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Choosing a video format for your story

CD and DVD players play discs that are encoded in the format specific to the region in which the players are sold. Players designed for one format cannot play discs that are encoded in a different format. For this reason, you may need to consider the countries and regions in which your photo story VCD will be viewed. The format specific to your region is selected in the Create a Video CD dialog box by default.

The two formats you can use to create a VCD in Plus! Photo Story are National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) and Phase Alternating Line (PAL). Each format uses a different standard for displaying video information.

If you live in a country or region that supports one format but plan to share a VCD with someone who lives in a country or region that supports the other format, you can create a VCD that is encoded in the other format. You cannot view this VCD on your DVD player, but you can use Windows Media Player to view VCDs encoded in either format.

The following table lists format information for some countries/regions. You can use this information to help you decide which format to use when creating a VCD. For more information about video standards and formats, you may want to search the Web.

Country/Region Format 
Argentina PAL
Australia PAL
Austria PAL
Belize NTSC
Belgium PAL
Bolivia NTSC
Canada NTSC
Canary Islands PAL
Chile NTSC
Colombia NTSC
Costa Rica NTSC
Ecuador NTSC
El Salvador NTSC
Germany PAL
Gibraltar PAL
Guatemala NTSC
Honduras NTSC
Ireland PAL
Italy PAL
Japan NTSC
Korea NTSC
Liechtenstein PAL
Luxembourg PAL
Malta PAL
Mexico NTSC
The Netherlands PAL
New Zealand PAL
Nicaragua NTSC
Panama NTSC
Paraguay PAL
Peru NTSC
Portugal PAL
Puerto Rico NTSC
South Africa PAL
Spain PAL
Sweden PAL
Switzerland PAL
United Kingdom PAL
United States NTSC
Vatican City PAL
Venezuela NTSC

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