NTSC & PAL version time differences?

  • Thread starter FuryX21
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FuryX21

FuryX21

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A while ago when I was at a message board, someone had posted a question asking if the PAL version of GT3 was harder than the NTSC version. He asked this because in a license test, he noted how in the PAL version the time to get gold was shorter than the time in the NTSC version. Here is the conversation:

arun17 says:
In the final exam for A license, to get gold in the PAL version, you have to beat 15.4 seconds but in the American version, you only have to get 15.53 seconds. Why is this?

Not Me then says:
Don't you guys know anything? The PAL version uses Metric Seconds !! That's why there is a time difference! ;)

Sadat then says:
PAL is actually faster/same speed than NTSC. But when NTSC games are converted into PAL games they loose 17,5% speed, and there is some black borders at the top and the bottom. Because there are more lines in PAL than NTSC.

LOL.. and there is no such thing as "metric time".. you americans should grow and learn some information on other countries than your own...

Not Me then says:

I posted the metric second joke days ago! I'm completely aware of the metric system and what it was designed for. By the way, the British are the inventors of the English system of measurement, not Americans. Secondly, the metric system does measure time, that's why we have milliseconds. Milli is a metric prefix. So blah to you! Lastly here are some facts about NTSC and PAL, I'll even throw in SECAM so the French don't feel left out.

N T S C
National Television System Committee

Lines/Field 525/60
Horizontal Frequency 15.734 kHz
Vertical Frequency 60 Hz
Color Subcarrier Frequency 3.579545 MHz
Video Bandwidth 4.2 MHz
Sound Carrier 4.5 MHz

P A L
Phase Alternating Line

SYSTEM PAL; PAL N; PAL M

Line/Field 625/50; 625/50; 525/60
Horizontal Freq. 15.625 kHz; 15.625 kHz; 15.750 kHz
Vertical Freq. 50 Hz; 50 Hz; 60 Hz
Color Sub Carrier 4.433618 MHz; 3.582056 MHz; 3.575611 MHz
Video Bandwidth 5.0 MHz; 4.2 MHz; 4.2 MHz
Sound Carrier 5.5 MHz; 4.5 MHz; 4.5 MHz

SECAM
Sequential Couleur Avec Memoire or Sequential Color with Memory

SYSTEM SECAM B,G,H; SECAM D,K,K1,L

Line/Field 625/50; 625/50
Horizontal Frequency 15.625 kHz; 15.625 kHz
Vertical Frequency 50 Hz; 50 Hz
Video Bandwidth 5.0 MHz; 6.0 MHz
Sound Carrier 5.5 MHz; 6.5 MHz


So after all that, I'm stil not sure if a version runs faster than another (I don't understand all that mumbo-jumbo in the last post). What I would like is for someone with the PAL version to post the times required for a gold in about 3 different license tests, then I will post the times required to get gold in the same license tests (in the NTSC version). If theres a difference, then that would explain why I can't get near some of the lap record times in the Challenges & Races Forum ;)
 
Originally posted by FuryX21
So after all that, I'm stil not sure if a version runs faster than another (I don't understand all that mumbo-jumbo in the last post). What I would like is for someone with the PAL version to post the times required for a gold in about 3 different license tests, then I will post the times required to get gold in the same license tests (in the NTSC version). If theres a difference, then that would explain why I can't get near some of the lap record times in the Challenges & Races Forum ;)
Click to expand...

All that mumbo-jumbo he's talking about is how TVs work. Apparently this gentleman thinks that what is on the screen is what matters. Some people are easily deceived. He is giving the standards for tv refreshrates and number of rows that are generated. This is similar to a computer monitor. Computer monitors have a refresh rate (how many times per second that the screen is updated) and a resolution (how many dots by how many dots are on the screen). Unfortunately all this has absolutely nothing to do with timing in the game.

What matters ... how the PlayStation 2 processes the time/distance in a game. If the distance is stored in km and miles, or if it's stored in one thing then converted on the fly to the local standard. I would guess that it's stored as km and converted to miles for the US version only. Everyone else in the world uses the metric system, and we have proof that the game is meerly a simple port of the original Japanese version.

Also, his joke about metric time ... see here: http://zapatopi.net/metrictime.html You would be cool to pass this along (:

~LoudMusic
 
Sadat then says:
PAL is actually faster/same speed than NTSC. But when NTSC games are converted into PAL games they loose 17,5% speed, and there is some black borders at the top and the bottom. Because there are more lines in PAL than NTSC.
Click to expand...

quote by furyX21
So after all that, I'm stil not sure if a version runs faster than another (I don't understand all that mumbo-jumbo in the last post).
Click to expand...

NTSC version = 60fps, PAL version = 50fps... it's all to do with the vertical refresh rate, NTSC's 60hz versus PAL's 50hz.
 
Here are some PAL gold times for you, FuryX21:
S6: 1'16.800
S7: 2'09.300
S8: 1,27.800

I've put these three, 'cos they're the only ones I can remember off the top of my head!
 
Originally posted by squadjot


can't you read???
Click to expand...

i was actually simplifying Sadat's claims in the original post, the question is what has your attitude problem contributed to this thread?

EDIT: I've added a nice little quote there to help you understand it squadjot.
 
Here are the times for gold in the NTSC version in those license tests:

S6 - 1'16.800
S7 - 2'10.000
S8 - 1'31.000

S6 appears to be the same, but S7 & S8 have significantly shorter times, especially S8. Thats odd :odd: Are you sure those are the correct times?
 
This is very interesting.... Humm...

Well, this would explain alot. I wonder if anyone has developed a "Time Accuracy Conversion Formula" that would accurately represent NTSC times in comparison to PAL times....

No wonder I've always been so freakin' slow. ;)
 
I think the real question is of handling, I doubt they made a mistake on time. I suspect that later versions got refined handling.
 
Originally posted by Talentless
I think the real question is of handling, I doubt they made a mistake on time. I suspect that later versions got refined handling.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's a case of different handling. Otherwise, wouldn't ALL the times be different?!
 
Originally posted by Pako
This is very interesting.... Humm...

Well, this would explain alot. I wonder if anyone has developed a "Time Accuracy Conversion Formula" that would accurately represent NTSC times in comparison to PAL times....

No wonder I've always been so freakin' slow. ;)
Click to expand...

Looks like me and you are suffering from the same diagnosis :)

I really wish that conversion table still showed up. That could at least provide a little more clarity. But I still find it odd that the times are so different in the license tests. Jayitsu, could you give me some more S-Class license test times please? I wanna see if their's a pattern in the time differences.
 
Originally posted by FuryX21


Looks like me and you are suffering from the same diagnosis :)

I really wish that conversion table still showed up. That could at least provide a little more clarity. But I still find it odd that the times are so different in the license tests. Jayitsu, could you give me some more S-Class license test times please? I wanna see if their's a pattern in the time differences.
Click to expand...

Okay, FuryX21, here are the gold times for the first five S-licences:
S1: 1'40.000
S2: 1'30.000
S3: 1'52.200
S4: 1'11.000
S5: 1'58.900

What times do you have?
 
Here are the times for those same license tests in the NTSC version:

S-1: 1'40.500
S-2: 1'30.200
S-3: 1'52.200
S-4: 1'11.000
S-5: 1'58.900

Even further bewildering. S1 & S2 are longer in the NTSC version, but S3, S4, and S5 are the same. How can some of them be the same time, and others be significantly different? (Like S-8)
 
There ARE NTSC users who can compete with the best PAL users (ZeroCool85 for example), so I think both versions have the same handling and performance.
 

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