Secam

SECAM

(SEquential Couleur Avec Memoire, Sequential Color with Memory) A color TV standard from France that was officially introduced in 1967. Although development began in 1956, it took time to convert from the earlier French 819-line system.

SECAM broadcasts 25 interlaced frames per second (50 half frames per second) at 625 lines of resolution, 576 of which are the image. Used in France, Russia, Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East, some of the countries have since switched from SECAM to PAL or from SECAM to digital TV (see DVB). Production equipment for SECAM is no longer made, and work is done in component video systems that support 576 scan lines and converted to SECAM for broadcasting. Some TV sets in SECAM countries may be able to accept PAL and NTSC signals as well. See NTSC, PAL and YUV.

Secam

the name of a color television system that is compatible with the black-and-white system and differs from other color television systems in that two color-difference signals are transmitted alternately (sequentially) while the luminance signal is transmitted continuously. The word “SECAM” is formed from the first letters of the French phrase [systè me] séquentiel couleursá mémoire, which means “sequential color television system with a memory.” The system was put forward by the French engineer H. de France in 1958. It has been adopted in several countries, including France and the USSR.