FAQ ON MULTISYSTEM / SYSTEMS 

FAQ’S: Multisystems What are NTSC, PAL and SECAM? NTSC (National Television Standards Committee) is a standard used in North America and Japan. It has the ability to display up to 525 lines of resolution. PAL (Phase Alternating Line), a standard used almost everywhere else in the world, has the ability to display 625 lines of resolution. SECAM (Sequential Color Memory) is used sparingly around the world and can be found in France, parts of Greece, Eastern Europe, Russia, Africa and a few other parts of the world. However, any SECAM country can display PAL tapes in full color, but not all PAL countries can display all SECAM tapes in color. Only if they are true SECAM and not MESECAM can those VCR's display SECAM. What video standard does my country use? If you're in North America, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and parts of South America, you use NTSC. Most other areas of the world use PAL or SECAM. Half of Brazil uses NTSC while the other half uses PAL-M. Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay use PAL-N. The rest of the world uses mainly PAL. If you're unsure what your video standard is, contact your local cable or broadcast company. Also, on the back of most videotape is indicating what video standard the tape is. This is a good representation of what your video standard is. Do I need special types of videotapes to record in different video standards? No, videotapes are blank. You can get a blank tape and record any video standard onto it. How do I watch overseas videotapes? Videotapes come in variety standards, each incompatible with the other. To watch videotapes from overseas that are not the same video standard as your own, you'll need what is called a multisystem VCR and a multisystem TV, or a Digital Video Standards Converter and VCR, or a VCR with a built-in Converter. What is a multisystem VCR? Different areas of the world use different video standards. North America uses NTSC, Europe uses PAL and SECAM, and South America uses PAL-M, PAL-N, PAL and NTSC. Almost every area of the world has a mixture of video standards. Unfortunately, none of these standards are compatible with each other. A multisystem VCR has the ability to play videotapes of different video standards. Country Voltage Frequency TV System Afghanistan 220V 50Hz B/PAL B/SECAM Albania 220V 50Hz B.G/PAL Algeria 127/220V 50Hz B/PAL Argentina 220V 50Hz N/PAL Australia 240V 50Hz B.G/PAL Austria 220V 50Hz B.G/PAL Bangladesh 230V 50Hz B/PAL Belgium 220V 50Hz B.H/PAL Bolivia 110/220V 50/60Hz N/PAL Brazil 110/127/220V 60Hz M/PAL Brunei 240V 50Hz B/PAL Bulgaria 220V 50Hz D.K/SECAM Canada 120/230V 60Hz M/NTSC Canary Islands 110/220V 50Hz B.G/PAL Chile 220V 50Hz M/NTSC China 220V 50Hz D/PAL Columbia 110/120V 60Hz M/NTSC Congo (P. R.) 220V 50Hz D/SECAM Costa Rica 120V 60Hz M/NTSC Cyprus 240V 50Hz B.G/PAL Czechoslovakia 220V 50Hz D.K/SECAM Denmark 220V 50Hz B.G/PAL Dominican Republic 110V 60Hz M/NTSC Ecuador 110V 60Hz M/NTSC Egypt 110/220V 50Hz B/SECAM El Salvador 110V 60Hz M/NTSC Fiji 240V 50Hz M/NTSC Finland 220V 50Hz B.G/PAL France 127/220V 50Hz E.L/SECAM Germany 220V 50Hz B.G/SECAM/PAL Gibraltar 240V 50Hz B.G/PAL Greece 220V 50Hz B.G/SECAM Guam 110V 60Hz M/NTSC Guatemala 110/120V 60Hz M/NTSC Honduras 110V 60Hz M/NTSC Hong Kong 200V 50Hz I/PAL Hungary 220V 50Hz D.K/SECAM India 230V 50Hz B/PAL Indonesia 127/220V 50Hz B.G/PAL Iran 220V 50Hz B/SECAM Iraq 220V 50Hz B/SECAM Ireland 220V 50Hz AI/PAL Israel 230V 50Hz B.G/PAL Italy 125/220V 50Hz B.G/PAL Jamaica 110/220V 50Hz M/NTSC Jordan 220V 50Hz B.G/PAL Kenya 240V 50Hz B/PAL Korea (D. P. R.) 220V 50Hz D/SECAM Korea (Rep.) 100/200V 60Hz M/NTSC Kuwait 240V 50Hz B/PAL Lebanon 110/190V 50Hz B/SECAM Liberia 120V 60Hz B/PAL Libya 127/230V 50Hz B/SECAM Luxembourg 120/220V 50Hz C/PAL, GL/SECAM Macao 110/220V 50Hz I/PAL Malaysia 240V 50Hz B/PAL Mexico 110/220V 50Hz M/NTSC Monaco 220V 50Hz C/PAL, GL/SECAM Mongolia 220V 50Hz D/SECAM Morocco 115/220V 50Hz B/SECAM Myanmar 230V 50Hz M/NTSC Netherlands 220V 50Hz B.G/PAL New Caledonia 220V 50Hz K1/SECAM New Zealand 230V 50Hz B/PAL Nicaragua 120V 60Hz M/NTSC Niger 220V