The NTSC (National Television Systems Committee) is a standard format adopted by the FCC for television broadcasts in the United States, Japan, Canada, and Mexico. This is commonly referred to as composite video because of the convergence of luminance and color into a single analog signal:
· 525 lines of resolution per frame at 30 frames per second
· 60 Hz field frequency
· Requires a 6 MHz analog channel for transmission
Based on a 50 Hz power system, PAL (Phase Alteration Line) is the standard format for television broadcasts in West Germany, Great Britain and most of the Western European nations. By reversing the relative phase of the color signal components on alternate scanning lines, it avoids the color distortion that occasionally appears in NTSC broadcasts. Otherwise, PAL closely resembles NTSC.
· 625 lines of resolution per frame at 25 frames per second
· 50 Hz field frequency
· Requires a 8 MHz analog channel for transmission
SECAM (Sequential Couleur a Memoire or Sequential Color with Memory) is the video format used in France, Eastern Europe, F.S.U and some Middle Eastern countries. Like PAL, SECAM is based on a 50 Hz power system.
· 625 lines of resolution per frame at 25 frames per second
· Color signals are transmitted sequentially (R-Y followed by B-Y and etc.)