Which video standard is commonly used in European countries?

The choice of PAL as the commonly used video standard in European countries is rooted in historical, technical, and regional factors. PAL, which stands for Phase Alternating Line, is a standard that was developed to address some of the limitations of earlier video formats and has become the predominant analog television broadcasting format in most of Europe, Asia, and parts of Africa.

PAL operates at a frame rate of 25 frames per second and has a resolution of 720x576 pixels. This aligns well with the electrical power standards in most European countries, where the nominal AC frequency is 50 Hz. The sync characteristics of PAL allow for better color stability and improved resilience to noise in transmission, making it preferable in these regions for analog television broadcasting and video playback.

In contrast, other standards such as NTSC are more commonly associated with North America and Japan. The DV format is primarily a digital video standard used for recording and editing but does not represent a regional standard. HDTV refers to high-definition television but does not specify a particular region or standard. Consequently, PAL is the clear choice when identifying the standard used predominantly across Europe.