The PAL region is a television publication territory that covers most of Europe and Africa, alongside parts of Asia, South America and Oceania. It is named PAL because of the PAL (Phase Alternating Line) television standard traditionally used in some of those regions, as opposed to the NTSC standard traditionally used in Japan and most of North America.
Television system by country, prior to digital switchover. Countries using the PAL system are shown in blue.
More recently, as most countries have stopped using the PAL standard entirely in favor of newer digital standards such as DVB, the term "PAL region" in video gaming means the list of regions it had covered in the past.
This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(December 2014)
Below are countries and territories that used or once used the PAL system. Many of these have converted or are converting PAL to DVB-T (most countries), DVB-T2 (most countries), DTMB (China, Hong Kong and Macau) or ISDB (Sri Lanka, Maldives, Botswana and part of South America).
Indonesia[1] (Analogue shutoff scheduled to 2 November 2022; simulcasted in DVB-T since 2008 until 2012, been changed to DVB-T2 2012 forward, and the government scheduled to give-away free 7 million STB DVB-T2 in April 2014)
Brazil[1] (H264 video over ISDB-T, at 480i@60 Hz (SD) or 1080i@60 Hz (HD), simulcast with digital format in ISDB-Tb, also called SBTVD), an update to ISDB-T, started in December 2007. PAL broadcasting in its final stages of abandonment, the complete shut-down is scheduled to 2023.
PAL-N
Argentina[1] (H264 video over ISDB-T, at 480i/576i@50/60 Hz (SD) or 1080i@50/60 Hz (HD), simulcast with digital format in ISDB-Tb, also called SBTVD), an update to ISDB-T, started in August 28, 2008. PAL broadcasting in its final stages of abandonment, the complete shut-down is scheduled to 2023.
During the mid-1990s, the practice of modifying consoles such as the Super NES and Mega Drive to allow 60 Hz operation became somewhat common among PAL gamers, due to the rise in NTSC/60 Hz capable PAL TVs and the relatively simple nature of the modifications. Beginning with the Amiga CD32, which introduced more powerful hardware, developers had the ability to output at full PAL resolution without borders or stretching, although games still typically ran slower and all ran at 50 Hz. Beginning with the Dreamcast and continuing through the sixth generation of consoles, developers began including PAL60 modes in their games. Games that run at PAL60 are produced with the same colour encoding system as 50 Hz PAL signals, but with the NTSC resolution and field rate of 60 Hz, providing an identical gaming experience to their NTSC counterparts, however some games, such as Tekken 4 and Tekken 5, will actually use the NTSC colour mode when in 60 Hz mode; these games will appear in black and white on PAL-only televisions. The Brazilian PAL-M standard always operates at 60 Hz.
Criticism of PAL region video games
Games ported to PAL have historically been known for having game speed and frame rates inferior to their NTSC counterparts. Since the NTSC standard is 60 fields/30 frames per second but PAL is 50 fields/25 frames per second, games were typically[dubious – discuss] slowed by approximately 16.7% in order to avoid timing problems or unfeasible code changes. Full motion video rendered and encoded at 30 frames per second by the Japanese/US (NTSC) developers was often down-sampled to 25 frames per second or considered to be 50 frames per second video for PAL release—usually by means of 3:2 pull-down, resulting in motion judder. In addition to this, PAL's increased resolution was not utilised during conversion, creating a pseudo letterbox effect with borders top and bottom, which looks similar to a 14:9 letterbox, and leaving the graphics with a slightly squashed look due to an incorrect aspect ratio caused by the borders. This was prevalent in previous generations (especially during the 8-bit and 16-bit era, when 2D graphics were the norm at that time). The gameplay of many games with an emphasis on speed, such as the original Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, suffered in their PAL incarnations.
Despite the possibility and popularity of 60 Hz PAL games, many high-profile games, particularly for the PlayStation 2 console, were released in 50 Hz-only versions. Square Enix have long been criticised by PAL gamers for their poor PAL conversions. Final Fantasy X, for example, runs in 50 Hz mode only, meaning it runs 16.7% slower than the NTSC release and features top and bottom borders; while this practice was common in previous generations, it was considered inexcusable by contemporary consumers at the time of release.[5] In contrast, the Dreamcast was the first system to feature PAL60, and the overwhelming majority of PAL games offered 50 and 60 Hz modes with no slow speeds. The PAL GameCube also offered 60 Hz on almost every title released. The Xbox featured a system-wide PAL60 option in the Dashboard, with almost every game supporting PAL60. Seventh generation PAL consoles Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii also feature system-wide 60 Hz support.[citation needed]
These problems do not occur in the PAL-M standard used in Brazil, since it is mostly based on the NTSC standard (with its frame rate operating at around 30 frames-per-second) except for the colour subcarrier, which is similar to that of PAL/625/25.[citation needed]
region, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citatio. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources PAL region news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed June 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message The PAL region is a television publication territory that covers most of Europe and Africa alongside parts of Asia South America and Oceania It is named PAL because of the PAL Phase Alternating Line television standard traditionally used in some of those regions as opposed to the NTSC standard traditionally used in Japan and most of North America Television system by country prior to digital switchover Countries using the PAL system are shown in blue More recently as most countries have stopped using the PAL standard entirely in favor of newer digital standards such as DVB the term PAL region in video gaming means the list of regions it had covered in the past Contents 1 List 1 1 PAL B D G H K or I 1 2 PAL M 1 3 PAL N 1 4 Countries and territories that have ceased using PAL 2 60 Hz operation 3 Criticism of PAL region video games 4 See also 5 ReferencesList EditThis section needs to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information December 2014 Below are countries and territories that used or once used the PAL system Many of these have converted or are converting PAL to DVB T most countries DVB T2 most countries DTMB China Hong Kong and Macau or ISDB Sri Lanka Maldives Botswana and part of South America PAL B D G H K or I Edit Afghanistan used SECAM 1 Angola 1 Armenia Bahrain DVB T introduction in assessment 1 Bangladesh 1 Bhutan 1 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 Botswana 1 British Indian Ocean Territory 1 Cameroon 1 Cape Verde 1 China Digital broadcast using DTMB 1 Christmas Island Cook Islands see New Zealand Djibouti 1 Egypt migrated from SECAM 1990 1992 1 Equatorial Guinea 1 Eritrea 1 Eswatini 1 Ethiopia 1 Falkland Islands UHF only 1 Fiji Gambia 1 Guinea Bissau 1 Indonesia 1 Analogue shutoff scheduled to 2 November 2022 simulcasted in DVB T since 2008 until 2012 been changed to DVB T2 2012 forward and the government scheduled to give away free 7 million STB DVB T2 in April 2014 Iraq 1 DVB T introduction in assessment Israel DVB T introduction in assessment Jordan 2 DVB T introduction in assessment Kiribati 1 Kuwait 1 Laos Once experimented in PAL M 1 Lebanon Using PAL for Lebanese channels Channels from Europe or even from USA are not broadcast analogue Lesotho 1 Liberia 1 Libya Macau PAL I DTMB introduced since 15 July 2008 Malawi 1 Malaysia 2 DVB T2 digital launched Analogue switch off was completed by end October 2019 Maldives 1 Mauritius Moldova Mongolia Mozambique 1 Myanmar Nauru 1 Nepal 1 Nigeria Niue 1 Norfolk Island see Australia North Korea used SECAM until 1990s 1 Oman DVB T introduction in assessment 1 Pakistan 1 Palestine DVB T introduction in assessment Papua New Guinea 1 Saint Helena Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Two PAL I analogue TV services operated by BFBS Samoa 1 Seychelles 1 Sierra Leone 1 Solomon Islands Somalia 1 South Sudan Sri Lanka 1 Sudan 1 Syria along with SECAM 1 Timor Leste Tonga 1 PAL broadcast to be abandoned Analog shutoff scheduled for 15 June 2015 needs update Simulcast in DVB T Tunisia Turkey Tuvalu 1 Uganda 1 Vanuatu 1 Vietnam 1 Yemen 1 DVB T introduction Zimbabwe 1 PAL M Edit Brazil 1 H264 video over ISDB T at 480i 60 Hz SD or 1080i 60 Hz HD simulcast with digital format in ISDB Tb also called SBTVD an update to ISDB T started in December 2007 PAL broadcasting in its final stages of abandonment the complete shut down is scheduled to 2023 PAL N Edit Argentina 1 H264 video over ISDB T at 480i 576i 50 60 Hz SD or 1080i 50 60 Hz HD simulcast with digital format in ISDB Tb also called SBTVD an update to ISDB T started in August 28 2008 PAL broadcasting in its final stages of abandonment the complete shut down is scheduled to 2023 Paraguay 1 Simulcast in ISDB T Uruguay 1 Simulcast in ISDB T Countries and territories that have ceased using PAL Edit The following countries no longer use PAL for terrestrial broadcasts and are in process of converting from PAL cable to DVB T or ISDB T Country Switched to Switchover completed Albania DVB T2 2019 10 01 1 October 2019 Andorra DVB T 2007 09 25 25 September 2007 Australia DVB T 2013 12 10 10 December 2013 Austria DVB T and DVB T2 2010 06 07 7 June 2011 Azerbaijan DVB T 2015 06 17 17 June 2015 Belgium DVB T 2010 03 01 1 March 2010 Brunei DVB T 2015 01 01 1 January 2015 Bulgaria DVB T 2013 09 30 30 September 2013 Cambodia DVB T2 2015 01 01 1 January 2015 Croatia DVB T 2010 10 20 20 October 2010 Cyprus DVB T 2011 07 01 1 July 2011 Czech Republic DVB T 2012 06 30 30 June 2012 Denmark DVB T and DVB T2 2009 11 01 1 November 2009 Estonia DVB T 2010 07 01 1 July 2010 Faroe Islands DVB T 2002 12 December 2002 Finland DVB T and DVB T2 2007 09 01 1 September 2007 Georgia DVB T 2015 07 01 1 July 2015 Germany DVB T and DVB T2 2009 06 04 4 June 2009 Ghana DVB T2 2015 06 June 2015 Greece DVB T 2015 02 05 6 February 2015 Gibraltar DVB T 2012 12 31 31 December 2012 Guernsey DVB T 2010 11 17 17 November 2010 Hong Kong DTMB 2020 12 01 1 December 2020 Hungary DVB T and DVB T2 2013 10 31 31 October 2013 Iceland DVB T and DVB T2 2015 02 02 2 February 2015 India DVB T 2015 02 31 31 March 2015 Iran DVB T 2014 12 19 19 December 2014 Ireland DVB T 2012 10 24 24 October 2012 Isle of Man DVB T 2012 10 24 24 October 2012 Israel DVB T and DVB T2 2011 06 13 13 June 2011 Italy DVB T 2012 07 04 4 July 2012 Jersey DVB T 2010 11 17 17 November 2010 Kenya DVB T 2015 03 March 2015 Latvia DVB T 2010 06 01 1 June 2010 Lithuania DVB T 2012 10 29 29 October 2012 Luxembourg DVB T 2006 09 01 1 September 2006 North Macedonia DVB T 2013 05 31 31 May 2013 Malta DVB T 2011 10 31 31 October 2011 Monaco DVB T 2011 05 24 24 May 2011 Montenegro DVB T 2015 06 17 17 June 2015 Namibia DVB T 2014 09 13 13 September 2014 Netherlands DVB T 2006 12 14 14 December 2006 New Zealand DVB T 2013 12 01 1 December 2013 Norway DVB T 2009 12 December 2009 3 Poland DVB T 2013 07 23 23 July 2013 Portugal DVB T 2012 04 26 26 April 2012 Qatar DVB T and DVB T2 2012 02 13 13 February 2012 Romania DVB T2 2016 12 31 31 December 2016 Rwanda DVB T 2014 03 March 2014 San Marino DVB T 2010 12 02 2 December 2010 Saudi Arabia DVB T and DVB T2 2012 02 13 13 February 2012 Serbia DVB T2 2015 06 07 7 June 2015 Singapore DVB T2 2019 01 02 2 January 2019 Slovakia DVB T 2012 12 31 31 December 2012 Slovenia DVB T 2010 12 01 1 December 2010 South Africa DVB T 2015 2015 4 as of 2018 PAL terrestrial still operational Spain DVB T and DVB T2 2010 04 03 3 April 2010 Sweden DVB T and DVB T2 2007 10 29 29 October 2007 Switzerland DVB T 2007 11 26 26 November 2007 Tanzania DVB T 2014 07 July 2014 Thailand DVB T2 2020 09 26 March 2020 Ukraine DVB T and DVB T2 2016 12 31 31 December 2016 United Arab Emirates DVB T and DVB T2 2012 02 13 13 February 2012 United Kingdom DVB T SD and DVB T2 HD 2012 10 24 24 October 2012 Zambia DVB T2 2014 12 31 31 December 201460 Hz operation EditDuring the mid 1990s the practice of modifying consoles such as the Super NES and Mega Drive to allow 60 Hz operation became somewhat common among PAL gamers due to the rise in NTSC 60 Hz capable PAL TVs and the relatively simple nature of the modifications Beginning with the Amiga CD32 which introduced more powerful hardware developers had the ability to output at full PAL resolution without borders or stretching although games still typically ran slower and all ran at 50 Hz Beginning with the Dreamcast and continuing through the sixth generation of consoles developers began including PAL60 modes in their games Games that run at PAL60 are produced with the same colour encoding system as 50 Hz PAL signals but with the NTSC resolution and field rate of 60 Hz providing an identical gaming experience to their NTSC counterparts however some games such as Tekken 4 and Tekken 5 will actually use the NTSC colour mode when in 60 Hz mode these games will appear in black and white on PAL only televisions The Brazilian PAL M standard always operates at 60 Hz Criticism of PAL region video games EditGames ported to PAL have historically been known for having game speed and frame rates inferior to their NTSC counterparts Since the NTSC standard is 60 fields 30 frames per second but PAL is 50 fields 25 frames per second games were typically dubious discuss slowed by approximately 16 7 in order to avoid timing problems or unfeasible code changes Full motion video rendered and encoded at 30 frames per second by the Japanese US NTSC developers was often down sampled to 25 frames per second or considered to be 50 frames per second video for PAL release usually by means of 3 2 pull down resulting in motion judder In addition to this PAL s increased resolution was not utilised during conversion creating a pseudo letterbox effect with borders top and bottom which looks similar to a 14 9 letterbox and leaving the graphics with a slightly squashed look due to an incorrect aspect ratio caused by the borders This was prevalent in previous generations especially during the 8 bit and 16 bit era when 2D graphics were the norm at that time The gameplay of many games with an emphasis on speed such as the original Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis Mega Drive suffered in their PAL incarnations Despite the possibility and popularity of 60 Hz PAL games many high profile games particularly for the PlayStation 2 console were released in 50 Hz only versions Square Enix have long been criticised by PAL gamers for their poor PAL conversions Final Fantasy X for example runs in 50 Hz mode only meaning it runs 16 7 slower than the NTSC release and features top and bottom borders while this practice was common in previous generations it was considered inexcusable by contemporary consumers at the time of release 5 In contrast the Dreamcast was the first system to feature PAL60 and the overwhelming majority of PAL games offered 50 and 60 Hz modes with no slow speeds The PAL GameCube also offered 60 Hz on almost every title released The Xbox featured a system wide PAL60 option in the Dashboard with almost every game supporting PAL60 Seventh generation PAL consoles Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 and Wii also feature system wide 60 Hz support citation needed As of the eighth generation consoles such as the Wii U PlayStation 4 Xbox One and Nintendo Switch have all games solely in 60 Hz with 50 Hz only being used for video playback and in the Wii U s case backwards compatibility with Wii and Virtual Console games citation needed These problems do not occur in the PAL M standard used in Brazil since it is mostly based on the NTSC standard with its frame rate operating at around 30 frames per second except for the colour subcarrier which is similar to that of PAL 625 25 citation needed See also EditPAL NTSC Advanced Television Systems Committee standards SECAM Regional lockoutReferences Edit a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc Michael Hegarty Anne Phelan Lisa Kilbride 1 January 1998 Classrooms for Distance Teaching and Learning A Blueprint Leuven University Press pp 260 ISBN 978 90 6186 867 5 a b PAL NTSC SECAM countries list Archived from the original on 21 February 2016 Retrieved 2017 12 09 TV og radio Switching Off Analogue TV Will Lock Out Many In Africa GamesRadar computerandvideogames com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title PAL region amp oldid 1124889653, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
