TV Broadcasting Standarda

[cajal]

LAST EDITED ON 03-Feb-04 AT 09:21 AM (GMT)

We are in the process of sourcing a new TV.

Researching different models I find that certain sets have the feature of a Built in Tuner and appear to conform to particular Broadcasting Standards ( PAL SECAM NTSC )

As the UK and the majority of Europe adopt PAL and France SECAM my question is:

If I purchase a TV in the UK which has a 'built in tuner' for 'broadcasting standards' PAL SECAM & NTSC will it be able to receive and transmit French terrestial TV if used in France. Or does the 'broadcasting standard' only refer to video playback?

TIA

cajal

[A_Redman]

I posted a long note of my experiences in sourcing dual standard TVs in the "Television and DVD in France" thread. Which I have just moved back up the forum.

If you buy in France be very careful to check that the set will receive PAL I (as opposed to B/G). If you buy in the UK check the manual thoroughly yourself.

[gynfreeman]

>If I purchase a TV in
>the UK which has a
>'built in tuner' for 'broadcasting
>standards' PAL SECAM & NTSC
>will it be able to
>receive French terrestial
>TV if used in France.

If you are buying it in the UK, it would seem reasonable to assume that the version of PAL installed in the set is PAL-I (the one for the UK).

Since France is the biggest country round here which uses SECAM, it would also be a reasonable assumption that the version of SECAM is France's.

If this set really has PAL/SECAM/NTSC, then it sounds to me like it has a true multi-standard tuner, which will offer most versions of TV standards available in the world! - you could find yourself paying for rather more functions than you need. - you'd have to be going some to pick up terrestrial NTSC broadcasts, or are you planning to travel to America (or Japan)?

In the same way that the most expensive way of buying Marmite is in the specialist food section of a French supermarket, you will find that the price of a dual standard TV in France is w-a-y cheaper than you can get them in the UK.

However, if you plan to truck the set backwards and forwards between the two countries then a uk-sourced set will guarentee you have one that works on uk PAL-I.

paul

[Martin963]

LAST EDITED ON 04-Feb-04 AT 09:33 AM (GMT)

The VITAL thing if you want to watch terrestrial analogue TV in France directly on this TV is that it is system L with SECAM.

SECAM itself is a colour system, it has NOTHING to do with the black and white technical parameters. Only when these are correctly set will you get any sort of picture, the colour system is supplementary to all this.

France uses system L which is about as "contrary" to all the other European systems as it is possible to be. The sound modulation with L is AM not FM, its offset from the video carrier is different, and most importantly the polarity of the video signal is the opposite to everyone else (ie + ve in France).

The chances are (although I am not familiar with the set) that this TV will accept SECAM fine through its SCART sockets but may well NOT accept system L signals via its aerial input. You can get round this by buying a French VCR and using that as your UHF tuner, linking it to the TV by SCART.

But if the TV doesn't accept system L you will not even get a black and white picture if you connect it direct to an aerial in France

Be very careful, most so called multi standard sets are INCOMPATIBLE with the French L system.

[gynfreeman]

Cajal,


I've looked at the manual for this model and it does indeed have a multi-standard tuner, so will work perfectly well in France and the UK (and most other countries in the EU, apparently!). It works happily with off-air signals and equally with a video or satellite receiver via its scart or s-video socket. All of this in addition to functioning as a computer monitor. If you're happy with the price, I'd go for it.

paul