There are a lot of TV broadcast standards
in the world, but there are only 5 video standards: NTSC, PAL, SECAM,
PAL-M and MESECAM. If you've heard of NTSC 4.43 and NTSC 3.58, or PAL
D/K, PAL I, PAL B/G and PAL-N, forget about them when we discuss VHS
formats. All these parameters should be taken into account when we
connect a VCR up to a TV set, but anyway they are not "recorded" on a
VHS.
These 5 standards could be subdivided into
two incompatible groups: one group includes NTSC and PAL-M, and another
group includes PAL, SECAM and MESECAM. Speaking about the
incompatibility, they usually mention a frame rate difference (30
frames per second in the first group and 25 in the second one), but
often forget about a tape speed (about 1.5 times higher for the
first group), while it's the main reason of the incompatibility. If you
try to play a VHS on a VCR from the other group, you'll see nothing. If
you play a VHS on an other standard VCR, but being of the same group,
the picture will be black and white in most cases, but at least it'll be
sharp and watchable.
SECAM is a PAL-compatible
format. If your TV set doesn't support PAL, the picture will be b/w. If
you try to play an NTSC VHS on a PAL or SECAM VCR, you'll see nothing
because of a speed difference.
PAL-M is an NTSC-compatible
format. If your TV set doesn't support NTSC, the picture will be b/w. If
you try to play a PAL VHS on a PAL-M or NTSC VCR, you'll see nothing
because of a speed difference.
PAL-N is absolutely PAL-compatible
if referring to VHS recordings.
