PAL / SECAM confusion, Please help

[hhamzeh]

Hi there,
There are several guides here explaining how to convert NTSC <=> PAL DVDs and I know that SECAM is similar to PAL system. Now my questions are:

1- Do we have such a thing as SECAM DVD like the way that we have NTSC or PAL DVDs? If we do, then

2- If I have a SECAM DVD, can I just convert it to NTSC (or vice versa)with the same guides? (I noticed that some of the softwares that perform these conversions, they only have a PAL / NTSC options)

3- If I have a SECAM DVD, does it play on a PAL DVD player?

Thanks for your help.

[Xesdeeni]

1- Do we have such a thing as SECAM DVD like the way that we have NTSC or PAL DVDs?

SECAM is an analog video standard. Technically PAL and NTSC are as well, but we generally refer to 525-line, 59.94Hz interlaced video as NTSC and 625-line 50Hz interlaced video as PAL, although those parameters only describe a part of the NTSC and PAL standards. Like PAL, SECAM is also 625-line 50Hz interlaced video. The difference is in the analog domain, where the encoding of the color on top of the black and white (remember color came along after black and white and had to be added in so that there was some backward compatibility or it wouldn't have been accepted) is different.

[Just to add to the confusion, there are hybrids of the 525-line 59.94Hz interlaced video that use the PAL color encoding and vice-versa. And when a signal is transmitted, there is another layer of difference that you might have seen indicated by terms like "PAL-M" vs. "PAL-G."]

But we almost always deal with the digital domain on this and other similar sites, and at that level things are either 525/59.94i or 625/50i. It is at the point that the video is converted from digital to analog (or from analog to digital) that the PAL/SECAM differences emerge.

So you can take a "PAL" DVD, put it into a DVD player designed to output SECAM, and view it on your SECAM TV. Of course in reality, you are likely to have a TV capable of dealing with both SECAM and PAL, and perhaps even NTSC or the hybrid mentioned above.

2- If I have a SECAM DVD, can I just convert it to NTSC (or vice versa)with the same guides? (I noticed that some of the softwares that perform these conversions, they only have a PAL / NTSC options)

Since there is no difference in PAL and SECAM in the digital domain (there will be a slight difference in the quality of the color, but not the format), the answer is "yes," you can use the PAL/NTSC conversion techniques (like here: http://www.geocities.com/xesdeeni2001/StandardsConversion).

3- If I have a SECAM DVD, does it play on a PAL DVD player?

Do you have a link to a site selling "SECAM" DVDs? I'd love to see this in print. I've never heard of a "SECAM" DVD, but if such a beast exists, it will be identical to the "PAL" DVD, except for the label

Xesdeeni

[cmangeot]

Adding my 2c, I regularly convert European dvds (that I buy) to NTSC.
All dvds in Europe that I bought (including the ones from France) are in PAL.

[FulciLives]

Adding my 2c, I regularly convert European dvds (that I buy) to NTSC.
All dvds in Europe that I bought (including the ones from France) are in PAL.

I live in the USA but buy many import DVD releases from ALL over the world and I have never seen offered for sale nor have I ever heard about a SECAM format DVD disc. I don't think they exist!

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

*** EDIT ***
I'm not saying the SECAM format does NOT exist at all ... I use to buy import VHS videos and know better ... all I am saying is I have never heard of a SECAM DVD

[tgpo]

But Look here This company is selling a DVD player that includes SECAM playback according to the site.

[Xesdeeni]

Whew...this is an aptly named thread

OK, the link you provided was for a VHS/DVD combo. The VCR part adds to the complexity, so let's discuss that below. For the DVD part, the output will most likely only be PAL. But since all SECAM TV's (apparently) accept PAL inputs, there is no problem there. SECAM is only really used for over-the-air transmission (even in the television studios, all the equipment is PAL, and the video is converted to SECAM just before it is transmitted), so it's not necessary for the DVD part.

Now, the VHS part adds an input to the device. This includes a tuner, which now needs to deal with SECAM. Internally, the SECAM will be received and then almost certainly be converted to PAL, which is what is stored on the tape. It is certainly possible that there are SECAM tapes, since VHS tapes are analog, but it is my understanding that converting to/from SECAM and using PAL for the tape itself is more convenient for everyone (you can trade tapes with other countries, and they don't have to manufacture special versions for SECAM countries).

Xesdeeni

[hhamzeh]

I just wanted to thank you all specially Xesdeeni for the informative replies. It was really useful to me.