TV Frame-rate question

[music_beans]

I notice in a lot of TV shows I watch (mainly ones from the UK and the like) have a ghosting effect during moving scenes. You can see this when you tape the program that has this effect and freeze frame it for a couple of frames.

I sorta know what causes this in PAL conversion (PAL runs at more frames than an NTSC signal), but in some recent American productions, I have seen it as well.

I have attached a pic from the holiday TV movie Nine Dog Christmas to demonstrate. Please keep in mind that NDC isn't a foreign import.

Was 3:2 pulldown used?

[music_beans]

Oh, I don't think 3:2 Pulldown was used in NDC since it was animated digitally.

[Mike Johnson]

Even though it was animated digitally, it may have been mastered in high definition at 1080/24p (24 frames per second - same as film). If that is true, 3:2 pulldown would have been used in the conversion to NTSC (480i). Many US productions are being mastered in 1080/24p in part to make them look more like film, even though they are shot on video.

Also a correction to your original observation - PAL is 25 frames per second, NTSC is 30 fps and film is 24.

[music_beans]

Hey, thanks for correcting me there. I do know Nine Dog Christmas is on DVD, but I don't have it yet. I have a tape I recorded NDC off of Cartoon Network.

Is the 3:2 pulldown the cause for the ghosting then?

[jpurkey]

MPEG compression can cause it. I remember seeing it on TV Land a couple years ago, especially with black and white shows.