Apple Final Cut Pro 5 User Manual Page 25

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24 Part I An Introduction to Final Cut Pro
Video Standards
A number of video standards have emerged over the years. Standard definition (SD)
video formats have been used for broadcast television from the 1950s to the present.
These include NTSC, PAL, and SECAM, regional video standards, with each used in
certain countries and regions of the world.
 NTSC (National Television Systems Committee): The television and video standard used
in most of the Americas, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea.
 PAL (Phase Alternating Line): The television and video standard used in most of
Europe, Brazil, Algeria, and China.
 SECAM: A video standard that is based on PAL and used in countries such as France,
Poland, Haiti, and Vietnam. SECAM is not supported by Final Cut Pro. However,
editing work is usually done in PAL and converted to SECAM for broadcasting.
Important: When you are specifying your initial settings, make sure you choose an Easy
Setup that corresponds to your countrys video standard. (An Easy Setup is a collection of
settings that determines how Final Cut Pro works with your editing system.) For more
information, see “Opening Final Cut Pro and Choosing Your Initial Settingson page 170.
Originally, all these formats were analog. Analog video uses a signal that consists of a
constantly varying voltage level, called a waveform, that represents video and audio
information. Analog signals must be digitized, or captured, for use by Final Cut Pro. VHS
and Betacam SP are both analog tape formats.
More recently, digital standard definition video formats were introduced, as well as
digital high definition (HD) video formats. Most consumer camcorders today record
standard definition digital video (such as DV), and professional cameras may record
SD or HD digital video.
Image Dimensions and Aspect Ratio
The horizontal and vertical pixel dimensions of your format determine the frame size and
aspect ratio. For example, standard definition (SD) NTSC video is 720 pixels wide and 480
pixels tall. High definition video is either 1280 x 720 or 1920 x 1080, and is usually referred
to by the vertical dimension and the frame rate (for example 720p60 or 1080i30).
The aspect ratio of a video frame is the width with respect to the height. Standard
definition video has an aspect ratio of 4:3, while high definition uses 16:9.
Note: You may notice that 1280/720 or 1920/1080 is equivalent to 16:9, while 720/480 is not
equivalent to 4:3. This is because standard definition digital video uses pixels that are
rectangular, not square. For more information, see Volume IV, Appendix A, Video Formats.”
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