Video Format Regions
Explained in Plain English

Different countries have adopted different video formats. These formats dictate such things as how many frames-per-second will be displayed, etc. In the old days, this wasn't a big problem because all of the TV's, VCR's, movies, camcorders, etc. that were available in your country would all use the same format. But now the internet is shrinking the world. If you live in the USA and like to watch British TV shows, you can't just order a DVD from a company in the UK and play it on your American DVD player and TV because your gear uses the NTSC standard and the Brits use the PAL standard. So when buying something or downloading files, make sure to know the format in advance. Your computer will play just about anything, but if you want to play something in your living room, you need to be aware of the format.

AlbaniaPAL
ArgentinaPAL-N
AustraliaPAL
AustriaPAL
Azores (Portugal)PAL
BahamasNTSC
BahrainPAL
BarbadosNTSC
BelgiumPAL
BermudaNTSC
BrazilPAL-M
BulgariaSECAM
CanadaNTSC
Canary IsPAL
ChinaPAL
ColombiaNTSC
CyprusPAL
CzechsolvakiaSECAM/PAL
DenmarkPAL
EgyptSECAM
Faroe Islands (DK)PAL
FinlandPAL
FranceSECAM
GambiaPAL
GermanyPAL
Germany (East)SECAM/PAL
GibraltarPAL
GreeceSECAM
Hong KongPAL
HungaryPAL (was SECAM)
IcelandPAL
IndiaPAL
IndonesiaPAL
IranSECAM
IrelandPAL
IsraelPAL
ItalyPAL
JamaicaSECAM
JapanNTSC
JordanPAL
KenyaPAL
KoreaNTSC
LuxembourgPAL
MadeiraPAL
MadagascarSECAM
MalaysiaPAL
MaltaPAL
MauritiusSECAM
MexicoNTSC
MonacoSECAM/PAL
MoroccoSECAM
NetherlandsPAL
New ZealandPAL
North KoreaSECAM
NorwayPAL
PakistanPAL
ParaguayPAL
PeruNTSC
Philipines NTSC
PolandPAL
PortugalPAL
RomaniaPAL
RussiaSECAM
Saudi ArabiaSECAM
SeychellesPAL
SingaporePAL
South AfricaPAL
South KoreaNTSC
SpainPAL
Sri LankaPAL
SwedenPAL
SwitzerlandPAL
TahitiSECAM
TaiwanNTSC
ThailandPAL
TrinidadNTSC
TunisiaSECAM
TurkeyPAL
United Arab EmiratesPAL
United KingdomPAL
UruguayPAL
USANTSC
VenezuelaNTSC
YugoslaviaPAL
ZimbabwePAL