CED VideoDisc and Player Discussion

andrewwild · Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 2:12 pm Post subject: Quality

Hi, is there a difference in quality between PAL and NTSC players as my PAL player (GEC McMichael V5001H) doesn't seem to have quality as good as NTSC players, is this normal or is something not quite right ?, Many Thanks, Andy

cedmagic · Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 3:53 am Post subject: RE: PAL vs. NTSC CED Quality

PAL discs do have slightly lower quality than NTSC discs because they spin at 375 RPM rather than 450 RPM. This reduced speed results in a lower signal-to-noise ratio. Of course the advantage of this is that PAL discs can hold 12 more minutes of video per side compared to their NTSC counterparts.

You can also see reduced quality on any single CED by comparing the quality at the beginning of play vs. the end of play. In this case it is due to the groove circumference being largest at the beginning of play. Because the quality change is small and happens so gradually over time, you usually don't notice it while watching a CED movie.

Spirantho · Joined: 29 Sep 2005 Posts: 35

What Tom said about inner grooves is especially true on PAL, because we have a lower bandwidth signal anyway. It's the same as with turntables, if you have a dodgy stylus it's the last part of the disc that'll show it up.

But at least we get more than 150 minutes per disc. Smile

It's possible your stylus is dirty and/or overused, though, too... but where you're going to find a replacement mono stylus in the UK goodness knows! I wonder if a stereo one would work! You could try cedatum.net and ask them to take a look, he's very good and knows what he's talking about.
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