Video Recorder

[David_Janet]

We have an english sourced Sony TV and Philips VCR.

The VCR has just died.

If I buy a new french sourced VCR, will I be able to:

1. Watch tapes already recorded from the TV

2. Record tapes from the TV using a Sky digibox.

If I can, what features do I need to look for?

(I know I once borrowed a french tape from a voisin, and it would only playback in black and white)

I tried doing a search, but got completely bogged down with PAL/SECAM/Scarts/PAL-M/NTSC etc.

Any help gratefully received.

Thanks

David

(81)

[Nick Trollope]

Here we go.........

UK VCR's record in PAL. French VCR's use SECAM. This is the standard they use to record. Playback depends on the model. Just as some (most) VCR's will play American (NTSC) tapes, most SECAM VCR's will play PAL tapes. The converse is unlikely to be true.

The "RF" or aerial output of a French VCR is very unlikely to be compatible with a UK TV (even a Sony) - this is the "black and white" symptom you describe.

SO, if you buy a French VCR, it will probably play your existing tapes, but check first (it should tell you on the box) - look for "PAL".

And, if you connect it to the SCART VCR socket on the back of your Sky box, with a fully populated SCART lead, it should work, although it depends on the VCR's ability to decode RGB signals (most do, some don't, this information will be in the manual). If you have a Sky box with an SVHS output (some + boxes, I believe), buy an SVHS recorder - this is guaranteed to work.

Better solution; accept that VCR's are old hat and buy a DVD recorder. Not much dearer than a good VCR and, as they are digital, the PAL/SECAM encoding issue is irrelevant. Buy one in France and it will decode SECAM off-air signals, guaranteed. Mine has just died, but it was 2 years old. *ugger.

 

[David_Janet]

Nick,

Thanks for that. I think I've got it now!

Perhaps you could just confirm for me. . .

I've spotted the following VCR in our local Gitem (€139):

Sony SLVSE640

PAL SECAM, ME-SECAM

Lecture NTSC

Hi Fi Stereo Nicam, 4 Heads.

It appears to contain the alphabet soup requirements you mentioned - do you think this would be OK?

I would like to go down the DVD recorder route, but I wouldn't buy a cheap one, and anything half decent still seems quite expensive (plus the cost of DVDs), so that may have to wait.

Thanks again for your help

David

[Nick Trollope]

That should work, as it appears to be PAL/SECAM selectable, as it also plays ("Lecture") NTSC (US standard) tapes. Don't take my word as gospel, though.

 

[Andrewjspencer]

David

be a devil and take a UK VHS cassette into the store and ask if you can play it through the VCR you are considering.

I did this a few years back when we bought a VCR for the MIL in Normandie and happily it worked fine in full Technicolor. The store should be OK with this as the alst thing they would want is you returning with the VCR asking for a refund.

HTH

Andy

[David_Janet]

Thanks guys,

From what you both said, and from the very confident (and apparently knowledgable) guy in Gitem, I took the plunge, bought the Sony, and:

It works fine!

The instruction manual, though, is another matter. . . People say every VCR, PC, Phone, Dishwasher - should be supplied with a free 10 year old. . . how right. In this case a french 10 year old. .

(You can actually download manuals in english from Sony, except at the moment there are problems downloading .pdf files - there's a problem caused by a MS security patch which is conflicting with their ftp server. Or something. . .

Anyway, once again, thanks.

David