Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!gatech!ncsuvx!mcnc!rti!sunpix!cram
From: cram@sunpix.UUCP (Marc W. Howard)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: NTSC-PAL (in)compatibility
Message-ID: <681@greens.UUCP>
Date: 6 Jul 89 18:07:31 GMT
References: <124@nisca.ircc.ohio-state.edu> <566@axis.fr> <7263@cg-atla.UUCP> <852@anise.acc.com>
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Research Triangle Park, NC
Lines: 35

In article <852@anise.acc.com>, lars@salt.acc.com (Lars J Poulsen) writes:
> In article <7263@cg-atla.UUCP> welch@cg-atla.UUCP (John Welch) writes:
> > SECAM stands for Systeme Electronique Couleur Avec Memoire.
> > PAL ... Phase Alternation ,or alternating Line
> > NTSC = Never The Same Color :-)
> >This info was culled from the Raster Graphics Handbook put out by
> >Conrac.
> 
> Back around 1965 or so, when Europe was all aflame with political wars
> about selecting TV color systems, I heard:
> 
> NTSC  = Never Twice Same Color
> SECAM = Supreme Effort Contre Americains
> PAL   = Phase Alternating Line
> 

	Pardon moi!  Everyone knows that SECAM stands for:

	System Engineered Contrary to American Methods

(I heard a good one for PAL many years ago but forgot it)

P.S.	I remember reading in a book about the era that Moscow was almost
set to choose NTSC (again, no problems with receiving captialist pig
broadcast from western European dogs).  RCA moved a full demonstration setup
there.  Unfortunately for them, the State and/or Defense departments decided
that the VTR head technology that Ampex had developed to too "sensitive"
for export to Russia.  The French had no qualms about that and the rest
is history.

					Marc W. Howard
					Sun Microsystems
					Visualization Products
					Res. Tri. Park, NC
					cram@sunpix