PAL and NTSC in Europe

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PAL, NTSC and SECAM are the three television standards used around the world. Two of these are used in Europe, while the third is mostly used in Australia and America. But which television standards are used where in Europe?

Televisions use different television standards.
Televisions use different television standards.

PAL is the most widely used standard on the European continent

Most of the countries in Europe use the PAL television standard. The only exceptions are a few countries in the Eastern Bloc of Europe as well as France and Monaco.

  • The SECAM television standard is predominantly used there to broadcast television programs.
  • Other countries with this television standard are, for example, Russia, Armenia, Georgia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan.
  • The PAL television standard, on the other hand, is used for broadcasting television programs in far more countries.
  • Most Western European countries, with the exception of France and Monaco, use the PAL standard. Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Malta, Croatia, Poland, Slovenia, Romania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic as well as Hungary are also included.
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  • The PAL television standard was developed at the beginning of color television in Germany, while the SECAM television standard is a French development.

NTSC is not used in Europe

  • The NTSC television standard is used in parts of Africa and Asia and mainly in the Americas (North and South America) for broadcasting analog television programs.
  • The NTSC television standard has a different picture resolution and a different picture frequency than PAL.
  • There is no fundamental compatibility with the different television standards.
  • However, many televisions are compatible with different television standards.
  • In particular, the two television standards PAL and SECAM are both supported by most television sets.
  • With NTSC it is often the case that a picture can be reproduced on the television set, but only in black and white.

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