Pal and NTSC camcorders

[Geoff]

Hi,

Please excuse the ignorance but what is the difference between cams
for PAL or NTSC? Is it only important if you wish to put the output
through a television, as I realise the US and Europe use NTSC and PAL
respectively. If you only wished to load the recording into a
computer, rather than play it from the camcorder into a TV, does it
make any difference?

Just asking as the price for the US version of the HV20 is some $400
dollars less than the PAL version in B&H.

TIA

[Richard Crowley]

"Geoff" wrote ...

Post by Geoff
Please excuse the ignorance but what is the difference between cams
for PAL or NTSC? Is it only important if you wish to put the output
through a television, as I realise the US and Europe use NTSC and PAL
respectively. If you only wished to load the recording into a
computer, rather than play it from the camcorder into a TV, does it
make any difference?
Just asking as the price for the US version of the HV20 is some $400
dollars less than the PAL version in B&H.

IMHO, it is true that if the video is ONLY destined for use
in the computer world, it may not make a huge difference
whether you choose NTSC or PAL.

OTOH, selecting a "foreign" standard from the one used
where you live makes it more difficult in every other aspect.
Even things like tape stock are different because of the tape
speed (and thus the requirement for length, etc.)

[Geoff]

On Thu, 21 Feb 2008 08:49:04 -0800, "Richard Crowley"

Post by Richard Crowley
OTOH, selecting a "foreign" standard from the one used
where you live makes it more difficult in every other aspect.
Even things like tape stock are different because of the tape
speed (and thus the requirement for length, etc.)

Many thanks.