[MacDV] Re: NTSC miniDV camcorder in France...

[Ben Ing]

Actually, the original reason that the different standards exist is 
tied to the different voltages in the countries. B&W TV was based on 
the 60Hz AC current in the US (giving us 30 fps), while in Europe, 
since the current was 50Hz, they went with 25 fps. The main 
complication came when they decided to add the color carrier. The 
frequency chosen was a multiple of 60, causing the color carrier to 
beat against the main signal, forcing the NTSC system to have to come 
up with dropframe as a fix. In Europe, because the base signal was 50, 
they didn't have the problem and didn't have to patch their system.

With NTSC, problems have always existed in moving between the video and 
film formats, and those problems have continued as we have moved to 
digital formats. Some animation projects have gone to working in the 
PAL formats where film, video and digital formats all work at 25 fps, 
allowing for much easier portability between systems.

On Friday, August 22, 2003, at 04:53 PM, Karl Hayden wrote:

> WHY WE ALL CAN'T HAVE THE SAME SYSTEM I DON'T KNOW !!!! (well actually 
> I do... the NTSC system was developed in the US, the PAL system was an 
> Anglo-German-Japanese development and the SECAM system was developed 
> in France. Then nationalism took over and here we are)