NTSC

NTSC means *N*ational *T*elevision *S*ystem *C*ommitiee.

It originally relates to the way colour information is encoded in an analog TV-signal and secondarily to the so called 480i norm defining 480 lines of vertical resolution and 59.94 interlaced half-frames per second.

In the context of digital broadcasting (DVB) or digital media (DVD, BD) the term NTSC is most often used to discriminate it from the 576i PAL norm.
Today when we speak of PAL vs. NTSC this primarily relates to the different refresh rates (50Hz PAL vs. 59.94Hz NTSC) mostly accompanied by the different vertical resolutions (576 lines PAL vs. 480 lines NTSC) of the two systems.
 

See also:

• PAL
• SECAM
• 480i
• 576i

Further Reading:

• Wikipedia article on NTSC
• Television Standards-Formats and Techniques