Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

NTSC or PAL cameras??

M

mnwtucker

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 15, 2008
5
0
Hi, I'm thinking about purchasing the Canon HV30 when it becomes available in March.

If I buy it from the U.S. (I'm in the U.K.) I will make a substantial saving. My question relates to formats. I know that the US/Euro formats are NTSC and PAL respectively. Although I can get a PAL model through U.S. suppliers, NTSC models are going to be easier to get hold of. However, as I will be importing the video to my Macbook Pro, editing in iMovie/Final Cut express and subsequently writing to DVD or posting on youtube, with playback through LCD/Plasma screens. It's highly unlikely that I'll ever output directly to a CRT display.

Should I still go for a PAL format camera or will the NTSC be fine for my purposes?

Hope that make sense. Thanks in advance for any help, advice.
 
AviationFan

AviationFan

macrumors 6502a
Jan 12, 2006
510
0
Cedar Rapids, IA
If you want to create DVDs that play on PAL players/TVs in the U.K., I'd go for a PAL camera. If you are producing exclusively for the web (or other computer-based devices), then it doesn't really matter - you can get the cheaper NTSC model then.

One thing I don't know is how widely DVD players and TVs installed in the U.K. accept NTSC-formatted disks. I know it would be a problem the other way around (i.e. trying to play PAL material in a US player). If NTSC material is widely accecpted in your country, then the NTSC camera may work fine for you - however, you may sacrifice a little bit of video quality as the picture is converted from NTSC to PAL (due to lower resolution of NTSC and conversion of frame rates).

- Martin
 
cmcbridejr

cmcbridejr

macrumors 6502a
Sep 28, 2007
509
1
Alpharetta, GA
I am an American, but I went to film school in London for 5 years.

Being in the UK, I filmed all my projects in PAL, and then I had to later convert to NTSC when I moved back to the US in able to watch them here.

Well, the conversion is certainly not perfect, as there is a pause every minute or so during playback to catch up to the right frame count.

So, my advice would be to use whatever format is best for where you live, which would be PAL. Proper playback is worth the few extra bucks.

Besides, doesn't PAL have slightly better quality since it is 25 fps at 625 lines versus NTSC with 24 fps and 525 lines?
 
M

mnwtucker

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 15, 2008
5
0
NTSC or PAL???

Thanks for the help with this. I think I will be going for a PAL model.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom