PAL or NTSC at DVinfo.net

David M. Geary · December 10th, 2004, 09:40 AM

Is the extra resolution provided by the PAL format worth the hassle of living in an NTSC country? I will be filming a documentary and an indy film with hopes of eventual blow up to film - I have read recently that the transfer companies are not pushing as hard for the PAL cam's - anyone with experience on this? Thanks

Mathieu Ghekiere · December 10th, 2004, 11:29 AM

I think many people here will give you the advice of not doing it. (I live in PAL land myself, so I'm not the right person to give you advice)

Someone who could give you much info about it, is Dennis Hingsberg, also member of these boards, who use to shoot PAL although he lives in Canada, when he had the XL1S, but now he has a NTSC XL2 model.
I am sure if he would notice this thread he would be happy to give you some links to other threads about it.

I think many people will say, if you really care about a blowup, you could do it, but given all the resolution the XL2 already has, maybe it's not that necessary given all the hassle you may encounter...

Also remember, the NTSC version shoots 24P and the PAL version 25P (damn :-))

Ow, and do a search to, somebody here already asked such a thing, so maybe you can learn from that thread to.

Good luck!

Zack Birlew · December 10th, 2004, 11:56 AM

Well, it all depends on what film transfer house you're going to go with. Some say to shoot in PAL, while others say to go with NTSC. That's an issue you need to take up with them. There's no definite answer.

My problem is that you're also going to shoot a documentary as well. You're in NTSC land, everything is NTSC. So the thing you should do is get an NTSC camera and film that documentary, make it easier on everyone involved.

The only thing I can think of that wiuld be the best option for you would be to get a Sony Z1 in February, which is both PAL, NTSC, and HD(V) all wrapped into one!

Dennis Hingsberg · December 10th, 2004, 02:28 PM

David, I have had an extensive amount of experience using a PAL camera in NTSC country for creating "film look" like projects for both film and regular NTSC broadcast at 30fps.

I've written about this very topic in this thread http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...5&pagenumber=1 so hopefully many of your questions can be answered there.

As Mathieu pointed out however, now that cameras like the XL2 (and probably more to come) offer native 16:9 CCD's the need for shooting PAL for the added resolution has lessened.

Remember one thing though, all things being equal PAL still offers 20% higher vertical resolution than NTSC.

As for transfer houses who don't praise PAL, I'm willing to bet they are mostly North American based which of course only means they don't have as much experience or familiarity with the entire process. Talk to any European based transfer house and they'll tell you PAL is the way to go. In the end don't listen to what anyone tells you, you either want 20% more resolution or you don't. If a transfer house can't accomodate your requirements then simply use another one. Swiss Effects based out of Switzerland transfers PAL and their rate is less then most North Amercian transfer houses.

December 10th, 2004, 09:40 AM	#1
David M. Geary New Boot Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 14	PAL or NTSC Is the extra resolution provided by the PAL format worth the hassle of living in an NTSC country? I will be filming a documentary and an indy film with hopes of eventual blow up to film - I have read recently that the transfer companies are not pushing as hard for the PAL cam's - anyone with experience on this? Thanks

December 10th, 2004, 11:56 AM	#3
Zack Birlew Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Las Vegas, NV Posts: 613	Well, it all depends on what film transfer house you're going to go with. Some say to shoot in PAL, while others say to go with NTSC. That's an issue you need to take up with them. There's no definite answer. My problem is that you're also going to shoot a documentary as well. You're in NTSC land, everything is NTSC. So the thing you should do is get an NTSC camera and film that documentary, make it easier on everyone involved. The only thing I can think of that wiuld be the best option for you would be to get a Sony Z1 in February, which is both PAL, NTSC, and HD(V) all wrapped into one! __________________ "Babs Do or Babs Do not, there is no try." - Zack Birlew www.BabsDoProductions.com

December 10th, 2004, 02:28 PM	#4
Dennis Hingsberg Trustee Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,055	David, I have had an extensive amount of experience using a PAL camera in NTSC country for creating "film look" like projects for both film and regular NTSC broadcast at 30fps. I've written about this very topic in this thread http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...5&pagenumber=1 so hopefully many of your questions can be answered there. As Mathieu pointed out however, now that cameras like the XL2 (and probably more to come) offer native 16:9 CCD's the need for shooting PAL for the added resolution has lessened. Remember one thing though, all things being equal PAL still offers 20% higher vertical resolution than NTSC. As for transfer houses who don't praise PAL, I'm willing to bet they are mostly North American based which of course only means they don't have as much experience or familiarity with the entire process. Talk to any European based transfer house and they'll tell you PAL is the way to go. In the end don't listen to what anyone tells you, you either want 20% more resolution or you don't. If a transfer house can't accomodate your requirements then simply use another one. Swiss Effects based out of Switzerland transfers PAL and their rate is less then most North Amercian transfer houses. __________________ Blog: www.hingsberg.com Ultimate Exposure Guides for FS5/F7S/F5/F55

December 10th, 2004, 11:29 AM	#2
Mathieu Ghekiere Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Belgium Posts: 2,195	I think many people here will give you the advice of not doing it. (I live in PAL land myself, so I'm not the right person to give you advice) Someone who could give you much info about it, is Dennis Hingsberg, also member of these boards, who use to shoot PAL although he lives in Canada, when he had the XL1S, but now he has a NTSC XL2 model. I am sure if he would notice this thread he would be happy to give you some links to other threads about it. I think many people will say, if you really care about a blowup, you could do it, but given all the resolution the XL2 already has, maybe it's not that necessary given all the hassle you may encounter... Also remember, the NTSC version shoots 24P and the PAL version 25P (damn :-)) Ow, and do a search to, somebody here already asked such a thing, so maybe you can learn from that thread to. Good luck!