The Universal Mastering capabilities of your Avid system let you create both NTSC and PAL master tapes from the same project. If you plan to output both formats, consider the following information.

In the Avid system, NTSC video uses a 4:3 aspect ratio with a screen display of 720 x 486 pixels. DV and MPEG footage uses a screen display of 720 x 480 pixels. PAL video uses the same aspect ratio, but includes an additional 90 horizontal lines for a total screen display of 720 x 576. During the process of creating a digital cut, the Avid system resizes the video image to the appropriate screen dimensions. For example, if you are working in an NTSC project and want to output PAL video, the Avid system resizes the NTSC video image to the larger PAL screen dimensions. This is the same process used in other standalone standards converters.

Because PAL has more horizontal lines of resolution than NTSC, resizing from PAL to NTSC results in better quality, especially for imported graphics. If you plan to output both NTSC and PAL versions of a sequence, consider using PAL film-to-video transfer and graphics sized for PAL. Your choice will depend on other production requirements, such as audio workflow and hardware availability.