Sending videocassettes abroad
December 13, 2005

Submitted by: Anna2, CNET Camcorders forum
We live in Australia, and a family member lives in Canada. We would like to exchange videocassettes of events but are not sure if the camcorder located in Canada will be compatible with the Australian one. I would assume that, in general, all videocassettes are the same, and providing that each is suitable for the specific cameras used, they should work in either country. Does the electrical connection cause a problem, as Canada uses a lower voltage than Australia?

Aimee Baldridge, senior editor
Aimee Baldridge, senior editor Sending videocassettes of holidays and events to family and friends in other countries can be a trickier proposition than you might expect. That's because different countries use different video signal standards. This has nothing to do with the electrical voltage used in each country. The main video signal standards are:

• NTSC (National Television System Committee)
• PAL (Phase Alternating Line)
• SÉCAM (Séquential Couleur Avec Mémoire/Sequential Color with Memory)

We can't provide a listing of countries that use each standard in this short feature, but you can find such lists on many Web sites. A good place to start is wikipedia.org--just search each standard's name to get detailed information about it along with a listing of countries.

Cassette-based video hardware can follow only one standard, so the standard your camcorder and VCR comply with will be the one that's followed in the country where you buy the product (unless you make a special effort to buy a product that follows a different standard). That means that if you take a cassette recorded on the PAL camcorder you bought in Australia and send it to Canada, your family members there won't be able to play it in their NTSC camcorder or VCR.

If you're sending videos out just for infrequent special occasions, it's probably easiest to have your cassettes converted for far-flung relations. You can find many businesses online that make copies of videocassettes that are converted to a different standard. If you're in a major city, you should be able to find local brick-and-mortar services as well. Obviously, you have to make sure to send a cassette type (MiniDV, VHS-C, Digital8, and so on) that's compatible with the hardware the recipient has.

If you're planning to exchange videos frequently and will be using VHS tapes, consider purchasing a multisystem VCR. You should be able to find one for less than US$200. Another option would be to purchase equipment that follows the same standard. PAL is generally considered superior to NTSC from a quality perspective, so that means it would be best for your family members in North America, where NTSC is used, to purchase PAL equipment that's compatible with yours. SÉCAM is very similar to PAL, but it's less widely used, and many SÉCAM countries are switching to PAL. Video specialty stores in North America can often order PAL equipment, and foreign online retailers are also an option. Just be aware that if you buy a product that's not officially distributed in your country, it may not be covered by the manufacturer's warranty.

Advanced videographers can use software to convert video that has been transferred to a computer, and then output it to a DVD; some high-end video editing suites and stand-alone programs perform NTSC/PAL conversion. If you're using DVDs instead of cassettes, take a look at CNET editor Lori Grunin's answer regarding DVD camcorders and the PAL/NTSC issue.