Which Video Format? PAL or NTSC?

PAL is optimised for TVs in Europe, Thailand, Russia, Australia, Singapore, China, the Middle East etc..

NTSC is optimised for TVs in the USA, Canada, Japan, S. Korea, Mexico etc..

The vast majority of DVD players (not TVs) in the world will play both PAL and NTSC DVDs. In general modern TVs in PAL countries are "multi-system" and will correctly play both PAL and NTSC DVDs, however TVs in NTSC countries will generally only play NTSC DVDs and will not correctly display PAL DVDs.

Both formats play correctly on computers worldwide in software such as WinDVD or PowerDVD.

A full list of which format you should select is shown below:

ABU DHABI PAL
AFGHANISTAN PAL
AJMAN PAL
ALBANIA PAL
ALGERIA PAL
ANDORRA PAL
ANTIGUA NTSC
ANTILLES, NETHERLANDS NTSC
ARGENTINA PAL
ARUBA NTSC
AUSTRALIA PAL
AUSTRIA PAL
AZORES PAL
BAHAMAS NTSC
BAHRAIN PAL
BANGLADESH PAL
BARBADOS NTSC
BELAU NTSC
BELGIUM PAL
BELIZE NTSC
BENIN PAL
BERMUDA NTSC
BOLIVIA NTSC
BOPHUTHATSWANA PAL
BOTSWANA PAL
BRAZIL NTSC
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS NTSC
BRUNEI PAL
BULGARIA PAL
BURKINA FASO PAL
BURMA (MYANMAR) NTSC
BURUNDI PAL
CAMBODIA NTSC
CAMEROON PAL
CANADA NTSC
CANARY ISLANDS PAL
CAYMAN ISLANDS NTSC
CENTRAL AFRICAN REP. PAL
CHAD PAL
CHANNEL ISLANDS PAL
CHILE NTSC
CHINA PAL
CISKEI PAL
COLOMBIA NTSC
CONGO PAL
COSTA RICA NTSC
CUBA NTSC
CURAÇAO NTSC
CYPRUS PAL
CZECH REPUBLIC PAL
DENMARK PAL
DIEGO GARCIA NTSC
DJIBOUTI PAL
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC NTSC
DUBAI PAL
ECUADOR NTSC
EGYPT PAL
EL SALVADOR NTSC
EQUATORIAL GUINEA PAL
ETHIOPIA PAL
FALKLAND ISLANDS PAL
FAROE ISLANDS PAL
FIJI NTSC
FINLAND PAL
FRANCE PAL
FRENCH POLYNESIA PAL
FUJAIRAH PAL
GABON PAL
GALAPAGOS ISLANDS NTSC
GERMANY PAL
GHANA PAL
GIBRALTAR PAL
GRANADA NTSC
GREECE PAL
GREENLAND PAL
GREENLAND (US FORCES) NTSC
GUADELOUPE PAL
GUAM NTSC
GUATEMALA NTSC
GUINEA REPUBLIC PAL
GUYANA (FRENCH) PAL
GUYANA REPUBLIC NTSC
HAITI PAL
HONDURAS NTSC
HONG KONG PAL
HUNGARY PAL
ICELAND PAL
INDIA PAL
INDONESIA PAL
IRAN PAL
IRAQ PAL
IRELAND PAL
ISRAEL PAL
ITALY PAL
IVORY COAST PAL
JAMAICA NTSC
JAPAN NTSC
JIBUTI PAL
JOHNSTON ATOLL ISLAND NTSC
JORDAN PAL
KENYA PAL
KOREA, NORTH PAL
KOREA, SOUTH NTSC
KUWAIT PAL
LAOS PAL
LEBANON PAL
LEEWARD ISLANDS NTSC
LESOTHO PAL
LIBERIA PAL
LIBYA PAL
LIECHTENSTEIN PAL or PAL
LUXEMBOURG PAL or PAL
MACAU PAL
MADAGASCAR PAL
MADEIRA PAL
MALAYSIA PAL
MALDIVES PAL
MALI PAL
MALTA PAL
MARIANA ISLANDS NTSC
MARTINIQUE PAL
MAURITANIA PAL
MAURITIUS PAL
MAYOTTE PAL
MEXICO NTSC
MICRONESIA NTSC
MIDWAY ISLAND NTSC
MONACO PAL
MONGOLIA PAL
MONTENEGRO PAL
MONTSERRAT NTSC
MOROCCO PAL
MOZAMBIQUE PAL
MYANMAR (BURMA) NTSC
NAMIBIA PAL
NEPAL PAL
NETHERLANDS PAL
NETHERLANDS ANTILLES NTSC
NEW CALEDONIA PAL
NEW GUINEA, PAPUA PAL
NEW ZEALAND PAL
NICARAGUA NTSC
NIGER PAL
NIGERIA PAL
NORWAY PAL
OMAN PAL
PAKISTAN PAL
PANAMA NTSC
PARAGUAY PAL
PERU NTSC
PHILIPPINES NTSC
POLAND PAL
POLYNESIA, FRENCH PAL
PONAPE NTSC
PORTUGAL PAL
PUERTO RICO (USA) NTSC
QATAR PAL
REUNION ISLAND PAL
ROMANIA PAL
RUSSIA PAL
SABA ISLAND NTSC
SABAH & SARAWAK PAL
SAIPAN NTSC
SAMOA NTSC
SAN ANDREAS ISLANDS NTSC
SAN MARINO PAL
SAO TOME & PRINCIPE PAL
SAUDI ARABIA PAL
SENEGAL PAL
SERBIA PAL
SEYCHELLES PAL
SHARJAH PAL
SIERRA LEONE PAL
SINGAPORE PAL
SOCIETY ISLANDS PAL
SOMALIA PAL
SOUTH AFRICA PAL
SPAIN PAL
SRI LANKA PAL
ST. CROIX NTSC
ST. JOHN NTSC
ST. KITTS & NEVIS NTSC
ST. MAARTEN NTSC
ST. PIERRE & MIQUELON PAL
ST. THOMAS NTSC
SUDAN PAL
SURINAME NTSC
SWAZILAND PAL
SWEDEN PAL
SWITZERLAND PAL
SYRIA PAL
TAHITI (Fr. Pol) PAL
TAIWAN NTSC
TANZANIA PAL
THAILAND PAL
TIBET (CHINA) PAL
TOGO PAL
TRANSKEI PAL
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO NTSC
TUNISIA PAL
TURKEY PAL
UGANDA PAL
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES PAL
UNITED KINGDOM PAL
UPPER VOLTA PAL
URUGUAY PAL
US VIRGIN ISLANDS NTSC
UNITED STATES NTSC
VATICAN PAL
VENDA PAL
VENEZUELA NTSC
VIETNAM PAL
VIRGIN ISLANDS NTSC
YEMEN PAL
YUGOSLAVIA PAL
ZAIRE PAL
ZAMBIA PAL
ZIMBABWE PAL

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Nick Hope