I just received my camera from Andy and when I go into settings it shows PAL. Should it be on NTSC or doesn't it matter?
I Live In America Should My Camera Be NTSC
- Thread starter Baubas
- Start date
It will only matter if you connect it to an analog monitor and frankly I don't even know if that is possible. Most of us are using digital systems and it doesn't matter. Like I said, I can't even think of any reasons where it would matter which one is used.
There are only a few minor differences between NTSC and PAL when dealing with IP cameras:
Max Frame rates. NTSC typically has a maximum of 30 or 60 FPS. The PAL equivalents are 25 or 50 FPS.
Sub Stream resolutions. Standard-definition sub streams are typically a little higher resolution with PAL. If your sub streams support HD resolutions like 1280x720 or 1920x1080 then there is no difference at those sizes.
Analog video outputs. Some IP cameras (not a lot anymore) have analog outputs alongside the RJ45 jack, so you can hook them up to an analog video display or analog DVR, and that is where NTSC versus PAL matters the most.
Max Frame rates. NTSC typically has a maximum of 30 or 60 FPS. The PAL equivalents are 25 or 50 FPS.
Sub Stream resolutions. Standard-definition sub streams are typically a little higher resolution with PAL. If your sub streams support HD resolutions like 1280x720 or 1920x1080 then there is no difference at those sizes.
Analog video outputs. Some IP cameras (not a lot anymore) have analog outputs alongside the RJ45 jack, so you can hook them up to an analog video display or analog DVR, and that is where NTSC versus PAL matters the most.
If you have an option for NTSC then there is no harm in switching it over (alternatively you can usually flash NTSC firmware on a camera that has PAL-only firmware on it). Lots of people prefer NTSC because it enables the frame rate to be set a little bit higher, and they don't care about some of the sub stream resolutions being a little lower.
It may be a little wider, but the PAL version is higher resolution overall if I remember correctly. I think neither of them actually produces the correct aspect ratio of video when it tries to output the NTSC/PAL sub streams.
What about fps. I read somewhere on here that your fps should be divisible by your native resolution or something like that. NTSC 60/PAL 50. My current cameras were on 30fps because it can be divided into 60. I know I could have choose 20, 15, etc but I choose 30. Now with PAL should I not go above 25? If the statement above is true, my only choices are 1, 2, 5, 10, 25 or 50.
Also what about live viewing and play back. I do both of these on my television, not a monitor. Will I have any issues with the cameras being PAL?
Q™
IPCT Contributor
The general FPS recommendation (if you're recording the video) is 10-15 FPS. That may seem low, but it's 10-15 "pictures" taken every second, which in most cases is more than enough when you go back to review recorded video. Higher FPS uses up more disk space, but doesn't usually give you any additional useful information.
IIRC, you would have an issue if you were trying to directly connect analog "video out" from the camera directly to the back of your TV, but I haven't seen an IP camera that Andy sells that has a "video out" plug.
If you're like most of us, you have an IP camera, and the video is going to be sent digitally. In that case, PAL/NTSC will show up fine not only on your TV (which I'm assuming plugs into your NVR via a HDMI cable?), but also with any smartphone/computer that you use to view the video.
Your chosen FPS doesn't need to divide evenly into 50 or 60 or anything like that.
NTSC and PAL are just analog video transmission standards and you aren't using either of them when all your video transmission is digital. @aristobrat is right, NTSC/PAL only really matters if you are using an analog video output, which you are not, so the only practical effects of those modes in your camera are what I listed up there in the 3rd post in this thread.
NTSC and PAL are just analog video transmission standards and you aren't using either of them when all your video transmission is digital. @aristobrat is right, NTSC/PAL only really matters if you are using an analog video output, which you are not, so the only practical effects of those modes in your camera are what I listed up there in the 3rd post in this thread.
I have set all of my cameras for 10 fps vbs. When going back and looking at the video, yeah, it's a bit jittery. But like you say, it's a10 pictures taken every second.You can't even blink that fast. And it's surveillance video, not cinema. The chances of missing some important details are extremely minuscule. The lower frame rates give me longer retention on my NVR, and the couple of cameras I have on my network will use less bandwidth.