Apple Final Cut Pro 5 - Manual (Page 1313)

526 Part III Output
The following three pull-down patterns are available when your sequence has an
editing timebase of 23.98 fps and you choose 29.97 fps external video output.
 2:3:2:3: This pull-down is the most commonly supported pull-down pattern for
NTSC devices, and is ideal for recording devices such as a standard definition
television, an MPEG-2 encoding device, or a high-end finishing system. This pattern
is the most processor-intensive method of introducing pull-down, but outputs
NTSC video with the least noticeable temporal artifacts. For this reason, 2:3:2:3
pull-down is generally considered to have the most acceptable quality of motion.
This pull-down pattern is also referred to as 3:2 pull-down.
 2:3:3:2: This option is best for recording or displaying video on DV devices that
support the 2:3:3:2 pull-down pattern. On DV devices, this pattern also requires
less processing to output than 2:3:2:3 pull-down because the 2:3:3:2 pull-down
requires recompression or regeneration of fewer frames. In the 2:3:2:3 pattern, two
of the five frames in the pattern are regenerated, but in 2:3:3:2, only one of the five
frames needs regeneration. Video output using 2:3:3:2 pull-down can be recorded
with any NTSC camcorder or deck, but the perceived motion quality is lower than
when using 2:3:2:3 pull-down. This pull-down pattern is also referred to as
advanced pull-down pattern.
A B C D
A B B C C D D
Interlaced frames
24 fps
2:3:2:3 pulldown
A B C D
A B B C C D
Interlaced frames
24 fps
2:3:3:2 pulldown