It is also important for those in the market for a plasma TV to be aware of other purchases that may be required besides the television itself. One of the most important things to keep in mind is the fact that in most cases these TVs will not come with their own tuner. The buyer of the television therefore needs to be prepared to provide a cable TV, satellite TV, DVD, VCR or computer input.

It is also important to purchase only the highest quality cables to connect these external devices to the plasma TV. These high quality televisions are very sensitive, and using the highest quality cabling will help owners get the most out of their new TVs.

The PAL Format

PAL is short for phase alternating line, and it is a color encoding system that is used to broadcast television signals in large portions of the world. The PAL form

The terminology PAL is generally used to refer to the 625 line/50Hz television system found primarily in European countries, and to differentiate the system form the 525 line/60Hz systems, known as NTSC, that have become the norm in North America, Central America and Japan. It is important for buyers of DVDs to understand this difference, since not all DVD players are capable of playing both formats.

PAL formats are used in a number of different countries throughout the world, including all of Europe, many parts of Asia, and many parts of Africa as well.

The NTSC Format

The NTSC format, on the other hand, is primarily used throughout Central and South America, including the United States, as well as in Japan. Again, it is important for both television shoppers and DVD purchasers to be aware of the differences between the competing PAL and NTSC formats, and to make sure they purchase the right products for their part of the world.

The term NTSC is an acronym for National Television System Committee, the industry wide standardization body that was responsible for the creation of the format.

The National Television System Committee was first established back in 1940 by the Federal Communications Committee (FCC) in order to resolve conflicts which had arisen over the introduction of a national analog television system in the United States. In March of 1941, the committee issued a technical standard for black and while television, built on an earlier recommendation by the Radio Manufacturers Association.

After a few years of inaction, the National Television System Committee came back into being in 1950, this time in order to make a decision about color TV. The committee unanimously approved what is now known as the NTSC color television standard in 1953.

Throughout the years there have been a number of changes in the NTSC standard, known as NTSC I, NTSC II and NTSC III. The specifics on each type of NTSC are as follows:

*NTSC I first became the standard in 1941, starting in the US and later moving to Canada. The NTSC I standard was the original black and white broadcasting standard.

*NTSC II is the color version of the NTSC standard.

*NTSC III was developed to deal with the new digital television revolution which began in the 1980s,and unlike NTSC all aspects of the NTSC III format have been rigidly designed.

The NTSC format is used throughout North America, including the United States, Canada and Mexico, as well as throughout Central America and the Caribbean, including Cuba, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Bermuda, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Panama among others. The NTSC format is also used extensively throughout South America, including Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela, as well as Japan and many other parts of Asia.

The SECAM Standard

The SECAM standard is commonly used throughout France, and in fact the acronym SECAM is short for sequential couleur avec memoire, or sequential color with memory. SECAM is an analog color TV system first used in France, and recognized as the first color television standard to be used in Europe.

Like PAL, NTSC and other color standards, SECAM is a compatible standard, meaning that those black and white television receivers that predate its adoption are still able to show the programs, although only in monochrome. This compatibility is achieved by adding a second signal to the basic black and white signal. This signal is designed to carry the color information to the television set.

The work on the SECAM standard began in 1956, and by the end of the 1950s the standard was in place. It was still too early, however for widespread introduction of the standard and the devices capable of playing its signals.

The first SECAM standard was introduced in France during the 1960s, but the color television was not an instant hit in France. A year after the final SECAM standard came online, only about 200,000 color sets had been sold, in contrast to the million that were expected.

In addition to France, the SECAM standard was eventually adopted by the former colonies of France and Belgium, as well as the countries of Eastern Europe, the Middle East and the Soviet Union. With the fall of the Soviet Union, however, came the introduction of competing standards, and many Eastern European countries have since made the switch to the PAL format.

With all these competing color television standards on the market, it is easy to understand why it can be so important to choose a plasma TV capable of playing several different formats. The advent of these multiformat capable plasma televisions has been one of the most important technological improvements in the world of electronics, and those in the market for a new television set or DVD player would do well to keep these standards in mind as they shop.

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