Differences Between PAL & US for Wii

There are several differences between PAL and US Wiis

As with other seventh-generation consoles, Nintendo's Wii has been released all over the world. However, because of differences in broadcast formatting, the Wiis sold in Europe are slightly different than the Wiis sold in America.

PAL

Some countries operate under a broadcast format known as "PAL" (Phase Alternating Line). PAL is used in countries in Europe, Asia and Australia.

Explanation of PAL

Images on PAL televisions are displayed at 25 frames per second, because of the 50 hertz power supply that is generated in PAL countries. These broadcasts contains 625 lines of resolution per frame.

NTSC

Rather than PAL, the United States makes use of a broadcast format called "NTSC" (National Television Standards Committee).

Explanation of NTSC

Since the United States generates power at 60 hertz, NTSC televisions display images at 30 frames per second. Despite this advantage in frames, the resolution of the images is a mere 525 lines.

PAL vs. NTSC for Wii

In the end, the differences in the PAL and NTSC images displayed by the Wii are negligible. One is no better than the other, despite the fact that attempting to convert a PAL image to NTSC--or vise versa--causes image distortion.

References

• IHFfilm.com: A comparison of PAL and NTSC