Broadcasting System DetailsKeywords - broadcast tv,broadcast television,pal,ntsc,secam,pal video |
With the conversions to digital video, information about analog video is quickly dissapearing. Several countries have made the digital conversion however, here are technical specifications for:
video stereo sound subtitling analog broadcasting standards by country.
Technical Specifications- Video
Code
| Frames
| Scan
Lines
| Freq
Band
| Sound
Offset
| Vision
Modulation
| In
Use
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Terrestrial
Transmission Standards
| ||||||
A
| 25
| 405
| VHF
| -3.5MHz
| Pos
| No
|
B
| 25
| 625
| VHF
| +5.5MHz
| Neg
| Yes
|
C
| 25
| 625
| VHF
| +5.5MHz
| Pos
| Yes
|
D
| 25
| 625
| VHF
| +6.5MHz
| Neg
| Yes
|
E
| 25
| 819
| VHF
| +11MHz
| Neg
| No
|
F
| 25
| 819
| VHF
| +5.5MHz
| Pos
| No
|
G
| 25
| 625
| UHF
| +5.5MHz
| Neg
| Yes
|
H
| 25
| 625
| UHF
| +5.5MHz
| Neg
| Yes
|
I
| 25
| 625
| UHF
| +6.0MHz
| Neg
| Yes
|
K
| 25
| 625
| UHF
| +6.5MHz
| Neg
| Yes
|
KI
| 25
| 625
| UHF
| +6.5MHz
| Neg
| Yes
|
L
| 25
| 625
| UHF
| +6.5MHz
| Pos
| Yes
|
M
| 30
| 525
| VHF/UHF
| +4.5MHz
| Neg
| Yes
|
N
| 25
| 625
| VHF/UHF
| +4.5MHz
| Neg
| Yes
|
Satellite
Transmission Standards
| ||||||
Ku-Band
| Any
| Any
| ~11GHz
| +6.50MHz
| Neg
| Yes
|
C-Band
| Any
| Any
| ~4GHz
| +6.50MHz
| Pos
| Yes
|
Stereo Sound
- MTS - Used in conjunction with NTSC/525. Consists of two independant carriers each carrying a discrete channel. One channel provides stereo sound by providing left/right channel difference signals relative to transmitted mono audio track. The second carrier carries the Secondary Audio Program (SAP) which is used for a second language or a descriptive commentary for the blind. Uses a technique based on the dbx noise reduction to improve the frequency response of the audio channel.
- FM-FM - dual carrier FM coded discrete stereo transmissions, analogue. Can be used for bi-lingual operation under user selection, but no auto-selection is available. Audio characteristics better than standard mono soundtrack.
- NICAM - (full name: NICAM 728) Digital two-channel audio transmissions with sub-code selection of bi-lingual operation. Stereo digital signals with specifications approaching those of Compact Disc are possible. NICAM stands for Near Instantaneously Companded Audio Multiplex and uses a 14bit sample at a 32KHz sampling rate which produces a data stream of 728KBits/sec.
- CC - (full name: Closed Captioning) Transmitted on line 21 of NTSC/525 transmissions, contains subtitling information only. CC has no support for block graphics or multiple pages but it can support 8-colours and the use of an italic typeface. Frequently found on pre-recorded VHS cassettes and LDs, also used on broadcast. Also found on PAL/625 pre-recorded VHS cassettes in a modified version.
- TeleText - An information service of 200-700 "pages" covering a wide range of topics including TV Schedules, News, Financial Market prices, Comment, Reviews, Concert & Theatre information. Subtitles are typically transmitted on page 888 in the UK, on pages 199/299/399 in Belgium and Holland, on page 150 in Germany and on page 777 in Italy. There are a number of variant character sets used, but the encoding is identical and all English alphabet characters plus numbers and most punctuation can be handled by any decoder. Includes support for 8 colors, and limited block graphics, and selective revealing of underlying TV picture. Transmitted on a variable number of lines (specified in header which contains basic information such as time, date and channel), starting on line 12 and continuing for 7-8 lines typically. Found on broadcasts and some LaserDiscs; recording of TeleText signals is marginal on S-VHS, almost impossible on VHS hence the PAL/625 version of CC.
Analog Broadcasting Systems by Country
| Country | TV | Color | Stereo | Subtitles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | B/G | PAL | ||
| Argentina | N | PAL-N | ||
| Australia | B/G | PAL | FM-FM | Teletext |
| Austria | B/G | PAL | FM-FM | Teletext |
| Azores (Portugal) | B | PAL | ||
| Bahamas | M | NTSC | ||
| Bahrain | B | PAL | ||
| Barbados | N | NTSC | ||
| Belgium | B/G | PAL | Nicam | Teletext |
| Bermuda | M | NTSC | ||
| Brazil | M | PAL-M | MTS | |
| Bulgaria | D | SECAM | ||
| Canada | M | NTSC | MTS | CC |
| Canary Is | B | PAL | ||
| China | D | PAL | ||
| Colombia | N | NTSC | ||
| Cyprus | B | PAL | ||
| Czechsolvakia | D/K | SECAM/PAL | ||
| Denmark | B | PAL | Nicam | TeleText |
| Egypt | B | SECAM | ||
| Faroe Islands (DK) | B | PAL | ||
| Finland | B/G | PAL | Nicam | TeleText |
| France | E/L | SECAM | Antiope | |
| Gambia | I | PAL | ||
| Germany | B/G | PAL | FM-FM | TeleText |
| Germany (prev East) | B/G | SECAM/PAL | ||
| Gibraltar | B | PAL | ||
| Greece | B/H | SECAM | ||
| Hong Kong | I | PAL | Nicam | |
| Hungary | B/G & D/K | PAL | Nicam (Budapest only) | |
| Iceland | B | PAL | ||
| India | B | PAL | ||
| Indonesia | B | PAL | ||
| Iran | H | SECAM | ||
| Ireland | I | PAL | Nicam | TeleText |
| Israel | B/G | PAL | Nicam | TeleText |
| Italy | B/G | PAL | FM/FM | TeleText |
| Jamaica | M | SECAM | ||
| Japan | M | NTSC | Matrix | |
| Jordan | B | PAL | ||
| Kenya | B | PAL | ||
| Korea | M | NTSC | ||
| Luxembourg | B/G | PAL | - | TeleText |
| Madeira | B | PAL | ||
| Madagascar | B | SECAM | ||
| Malaysia | B | PAL | ||
| Malta | B/G | PAL | ||
| Mauritius | B | SECAM | ||
| Mexico | M | NTSC | MTS | CC |
| Monaco | L/G | SECAM/PAL | ||
| Morocco | B | SECAM | ||
| Netherlands | B/G | PAL | FM-FM | TeleText |
| New Zealand | B/G | PAL | Nicam | TeleText |
| North Korea | D/K? | SECAM | ||
| Norway | B/G | PAL | Nicam | |
| Pakistan | B | PAL | ||
| Paraguay | N | PAL | ||
| Peru | M | NTSC | ||
| Philipines | M | NTSC | ||
| Poland | D/K | PAL | Teletext | |
| Portugal | B/G | PAL | Nicam | Teletext |
| Romania | G | PAL | ||
| Russia | D/K | SECAM | ||
| Saudi Arabia | B | SECAM | ||
| Seychelles | I | PAL | ||
| Singapore | B | PAL | ||
| South Africa | I | PAL | ||
| South Korea | N | NTSC | ||
| Spain | B/G | PAL | Nicam | |
| Sri Lanka | B/G | PAL | ||
| Sweden | B/G | PAL | Nicam | Teletext |
| Switzerland | B/G | PAL | FM-FM | TeleText |
| Tahiti | KI | SECAM | ||
| Taiwan | M | NTSC | ||
| Thailand | B | PAL | ||
| Trinidad | M | NTSC | ||
| Tunisia | B | SECAM | ||
| Turkey | B | PAL | TeleText | |
| United Arab Emirates | B/G | PAL | ||
| United Kingdom | I | PAL | Nicam | TeleText |
| Uruguay | N | PAL | MTS | |
| USA | M | NTSC | MTS | CC |
| Venezuela | M | NTSC | ||
| Yugoslavia | B/H | PAL | ||
| Zimbabwe | B | PAL |