frame fate of 25/second and has 625 horizontal lines per frame.  This system is a development of NTSC with changes in the way that colour is added to the original B & W signal to improve colour reception in the home.  There are several variants of this but they refer mainly to the transmitted signal.

SECAM (Système Électronique pour Couleur avec Mémoire) 

This system was developed in France and first used in 1967.  It employs a 625-line vertical, 50-line horizontal display.  Different types of the standard use different video bandwidths and audio carrier specifications.  Types B and D are usually used for VHF; types G, H, and K for UHF; types I, N, M, K1 and L for both VHF and UHF. Different types are generally not compatible.  Some wags refer to SECAM as ‘Something Essentially Contrary to the American Method’ or ‘SEcond Colour Always Magenta’.

SECAM uses the same frame and line structure as PAL but has an entirely different method of adding the colour to the B & W signal, thus there is a colour incompatibility with PAL.

COUNTRY SIGNAL TYPE

AFGHANISTAN PAL B, SECAM B
ALBANIA PAL B/G
ALGERIA PAL B/G
ANGOLA PAL I
ANTARCTICA NTSC M
ANTIGUA & BARBUDA NTSC M
ARGENTINA PAL N
ARMENIA SECAM D/K
ARUBA NTSC M
AUSTRALIA PAL B/G
AUSTRIA PAL B/G
AZERBAIJAN SECAM D/K
AZORES PAL B
BAHAMAS NTSC M
BAHRAIN PAL B/G
BANGLADESH PAL B
BARBADOS NTSC M
BELARUS SECAM D/K
BELGIUM PAL B/H
BELGIUM (ARMED FORCES NETWORK) NTSC M
BELIZE NTSC M
BENIN SECAM K
BERMUDA NTSC M
BOLIVIA NTSC M
BOSNIA/HERZEGOVINA PAL B/H
BOTSWANA SECAM K, PAL I
BRAZIL PAL M
BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY
(AF DIEGO GARCIA TV - AFRTS) NTSC M
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM PAL B
BULGARIA PAL
BURKINA FASO SECAM K
BURUNDI SECAM K
CAMBODIA PAL B/G, NTSC M
CAMEROON PAL B/G
CANADA NTSC M
CANARY ISLANDS PAL B/G
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC SECAM K
CHAD SECAM D
CHILE NTSC M
CHINA (PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC) PAL D
COLOMBIA NTSC M
CONGO (PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC) SECAM K
CONGO, DEM. REP. (ZAIRE) SECAM K
COOK ISLANDS PAL B
COSTA RICA NTSC M
COTE D'IVOIRE (IVORY COAST) SECAM K/D
CROATIA PAL B/H
CUBA NTSC M
CYPRUS PAL B/G
CZECH REPUBLIC PAL B/G (cable), PAL D/K (broadcast)
DENMARK PAL B/G
DIEGO GARCIA NTSC M
DJIBOUTI SECAM K
DOMINICA NTSC M
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC NTSC M
EAST TIMOR PAL B
EASTER ISLAND PAL B
ECUADOR NTSC M
EGYPT PAL B/G, SECAM B/G
EL SALVADOR NTSC M
EQUITORIAL GUINEA SECAM B
ESTONIA PAL B/G
ETHIOPIA PAL B
FALKLAND ISLANDS (LAS MALVINAS) PAL I
FIJI NTSC M
FINLAND PAL B/G
FRANCE SECAM L
FRANCE (FRENCH FORCES TV) SECAM G
GABON SECAM K
GALAPAGOS ISLANDS NTSC M
GAMBIA PAL B
GEORGIA SECAM D/K
GERMANY PAL B/G
GERMANY (ARMED FORCES TV GERMANY) NTSC M
GHANA PAL B/G
GIBRALTAR PAL B/G
GREECE PAL B/G
GREENLAND PAL B
GRENADA NTSC M
GUAM NTSC M
GUADELOUPE SECAM K
GUATEMALA NTSC M
GUIANA (FRENCH) SECAM K
GUINEA PAL K
GUYANA NTSC M
HAITI SECAM
HONDURAS NTSC M
HONG KONG PAL I
HUNGARY PAL K/K
ICELAND PAL B/G
INDIA PAL B
INDONESIA PAL B
IRAN PAL B/G
IRAQ PAL
IRELAND, REPUBLIC OF PAL I
ISLE OF MAN  PAL
ISRAEL PAL B/G
ITALY PAL B/G
JAMAICA NTSC M
JAPAN NTSC M
JOHNSTONE ISLAND NTSC M
JORDAN PAL B/G
KAZAKHSTAN SECAM D/K
KENYA PAL B/G
KOREA (NORTH) SECAM D, PAL D/K
KOREA (SOUTH) NTSC M
KUWAIT PAL B/G
KYRGYZ REPUBLIC SECAM D/K
LAOS PAL B
LATVIA PAL B/G, SECAM D/K 
LEBANON PAL B/G
LESOTHO PAL K
LIBERIA PAL B/H
LIBYA PAL B/G
LIECHTENSTEIN PAL B/G
LITHUANIA PAL B/G, SECAM D/K
LUXEMBOURG PAL B/G, SECAM L
MACAU PAL I
MACEDONIA PAL B/H
MADAGASCAR SECAM K
MADEIRA PAL B
MALAYSIA PAL B
MALDIVES PAL B
MALI SECAM K
MALTA PAL B
MARSHALL ISLANDS NTSC M
MARTINIQUE SECAM K
MAURITANIA SECAM B
MAURITIUS SECAM B
MAYOTTE SECAM K
MEXICO NTSC M
MICRONESIA NTSC M
MIDWAY ISLAND NTSC M
MOLDOVA (MOLDAVIA) SECAM D/K
MONACO SECAM L, PAL G
MONGOLIA SECAM D
MONTSERRAT NTSC M
MOROCCO SECAM B
MOZAMBIQUE PAL B
MYANMAR (BURMA) NTSC M
NAMIBIA PAL I
NEPAL B
NETHERLANDS PAL B/G
NETHERLANDS (ARMED FORCES NETWORK) NTSC M
NETHERLANDS ANTILLES NTSC M
NEW CALEDONIA SECAM K
NEW ZEALAND PAL B/G
NICARAGUA NTSC M
NIGER SECAM K
NIGERIA PAL B/G
NORFOLK ISLAND PAL B
NORTH MARIANA ISLANDS NTSC M
NORWAY PAL B/G
OMAN PAL B/G
PAKISTAN PAL B
PALAU NTSC M
PANAMA NTSC M
PAPUA NEW GUINEA PAL B/G
PARAGUAY PAL N
PERU NTSC M
PHILIPPINES NTSC M
POLAND PAL D/K
POLYNESIA (FRENCH) SECAM K
PORTUGAL PAL B/G
PUERTO RICO NTSC M
QATAR PAL B
REUNION SECAM K
ROMANIA PAL D/G
RUSSIA SECAM D/K
ST. KITTS & NEVIS NTSC M
ST. LUCIA NTSC M
ST. PIERRE ET MIQUELON SECAM K
ST. VINCENT NTSC M
SAO TOMÉ E PRINCIPE PAL B/G
SAMOA, AMERICAN NTSC
SAUDI ARABIA SECAM B/G, PAL B
SAMOA NTSC M
SENEGAL SECAM K
SEYCHELLES PAL B/G
SIERRA LEONE PAL B/G
SINGAPORE PAL B/G
SLOVAKIA PAL B/G
SLOVENIA PAL B/H
SOMALIA PAL B/G
SOUTH AFRICA PAL I
SPAIN PAL B/G
SRI LANKA PAL
SUDAN PAL B
SURINAME NTSC M
SWAZILAND PAL B/G
SWEDEN PAL B/G
SWITZERLAND PAL B/G
SYRIA SECAM B, PAL G
TAHITI SECAM
TAIWAN NTSC
TAJIKISTAN SECAM D/K
TANZANIA PAL B
THAILAND PAL B/M
TOGO SECAM K
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO NTSC M
TUNISIA SECAM B/G
TURKEY PAL B
TURKMENISTAN SECAM D/K
TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS NTSC M
UGANDA PAL B/G
UKRAINE SECAM D/K
URUGUAY PAL N
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES PAL B/G
UNITED STATES NTSC M
UNITED KINGDOM PAL I
UZBEKISTAN SECAM D/K
VENEZUELA NTSC M
VIETNAM NTSC M,SECAM D
VIRGIN ISLANDS (US & BRITISH) NTSC M
WALLIS & FUTUNA SECAM K
YEMEN PAL B/NTSC M
YUGOSLAVIA PAL B/G
ZAMBIA PAL B/G
ZIMBABWE PAL B/G