Apple Final Cut Pro 7 - Manual (Page 1894)

• Sony XDCAM, XDCAM HD (optical disc), XDCAM EX (SxS memory card)
• Sony Video Disk Unit devices (hard disk)
Video Standards
For the last 50 years, there have been two major signal types recorded on videotape:
NTSC and PAL. With the emergence of new high definition (HD) video formats, NTSC and
PAL formats are now referred to as standard definition (SD) video formats.
Standard Definition Video
National Television Systems Committee (NTSC) is the television and video standard used
in most of the Americas, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea. Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is the
television and video standard used in most of Europe, Australia, India, Brazil, China, and
many African countries. There are several variations of both NTSC and PAL used in different
parts of the world, but these variations are not described here.
Scanning method Frame rates Lines per frame Standard
Interlaced 29.97 fps 525 NTSC
Interlaced 25 fps 625 PAL
SECAM is a video standard based on PAL. It is used in France, Poland, Haiti, and Vietnam.
SECAM is strictly an analog composite video standard, so it is not used in digital video
editing. Post-production work for SECAM broadcast is usually done in PAL and later
converted to SECAM.
Note: SECAM is not supported by Final Cut Pro.
SD formats almost always have an aspect ratio of 4:3 (1.33:1).
High Definition Video
In the late 1990s, HD video formats were standardized in the United States by the
Advanced Television Standards Committee (ATSC). These HD video formats are the next
generation of broadcast and recording video formats. Unlike SD formats, which are
restricted to fixed frame rates and numbers of lines per frame, HD video provides several
options per format. Although the increased flexibility is convenient, it also makes format
interchange more complicated. Simply saying “HD video” is not enough; you need to
define the frame size, frame rate, and scanning method of your HD format.
Scanning method Frame rates (fps) Frame size Standard
Progressive 23.98, 29.97, 59.94
24, 30, 60 1
25, 50
1280 x 720 720p
1894 Appendix B Video Formats