PAL-M
Brazil's unique analog color TV system combining PAL with 525 lines.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
PAL-M is the analog color TV system used only in Brazil, where color broadcasts began on 19 February 1972, making Brazil the first South American country to introduce color television. What sets PAL-M apart from every other analog TV system is its combination of the 525-line, 29.97 frames-per-second System M with the PAL color encoding method, using a color subcarrier frequency very close to that of NTSC. Elsewhere, PAL and SECAM are paired with 625-line systems, and NTSC with 525-line systems.
The first color transmission occurred on 19 February 1972, when TV Difusora in Caxias do Sul, working with TV Rio, broadcast the Caxias do Sul Grape Festival. Most programs did not fully switch from black and white to color until 1978, and color only became common nationwide by 1980.
**Origins** Since NTSC was the natural match for countries using the monochrome System M, Brazil’s choice of PAL created hardware incompatibility issues and required new television sets and production equipment. Walter Bruch, PAL’s inventor, attributed Brazil’s decision to an advertising campaign by Telefunken and Philips across South America in 1972. This campaign included color test broadcasts of popular shows with TV Globo and technical demonstrations for TV station executives.
**Technical specifications** PAL-M signals are generally identical to North American NTSC signals except for the color carrier encoding. Both are based on the monochrome CCIR System M standard, so PAL-M displays in monochrome with sound on an NTSC set, and vice versa. However, gray tones are incorrect because of different gamma correction values (2.2 for NTSC, 2.8 for PAL-M). PAL-M is incompatible with 625-line PAL versions due to differences in frame rate, scan lines, color subcarrier, and sound carrier. On a European PAL television, it typically produces a rolling or squashed monochrome picture with no sound, just as NTSC does.
PAL-M details: - Transmission band: VHF/UHF - Frame rate: 30/1.001 Hz ≈ 29.97 Hz - Field rate: 60/1.001 Hz ≈ 59.94 Hz - Scan lines: 525 - Active lines: 480 - Channel bandwidth: 6 MHz - Video bandwidth: 4.2 MHz - Vision/sound carrier spacing: 4.5 MHz - Color subcarrier: 8181/2288 MHz ≈ 3.575611 MHz - Assumed receiver gamma: 2.8 - Color model: YUV
PAL-M colorimetry is indicated on BT.470-6 and similar to the original 1953 color NTSC specification. Displaye
- introduced
- 19 February 1972
- field
- Analog color television system
- country
- Brazil
- based_on
- CCIR System M
- frame_rate
- 29.97 Hz
- scan_lines
- 525
- color_subcarrier
- 3.575611 MHz
Lore & Background
Color broadcasts began on 19 February 1972, when TV Difusora in Caxias do Sul transmitted the Caxias do Sul Grape Festival in collaboration with TV Rio. The transition from black-and-white to color on most programs was not complete until 1978, and only became commonplace nationwide by 1980. Walter Bruch, inventor of PAL, explained Brazil's choice of PAL over NTSC by an advertising campaign Telefunken and Philips carried out across South America in 1972, which included color test broadcasts of popular shows with TV Globo and technical demonstrations with television station executives.
Reader's Guide
PAL-M is significant as the only analog television system to pair PAL color encoding with the 525-line, 29.97 frames-per-second System M, making it incompatible with both NTSC and 625-line PAL systems. Conversion to and from NTSC is relatively easy, requiring only a change of the color carrier, while conversion to 625-line PAL or SECAM requires digital frame stores. The system was scheduled to be supplanted by the digital SBTVD standard, but after ABERT/SET field tests from 1999 to 2000, Brazil adopted the ISDB-Tb variant instead. PAL-M's legacy lies in its unique technical specification and its role in bringing color television to Brazil, influencing regional broadcasting standards.
Did You Know?
- PAL-M was the first analog color TV system in South America, starting on 19 February 1972.
- PAL-M uses a color subcarrier frequency of approximately 3.575611 MHz, very close to the NTSC subcarrier.
- Conversion from PAL-M to NTSC is easy because only the color carrier needs to be changed.
- The ABERT/SET group in Brazil selected ISDB-T over DVB-T and ATSC after field tests from 1999 to 2000.
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