PAL

Technology & Computing abbreviation · Consumer Electronics

PAL
Stands forPhase Alternating Line
CategoriesTechnology & Computing

PAL stands for Phase Alternating Line, a consumer electronics abbreviation.

Analog color television standard used in most of Europe, Australia, much of Asia and Africa, with 625 lines at 25 frames per second. It corrected the hue errors of NTSC by reversing the phase of the color signal on alternate lines.

Example: The old PAL version of the game runs about 17 percent slower than the American release.

Usage notes

Walter Bruch developed PAL at Telefunken, and West Germany and the UK began PAL color broadcasts in 1967. Classic console games converted from 60 Hz NTSC to 50 Hz PAL often ran slower, with borders around the picture. The term still labels region-specific discs and consoles even though analog broadcasts have ended in most PAL countries.

More consumer electronics abbreviations

  • MR – Mixed reality
  • NTSC – National Television System Committee
  • OIS – Optical image stabilization
  • OLED – Organic light-emitting diode
  • OSD – On-screen display
  • OTA – Over-the-air broadcasting
  • PC – Polycarbonate
  • PCM – Pulse-code modulation
  • PDA – Personal digital assistant
  • PiP – Picture-in-picture
  • PPI – Pixels per inch
  • PVR – Personal video recorder

See all 104 consumer electronics abbreviations →

Edited by the AbbreviationList.com team. Spotted an error or a missing meaning? Contact us.