Editing PAL (section)

== PAL vs. NTSC ==
PAL usually has 576 visible lines compared with 480 lines with [[NTSC]], meaning that PAL has a 20% higher resolution, in fact it even has a higher resolution than [[Enhanced-definition television|Enhanced Definition]] standard (852x480). Most TV output for PAL and NTSC use interlaced frames meaning that even lines update on one field and odd lines update on the next field. Interlacing frames gives a smoother motion with half the frame rate. [[NTSC]] is used with a [[frame rate]] of [[Interlaced video|60i]] or [[Progressive scan|30p]] whereas PAL generally uses [[Interlaced video|50i]] or [[Progressive scan|25p]]; both use a high enough [[frame rate]] to give the illusion of fluid motion. This is due to the fact that NTSC is generally used in countries with a [[utility frequency]] of 60&nbsp;Hz and PAL in countries with 50&nbsp;Hz, although there are many exceptions.

Both PAL and NTSC have a higher frame rate than film which uses 24&nbsp;frames per second. PAL has a closer frame rate to that of film, so most films are sped up 4% to play on PAL systems, shortening the runtime of the film and, without adjustment, largely raising the pitch of the audio track. Film conversions for NTSC instead use [[Three-two pull down|3:2 pull down]] to spread the 24&nbsp;frames of film across 60&nbsp;interlaced fields. This maintains the runtime of the film and preserves the original audio, but may cause worse interlacing artefacts during fast motion, along with [[Telecine judder|judder]].

NTSC receivers have a [[tint control]] to perform colour correction manually. If this is not adjusted correctly, the colours may be faulty. The PAL standard automatically cancels [[hue]] errors by phase reversal, so a tint control is unnecessary yet Saturation control can be more useful. Chrominance phase errors in the PAL system are cancelled out using a 1H delay line resulting in lower saturation, which is much less noticeable to the eye than NTSC hue errors.

However, the alternation of colour information—[[Hanover bars]]—can lead to picture grain on pictures with extreme phase errors even in PAL systems, if decoder circuits are misaligned or use the simplified decoders of early designs (typically to overcome royalty restrictions). This effect will usually be observed when the transmission path is poor, typically in built up areas or where the terrain is unfavourable. The effect is more noticeable on UHF than VHF signals as VHF signals tend to be more robust. In most cases such extreme phase shifts do not occur.

PAL and NTSC have slightly divergent [[RGB color spaces#RGB color space specifications|colour space]]s, but the colour decoder differences here are ignored.

Outside of film and TV broadcasts, the differences between PAL and NTSC when used in the context of [[Video game|video games]] were quite dramatic. For comparison, the NTSC standard is 60&nbsp;fields/30&nbsp;frames per second while PAL is 50&nbsp;fields/25&nbsp;frames per second. To avoid timing problems or unfeasible code changes, games were slowed down by approximately 16.7%. This has led to games ported over to PAL regions being historically known for their inferior speed and frame rates compared to their NTSC counterparts, especially when they are not properly optimized for PAL standards.

[[Full-motion video|Full motion video]] rendered and encoded at 30&nbsp;frames per second by the Japanese/US (NTSC) developers were often down-sampled to 25&nbsp;frames per second or considered to be 50&nbsp;frames per second video for PAL release—usually by means of [[Three-two pull down|3:2 pull-down]], resulting in motion [[Telecine#Telecine judder|judder]]. In addition, the increased resolution of PAL was often not utilised at all during conversion, creating a pseudo-letterbox effect with borders on the top and bottom of the screen, looking similar to 14:9 letterbox. This leaves the graphics with a slightly squashed look due to an incorrect aspect ratio caused by the borders.

These practices were prevalent in previous generations, especially during the [[Third generation of video game consoles|8-bit]] and [[Fourth generation of video game consoles|16-bit]] era of video games where 2D graphics were the norm at that time. The gameplay of many games with an emphasis on speed, such as the original ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (1991 video game)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' for the [[Sega Genesis|Sega Genesis (Mega Drive)]], suffered in their PAL incarnations.

Starting with the [[Sixth generation of video game consoles|sixth generation]] of video games, game consoles started to offer true 60&nbsp;Hz modes in games ported to PAL regions. The [[Dreamcast]] was the first to offer a true "PAL 60" mode, with many games made for the system in PAL regions being closely on-par with their NTSC counterparts in terms of speed and frame rates using "PAL 60" modes. The [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]] and [[GameCube]] also featured "PAL 60" modes in games made for the region as well. The only lone exception was the [[PlayStation 2]], where games ported over to PAL regions are oftentimes (but not always) running in 50&nbsp;Hz modes. PAL region games supporting 60&nbsp;Hz modes for the PlayStation 2 also requires a display with NTSC output unless [[Component video#RGB analog component video|RGB]] or [[Component video#Luma-based analog component video|component]] connections were used, since these allowed for colour outputs without the need for NTSC or PAL colour encoding. Otherwise, the games would display in monochrome on PAL-only displays.

The problems usually associated with PAL region video games are not necessarily encountered in Brazil with the PAL-M standard used in that region, since its video system uses an identical number of visible lines and refresh rate as NTSC but with a slightly different colour encoding frequency based on PAL, modified for use with the [[CCIR System M]] broadcast television system.