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{{Short description|Analog television system}}
{{About|the television system|NTSC regions in videogames|Regional lockout#Video games|the Indonesian government agency|National Transportation Safety Committee|the organization in China|National Time Service Center|the standard-definition digital video mode sometimes referred to as NTSC|480i}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2022}}{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Analog television encoding systems by nation}}{{Update|inaccurate=yes|date=October 2025}}

'''NTSC''' (from '''National Television System Committee''') was the first American standard for [[analog television]], published and adopted in 1941.<ref>{{cite book |author=National Television System Committee |url=https://archive.org/details/televisionstanda00natirich/ |title=Television Standards and Practice: Selected Papers from the Proceedings of the National Television System Committee and Its Panels |date=1943 |publisher=McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. |editor=Donald G. Fink |access-date=September 16, 2024}}</ref> In 1957, the [[List of EIA standards|EIA]] defined NTSC performance standards in EIS-170 (also known as RS-170).<ref>{{Citation |title=Canon ES8400V Instruction Manual |publisher=[[Canon Inc.|Canon]] |page=72}}</ref> In 1961, the color version of NTSC was designated [[CCIR System M|NTSC-M]] by the CCIR, with the Japanese variant, which used a somewhat different color implementation, designated NTSC-J.

In 1953, a second NTSC standard was adopted,<ref>{{cite report |url=https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-308674A1.pdf#page=100 |title=20th Annual Report to Congress (1954) |author=Federal Communications Commission |date=September 29, 1954 |page=90 |access-date=September 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240508034853/https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-308674A1.pdf#page=100 |archive-date=May 8, 2024 |format=PDF |url-status=live}}</ref> which allowed for [[color television]] broadcast compatible with the then existing stock of [[black-and-white]] receivers.<ref>{{Citation |author=National Television System Committee (1951-1953) |title=Petition of National Television System Committee For Adoption of Transmission Standards for Color Television |date=1953 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112107659119 |access-date=September 16, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |author1=Radio Corporation of America |title=Petition of Radio Corporation of America and National Broadcasting Company, Inc. for Approval of Color Standards for the RCA Color Television System |date=1953 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015067248495 |access-date=September 16, 2024 |author2=National Broadcasting Company, Inc.}}</ref><ref>{{cite report |title=Report and Reports of Panel No. 11, 11-A, 12-19, with Some supplementary references cited in the Reports, and the Petition for adoption of transmission standards for color television before the Federal Communications Commission. |author=National Television System Committee (1951–1953) |date=1953 |lccn=54021386}}</ref> It was one of three major color formats for analog television, the others being [[PAL]] and [[SECAM]]. ''NTSC color'' was usually associated with the System M; this combination was sometimes called NTSC II.<ref>{{cite web |title=Engineers and Electrons: A Century of Electrical Progress (chapter list) |doi=10.1109/9780470616321.ch9}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Wilt |first=Adam |date=June 12, 2019 |title=10 Years Ago: The Analog Shutoff |url=https://www.provideocoalition.com/10-years-ago-the-analog-shutoff/ |access-date=October 11, 2023 |website=provideocoalition.com}}</ref> The only other [[Broadcast television systems|broadcast television system]] to use NTSC color was the [[NTSC-J|System J]]. Brazil used System M with PAL color. Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos used System M with SECAM color. Vietnam later switched to PAL in the early 1990s.

The NTSC/System M standard was used in most of the [[Americas]] (except [[Television in Argentina|Argentina]], [[Television in Brazil|Brazil]], [[Television in Paraguay|Paraguay]], and [[Television in Uruguay|Uruguay]]), [[Television in Myanmar|Myanmar]], [[Television in South Korea|South Korea]], [[Television in Taiwan|Taiwan]], [[Television in the Philippines|Philippines]], [[Television in Japan|Japan]], and some [[List of islands in the Pacific Ocean|Pacific Islands]] nations and territories (see map).

Since the introduction of digital sources (ex: DVD); the term '''NTSC''' has been used to refer to digital formats with number of active lines between 480 and 487 having 30 or 29.97 frames per second rate, serving as a digital shorthand to System M. The so-called ''[[NTSC#NTSC-film|NTSC-Film]] standard'' has a digital standard resolution of 720&nbsp;×&nbsp;480 pixel for [[DVD-Video]]s, 480&nbsp;×&nbsp;480 pixel for [[Super Video CD]]s (SVCD, Aspect Ratio: 4:3) and 352&nbsp;×&nbsp;240 pixel for [[Video CD]]s (VCD).<ref>''[https://archive.today/20121205005309/http://www.paradiso-design.net/videostandards_en.html#ntsc NTSC (National Television System Committee)]'' in ''Television Standards - formats and techniques'' by Raffael Amadeus Trappe, 2013.</ref> The [[digital video]] (DV) camcorder format that is equivalent to NTSC is 720&nbsp;×&nbsp;480 pixels.<ref name="NTSC PCMag">''[https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/ntsc NTSC]'' in PCMag Encyclopedia</ref> The [[digital television]] (DTV) equivalent is 704&nbsp;×&nbsp;480 pixels.<ref name="NTSC PCMag" />

== History ==
{{See also|History of television}}
The National Television System Committee was established in 1940 by the United States [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) to resolve the conflicts between companies over the introduction of a nationwide analog television system in the United States. In March 1941, the committee issued a technical standard for black-and-white television that built upon a 1936 recommendation made by the Radio Manufacturers Association (RMA). Technical advancements of the [[Single-sideband modulation#Vestigial sideband (VSB)|vestigial side band]] technique allowed for the opportunity to increase the image resolution. The NTSC selected 525&nbsp;scan lines as a compromise between [[RCA Corporation|RCA]]'s [[441-line television system#United States|441-scan line]] standard (used by RCA's [[NBC]] TV network at the time) and [[Philco]]'s and [[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]]'s desire to increase the number of scan lines to between 605 and 800.<ref>What actually occurred was the RCA TG-1 synch generator system was upgraded from 441 lines per frame, 220.5 lines per field, interlaced, to 525 lines per frame 262.5 lines per field, also interlaced, with minimal additional changes, particularly not those affecting the vertical interval, which, in the extant RCA system, included serrated equalizing pulses bracketing the vertical sync pulse, itself being serrated. For RCA/NBC, this was a ''very'' simple change from a 26,460&nbsp;Hz master oscillator to a 31,500&nbsp;Hz master oscillator, and minimal additional changes to the generator's divider chain. The equalizing pulses and the serration of the vertical sync pulse were necessary because of the limitations of the extant TV receiver video/sync separation technology, thought to be necessary because the sync was transmitted in band with the video, although at a quite different DC level. The early TV sets did not possess a DC restorer circuit, hence the need for this level of complexity. In-studio monitors were provided with separate horizontal and vertical sync, not composite synch and certainly not in-band synch (possibly excepting early color TV monitors, which were often driven from the output of the station's [[colorplexer]]).{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}</ref> The standard recommended a [[frame rate]] of 30 frames (images) per second, consisting of two [[interlaced video|interlace]]d [[field (video)|fields]] per frame at 262.5&nbsp;lines per field and 60&nbsp;fields per second. Other standards in the final recommendation were an [[Aspect ratio (image)|aspect ratio]] of 4:3, and frequency modulation (FM) for the sound signal (which was an innovation).

In January 1950, the committee was reconstituted to standardize [[color television]]. The FCC had briefly approved a [[405-line television system#United States 405-line field-sequential color system|405-line]] [[Field-sequential color system|field-sequential]] color television standard in October 1950, which had been developed by [[CBS]].<ref>A third line sequential system from [[Color Television Inc.]] (CTI) was also considered. The CBS and final NTSC systems were called field-sequential and dot-sequential systems, respectively.</ref> The CBS system was incompatible with existing black-and-white receivers. It used a rotating color wheel, reduced the number of [[scan line]]s from 525 to 405, and increased the field rate from 60 to 144, but had an effective [[frame rate]] of only 24 frames per second. Legal action by rival RCA kept commercial use of the system off the air until June 1951, and regular broadcasts only lasted a few months before manufacture of all color television sets was banned by the [[Office of Defense Mobilization]] in October, ostensibly due to the [[Korean War]].<ref>{{cite news |date=October 20, 1951 |title=Color TV Shelved As a Defense Step |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=October 22, 1951 |title=Action of Defense Mobilizer in Postponing Color TV Poses Many Question for the Industry |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=23}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=October 26, 1951 |title=TV Research Curb on Color Avoided |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Ed Reitan |year=1997 |title=CBS Field Sequential Color System |url=http://novia.net/~ereitan/Color_Sys_CBS.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100105183213/http://novia.net/~ereitan/Color_Sys_CBS.html |archive-date=January 5, 2010}}</ref> A variant of the CBS system was later used by [[NASA]] to broadcast pictures of astronauts from space.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lebar |first=Stanley |date=1997 |title=The Color War Goes to the Moon |url=https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/static/history/alsj/Invent-Tech1997.pdf |website=NASA}}</ref> CBS rescinded its system in March 1953,<ref>{{cite news |date=March 26, 1953 |title=CBS Says Confusion Now Bars Color TV |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |page=39}}</ref> and the FCC replaced it on December 17, 1953, with the NTSC color standard, which was cooperatively developed by several companies, including RCA and Philco.<ref>{{cite news |date=December 19, 1953 |title=F.C.C. Rules Color TV Can Go on Air at Once |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=1}}</ref>

In December 1953, the FCC unanimously approved what became the ''NTSC'' color television standard (later defined as RS-170a). The compatible color standard retained full backward compatibility with then-existing black-and-white television sets. Color information was added to the black-and-white image by introducing a color [[subcarrier]] of precisely 315/88&nbsp;MHz (usually described as 3.579545&nbsp;MHz±10&nbsp;Hz).<ref name="73.682">{{cite web |title=73.682 |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2018-title47-vol4/pdf/CFR-2018-title47-vol4-sec73-682.pdf |access-date=January 22, 2019 |website=Govinfo.gov |publisher=FCC}}</ref> The precise frequency was chosen so that horizontal line-rate modulation components of the chrominance signal fall exactly in between the horizontal line-rate modulation components of the luminance signal, such that the chrominance signal could easily be filtered out of the luminance signal on new television sets, and that it would be minimally visible in existing televisions. Due to limitations of [[frequency divider]] circuits at the time the color standard was promulgated, the color subcarrier frequency was constructed as composite frequency assembled from small integers, in this case 5×7×9/(8×11)&nbsp;MHz.<ref>The master oscillator is 315/22 = 14.31818&nbsp;MHz, from which the 3.579545 color burst frequency is obtained by dividing by four; and the 31&nbsp;kHz horizontal drive and 60&nbsp;Hz vertical drive are also synthesized from that frequency. This facilitated a conversion to color of the then common, but monochrome, RCA TG-1 synchronizing generator by the simple expedient of adding-on an external 14.31818&nbsp;MHz temperature-controlled oscillator and a few dividers, and inputting the outputs of that chassis to certain test points within the TG-1, thereby disabling the TG-1's own 31500&nbsp;Hz reference oscillator.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}</ref> The horizontal line rate was reduced to approximately 15,734 lines per second (3.579545&nbsp;× 2/455&nbsp;MHz&nbsp;= 9/572&nbsp;MHz) from 15,750 lines per second, and the frame rate was reduced to 30/1.001&nbsp;≈ 29.970 frames per second (the horizontal line rate divided by 525 lines/frame) from 30 frames per second. These changes amounted to 0.1 percent and were readily tolerated by then-existing television receivers.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Abrahams |first1=I.C. |date=1954 |title=Choice of Chrominance Subcarrier Frequency in the NTSC Standards |journal=[[Proceedings of the IRE]] |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=79–80 |doi=10.1109/JRPROC.1954.274612 |bibcode=1954PIRE...42...79A }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Abrahams |first1=I.C |title=The Frequency Interleaving Principle in the NTSC Standards |journal=[[Proceedings of the IRE]] |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=81–83 |doi=10.1109/JRPROC.1954.274613}}</ref>

The first publicly announced network television broadcast of a program using the NTSC "compatible color" system was an episode of NBC's ''[[Kukla, Fran and Ollie]]'' on August 30, 1953, although it was viewable in color only at the network's headquarters.<ref>"NBC Launches First {{Sic|?|hide=y|Publicly|-}}Announced Color Television Show", ''Wall Street Journal'', August 31, 1953, p. 4.</ref> The first nationwide viewing of NTSC color came on the following January 1 with the coast-to-coast broadcast of the [[Rose Parade|Tournament of Roses Parade]], viewable on prototype color receivers at special presentations across the country. The first color NTSC [[Professional video camera|television camera]] was the [[RCA TK-40/41|RCA TK-40]], used for experimental broadcasts in 1953; an improved version, the TK-40A, introduced in March 1954, was the first commercially available color television camera. Later that year, the improved TK-41 became the standard camera used throughout much of the 1960s.<!-- This lacks information about the first color broadcasts viewable on generally-available TV sets. Also, the jump from the introduction of color and standard adoption to phase-out is quite jarring and makes no mention of time passed. -->

The NTSC standard was adopted by other countries, including some in the [[Americas]] and [[Japan]].

== Digital conversion ==
With the advent of [[digital television]], analog broadcasts were largely phased out. In the United States, NTSC broadcasters were required by the FCC to shut down their analog transmitters as of February 17, 2009, but this was later moved to June 12, 2009. [[Low-power broadcasting|Low-power stations]], [[Class A television service|Class A stations]] and [[Broadcast relay station|translators]] were required to shut down by 2015, although an FCC extension allowed some of those stations operating on Channel 6 to operate until July 13, 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=Media Bureau Reminds LPTV/TV Translators of Digital Transition Date (DA/FCC #: DA-20-724) |url=https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-20-724A1.pdf |access-date=January 17, 2021 |website=docs.fcc.gov |publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]}}</ref> The remaining Canadian analog TV transmitters, in markets not subject to the mandatory transition in 2011, were scheduled to be shut down by January 14, 2022, under a schedule published by [[Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada]] in 2017; however the scheduled transition dates have already passed for several stations listed that continue to broadcast in analog (e.g. [[CFJC-TV]] Kamloops, which has not yet transitioned to digital, is listed as having been required to transition by November 20, 2020).<ref>{{cite web |date=April 2017 |title=Digital Television (DTV) Transition Schedule |url=https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/vwapj/DTV-transition-schedule2017.pdf/$FILE/DTV-transition-schedule2017.pdf |access-date=July 22, 2021 |publisher=[[Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada]]}}</ref>

Most countries using the NTSC standard, as well as those using other [[Analog television#Standards|analog television standards]], have switched to, or are in process of switching to, newer digital television standards, with there being at least four different standards in use around the world. North America, parts of [[Central America]], and [[South Korea]] are adopting or have adopted the [[ATSC standards|ATSC]] standards, while other countries, such as [[Japan]], are adopting or have adopted other standards instead of ATSC. After nearly 70&nbsp;years, the majority of over-the-air NTSC transmissions in the United States ceased on June 12, 2009,<ref name=":0">[http://www.fcc.gov/digital-television Digital Television]. FCC.gov. Retrieved on May 11, 2014.</ref> and by August 31, 2011,<ref name="fcc.gov">[http://www.fcc.gov/guides/dtv-and-over-air-viewers-along-us-borders DTV and Over-the-Air Viewers Along U.S. Borders]. FCC.gov. Retrieved on May 11, 2014.</ref> in [[Canada]] and most other NTSC markets.<ref name="canadapalorntsc">[http://forum.videohelp.com/threads/131937-Canada-PAL-or-NTSC Canada... PAL or NTSC?]. VideoHelp Forum Retrieved on January 23, 2015.</ref> The majority of NTSC transmissions ended in Japan on July 24, 2011, with the Japanese prefectures of [[Iwate Prefecture|Iwate]], [[Miyagi Prefecture|Miyagi]], and [[Fukushima Prefecture|Fukushima]] ending in 2012.<ref name="fcc.gov"/> After a pilot program in 2013, most full-power analog stations in Mexico went off the air in 2015, with some 500 low-power and repeater stations allowed to remain in analog until the end of 2016. Digital broadcasting allows [[High-definition television|higher-resolution television]], but [[Standard-definition television|digital standard definition television]] continues to use the frame rate and number of lines of resolution established by the analog NTSC standard.

== Technical details ==

=== Resolution and refresh rate ===
NTSC color encoding is used with the [[CCIR System M|System M]] television signal, which consists of {{frac|30|1.001}}&nbsp;(approximately 29.97)&nbsp;[[interlaced video|interlace]]d frames of [[video]] per [[second]]. Each frame is composed of two fields, each consisting of 262.5&nbsp;scan lines, for a total of 525&nbsp;scan lines. The visible [[raster scan|raster]] is made up of 486&nbsp;scan lines. The later digital standard, [[Rec. 601]],<ref>{{cite web |last=Baron |first=Stanley |date=October 2005 |title=Rec. 601 — the origins of the 4:2:2 DTV standard |url=https://tech.ebu.ch/docs/techreview/trev_304-rec601_wood.pdf |website=EBU TECHNICAL REVIEW}}</ref> only uses 480 of these lines for visible raster. The remainder (the [[vertical blanking interval]]) allow for vertical [[synchronization]] and retrace. This blanking interval was originally designed to simply blank the electron beam of the receiver's CRT to allow for the simple analog circuits and slow vertical retrace of early TV receivers. However, some of these lines may now contain other data such as [[closed captioning]] and vertical interval [[timecode]] (VITC). In the complete [[raster scan|raster]] (disregarding half lines due to [[Interlaced video|interlacing]]) the even-numbered scan lines (every other line that would be even if counted in the video signal, e.g. {2, 4, 6, ..., 524}) are drawn in the first field, and the odd-numbered (every other line that would be odd if counted in the video signal, e.g. {1, 3, 5, ..., 525}) are drawn in the second field, to yield a [[Flicker fusion threshold|flicker-free]] image at the field refresh [[frequency]] of {{frac|60|1.001}}&nbsp;Hz (approximately 59.94&nbsp;Hz). For comparison, 625&nbsp;lines (576&nbsp;visible) systems, usually used with [[PAL#PAL-B/G/D/K/I|PAL-B/G]] and [[SECAM]] color, and so have a higher vertical resolution, but a lower temporal resolution of 25 frames or 50 fields per second.

The NTSC field refresh frequency in the black-and-white system originally exactly matched the nominal 60&nbsp;Hz [[utility frequency|frequency]] of [[alternating current]] power used in the United States. Matching the field [[refresh rate]] to the power source avoided [[intermodulation]] (also called ''beating''), which produces rolling bars on the screen. Synchronization of the refresh rate to the power incidentally helped [[kinescope]] cameras record early live television broadcasts, as it was very simple to synchronize a [[film]] camera to capture one frame of video on each film frame by using the alternating current frequency to set the speed of the synchronous AC motor-drive camera. This, as mentioned, is how the NTSC field refresh frequency worked in the original black-and-white system; when ''color'' was added to the system, however, the refresh frequency was shifted slightly downward by 0.1%, to approximately 59.94&nbsp;Hz, to eliminate stationary dot patterns in the difference frequency between the sound and color carriers (as explained below in [[#Color encoding|§{{spaces}}Color encoding]]). By the time the frame rate changed to accommodate color, it was nearly as easy to trigger the camera shutter from the video signal itself.

The actual figure of 525&nbsp;lines was chosen as a consequence of the limitations of the vacuum-tube-based technologies of the day. In early TV systems, a master [[Phase-locked loop|voltage-controlled oscillator]] was run at twice the horizontal line frequency, and this [[frequency divider|frequency was divided]] down by the number of lines used (in this case 525) to give the field frequency (60&nbsp;Hz in this case). This frequency was then compared with the 60&nbsp;Hz [[power-line frequency]] and any discrepancy [[Frequency-locked loop|corrected by adjusting the frequency]] of the master oscillator. For interlaced scanning, an odd number of lines per frame was required in order to make the vertical retrace distance identical for the odd and even fields,{{Clarify|date=May 2022}} which meant the master oscillator frequency had to be divided down by an odd number. At the time, the only practical method of frequency division was the use of a chain of [[vacuum tube]] [[multivibrator]]s, the overall division ratio being the mathematical product of the division ratios of the chain. Since all the factors of an odd number also have to be odd numbers, it follows that all the dividers in the chain also had to divide by odd numbers, and these had to be relatively small due to the problems of [[Frequency drift|thermal drift]] with vacuum tube devices. The closest practical sequence to 500 that meets these criteria was {{math|3&times;5&times;5&times;7{{=}}525}}. (For the same reason, 625-line PAL-B/G and SECAM uses {{math|5&times;5&times;5&times;5}}, the old [[405-line television system|British 405-line system]] used {{math|3&times;3&times;3&times;3&times;5}}, the French [[819 line|819-line]] system used {{math|3&times;3&times;7&times;13}} etc.)

=== Colorimetry ===
[[File:CIExy1931 NTSC 1953 SMPTE C.svg|thumb|1931 CIE chromaticity diagram, showing gamuts for SMPTE C in black and NTSC 1953 in white]]
{{See also|Color space}}
[[Colorimetry]] refers to the specific colorimetric characteristics of the system and its components, including the specific primary colors used, the camera, the display, etc. Over its history, NTSC color had two distinctly defined colorimetries, shown on the accompanying chromaticity diagram as NTSC 1953 and SMPTE C. Manufacturers introduced a number of variations for technical, economic, marketing, and other reasons.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Display Color Gamuts: NTSC to Rec.2020 |url=https://sid.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/j.2637-496X.2016.tb00920.x |access-date=July 15, 2024 |journal=Information Display |date=2016 |publisher=Frontline Technology|doi=10.1002/j.2637-496X.2016.tb00920.x |last1=Soneira |first1=Raymond M. |volume=32 |issue=4 |pages=26–31}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ RGB chromaticity coordinates
! rowspan="2" | [[Color space]]
! rowspan="2" | Standard
! rowspan="2" | Year
! colspan="2" | [[Standard illuminant#White points of standard illuminants|White point]]
! [[Correlated color temperature|CCT]]
! colspan="6" | [[Primary color]]s (CIE 1931 xy)
! rowspan="2" | Display [[Gamma correction|gamma]] [[Transfer functions in imaging|EOTF]]
|-
! x
! y
! k
! R<sub>x</sub>
! R<sub>y</sub>
! G<sub>x</sub>
! G<sub>y</sub>
! B<sub>x</sub>
! B<sub>y</sub>
|-
! NTSC
| ITU-R BT.470/601 (M)
| 1953
| style="background:#{{Color temperature|6774|hexval}}" | 0.310
| style="background:#{{Color temperature|6774|hexval}}" | 0.316
| style="background:#{{Color temperature|6774|hexval}}" | 6774 ([[Standard illuminant#Illuminants B and C|C]])
| style="background-color: color(rec2020 0.96 0.349 0.0);" | 0.67
| style="background-color: color(rec2020 0.96 0.349 0.0);" | 0.33
| style="background-color: color(rec2020 0.308 0.933 0.255);" | 0.21
| style="background-color: color(rec2020 0.308 0.933 0.255);" | 0.71
| style="background-color: color(rec2020 0.187 0.333 0.985);" | 0.14
| style="background-color: color(rec2020 0.187 0.333 0.985);" | 0.08
| rowspan="2" | 2.2
|-
! SMPTE C
| SMPTE RP 145 (C), 170M, 240M
| 1987
| style="background:#{{Color temperature|6500|hexval}}" | 0.3127
| style="background:#{{Color temperature|6500|hexval}}" | 0.329
| style="background:#{{Color temperature|6500|hexval}}" | 6500 ([[Illuminant D65|D65]])
| style="background-color: color(rec2020 0.806 0.351 0.176);" | 0.63
| style="background-color: color(rec2020 0.806 0.351 0.176);" | 0.34
| style="background-color: color(rec2020 0.645 0.953 0.352);" | 0.31
| style="background-color: color(rec2020 0.645 0.953 0.352);" | 0.595
| style="background-color: color(rec2020 0.299 0.224 0.957);" | 0.155
| style="background-color: color(rec2020 0.299 0.224 0.957);" | 0.07
|}

''<small>Note: displayed colors are approximate and require a [[Gamut|wide gamut]] display for faithful reproduction.</small>''

==== NTSC 1953 ====
The original 1953 color NTSC specification, still part of the United States [[Code of Federal Regulations]], defined the [[Colorimetry|colorimetric]] values of the system as shown in the above table.<ref>47 CFR § 73.682 (20) (iv)</ref>

Early color television receivers, such as the RCA [[CT-100]], were faithful to this specification (which was based on prevailing motion picture standards), having a larger gamut than most of today's monitors. Their low-efficiency phosphors (notably in the Red) were weak and long-persistent, leaving trails after moving objects. Starting in the late 1950s, picture tube phosphors would sacrifice saturation for increased brightness; this deviation from the standard at both the receiver and broadcaster was the source of considerable color variation.

==== SMPTE C ====
{{anchor|Color correction in studio monitors and home receivers}}

To ensure more uniform color reproduction, some manufacturers incorporated color correction circuits into sets, that converted the received signal—encoded for the colorimetric values listed above—adjusting for the actual phosphor characteristics used within the monitor. Since such color correction can not be performed accurately on the nonlinear [[Gamma correction|gamma corrected]] signals transmitted, the adjustment can only be approximated, introducing both hue and [[Luma (video)|luminance]] errors for highly saturated colors.

Similarly at the broadcaster stage, in 1968–69 the Conrac Corp., working with RCA, defined a set of controlled phosphors for use in broadcast color picture [[Display device|video monitors]].<ref name="DeMarsh, Leroy 1098">DeMarsh, Leroy (1993): TV Display Phosphors/Primaries&nbsp;— Some History. SMPTE Journal, December 1993: 1095–1098. {{doi|10.5594/J01650}}</ref> This specification survives today as the '''SMPTE C''' phosphor specification:<ref>{{cite web |title=SMPTE C Color Monitor Colorimetry RP 145-2004 |url=https://pub.smpte.org/latest/rp145/rp0145-2004_stable2010.pdf |access-date=July 15, 2024 |website=SMPTE}}</ref>

As with home receivers, it was further recommended<ref name="ITU470">International Telecommunication Union Recommendation ITU-R 470-6 (1970–1998): Conventional Television Systems, Annex 2.</ref> that studio monitors incorporate similar color correction circuits so that broadcasters would transmit pictures encoded for the original 1953 colorimetric values, in accordance with FCC standards.

In 1987, the [[Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers]] (SMPTE) Committee on Television Technology, Working Group on Studio Monitor Colorimetry, adopted the SMPTE C (Conrac) phosphors for general use in Recommended Practice 145,<ref name="SMPTE_RP145">Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (1987–2004): Recommended Practice RP 145–2004. Color Monitor Colorimetry.</ref> prompting many manufacturers to modify their camera designs to directly encode for SMPTE C colorimetry without color correction,<ref name="SMPTE_EG27">Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (1994, 2004): Engineering Guideline EG 27-2004. Supplemental Information for SMPTE 170M and Background on the Development of NTSC Color Standards, pp. 9</ref> as approved in SMPTE standard 170M, "Composite Analog Video Signal&nbsp;– NTSC for Studio Applications" (1994). As a consequence, the [[ATSC standards|ATSC]] digital television standard states that for [[480i]] signals, SMPTE C colorimetry should be assumed unless colorimetric data is included in the transport stream.<ref>Advanced Television Systems Committee (2003): ATSC Direct-to-Home Satellite Broadcast Standard Doc. A/81, pp.18</ref>

Japanese NTSC never changed primaries and whitepoint to SMPTE C, continuing to use the 1953 NTSC primaries and whitepoint.<ref name="ITU470" /> Both the [[PAL]] and [[SECAM]] systems used the original 1953 NTSC colorimetry as well until 1970;<ref name="ITU470" /> unlike NTSC, however, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) rejected color correction in receivers and studio monitors that year and instead explicitly called for all equipment to directly encode signals for the "EBU" colorimetric values.<ref name="EBU1975">European Broadcasting Union (1975) Tech. 3213-E.: E.B.U. Standard for Chromaticity Tolerances for Studio Monitors.</ref>

==== Color compatibility issues ====
In reference to the gamuts shown on the CIE chromaticity diagram (above), the variations between the different colorimetries can result in significant visual differences. To adjust for proper viewing requires [[Color management|gamut mapping]] via [[Lookup table#Lookup tables in image processing|LUT]]s or additional [[color grading]]. SMPTE Recommended Practice RP 167-1995 refers to such an automatic correction as an "NTSC corrective display matrix."<ref>{{cite web |title=SMPTE RP 167-1995 |url=https://pub.smpte.org/latest/rp167/rp0167-1995_stable2004.pdf |access-date=July 15, 2024 |website=SMPTE |page=5 (A.4) |quote=The NTSC corrective matrix in a display device is intended to correct any colorimetric errors introduced by the differ- ence between the camera primaries and the display tube phosphors.}}</ref> For instance, material prepared for 1953 NTSC may look desaturated when displayed on SMPTE C or ATSC/[[BT.709]] displays, and may also exhibit noticeable hue shifts. On the other hand, SMPTE C materials may appear slightly more saturated on BT.709/sRGB displays, or significantly more saturated on P3 displays, if the appropriate gamut mapping is not performed.

=== Color encoding ===
{{More citations needed|section|date=February 2024}}
{{See also|YIQ}}
NTSC uses a [[Luma (video)|luminance]]-[[chrominance]] encoding system, incorporating concepts invented in 1938 by [[Georges Valensi]]. Using a separate luminance signal maintained backward compatibility with black-and-white television sets in use at the time; only color sets would recognize the chroma signal, which was essentially ignored by black and white sets.

The red, green, and blue primary color signals <math>(R^\prime G^\prime B^\prime)</math> are weighted and summed into a single [[Luma (video)|luma]] signal, designated <math>Y^\prime</math> (Y prime)<ref>{{cite web |title=Poynton's Color FAQ by Charles Poynton |url=http://homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk/rbf/CVonline/LOCAL_COPIES/POYNTON1/ColorFAQ.html#RTFToC9 |website=Homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk}}</ref> which takes the place of the original [[analog television|monochrome signal]]. The color difference information is encoded into the chrominance signal, which carries only the color information. This allows black-and-white receivers to display NTSC color signals by simply ignoring the chrominance signal. Some black-and-white TVs sold in the U.S. after the introduction of color broadcasting in 1953 were designed to filter chroma out, but the early B&W sets did not do this and [[chroma dots|chrominance]] could be seen as a [[dot crawl|crawling dot pattern]] in areas of the picture that held saturated colors.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Large |first1=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QOFWx2umt8sC&dq=black+and+white+dot+crawl&pg=PA55 |title=Modern Cable Television Technology |last2=Farmer |first2=James |date=January 13, 2004 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-08-051193-1}}</ref>

To derive the separate signals containing only color information, the difference is determined between each color primary and the summed luma. Thus the red difference signal is <math>R^\prime - Y^\prime</math> and the blue difference signal is <math>B^\prime - Y^\prime</math>. These difference signals are then used to derive two new color signals known as <math>I^\prime</math> (in-phase) and <math>Q^\prime</math> (in quadrature) in a process called [[Quadrature amplitude modulation|QAM]]. The <math>I^\prime Q^\prime</math> color space is rotated relative to the difference signal color space, such that orange-blue color information (which the human eye is most sensitive to) is transmitted on the <math>I^\prime</math> signal at 1.3 MHz bandwidth, while the <math>Q^\prime</math> signal encodes purple-green color information at 0.4 MHz bandwidth; this allows the chrominance signal to use less overall bandwidth without noticeable color degradation. The two signals each amplitude modulate<ref name="Monochrome and Colour Television">{{cite book |last1=Gulati |first1=R. R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SHM47MKmGXkC |title=Monochrome and Colour Television |date=December 2005 |publisher=New Age International |isbn=978-81-224-1607-7}}</ref> 3.58&nbsp;MHz carriers which are 90&nbsp;degrees out of phase with each other<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tm_U-Qd58RgC&dq=ntsc+i+and+q+carrier&pg=PA226 |title=Newnes Guide to Digital TV |date=November 17, 2002 |publisher=Newnes |isbn=978-0-7506-5721-1}}</ref> and the result added together but with the [[Double-sideband suppressed-carrier transmission|carriers themselves being suppressed]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xwMZw4UewuUC&dq=ntsc+i+and+q+carrier&pg=PA8 |title=Digital Television: Satellite, Cable, Terrestrial, IPTV, Mobile TV in the DVB Framework |date=February 20, 2024 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-240-52081-0}}</ref><ref name="Monochrome and Colour Television" /> The result can be viewed as a single sine wave with varying phase relative to a reference carrier and with varying amplitude. The varying phase represents the instantaneous color [[hue]] captured by a TV camera, and the amplitude represents the instantaneous color [[Colorfulness#Saturation|saturation]]. The {{fraction|315|88}}&nbsp;MHz [[subcarrier]] is then added to the Luminance to form the composite color signal<ref name="Monochrome and Colour Television"/> which modulates the video signal [[Carrier wave|carrier]]. 3.58&nbsp;MHz is often stated as an abbreviation instead of 3.579545&nbsp;MHz.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AvQAa5Zfuj0C&dq=ntsc+3.58+MHz&pg=PA123 |title=Modern Television Practice Principles, Technology and Servicing 2/Ed |publisher=New Age International |isbn=978-81-224-1360-1}}</ref>

For a color TV to recover hue information from the color subcarrier, it must have a zero-phase reference to replace the previously suppressed carrier. The NTSC signal includes a short sample of this reference signal, known as the [[colorburst]], located on the back porch of each horizontal synchronization pulse. The color burst consists of a minimum of eight cycles of the unmodulated (pure original) color subcarrier. The TV receiver has a local oscillator, which is synchronized with these color bursts to create a reference signal. Combining this reference phase signal with the chrominance signal allows the recovery of the <math>I^\prime</math> and <math>Q^\prime</math> signals, which in conjunction with the <math>Y^\prime</math> signal, is reconstructed to the individual <math>R^\prime G^\prime B^\prime</math> signals, that are then sent to the [[Cathode-ray tube|CRT]] to form the image.

In CRT televisions, the NTSC signal is turned into three color signals: red, green, and blue, each controlling an electron gun that is designed to excite only the corresponding red, green, or blue phosphor dots. TV sets with digital circuitry use sampling techniques to process the signals but the result is the same. For both analog and digital sets processing an analog NTSC signal, the original three color signals are transmitted using three discrete signals (Y, I and Q) and then recovered as three separate colors (R, G, and B) and presented as a color image.

When a transmitter broadcasts an NTSC signal, it amplitude-modulates a radio-frequency carrier with the NTSC signal just described, while it frequency-modulates a carrier 4.5&nbsp;MHz higher with the audio signal. If non-linear distortion happens to the broadcast signal, the {{fraction|315|88}}&nbsp;MHz color carrier may [[Beat (acoustics)|beat]] with the sound carrier to produce a dot pattern on the screen. To make the resulting pattern less noticeable, designers adjusted the original 15,750&nbsp;Hz scanline rate down by a factor of 1.001 ({{fraction|100|1,001}}%) to match the audio carrier frequency divided by the factor 286, resulting in a field rate of approximately 59.94&nbsp;Hz. This adjustment ensures that the difference between the sound carrier and the color subcarrier (the most problematic [[intermodulation]] product of the two carriers) is an odd multiple of half the line rate, which is the necessary condition for the dots on successive lines to be opposite in phase, making them least noticeable.

The 59.94&nbsp;rate is derived from the following calculations. Designers chose to make the chrominance subcarrier frequency an ''n'' + 0.5 multiple of the line frequency to minimize interference between the luminance signal and the chrominance signal. (Another way this is often stated is that the color subcarrier frequency is an odd multiple of half the line frequency.) They then chose to make the audio subcarrier frequency an integer multiple of the line frequency to minimize visible (intermodulation) interference between the audio signal and the chrominance signal. The original black-and-white standard, with its 15,750&nbsp;Hz line frequency and 4.5&nbsp;MHz audio subcarrier, does not meet these requirements, so designers had to either raise the audio subcarrier frequency or lower the line frequency. Raising the audio subcarrier frequency would prevent existing (black and white) receivers from properly tuning in the audio signal. Lowering the line frequency is comparatively innocuous, because the horizontal and vertical synchronization information in the NTSC signal allows a receiver to tolerate a substantial amount of variation in the line frequency. So the engineers chose the line frequency to be changed for the color standard. In the black-and-white standard, the ratio of audio subcarrier frequency to line frequency is {{fraction|4.5&nbsp;MHz|15,750&nbsp;Hz}}&nbsp;{{=}}&nbsp;{{fraction|285|5|7}}. In the color standard, this becomes rounded to the integer 286, which means the color standard's line rate is {{fraction|4.5&nbsp;MHz|286}}&nbsp;&asymp;&nbsp;{{fraction|15,734|266|1,001}}&nbsp;Hz. Maintaining the same number of scan lines per field (and frame), the lower line rate must yield a lower field rate. Dividing {{fraction|4,500,000|286}} lines per second by 262.5&nbsp;lines per field gives approximately 59.94&nbsp;fields per second.<!-- There are two reasons why this is important. First, the chrominance signal was interpreted as part of the luminance by monochrome TV sets that were in use at the time of the introduction of color TV (which didn't have notch filters to remove the chrominance carrier), causing dots to appear on strongly contrasting edges (which are high-frequency video information.) The chosen line rate causes the dots to move, which makes them harder for the human eye to follow. The effect is still noticeable on close examination, however, and is referred to as [[dot crawl]]. A second benefit of the chosen field rate was realized much later: The phase difference of the interference pattern on successive lines makes it very easy to design a simple [[comb filter]] to separate chrominance and luminance information to a greater degree. -->

=== Transmission modulation method ===
[[File:Ntsc channel.svg|thumb|400px|Spectrum of a System M television channel with NTSC color]]
An NTSC [[television channel]] as transmitted occupies a total bandwidth of 6&nbsp;MHz. The actual video signal, which is [[amplitude modulation|amplitude-modulated]], is transmitted between 500&nbsp;[[Hertz|kHz]] and 5.45&nbsp;MHz above the lower bound of the channel. The video [[Carrier wave|carrier]] is 1.25&nbsp;MHz above the lower bound of the channel. Like most AM signals, the video carrier generates two [[sideband]]s, one above the carrier and one below. The sidebands are each 4.2&nbsp;MHz wide. The entire upper sideband is transmitted, but only 1.25&nbsp;MHz of the lower sideband, known as a [[Single-sideband modulation|vestigial sideband]], is transmitted. The color subcarrier, as noted above, is 3.579545&nbsp;MHz above the video carrier, and is [[quadrature amplitude modulation|quadrature-amplitude-modulated]] with a suppressed carrier. The audio signal is [[Frequency modulation|frequency modulated]], like the audio signals broadcast by [[FM broadcasting|FM radio]] [[Radio broadcasting|stations]] in the 88–108&nbsp;MHz band, but with a 25&nbsp;kHz maximum [[frequency deviation]], as opposed to 75&nbsp;kHz as is used on the [[FM broadcast band|FM band]], making analog television audio signals sound quieter than FM radio signals as received on a wideband receiver. The main audio carrier is 4.5&nbsp;MHz above the video carrier, making it 250&nbsp;kHz below the top of the channel. Sometimes a channel may contain an [[Multichannel Television Sound|MTS]] signal, which offers more than one audio signal by adding one or two subcarriers on the audio signal, each synchronized to a multiple of the line frequency. This is normally the case when [[Stereophonic sound|stereo audio]] and/or [[second audio program]] signals are used. The same extensions are used in [[ATSC standards|ATSC]], where the ATSC digital carrier is broadcast at 0.31&nbsp;MHz above the lower bound of the channel.

"Setup" is a 54&nbsp;mV (7.5&nbsp;[[IRE (unit)|IRE]]) voltage offset between the "black" and "blanking" levels. It is unique to NTSC. CVBS stands for Color, Video, Blanking, and Sync.

The following table shows the values for the basic RGB colors, encoded in NTSC<ref>{{cite web |title=Color Bar Levels, Amplitues, and Phases |url=https://www.edn.com/wp-content/uploads/media-1050361-c0195-table1.gif |access-date=February 22, 2022 |website=Edn.com |format=GIF}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Analog signal values for basic RGB colors, encoded in NTSC
! Color
! [[Luma (video)|Luminance]] level ([[IRE (unit)|IRE]])
! [[Chrominance]] level (IRE)
! Chrominance amplitude (IRE)
! Phase (º)
|-
! White
| 100.0
| 0.0
| 0.0
|–
|-
! Yellow
| 89.5
| 48.1 to 130.8
| 82.7
| 167.1
|-
! Cyan
| 72.3
| 13.9 to 130.8
| 116.9
| 283.5
|-
! Green
| 61.8
| 7.2 to 116.4
| 109.2
| 240.7
|-
! Magenta
| 45.7
| −8.9 to 100.3
| 109.2
| 60.7
|-
! Red
| 35.2
| −23.3 to 93.6
| 116.9
| 103.5
|-
! Blue
| 18.0
| −23.3 to 59.4
| 82.7
| 347.1
|-
! Black
| 7.5
| 0.0
| 0.0
|–
|}

=== Frame rate conversion ===
{{See also|Telecine}}
There is a large difference in [[frame rate]] between film, which runs at 24 frames per second, and the NTSC standard, which runs at approximately 29.97 (10&nbsp;MHz&nbsp;× {{nowrap|63/88/455/525}}) frames per second.

In regions that use 25-fps television and video standards, this difference can be overcome by [[576i#PAL speed-up|speed-up]].

For 30-fps standards, a process called "[[Three-two pull down|3:2 pulldown]]" is used. One film frame is transmitted for three video fields (lasting {{fraction|1|1|2}}&nbsp;video frames), and the next frame is transmitted for two video fields (lasting 1&nbsp;video frame). Two film frames are thus transmitted in five video fields, for an average of {{fraction|2|1|2}}&nbsp;video fields per film frame. The average frame rate is thus 60&nbsp;÷ 2.5&nbsp;= 24 frames per second, so the average film speed is nominally exactly what it should be. (In reality, over the course of an hour of real time, 215,827.2 video fields are displayed, representing 86,330.88 frames of film, while in an hour of true 24-fps film projection, exactly 86,400 frames are shown: thus, 29.97-fps NTSC transmission of 24-fps film runs at 99.92% of the film's normal speed.) Still-framing on playback can display a video frame with fields from two different film frames, so any difference between the frames will appear as a rapid back-and-forth flicker. There can also be noticeable jitter/"stutter" during slow camera pans ([[Telecine#Telecine judder|telecine judder]]).

Film shot specifically for NTSC television is usually taken at 30 (instead of 24) frames per second to avoid 3:2 pulldown.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kennel |first1=Glenn |last2=Pytlak |first2=John |last3=Sehlin |first3=Richard |last4=Uhlig |first4=Ronald |date=December 1988 |title=Major Motion-Picture Production Standards |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7258828 |url-status=dead |journal=SMPTE Journal |volume=97 |issue=12 |pages=985–990 |doi=10.5594/J02849 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180609012432/https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7258828/ |archive-date=June 9, 2018 |access-date=March 12, 2023}}</ref>

To show 25-fps material (such as European [[Television show|television series]] and some European movies) on NTSC equipment, every fifth frame is duplicated and then the resulting stream is interlaced.

Film shot for NTSC television at 24 frames per second has traditionally been accelerated by 1/24 (to about 104.17% of normal speed) for transmission in regions that use 25-fps television standards. This increase in picture speed has traditionally been accompanied by a similar increase in the pitch and tempo of the audio. More recently, frame-blending has been used to convert 24&nbsp;FPS video to 25&nbsp;FPS without altering its speed.

Film shot for television in regions that use 25-fps television standards can be handled in either of two ways:
* The film can be shot at 24 frames per second. In this case, when transmitted in its native region, the film may be accelerated to 25&nbsp;fps according to the analog technique described above, or kept at 24&nbsp;fps by the digital technique described above. When the same film is transmitted in regions that use a nominal 30-fps television standard, there is no noticeable change in speed, tempo, and pitch.
* The film can be shot at 25 frames per second. In this case, when transmitted in its native region, the film is shown at its normal speed, with no alteration of the accompanying soundtrack. When the same film is shown in regions that use a 30-fps nominal television standard, every fifth frame is duplicated, and there is still no noticeable change in speed, tempo, and pitch.

Because both film speeds have been used in 25-fps regions, viewers can face confusion about the true speed of video and audio, and the pitch of voices, sound effects, and musical performances, in television films from those regions. For example, they may wonder whether the [[Jeremy Brett]] series of [[Sherlock Holmes]] television films, made in the 1980s and early 1990s, was shot at 24&nbsp;fps and then transmitted at an artificially fast speed in 25-fps regions, or whether it was shot at 25&nbsp;fps natively and then slowed to 24&nbsp;fps for NTSC exhibition.

These discrepancies exist not only in television broadcasts over the air and through cable, but also in the home-video market, on both tape and disc, including [[LaserDisc]] and [[DVD]].

In digital television and video, which are replacing their analog predecessors, single standards that can accommodate a wider range of frame rates still show the limits of analog regional standards. The initial version of the [[ATSC standards|ATSC]] standard, for example, allowed frame rates of 23.976, 24, 29.97, 30, 59.94, 60, 119.88 and 120 frames per second, but not 25 and 50. Modern ATSC allows 25 and 50&nbsp;FPS.

=== Modulation for analog satellite transmission ===
Because satellite power is severely limited, analog video transmission through satellites differs from terrestrial TV transmission. [[Amplitude modulation|AM]] is a linear modulation method, so a given demodulated [[signal-to-noise ratio]] (SNR) requires an equally high received RF SNR. The SNR of studio quality video is over 50&nbsp;dB, so AM would require prohibitively high powers and/or large antennas.

Wideband [[Frequency modulation|FM]] is used instead to trade RF bandwidth for reduced power. Increasing the channel bandwidth from 6 to 36&nbsp;MHz allows a RF SNR of only 10&nbsp;dB or less. The wider noise bandwidth reduces this 40&nbsp;dB power saving by 36&nbsp;MHz / 6&nbsp;MHz = 8&nbsp;dB for a substantial net reduction of 32&nbsp;dB.

Sound is on an FM subcarrier as in terrestrial transmission, but frequencies above 4.5&nbsp;MHz are used to reduce aural/visual interference. 6.8, 5.8 and 6.2&nbsp;MHz are commonly used. Stereo can be multiplex, discrete, or matrix and unrelated audio and data signals may be placed on additional subcarriers.

A triangular 60&nbsp;Hz energy dispersal waveform is added to the composite baseband signal (video plus audio and data subcarriers) before modulation. This limits the satellite downlink [[Spectral density|power spectral density]] in case the video signal is lost. Otherwise the satellite might transmit all of its power on a single frequency, interfering with terrestrial microwave links in the same frequency band.

In half transponder mode, the frequency deviation of the composite baseband signal is reduced to 18&nbsp;MHz to allow another signal in the other half of the 36&nbsp;MHz transponder. This reduces the FM benefit somewhat, and the recovered SNRs are further reduced because the combined signal power must be "backed off" to avoid intermodulation distortion in the satellite transponder. A single FM signal is constant amplitude, so it can saturate a transponder without distortion.

=== Field order ===
An NTSC ''frame'' consists of two ''fields,'' F1 (field one) and F2 (field two). The [[field dominance]] depends on a combination of factors, including decisions by various equipment manufacturers as well as historical conventions. As a result, most professional equipment has the option to switch between a dominant upper or dominant lower field. It is not advisable to use the terms ''even'' or ''odd'' when speaking of fields, due to substantial ambiguity. For instance if the line numbering for a particular system starts at zero, while another system starts its line numbering at one. As such the same field could be even or odd.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Programmer's Guide to Video Systems - Lurker's Guide - lurkertech.com |url=https://lurkertech.com/lg/video-systems/#f1f2 |access-date=January 25, 2023 |website=lurkertech.com}}</ref>

While an analog television set does not care about field dominance per se, field dominance is important when editing NTSC video. Incorrect interpretation of field order can cause a shuddering effect as moving objects jump forward and behind on each successive field.

This is of particular importance when interlaced NTSC is transcoded to a format with a different field dominance and vice versa. Field order is also important when transcoding progressive video to interlaced NTSC, as any place there is a cut between two scenes in the progressive video, there could be a flash field in the interlaced video if the field dominance is incorrect. The film telecine process where a [[three-two pull down]] is utilized to convert 24 frames to 30, will also provide unacceptable results if the field order is incorrect.

Because each field is temporally unique for material captured with an interlaced camera, converting interlaced to a digital progressive-frame medium is difficult, as each progressive frame will have artifacts of motion on every alternating line. This can be observed in PC-based video-playing utilities and is frequently solved simply by transcoding the video at half resolution and only using one of the two available fields.

== Variants ==

=== NTSC-M ===
Unlike PAL and SECAM, with its many varied underlying [[broadcast television systems]] in use throughout the world, NTSC color encoding is almost invariably used with [[CCIR System M|broadcast system '''M''']], giving NTSC-M.

=== NTSC-N and NTSC 50 ===
NTSC-N was originally proposed in the 1960s to the [[ITU-R#CCIR|CCIR]] as a 50&nbsp;Hz broadcast method for [[CCIR System N|System N]] countries Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina before they chose [[PAL#PALN|PAL]]. In 1978, with the introduction of [[Apple II Plus|Apple II Europlus]], it was effectively reintroduced as "NTSC 50", a pseudo-system combining 625-line video with 3.58&nbsp;MHz NTSC color. For example, an [[Atari ST]] running PAL software on their NTSC color display used this system as the monitor could not decode PAL color. Most analog NTSC television sets and monitors with a V-Hold knob can display this system after adjusting the vertical hold.<ref>{{cite web |last=VWestlife's Camcorder Tests & More |date=January 6, 2010 |title=Recording PAL and 625-line 50 Hz NTSC video on a U.S. VCR |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REsrXKGuPpg |via=YouTube}}</ref>

=== NTSC-J ===
Only [[Japan]]'s variant "[[NTSC-J]]" is slightly different: in Japan, black level and blanking level of the signal are identical (at 0&nbsp;[[IRE (unit)|IRE]]), as they are in PAL, while in American NTSC, black level is slightly higher (7.5&nbsp;[[IRE (unit)|IRE]]) than blanking level. Since the difference is quite small, a slight turn of the brightness knob is all that is required to correctly show the "other" variant of NTSC on any set as it is supposed to be; most watchers might not even notice the difference in the first place. The channel encoding on NTSC-J differs slightly from NTSC-M. In particular, the Japanese VHF band runs from channels 1–12 (located on frequencies directly above the 76–90&nbsp;MHz Japanese [[FM broadcasting|FM radio]] band) while the North American VHF TV band uses channels 2–13 (54–72&nbsp;MHz, 76–88&nbsp;MHz and 174–216&nbsp;MHz) with 88–108&nbsp;MHz allocated to FM radio broadcasting. Japan's UHF TV channels are therefore numbered from 13 up and not 14 up, but otherwise uses the same UHF broadcasting frequencies as those in [[Pan-American television frequencies|North America]].

=== NTSC 4.43 ===
NTSC 4.43 is a pseudo-system that transmits a NTSC color subcarrier of 4.43&nbsp;MHz instead of 3.58&nbsp;MHz<ref>{{cite book |last1=Poynton |first1=Charles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rsEwE2X3cFAC&dq=NTSC+4.43&pg=PA580 |title=Digital Video and HD: Algorithms and Interfaces |publisher=Morgan Kaufmann |year=2003 |isbn=9781558607927}}</ref> The resulting output is only viewable by TVs that support the resulting pseudo-system (such as most PAL TVs).<ref>{{cite web |title=WeetHet - Video - Overview of available formats |url=https://www.weethet.nl/english/video_formats.php |access-date=September 21, 2022 |quote=Most modern TV-sets accept the so called pseudo formats (Pseudo PAL and Pseudo NTSC)...}}</ref> Using a native NTSC TV to decode the signal yields no color, while using an incompatible PAL TV to decode the system yields erratic colors (observed to be lacking red and flickering randomly). The format was used by the [[United States Air Force|USAF]] TV based in Germany during the [[Cold War]] and [[Hong Kong Cable Television]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}} It was also found as an optional output on some [[LaserDisc]] players sold in markets where the PAL system is used.

The NTSC 4.43 system, while not a broadcast format, appears most often as a playback function of PAL cassette format VCRs, beginning with the Sony 3/4" U-Matic format and then following onto [[Betamax]] and [[VHS]] format machines, commonly advertised as "NTSC playback on PAL TV".

Multi-standard video monitors were already in use in Europe to accommodate broadcast sources in PAL, SECAM, and NTSC video formats. The [[Heterodyne#Heterodyning in analog videotape recording|heterodyne]] color-under process of U-Matic, Betamax & VHS lent itself to minor modification of VCR players to accommodate NTSC format cassettes. The color-under format of VHS uses a 629&nbsp;kHz subcarrier while U-Matic & Betamax use a 688&nbsp;kHz subcarrier to carry an ''amplitude modulated'' chroma signal for both NTSC and PAL formats. Since the VCR was ready to play the color portion of the NTSC recording using PAL color mode, the PAL scanner and capstan speeds had to be adjusted from PAL's 50&nbsp;Hz field rate to NTSC's 59.94&nbsp;Hz field rate, and faster linear tape speed.

The changes to the PAL VCR are minor thanks to the existing VCR recording formats. The output of the VCR when playing an NTSC cassette in NTSC 4.43 mode is 525 lines/29.97 frames per second with PAL compatible heterodyned color. The multi-standard receiver is already set to support the NTSC H & V frequencies; it just needs to do so while receiving PAL color.

The existence of those multi-standard receivers was probably part of the drive for region coding of DVDs. As the color signals are component on disc for all display formats, almost no changes would be required for PAL DVD players to play NTSC (525/29.97) discs as long as the display was frame-rate compatible.

=== OSKM (USSR-NTSC) ===
In January 1960, (7 years prior to adoption of the modified SECAM version) the experimental TV studio in Moscow started broadcasting using the OSKM system. OSKM was the version of NTSC adapted to European D/K 625/50 standard. The OSKM abbreviation means "Simultaneous system with quadrature modulation" (In Russian: Одновременная Система с Квадратурной Модуляцией). It used the color coding scheme that was later used in PAL (U and V instead of I and Q).

The color subcarrier frequency was 4.4296875&nbsp;MHz and the bandwidth of U and V signals was near 1.5&nbsp;MHz.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sokolov |first1=Georgii |url=http://ca.cryptocom.ru/tmpfiles/mrb_0469.djvu |title=Amateur Colour TV Receiver TSVET-2 |last2=Sudravskii |first2=Dmitrii |year=1963 |access-date=September 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220905221709/http://ca.cryptocom.ru/tmpfiles/mrb_0469.djvu |archive-date=September 5, 2022 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Only circa 4000 TV sets of 4 models (Raduga,<ref>{{cite web |date=September 6, 2022 |title=Raduga OSKM Color TV (1962) |url=http://rw6ase.narod.ru/00/twc/raduga_tw62.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220906041751/http://rw6ase.narod.ru/00/twc/raduga_tw62.html |archive-date=September 6, 2022 |access-date=September 6, 2022}}</ref> Temp-22, Izumrud-201 and Izumrud-203<ref>{{cite web |date=September 6, 2022 |title=Izumrud-203 OSKM Color TV (1959) |url=http://rw6ase.narod.ru/00/twc/izumrud203.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220116162957/http://rw6ase.narod.ru/00/twc/izumrud203.html |archive-date=January 16, 2022 |access-date=September 6, 2022}}</ref>) were produced for studying the real quality of TV reception. These TV's were not commercially available, despite being included in the goods catalog for trade network of the USSR.

The broadcasting with this system lasted about 3 years and was ceased well before SECAM transmissions started in the USSR. None of the current multi-standard TV receivers can support this TV system.

=== NTSC-film ===
{{Main|24p}}
{{Expand section|date=June 2008}}
Film content commonly shot at 24&nbsp;frames/s can be converted to 30&nbsp;frames/s through the [[telecine]] process to duplicate frames as needed.
:<math> \frac{23.976}{29.97} = \frac{4}{5}</math>

Mathematically for NTSC this is relatively simple as it is only needed to duplicate every fourth frame. Various techniques are employed. NTSC with an actual frame rate of {{fraction|24|1.001}} (approximately 23.976)&nbsp;frames/s is often defined as NTSC-film. A process known as pullup, also known as pulldown, generates the duplicated frames upon playback. This method is common for [[H.262/MPEG-2 Part 2]] digital video so the original content is preserved and played back on equipment that can display it or can be converted for equipment that cannot.

== Comparative quality ==
{{More citations needed|section|date=March 2020}}
[[File:SMPTE Color Bars.svg|thumb|300px|The [[SMPTE color bars]], an example of a [[Test card|test pattern]]]]
For NTSC, and to a lesser extent, PAL, reception problems can degrade the color accuracy of the picture where ghosting can dynamically change the phase of the color burst with picture content, thus altering the color balance of the signal. The only receiver compensation is in the professional TV receiver ghost canceling circuits used by cable companies. The vacuum-tube electronics used in televisions through the 1960s led to various technical problems. Among other things, the color burst phase would often drift. In addition, the TV studios did not always transmit properly, leading to hue changes when channels were changed, which is why NTSC televisions were equipped with a tint control. PAL and SECAM televisions had less of a need for one. SECAM in particular was very robust, but PAL, while excellent in maintaining skin tones which viewers are particularly sensitive to, nevertheless would distort other colors in the face of phase errors.  With phase errors, only "Deluxe PAL" receivers would get rid of "Hanover bars" distortion.  Hue controls are still found on NTSC TVs, but color drifting generally ceased to be a problem for more modern circuitry by the 1970s. When compared to PAL, in particular, NTSC color accuracy and consistency were sometimes considered inferior, leading to video professionals and television engineers jokingly referring to NTSC as ''Never The Same Color'', ''Never Twice the Same Color'', or ''No True Skin Colors'',<ref>Jain, Anal K., ''Fundamentals of Digital Image Processing'', Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1989, p. 82.</ref> while for the more expensive PAL system it was necessary to ''Pay for Additional Luxury''.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}

The use of NTSC coded color in [[S-Video]] systems, as well as the use of closed-circuit composite NTSC, both eliminate the phase distortions because there is no reception ghosting in a closed-circuit system to smear the color burst. For VHS videotape on the horizontal axis and frame rate of the three color systems when used with this scheme, the use of S-Video gives the higher resolution picture quality on monitors and TVs without a high-quality motion-compensated comb filtering section. (The NTSC resolution on the vertical axis is lower than the European standards, 525&nbsp;lines against 625.) However, it uses too much bandwidth for over-the-air transmission. The [[Atari 8-bit computers|Atari 800]] and [[Commodore 64]] home computers generate S-video, but only when used with specially designed monitors as no TV at the time supported the separate chroma and luma on standard [[RCA connector|RCA jacks]]. In 1987, a standardized four-pin [[Mini-DIN connector|mini-DIN]] socket was introduced for S-video input with the introduction of [[S-VHS]] players, which were the first device produced to use the four-pin plugs. However, S-VHS never became very popular. Video game consoles in the 1990s began offering S-video output as well.

== Vertical interval reference ==
{{Update|section|date=October 2025}}
The standard NTSC video image contains some lines (lines 1–21 of each field) that are not visible (this is known as the [[vertical blanking interval]], or VBI); all are beyond the edge of the viewable image, but only lines 1–9 are used for the vertical-sync and equalizing pulses. The remaining lines were deliberately blanked in the original NTSC specification to provide time for the electron beam in CRT screens to return to the top of the display.

VIR (or Vertical interval reference), widely adopted in the 1980s, attempts to correct some of the color problems with NTSC video by adding studio-inserted reference data for luminance and chrominance levels on line 19.<ref>{{cite web |date=March 13, 2006 |title=LM1881 Video Sync Separator |url=http://sipi.usc.edu/~weber/ee459/datasheets/LM1881.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060313071659/http://ee.usc.edu/library/ee459/datasheets/LM1881.pdf |archive-date=March 13, 2006}}</ref> Suitably equipped television sets could then employ these data in order to adjust the display to a closer match of the original studio image. The actual VIR signal contains three sections, the first having 70 percent luminance and the same chrominance as the [[Colorburst|color burst]] signal, and the other two having 50 percent and 7.5 percent luminance respectively.<ref>[http://danalee.ca/ttt/waveform_monitors_and_vectorscopes.htm Waveform Mons & Vectorscopes]. Danalee.ca. Retrieved on May 11, 2014.</ref>

A less-used successor to VIR, [[ghost-canceling reference|GCR]], also added ghost (multipath interference) removal capabilities.

The remaining [[vertical blanking interval]] lines are typically used for [[datacasting]] or ancillary data such as video editing timestamps ([[vertical interval timecode]]s or [[Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers|SMPTE]] timecodes on lines 12–14<ref>[http://www.philrees.co.uk/articles/timecode.htm SMPTE EBU timecode by Phil Rees]. Philrees.co.uk. Retrieved on May 11, 2014.</ref><ref>[http://poynton.com/notes/video/Timecode/ Technical Introduction to Timecode] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070710133402/http://www.poynton.com/notes/video/Timecode/ |date=July 10, 2007}}. Poynton.com. Retrieved on May 11, 2014.</ref>), [[Video-signal generator|test data]] on lines 17–18, a network source code on line 20 and [[closed captioning]], [[Extended Data Services|XDS]], and [[V-chip]] data on [[EIA-608|line 21]]. Early [[teletext]] applications also used vertical blanking interval lines 14–18 and 20, but teletext over NTSC was never widely adopted by viewers.<ref>[https://www.experimentaltvcenter.org/vhp/tools The History Project]. Experimentaltvcenter.org. Retrieved on May 11, 2014.</ref>

Some stations transmitted TV Guide On Screen ([[Guide Plus|TVGOS]]) data, an electronic program guide, over VBI lines, typically 11–18, 20, and 22. The primary station in a market, often a local [[PBS]] station, broadcast four lines while backup stations transmitted one. TVGOS was discontinued in 2013 and 2016, ending OTA program guide services for compatible devices.<ref>{{cite news |date=November 27, 2012 |title=Rovi is shutting down its OTA TV guide service without notice |url=https://www.engadget.com/2012-11-27-rovi-gemstar-tv-quide-ota-shutdown.html |access-date=2025-10-24 |website=Engadget |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Notice of termination of Guide Plus+ on TV & Recorder models {{!}} Digital AV Software {{!}} Digital AV {{!}} Support {{!}} Panasonic Global |url=https://av.jpn.support.panasonic.com/support/global/cs/info/rv/index.html |access-date=2025-10-24 |website=av.jpn.support.panasonic.com}}</ref> Line 22 is only used by [[DirecTV]] in older set-top boxes.{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}}

[[TiVo]] data was also transmitted on some commercials and program advertisements so that customers could autorecord the program being advertised, and was also used in weekly half-hour [[infomercial|paid programs]] on [[Ion Television]] and the [[Discovery Channel]] which highlighted TiVo promotions and advertisers.{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}}

== Countries and territories that are using or once used NTSC ==
{{further|Digital television transition in the United States}}
{{Update|individual sections|date=December 2014}}
<!-- This is information that is truly a list in nature. Converting it to prose would obfuscate it and make it harder to read, use, edit and update. Please do not tag this genuine list for conversion to "prose" -->Below are countries and territories that currently use or once used the NTSC system. Many of these have switched or are currently switching from NTSC to digital television standards such as [[ATSC standards|ATSC]] (United States, Canada, Mexico, Suriname, Jamaica, South Korea, Saint Lucia, Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, Haiti), [[ISDB]] (Japan, Philippines, part of South America and Saint Kitts and Nevis), [[DVB-T]] (Taiwan, Panama, Colombia, Myanmar, Trinidad and Tobago) or [[Digital Terrestrial Multimedia Broadcast|DTMB]] (Cuba).

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* {{flag|American Samoa}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998">{{cite book |last1=Hegarty |first1=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5YjHecPlPS8C&pg=PA260 |title=Classrooms for Distance Teaching and Learning: A Blueprint |last2=Phelan |first2=Anne |last3=Kilbride |first3=Lisa |date=January 1, 1998 |publisher=[[Leuven University Press]] |isbn=978-90-6186-867-5 |pages=260–}}</ref>
* {{flag|Anguilla}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />
* {{flag|Antigua and Barbuda}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />
* {{flag|Aruba}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />
* {{flag|Bahamas}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />
* {{flag|Belize}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />
* {{flag|Bolivia}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />
* {{flag|Bonaire}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />
* {{flag|British Virgin Islands}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />
* {{flag|Caribbean Netherlands}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />
* {{flag|Cayman Islands}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />
* {{flag|Colombia}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" /> (Analog shutoff scheduled to 2022, simulcasting [[DVB-T]])
* {{flag|Cuba}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />
* {{flag|Curaçao}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />
* {{flag|Dominica}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />
* {{flag|Grenada}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />
* {{flag|Guam}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />
* {{flag|Guatemala}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />
* {{flag|Guyana}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />
* {{flag|Haiti}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />
* {{flag|Jamaica}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />{{efn|Will convert to ATSC 3.0 instead of 1.0. The conversion will begin in 2022 and is expected to be completed by 2023.<ref>{{cite news |date=December 7, 2021 |title=Digital Television Switchover in Jamaica set to begin in 2022 |url=https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20211207/digital-television-switchover-jamaica-set-begin-2022 |access-date=January 8, 2021 |work=[[The Gleaner]] |publisher=[[Gleaner Company]]}}</ref>}}
* {{flag|Marshall Islands}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />{{efn|In [[Compact of Free Association]] with US. US-funded NTSC adoption.}}
* {{flag|Midway Atoll}} (a US military base)
* {{flag|Montserrat}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />
* {{flag|Myanmar}} (also used [[PAL]])
* {{flag|Nicaragua}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />
* {{flag|Northern Mariana Islands}}
* {{flag|Palau}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />{{efn|In [[Compact of Free Association]] with US. Adopted NTSC before independence.}}
* {{flag|Panama}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />{{efn|NTSC broadcasts to be abandoned by 2020, simulcasting [[DVB-T]]. NTSC broadcasts to be abandoned in areas with more than 90% of DVB-T reception.}}
* {{flag|Philippines}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />{{efn|NTSC broadcast was intended to be abandoned at the end of 2015. However, in late 2014 &mdash; it was postponed to 2019<ref>{{cite web |title=Philippines to start digital TV shift in 2019 |url=http://nextvasia.com/dtt/philippines-to-start-digital-tv-shift-in-2019/ |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150209183335/http://nextvasia.com/dtt/philippines-to-start-digital-tv-shift-in-2019/ |archive-date=February 9, 2015 |access-date=October 27, 2014 |publisher=NexTV Asia-Pacific}}</ref> and later extended to 2023.<ref name="hardwareboom">{{cite web |last1=Dela Paz |first1=Chrisee |date=February 14, 2017 |title=Hardware boom comes with PH shift to digital TV |url=https://www.rappler.com/business/161438-dict-philippines-digital-tv-shift |access-date=January 21, 2019 |website=[[Rappler]]}}</ref><ref name="broadcasterscommit">{{cite news |last1=Mariano |first1=Keith Richard D. |date=February 16, 2017 |title=Broadcasters commit to digital TV switch by 2023 |url=http://bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Corporate&title=broadcasters-commit-to-digital-tv-switch-by-2023&id=140700 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224133317/http://bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Corporate&title=broadcasters-commit-to-digital-tv-switch-by-2023&id=140700 |archive-date=February 24, 2021 |access-date=January 21, 2019 |newspaper=[[BusinessWorld]]}}</ref><ref name="govtoncourse">{{cite news |last1=Esmael |first1=Maria Lisbet K. |date=October 7, 2018 |title=Govt on course to hit 2023 full digital TV transition |url=https://www.manilatimes.net/govt-on-course-to-hit-2023-full-digital-tv-transition/449040/ |access-date=January 21, 2019 |newspaper=[[The Manila Times]]}}</ref><ref name="digitaltvshift">{{cite news |last1=Mercurio |first1=Richmond |date=October 4, 2018 |title=Digital TV shift by 2023 pushing through — DICT |url=https://www.philstar.com/business/2018/10/04/1856959/digital-tv-shift-2023-pushing-through-dict |access-date=January 21, 2019 |newspaper=[[The Philippine Star]]}}</ref> All analog broadcasts are expected to be shut off by the end of 2025 respectively in Mega Manila and also by 2026 for the rest of the country.<ref>{{cite news |date=December 20, 2024 |title=NTC to start shutting off analog TV services in '25 |url=https://malaya.com.ph/business/corporate/ntc-to-start-shutting-off-analog-tv-services-in-25 |website=Malaya}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Amojelar |first=Darwin G. |date=2023-02-21 |title=NTC plans to postpone analog TV broadcasting shutoff this year |url=https://manilastandard.net/business/it-telecom/314307369/ntc-plans-to-postpone-analog-tv-broadcasting-shutoff-this-year.html |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=Manila Standard |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="ntcph">{{cite web |last=Cabuenas |first=Jon Viktor D. |date=February 14, 2017 |title=Gov't wants analog TV switched off by 2023 |url=http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/599484/money/companies/gov-t-wants-analog-tv-switched-off-by-2023 |access-date=December 6, 2018 |publisher=GMA News Online}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite web |last=LOCUS |first=SUNDY |date=2024-01-15 |title=NTC: Preparations underway for analog TV shutdown |url=https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/scitech/technology/894217/ntc-preparations-underway-for-analog-tv-shutdown/story/ |access-date=2024-01-16 |website=GMA News Online |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite web |last=Dela Cruz |first=Raymond Carl |date=January 15, 2024 |title=NTC urges switch to digital TV as analog shutdown looms |url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1216971 |access-date=January 16, 2024 |website=Philippine News Agency}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{cite web |date=2024-01-15 |title=NTC urges public to embrace digital TV as analog shutdown nears |url=https://maharlika.tv/ntc-urges-public-to-embrace-digital-tv-as-analog-shutdown-nears/ |access-date=2024-01-17 |website=Maharlika NuMedia |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{cite web |date=2024-11-04 |title=Analog TV shutoff starts by yearend |url=https://malaya.com.ph/business-news/enterprise/analog-tv-shutoff-starts-by-yearend/ |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=Malaya Business Insight |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Rita |first=Joviland |date=March 30, 2022 |title=Switching off analog TV by 2023 should continue — Andanar |url=https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/826831/switching-off-analog-tv-by-2023-should-continue-andanar/story/ |access-date=September 23, 2022 |work=[[GMA News Online]]}}</ref> It will simulcast in [[ISDB-T]].}}
* {{flag|Puerto Rico}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" /> (now uses ATSC)
* {{flag|Saint Kitts and Nevis}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />
* {{flag|Saint Vincent and the Grenadines}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />
* {{flag|Saudi Arabia}} (Simulcast in NTSC, SECAM, and PAL&mdash;before switching to PAL in the early 1990s)
* {{flag|Sint Maarten}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" /> (also used 8&nbsp;MHz spacing of DVB-T2 (same bandwidth spacing in European Netherlands) on Encrypted Terrestrial Digital TV subscription via WTN cable)
* {{flag|Trinidad and Tobago}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />{{efn|Will convert to ATSC 3.0 instead of 1.0. The conversion will begin in 2023 and is expected to be completed by 2026.<ref name="TT ATSC 3.0">{{cite web |title=Notice |url=https://tatt.org.tt/Home/Announcements4/ReadMore/tabid/350/ArticleId/677/Notice-22.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230126050836/https://tatt.org.tt/Home/Announcements4/ReadMore/tabid/350/ArticleId/677/Notice-22.aspx |archive-date=January 26, 2023 |access-date=January 26, 2022 |website=Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago}}</ref>}}
* {{flag|Turks and Caicos Islands}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />
* {{flag|United States Virgin Islands}}
* {{flag|Venezuela}}<ref name="HegartyPhelan1998" />
{{div col end}}

=== Experimented ===
* {{flag|Brazil}} (Between 1962 and 1963, [[Rede Tupi]] and [[Rede Excelsior]] made the first unofficial transmissions in color &mdash; in specific programs in the city of [[São Paulo]], before the official adoption of [[PAL-M]] by the Brazilian Government on February 19, 1972)
* {{flag|Paraguay}}
* {{flag|United Kingdom}} (Experimented on 405-line variant of NTSC, later chose 625-line for PAL broadcasting)

=== Countries and territories that have ceased using NTSC ===
The following countries and regions no longer use NTSC for terrestrial broadcasts.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Country
! Switched to
! Switchover completed
|-
| {{BRB}}
| ATSC
| <span style="display:none">2024-12-04</span>December 4, 2024
|-
| {{BER}}
| DVB-T
| <span style="display:none">2016-03-01</span>March 1, 2016{{efn|Over-the-air NTSC broadcasts (Channel 9) have been terminated as of March 1, 2016, local broadcast stations have now switched to digital channels 20.1 and 20.2}}
|-
| {{CAN}}
| ATSC
| <span style="display:none">2011-08-31</span>August 31, 2011 (Select markets){{efn|Over-the-air NTSC broadcasting in major cities ceased August 31, 2011 as a result of legislative fiat, to be replaced with ATSC. Some one-station markets or markets served only by full-power repeaters remain analog.<ref>[[Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission]] (CRTC) [http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/NEWS/RELEASES/2007/r070517.htm Press release May 2007] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070519082346/http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/NEWS/RELEASES/2007/r070517.htm |date=May 19, 2007}}</ref>}}
|-
| {{CHI}}
| [[ISDB-T International|ISDB-Tb]]
| <span style="display:none">2024-04-09</span>April 9, 2024<ref name=":7">{{cite web |date=March 9, 2024 |title=Proceso de apagón analógico: conoce las fechas y zonas donde se aplicará la medida |trans-title=Analog shutdown process: know the dates and zones where the measure will apply |url=https://www.tvn.cl/noticias/actualidad/tvn-se-sumara-al-proceso-de-apagon-analogico-conoce-las-fechas-y-zonas |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328101156/https://www.tvn.cl/noticias/actualidad/tvn-se-sumara-al-proceso-de-apagon-analogico-conoce-las-fechas-y-zonas |archive-date=March 28, 2024 |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=[[Televisión Nacional de Chile]] |language=es}}</ref>
|-
| {{CRI}}
| ISDB-Tb
| <span style="display:none">2019-08-15</span>August 15, 2019{{efn|NTSC broadcast to be abandoned by August 15, 2019, simulcasting [[ISDB-T International|ISDB-Tb]]}}
|-
| {{DOM}}
| ATSC
| <span style="display:none">2021-12-15</span>December 15, 2021{{efn|Over-the-air NTSC broadcasting scheduled to be abandoned by December 15, 2021, simulcast in ATSC<ref>{{cite web |last=Indotel |title=Televisión Digital en RD |url=https://www.indotel.gob.do//telecomunicaciones/televisi%C3%B3n-digital-en-rd/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221115054416/https://www.indotel.gob.do//telecomunicaciones/televisi%C3%B3n-digital-en-rd/ |archive-date=November 15, 2022 |access-date=March 1, 2019 |website=Indotel.gob.do}}</ref>}}
|-
| {{ECU}}
| ISDB-Tb
| <span style="display:none">2024-12-01</span>December 1, 2024
|-
| {{SLV}}
| ISDB-Tb
| <span style="display:none">2024-12-31</span>December 31, 2024{{efn|Over-the-air NTSC broadcasting scheduled to be abandoned by December 31, 2024, simulcast in [[ISDB-T International|ISDB-Tb]]<ref>{{cite web |date=October 27, 2023 |editor=Superintendencia General de Electricidad y Telecomunicaciones (SIGET) |title=Digital Terrestrial Television National Transition |url=https://www.siget.gob.sv/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/PLAN-NACIONAL-DE-TELEVISION-DIGITAL-TERRESTRE.pdf |access-date=June 20, 2024 |language=es}}</ref>}}
|-
| {{HON}}
| ISDB-Tb
| <span style="display:none">2019-12-31</span>December 31, 2019{{efn|Over-the-air NTSC broadcasting scheduled to be abandoned by December 31, 2019, simulcast in [[ISDB-T International|ISDB-Tb]]<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bustillo |first1=Yony |date=January 29, 2019 |title=Inicia cuenta regresiva para apagón analógico en sistemas de televisión de Honduras |url=https://www.elheraldo.hn/pais/1254372-466/inicia-cuenta-regresiva-para-apag%C3%B3n-anal%C3%B3gico-en-sistemas-de-televisi%C3%B3n-de-honduras |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190208113818/https://www.elheraldo.hn/pais/1254372-466/inicia-cuenta-regresiva-para-apag%C3%B3n-anal%C3%B3gico-en-sistemas-de-televisi%C3%B3n-de-honduras |archive-date=February 8, 2019 |access-date=June 23, 2019 |publisher=El Heraldo}}</ref>}}
|-
| {{JPN}}
| [[ISDB#ISDB-T|ISDB-T]]
| <span style="display:none">2012-03-31</span>March 31, 2012{{efn|Fully switched to [[ISDB]] on March 31, 2012 after the [[2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami]] suspended the planned 2011 rollout in three prefectures}}
|-
| {{MEX}}
| ATSC
| <span style="display:none">2015-12-31</span>December 31, 2015 (Full power stations){{efn|Plans about transition from NTSC announced on July 2, 2004,<ref name="ATSC_Mexico_2004">{{cite news |last=Hester |first=Lisa |date=July 6, 2004 |title=Mexico To Adopt The ATSC DTV Standard |url=http://www.atsc.org/cms/index.php/communications/press-releases/128-mexico-to-adopt-the-atsc-dtv-standard |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606212323/http://www.atsc.org/cms/index.php/communications/press-releases/128-mexico-to-adopt-the-atsc-dtv-standard |archive-date=June 6, 2014 |access-date=June 4, 2013 |newspaper=Advanced Television Systems Committee |quote=On July 2 the Government of Mexico formally adopted the ATSC Digital Television (DTV) Standard for digital terrestrial television broadcasting.}}</ref> started conversion in 2013.<ref name="Dibble_2013">{{cite news |last=Dibble |first=Sandra |date=May 30, 2013 |title=New turn for Tijuana's transition to digital broadcasting |url=http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/may/30/new-turn-for-tijuanas-transition-to-digital-broac/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906225915/http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/may/30/new-turn-for-tijuanas-transition-to-digital-broac/ |archive-date=September 6, 2013 |access-date=June 4, 2013 |newspaper=San Diego Union-Tribune}}</ref> Full transition was scheduled on December 31, 2015,<ref name="dgm 1">{{cite web |title=DOF – Diario Oficial de la Federación |url=http://dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5157568&fecha=02/09/2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180121000019/http://dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5157568&fecha=02%2F09%2F2010 |archive-date=January 21, 2018 |access-date=March 16, 2018 |website=dof.gob.mx}}</ref> but due to technical and economic issues for some transmitters &mdash; the full transition was extended to be completed on December 31, 2016.}}<ref>[http://www.cft.gob.mx/work/models/Cofetel_2008/Resource/11244/TDT_Decreto_2010_09_02.pdf Transicion a TDT (Transition to DT)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100919102452/http://www.cft.gob.mx/work/models/Cofetel_2008/Resource/11244/TDT_Decreto_2010_09_02.pdf |date=September 19, 2010}} (Spanish)</ref>
|-
| {{LCA}}
| ATSC
| <span style="display:none">2024-03-05</span>March 5, 2024
|-
| {{PER}}
| ISDB-Tb
| <span style="display:none">2024-12-31</span>December 31, 2024{{efn|NTSC broadcast to be abandoned by December 31, 2024, simulcasting [[ISDB-T International|ISDB-Tb]]<ref name="Cianci2012">{{cite book |author=Philip J. Cianci |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0mbsfr38GTgC&pg=PA302 |title=High Definition Television: The Creation, Development and Implementation of HDTV Technology |date=January 9, 2012 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-8797-4 |pages=302–}}</ref>}}
|-
| {{KOR}}
| ATSC
| <span style="display:none">2012-12-31</span>December 31, 2012
|-
| {{SUR}}
| ATSC
| <span style="display:none">2015-06-17</span>June 17, 2015<ref>{{cite web |title=Invoering digitale televisie zorgt voor meer tv-plezier • Surgoed Makelaardij NV |url=https://www.surgoed.com/nieuwsbericht/invoering-digitale-televisie-zorgt-voor-meer-tv-plezier/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925015232/https://www.surgoed.com/nieuwsbericht/invoering-digitale-televisie-zorgt-voor-meer-tv-plezier/ |archive-date=September 25, 2019 |access-date=September 25, 2019 |website=Surgoed Makelaardij NV}}</ref>
|-
| {{TWN}}
| [[DVB-T]]
| <span style="display:none">2012-06-30</span>June 30, 2012
|-
| {{USA}}
| [[ATSC standards|ATSC]]
| <span style="display:none">2009-06-12</span>June 12, 2009 (Full power stations)<ref>{{cite web |title=Senate Passes Bill to shift DTV transition date to June 12 |url=http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_Id=84452e41-ca68-4aef-b15f-bbca7bab2973 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210110616/http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_Id=84452e41-ca68-4aef-b15f-bbca7bab2973 |archive-date=February 10, 2009 |access-date=January 27, 2009}}</ref><ref name="ATSC Salutes The 'Passing' of NTSC">{{cite web |title=ATSC Salutes The 'Passing' of NTSC |url=http://www.atsc.org/cms/index.php/communications/press-releases/90-atsc-salutes-the-passing-of-ntsc |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524235632/http://www.atsc.org/cms/index.php/communications/press-releases/90-atsc-salutes-the-passing-of-ntsc |archive-date=May 24, 2010 |access-date=June 13, 2009 |publisher=NTSC}}</ref><br />September 1, 2015 (Class-A stations)<ref>{{cite web |title=FCC Public Notice: "Incentive Auction Task Force and Media Bureau Announce Procedures for Low Power Television, Television Translator and Replacement Translator Stations During the Post-Incentive Auction Translation", May 17, 2017 |url=https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-17-442A1.pdf |access-date=February 22, 2022 |website=Apps.fcc.gov}}</ref><br />July 13, 2021 (Low power stations)<ref>{{cite web |title=FCC Public Notice: "Incentive Auction Task Force and Media Bureau Announce Procedures for Low Power Television, Television Translator and Replacement Translator Stations During the Post-Incentive Auction Translation", May 17, 2017 |url=https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-17-442A1.pdf |access-date=February 22, 2022 |website=Apps.fcc.gov}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- Not stated --> |date=<!-- Not stated --> |title=Low power television service |url=https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/low-power-television-lptv-service |access-date=June 24, 2024 |website=fcc.gov |publisher=FCC}}</ref>
|}

== See also ==
* [[ATSC standards|ATSC]], the successor committee to NTSC that deals with digital television broadcast standards
* [[Broadcast-safe]]
* [[Composite artifact colors]]
* [[Glossary of video terms]]
* {{slink|List of common resolutions#Television and media}}
* [[List of video connectors]]
* [[NTSC-C]]
* [[Television channel frequencies]]
** [[Very high frequency]]
** [[Ultra high frequency]]
** [[Diffraction|Knife-edge effect]]
** [[Channel 1 (North American TV)]]
** [[Channel 37]]
** [[Pan-American television frequencies]]
** [[Australian and New Zealand television frequencies]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Sources ==
* A standard defining the NTSC system was published by the [[International Telecommunication Union]] in 1998 under the title "Recommendation ITU-R BT.470-7, Conventional Analog Television Systems". It is publicly available on the Internet at [http://www.itu.int/rec/R-REC-BT.470/en ITU-R BT.470-7] or can be purchased from the [http://www.itu.int ITU].
* Ed Reitan (1997). [https://web.archive.org/web/20050205064527/http://www.novia.net/~ereitan/Color_Sys_CBS.html "CBS Field Sequential Color System"]

== External links ==
* [http://www.ntsc-tv.com/ National Television System Committee]
* [http://www.jneuhaus.com/fccindex/cablech.html US cable television channel frequencies]
* [http://www.tvtower.com/Commercial%20Television%20Frequencies.html Commercial Television Frequencies] – at TVTower.com<!-- registration needed -->
* [https://archive.today/20121205005309/http://www.paradiso-design.net/videostandards_en.html Representation of the NTSC refresh rate on a television and on a DVD]
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222023017/http://www.avsforum.com/t/223615/does-59-94-hz-60-hz |title=Why 59.94 vs 60 Hz}}

{{TV resolution}}
{{Video formats}}
{{SMPTE standards}}
{{Color space}}
{{Analogue TV transmitter topics}}
{{Telecommunications}}

[[Category:ITU-R recommendations]]
[[Category:Television terminology]]
[[Category:Television transmission standards]]
[[Category:Video formats]]
[[Category:Video signal]]