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 |
