Standard format for color TV signals used in the UK and most of the Western Europe (except France), several South American, Middle Eastern, Asian, African, and Pacific Island nations, and Australia and New Zealand. PAL specifies 786 pixels per line, 625 lines per screen, 25 frames per second, and a primary power of 220 volts. Invented in 1961, it provides a better image than the Canadian and US standard NTSC but inferior than France's SECAM. All three of these standards are mutually incompatible.