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Posted by One-Shot Scot on 10/20/05 16:02
"P Pron" <paulatspambegone.pron@tiscali.co.uk> wrote in message
news:3rpgakFkdgu8U1@individual.net...
> Joshua Zyber wrote:
> || "anthony" <anthonyjhcnospam@netscape.net> wrote in message
> || news:1129791845.632449.126230@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> ||| That's supposing, of course, that you have a multiregion DVD
> ||| player and a TV that can handle the superior PAL format
> ||
> || PAL is only slightly superior in picture, and decidedly inferior in
> || audio. But you knew that, of course.
>
> In what way is PAL decidedly inferior in audio?
>
> paul
The audio on PAL movies is sped up by 4%. Here's why:
24 Frames Per Second.
Movies are projected at 24 frames per second. 24 full images are
projected off the film onto the screen every second. This is a world wide
standard. This is all well and good, but a problem arises when we want to
transfer a movie to video.
50 Fields Per Second.
The PAL TV system shows images at 50 fields per second. One half of an
image is displayed and then the other half of the image is displayed. The
net result of this is that 25 full images are shown per second.
Effects of the 4% Speedup.
The most obvious effect of this 4% speedup is that the film runs for 4%
less time. Take as an example the recent movie The Mask of Zorro. The
theatrical running time for this movie was 136 minutes according to the
Internet Movie Database. The running time of this movie on Region 4 DVD is
132 minutes, 4% less.
A less obvious effect of this 4% speedup is that the audio for the film
is both 4% faster and 4% higher in pitch. In musical terms, this equates to
a rise in pitch of approximately one semitone.
Another less obvious effect of this 4% speedup is that the on-screen
action occurs 4% faster.
I find PAL's 4% increase in speed to be very annoying, particularly when the
pitch of the music is off by one semitone. On the other hand, some people
don't notice -- or don't care -- about the chipmunk effect that is imparted
to movie dialog and the accompanying off-key music inherent in PAL movies.
To them, the superior PAL picture is all that matters.
http://www.michaeldvd.com.au/Articles/PALSpeedUp/PALSpeedUp.asp
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