Around the world, multisystem LCD TVs are quickly becoming the gold standard. Just as there are different standards for electrical outlets and voltage in different countries, there are also different delivery formats for video display, including for televisions, DVDs and VCRs. The three major formats used worldwide are not compatible with each other. That means that a television or DVD player meant for use in the North American market won't display properly if you try to watch it in Italy or Germany, nor will DVDs or videotapes produced for the German or Italian market display properly on a DVD or VCR made for the U.S. market.
TV Display Formats
The three most popular display formats are PAL, NTSC and SECAM. Each of them is used in a different part of the world. There are other, less common protocols as well, especially in parts of South America, which use variations of the better-known formats.
PAL stands for phase alternating line, and denotes the way that a device displays video. Europe, parts of Asia and parts of Africa use PAL format for video and television broadcasting. PAL displays pictures at 625 lines per second, which creates an extremely detailed image with high quality color.
NTSC is named for National System Television Committee, the organization that developed the standard. It's the format used in the U.S., Central America, South America and Japan. Originally, it was meant for broadcasting analog television, but over the years the protocol has changed to accommodate digital television. NTSC displays pictures at 525 lines per second, offering a faster frame rate for a more stable picture.
SECAM stands for Sequential Couleur Alev Memoire, which is French for Sequential Color with Memory. SECAM is used primarily in France, and was originally developed in the 1950s to display color television. It was most common in Eastern Europe, including the Soviet Union and the Middle East. In recent years, most of Eastern Europe has switched over to the PAL format used in the rest of Europe.
A typical television set only displays video in one mode. That's fine, unless you travel to another part of the world and want to bring your television with you, or unless you want to be able to watch foreign-made DVDs on your system. Multisystem televisions are capable of receiving and displaying different video systems, which means that you can use it in different areas of the world. Most multisystem televisions also have a dual voltage design, so they can be plugged into American 110 V outlets, or 220 V outlets that are common in Europe and other parts of the world. Those capabilities mean that a multisystem LCD TV will work in about 90 percent of the world.
DVD players that can display any of the video formats are also called region free DVD players because they can play DVDs from any part of the world. A region free DVD player will allow you to play a DVD in PAL format on your NTSC television, but you'll get the greatest flexibility when you combine a multisystem LCD plasma or LED TV with a region free DVD player.
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Chris Robertson is a published author of Majon International. All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2011 (Wed Feb 02 2011) Majon International. Majon International is one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing and internet advertising companies on the web. Visit their main business resource internet marketing web site at: http://www.majon.com
