Chapter 8 - NTSC, PAL, and SECAM Overview

Abstract

The chapter provides an overview of National Television System Committee (NTSC), Phase Alternation Line (PAL), and Sequential Color with Memory (SECAM). The chapter reviews various composite analog video signal formats, along with video test signals. Of most of the work for developing a color transmission standard, of the first color television system that was developed in the United States on December 17, 1953, that was compatible with the (then current) 525-1ine, 60- field-per-second, 2:1 interlaced monochrome standard was done by NTSC. Later, the NTSC specification was modified to overcome the high order of phase and amplitude integrity required during broadcast to avoid color distortion. PAL system implements a line-by-line reversal of the phase of one of the color components. The chapter discusses vertical blanking interval (VBI) data, including time code, closed captioning, and extended data services (XDS), widescreen signaling, and tele-text. PAL-plus, radio frequency (RF) modulation, Broadcast Television Systems Committee (BTSC) and Zweiton analog stereo audio, and NICAM 728 digital stereo are also discussed in the chapter.