World Television Recording Standards

Listed below by country & colourized in compatibility groupings. This list is for purposes of knowing which tape recording standard to send to a given country so they can play it back without having a multi-standard VCR or television.

There are SIX different consumer videotape RECORDING STANDARDS in the world for standard definition television. They are NTSC (National Television Standards Committee), PAL (Phase Alternation by Line), PAL-M, PAL-N, SECAM V (Vertical)(also known as FRENCH SECAM) & SECAM H (Horizontal) (also known as MESECAM), (SECAM = SEquential Couleur Avec Memoire). Here are some details:

NTSC is 486 separate horizontal lines of raster arrayed vertically (525 including the vertical interval), with 60 fields per second (30 interlaced frames per second).

PAL-M is also 486 separate horizontal lines of raster arrayed vertically (525 including the vertical interval), with 60 fields per second (30 interlaced frames per second), but the color burst signal (inversion by 1H) is handled differently than NTSC . PAL-M is not compatible with PAL, but the black & white part of the signal is compatible with NTSC. Only Brazil & Laos use PAL-M so their consumer recorders often have the color circuitry to play back PAL-M & NTSC.

PAL, PAL-N, SECAM V & SECAM H are all 576 separate horizontal lines of raster arrayed vertically (625 including the vertical interval), with 50 fields per second (25 interlaced frames per second), so they will usually play a black & white signal between these 4 standards, as well as mono audio, but they are not compatible with NTSC or PAL-M. These 4 standards may play the color portion of the signal for the other 3 if the VCR has the color circuitry built in (many European & Mid Eastern VCRs can play back more than one of these four standards).

Note that consumer VCRs sold in some countries where standards are slowly switching over from one standard to another (mixed standards) or where the country is adjacent to other countries using a different standard, these VCRs will often play back more than one standard. Modern VCRs sold in a select few countries (like Fiji) are usually multi-standard & will play back all 6 standards, although they usually only record in that countries standard. Many small island countries do this because they routinely need to play tapes from anywhere in the world.

There are no professional production tape formats (such as Betacam) in SECAM. Instead, production is done in PAL & converted to SECAM at the transmitter. Likewise, there are no SECAM DVDs, instead countries that use SECAM sell DVD players that can convert the PAL DVD to a SECAM output. All but the oldest SECAM television sets can play back a color PAL signal from VHS or DVD.

Besides the six consumer "RECORDING STANDARDS" mentioned above, it is important to find out the "VCR TAPE FORMAT" that the recipient of a tape is using (i.e. VHS, Betamax, Betacam, 8mm, 3/4", DV, etc). Most countries use the VHS VCR FORMAT for consumer video playback.

Note, the following list is as accurate as I was able to make it, but some countries are in the middle of changing their television standard (especially SECAM countries changing to PAL), so always check with the recipient of the tape you are sending to verify the standard they can play back. If you discover more up to date information than I have listed here, please contact Doug Hembruff with details.  (e-mail link at bottom of this page.)

The 6 DVD Regions of the world, have nothing to do with the 6 World Television Recording Standards. DVD Regions are the 6 different zones in the world that the entertainment industry has created for staggered release dates of movies, or to limit a movie version to playback only in a given region.

WORLD TELEVISION RECORDING STANDARDS listed by country.
If you do not find a small country listed alphabetically, try searching with your browser to find the country listed under a sub grouping (in Internet Explorer menu under Edit/Find).

AFGHANISTAN - PAL, possibly can use SECAM H
ALBANIA - PAL
ALGERIA - PAL
ANDORRA (located between France & Spain) - PAL & SECAM
ANGOLA (People's Republic of) - PAL no former format
ARGENTINA - PAL-N
ARMENIA formerly part of USSR until 1991 - SECAM H
ASCENSION ISLAND - PAL
AUSTRALIA (Commonwealth of) - PAL
AUSTRIA - PAL
AZORES - (islands belonging to Portugal) PAL, probably can also use NTSC
AZERBAIJAN formerly part of USSR until 1991 - SECAM H
BAHAMAS - NTSC
BAHRAIN - PAL
BALAU ISLANDS (also spelled Belau) - NTSC
BANGLADESH - PAL
BARBADOS - NTSC
BELARUS (also spelled Byelarus) formerly part of USSR until 1991 - SECAM H
BELGIUM - PAL
BELIZE - NTSC
BENIN - SECAM V
BERMUDA - NTSC
BOLIVIA - NTSC
BOSNIA-HERZOGOVINA formerly part of Yugoslavia - PAL
BOTSWANA - PAL
BRAZIL - PAL-M
BRUNEI - PAL
BULGARIA - SECAM H
BURKINA FASO formerly Upper Volta - SECAM V
BURMA (Myanmar) - NTSC
BURUNDI - SECAM V
CAMBODIA (Kampuchea) - PAL, possibly SECAM V formerly no format
CAMEROON - PAL formerly no format
CANADA - NTSC
CAPE VERDE - PAL
CAYMAN ISLANDS - NTSC, possibly can also play PAL
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC - SECAM V formerly no format
CHAD - SECAM V formerly no format
CHANNEL ISLANDS - PAL
CHILE - NTSC
CHINA (including Hong Kong) - PAL
CHRISTMAS ISLAND (also called Kiritimati Atoll) - PAL
COLOMBIA - NTSC
COMOROS (including Anjouan, Grande Comore, Mayotte, and Moheli) - SECAM V CONGO (formerly Zaire) - SECAM V
CORSICA - SECAM V
COSTA RICA - NTSC
CROATIA formerly part of Yugoslavia - PAL
CUBA - NTSC
CYPRUS - mostly PAL in Turkish areas, but SECAM H may sometimes still be used in Greek areas.
CZECH REPUBLIC formerly part of it was Czechoslovakia until 1993 - SECAM H
DENMARK - PAL
DIEGO GARCIA - NTSC
DJIBOUTI - SECAM V
DOMINICA - probably NTSC
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - NTSC
ECUADOR - NTSC
EGYPT - SECAM H & possibly PAL
EL SALVADOR - NTSC
EQUATORIAL GUINEA west Africa - SECAM V formerly no format
ERITREA - PAL
ESTONIA formerly part of USSR until 1991 - SECAM H
ETHIOPIA - PAL formerly no format
FALKLAND ISLANDS - PAL
FAROE ISLANDS - PAL
FINLAND - PAL
FRANCE - SECAM V
GABON - SECAM V
GALAPAGOS ISLANDS - NTSC
GAMBIA - PAL
GEORGIA formerly part of USSR until 1991 - SECAM H
GERMANY (Federal Republic of) - PAL, former East Germany used SECAM V
GHANA - PAL
GIBRALTAR - PAL
GREECE - SECAM H, many are also using PAL now
GREENLAND - PAL - US Forces base uses NTSC
GRENADA - NTSC
GUATEMALA - NTSC
GUINEA in western Africa - PAL, formerly SECAM
GUINEA-BISSAU - PAL
GUIANA (French) - SECAM V
GUYANA (Cooperative Republic of) - NTSC, formerly SECAM
HAITI - NTSC
HONDURAS - NTSC
HUNGARY - probably PAL, formerly SECAM H
ICELAND - PAL
INDIA - PAL
INDONESIA (including New Guinea, Borneo & Java) - PAL
IRAN - PAL, converted from SECAM H in 1998
IRAQ - SECAM H
IRELAND (Republic of) - PAL
ISRAEL (including the West Bank & Gaza Strip) - PAL
ITALY (including Sicily and Sardinia) - PAL
IVORY COAST - SECAM V
JAMAICA - NTSC
JAPAN (including Okinawa) - NTSC (black pedestal at zero IRE, not 7.5 IRE)
JORDAN - SECAM H, probably can also use PAL
KAZAKHSTAN was part of USSR until 1991 - SECAM H KASHMIR (also spelled Cashmere)(also called Jammu) - PAL
KIRIBATI 33 islands in the central Pacific Ocean - PAL
KENYA - PAL
KOREA, NORTH - probably PAL
KOREA, SOUTH - NTSC
KUWAIT - PAL
KYRGYZSTAN was part of USSR until 1991 - SECAM H
LAOS (People's Democratic Republic of) - PAL-M
LATVIA was part of USSR until 1991 - SECAM H
LEBANON - PAL and SECAM V
LEEWARD ISLANDS - mostly NTSC (read further), The Leeward group includes two independent countries: Antigua and Barbuda, and St. Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis NTSC. The group also includes Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands (Tortola), and Montserrat, which are British dependencies; St. Eustatius, Saba, Curaco, Bonaire, Aruba and St. Martin (also spelled St. Maarten), which are known as the Netherlands Antilles or Dutch West Indies NTSC & PAL; Guadeloupe a French overseas department SECAM V; and the Virgin Islands of the United States (St. Croix & St. John & St. Thomas) NTSC.
LESOTHO a country surrounded by South Africa - PAL
LIBERIA - PAL
LIBYA - SECAM H
LIECHTENSTEIN - PAL
LITHUANIA was part of USSR until 1991 - SECAM H
LUXEMBOURG - PAL, probably can use SECAM V
MACAU - PAL
MACEDONIA formerly part of Yugoslavia - PAL
MADAGASCAR - SECAM V
MADEIRA ISLANDS - PAL
MALAWI - PAL formerly no format
MALAYSIA (including Malaya, Northern Borneo, Sarawak, Sabah, and Singapore) - PAL
MALDIVES - PAL
MALI (republic of) - SECAM V
MALTA - PAL
MARSHALL ISLANDS - NTSC
MARTINIQUE - SECAM V
MAURITANIA SECAM V
MAURITIUS - SECAM V
MELANESIA REGION (including New Guinea, the Solomon Islands & and Vanuatu PAL, New Caledonia SECAM V)
MEXICO - NTSC
MICRONESIA REGION mostly NTSC (including Guam, Caroline Islands, Palau islands (Belua), Mariana Islands, Saipan, Marshall Islands, Gilbert Islands, Nauru & Ponape are NTSC. Fiji is PAL)
MOLDOVA formerly part of USSR until 1991 - SECAM H
MONACO - SECAM V, probably can use PAL
MONGOLIA - SECAM V
MOROCCO - SECAM V
MOZAMBIQUE - PAL
NAMIBIA - PAL
NEPAL - PAL
NETHERLANDS (Holland) - PAL
NEW ZEALAND (including Cook Island) - PAL
NICARAGUA - NTSC
NIGER - SECAM V
NIGERIA - PAL
NORFOLK ISLAND - PAL
NORWAY - PAL
OMAN - PAL
PAKISTAN - PAL
PANAMA - NTSC
PAPUA NEW GUINEA - PAL formerly no format
PARAGUAY - PAL-N
PERU - NTSC
PHILIPPINES - NTSC
POLAND - PAL, formerly SECAM H
POLYNESIA REGION (including Polynesia & Midway Island NTSC, Easter Island possibly PAL). Also see SOCIETY ISLANDS & MELANESIA REGION.
PORTUGAL - PAL
PUERTO RICO - NTSC
QATAR - PAL
REUNION ISLAND - SECAM V
ROMANIA - PAL
RUSSIA formerly part of USSR until 1991 - SECAM H
RWANDA - SECAM V formerly no format
SAMOA - NTSC
SAN MARINO - PAL
SAO TOME and PRINCIPE - PAL
SAUDI ARABIA - SECAM H, can also use PAL
SENEGAL - SECAM V
SEYCHELLES - PAL
SIERRA LEONE - PAL
SLOVAKIA - formerly part of Czechoslovakia until 1993 SECAM H
SLOVENIA - formerly part of Yugoslavia until 1991 PAL
SOCIETY ISLANDS (including French Polynesia & Tahiti) - SECAM V
SOMALIA - PAL
SOUTH AFRICA - PAL
SPAIN (including Canary Islands) - PAL
SRI LANKA - PAL
SAINT LUCIA - NTSC
SAINT PIERRE & MIQUELON - SECAM V
SAINT VINCENT and THE GRENADINES - NTSC
SUDAN - PAL
SURINAME (also spelled Surinam) - NTSC
SWAZILAND - PAL
SWEDEN - PAL
SWITZERLAND - PAL
SYRIA - SECAM H, probably can use PAL
TAIWAN - NTSC
TAJIKISTAN (also spelled Tadzhikistan) part of USSR before 1991 - SECAM
TANZANIA - PAL
THAILAND - PAL
TIBET (China) - PAL
TOGO - SECAM V
TONGA - PAL
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO - NTSC
TUNISIA - SECAM V
TURKEY - PAL
TURKMENISTAN part of USSR before 1991 - SECAM
UGANDA - PAL
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - PAL, federation of seven states including Abu Dhabi, Dubayy (also spelled Dubai), Ash Shariqah (also spelled Sharjah), Ajman, Umm Al Qaywayn, Ras al Khaymah, and Al Fujayrah (also spelled Fujairah).
UNITED STATES of AMERICA (USA) (including Hawaii & Alaska) - NTSC
UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN (including England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland) - PAL
UNION of SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS (USSR) now called Commonwealth of Independent States for most former states - SECAM H
UKRAINE part of USSR before 1991 - SECAM H
URUGUAY - PAL-N
UZBEKISTAN part of USSR before 1991 - SECAM H
VANUATU - PAL
VATICAN CITY - PAL
VENEZUELA - NTSC
VIETNAM - Proabably PAL with some NTSC/SECAM V
WESTER SAHARA - PAL formerly no format
YEMEN - PAL
YUGOSLAVIA (including republics of Serbia & Montenegro) - PAL
ZAMBIA - PAL
ZIMBABWE (formerly Rhodesia) - PAL

By Doug Hembruff.
If you discover more up to date information than I have listed here, please contact me with details.
Last updated Dec. 22/99 (minor modifications Oct. 30/2004).