aaronstc

What is it exactly? I've heard that movies in Europe have shorter running times than NTSC and theatrical versions because of PAL speedup. Do the movies actually run faster than intended? And how much faster do the run?

movielib

Movies in PAL run at 25/24 speed, 4.1666...% faster. PAL runs 25 frames a second and films run 24 and the difference is deemed too little to compensate for (unlike NTSC's 30 frames per second which must be compensated for).

Josh Z

The PAL video format runs at 25 frames per second. Movies are photographed at 24 frames per second. This amounts to about a 4% speed increase over the course of a movie. In most instances this is not at all noticeable, but if you are sensitive to audio pitch you might notice the music is slightly sped up.

NTSC video runs at 30 fps. Because this is so much different than film, a complicated process called 3:2 pulldown was developed that keeps the movie in sync at the original running speed. This was deemed too complicated to implement with PAL, especially since the difference between 24 fps and 25 fps is so much smaller.

aaronstc

Ah, I see.

Thanks.

Prancetron2000

So what exactly happens when you play PAL DVDs on an NTSC tv? I noticed some subtle skipping or something with HKL's "Drive" DVD.

axolotls return

A lot of Drive DVDs (HKL) suffer from a mastering problem, especially near the last 5 - 10 minutes of the movie where some players will pixelate, skip or just freeze.

Prancetron2000

Oh I haven't noticed any problem like that. It's just the framerate that seems kind of off.

MassaCure

i have that problem and it sucks

Cornfed

Thats actually where the layers change in the film. I had that problem on my Drive disc. My new one seemingly pauses for a layer change where the old one just completely messed up. HKL has a history of problems like this. I never did find a properly-working copy of THE BLACKSHEEP AFFAIR; after 3 bad discs, I gave up.

axolotls return

You never got a good copy of BSA? That sucks. You might as well get the HK version then. I really like that movie (and of the small collection of HKL that I actually keep, it's a keeper).

weyland-yutani

and conversely when watching NTSC titles on a PAL tv the picture can appear jerky.

rgw825

I recently ordered the Malata 520 Dvd player (actually it's still in the mail). I have just read somewhere about how Pal Dvd's play sped up because of the different frame rate it uses.
How bad of a problem is it? Will it be real noticable?
If it helps I live in the U.S. and have a NTSC T.V.

Thanks

Josh Z

It's not terribly noticeable in most cases. Music and voices that you are familiar with might sound a little too high-pitched, though.

rgw825

Ok thanks.
My plan was to buy a bunch of Region 2 and region 4 Dvd's since some have better extras and some are just plain cheaper than some region 1's over here. I have already ordered a small handfull of imports already so i guess i will see when i get them.

jkester

you woldn't notice it if you had never heard about speedup. i have a bunch of r2s and r4s (PAL) and i've never noticed it (although i'm not the audiophile some people here are)

rgw825

I'm picky about some things but not others. It doesn't bother me if a Dvd doesn't have DTS since i don't currently own a Surround Sound System. A good picture is what i am picky about. But most of the time it's all in my head.
It is true alot of the time, If i would of never heard about it i would have never noticed.
The Back to the Future Misframing didn't bother me. I thought it would with all the fuss people were causing about it but when i finally got around to watching it, it was real minor to me.

digitalfreaknyc

I won't buy movies in other regions that aren't NTSC for any reason other than extras. I absolutely hate the speed up and everyone that i've shown a disc to has heard the difference. Guess i'm a bit of a perfectionist and I couldn't stand listening to a movie sped up.

But I'd say to pick up all those R2 and R3 discs that are NTSC. Great stuff...just not as cheap as those nasty sped up Australian discs.

rgw825

I started to already get ahead of myself and purchased a few before actually getting the Dvd Player. lol
I ordered:
Ed Wood R2
Time Bandits R2
Raging Bull 2 disc R2
Predator 2 disc R4
Animal House R2
Dead Poets Society 2 disc R4
Serpent and the Rainbow R4
Waxwork R4
And next i was gonna either get Monty Python's Holy Grail or Breakin R2

So i guess i shouldn't be so quick to get rid of my region 1 Predator and Time bandits Barebones copies huh?

I find it funny that they perfected the Pal to Ntsc conversion technology but they haven't found a way of slowing a disc down.

fnordboy

Well, you might want to wait on the Breakin R2 release. From what I have been told, by someone who bought it, it is a very crappy transfer. And that is from someone who is not a nut like the rest of us on here about image quality on our discs.

To be honest I never really noticed the PAL speed up, I don't think it is anything to make a big deal about. I didn't know about PAL speed up till I actually read it here, and I had my player for awhile before that.

benedict

See also:

• Just How Annoying/Distracting Is The 4% Speed-Up?
• Much To My Delight I Find PAL Speed Up To Be A Non-Issue

rgw825

Thanks everybody.

That's a shame about Breakin, You can pre-order it for about $16 on Amazon.uk
Says it comes out March 24th.

Peep

I know a lot of people who would disagree. I also know a lot of people who wouldn't.

Oddly, I have a friend who is a huge DTS affectionado who doesn't mind PAL speedup at all.

I guess everybody has their own tastes.

cultshock

With me, the noticability of speedup depends on my familiarity. If I'm familiar with a particular film, in regards to the actors voices or the music, I can definitely hear a difference (subtle though it may be, its still there). If its a film I've never seen, with music I haven't heard before, or with actors whose voices I'm not familiar with, the speedup is not a problem for me.

bhomatude

Wondering what the likelihood that the forthcoming R2 edition of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy would have the unfortunate 4% speedup. Was the series shot 24 or 25 fps? Anyone across the Atlantic remember what it looked like when it was first broadcast there?

(btw this is not a thread knocking pal or ntsc 4% or otherwise)

Further: I ended up ordering the uk release as the running time is in fact 350 mins v. 324 mins for the us release. It's also much cheaper. Will update if it in fact exhibits 4% speedup.

rgw825

Well so far Pal-Speed up does not bother me at all. Even in the movies where i notice it. Once i get far into a good movie i forget all about it. I bought Raging Bull-R2 and can't here any speed up at all. I listened hard for it. I figured Pesci's voice would sound like helium but did not.
I also noticed that the speed up doesn't affect deeper voices too much but mainly people that already have high voices.