rediffusion

Hi,
I've just moved to the US from the UK and want to buy a 26"ish LCD widescreen TV that can play PAL DVDs. Any ideas? Most of the TVs here seem to be NTSC only.
thanks,
R

mbs

You need a player that converts PAL->NTSC (a cheap, decent suggestion is the Philips DVP-642). Finding a PAL TV here will likely be quite difficult.

rediffusion

thanks
i already have a multi region DVD player, all i want is a decent TV to play them on
any other help would be gratefully recieved - brands, models, stores, etc

R

dhmac

I recommend the Oppo ( http://www.oppodigital.com )

Not only a highly-regarded upconverting DVD player, but capable of being an all-region player as well. (I played an Australian PAL disc on it without a hitch.)

rediffusion

as I said, i need a TV player that will play the discs not a new DVD player

R

dhmac

I think you're not quite understanding how things are here. I assume a "TV player" is a combo unit TV + DVD player built-in. There are some models available like that, but they all are low-quality and should be avoided. And none of those will play PAL anyway, so they are out for you.

Instead, since you mention getting a LCD TV, then you should get an one that's also a HDTV, which is ATSC standard not NTSC. ATSC is higher resolution than either NTSC or PAL, so it will get the most out of DVD discs.

Then you'll need a DVD player to go with it. And since you'll need PAL capability, the Oppo is the best choice currently on the market. The resolution coming out of the Oppo is selectable, so you'll have choices on which looks best on your TV.

Chupa

A few links you may find useful (or not):

http://welectronics.com/tv/HITACHI_26LD8000TA.HTML

http://www.planetomni.com/MSLCD_SHRP...GA4M_DTL.shtml

http://welectronics.com/tv/SONY-KLVS26A10.HTML

http://www.focususa.com/showpage.asp..._info.htm&f=bz


http://www.streetprices.com/x/search...stem&pk_cat=15

Numanoid

A TV doesn't play discs. And if you have a region-free NTSC outputting DVD player, ANY TV will work.

rediffusion

My DVD is a UK multi region DVD player. It played both PAL & NTSC discs on my UK TV but will only play NTSC DVDs on my US LCD TV. I have been told that only certain TVs can handle the PAL signal.

gimmepilotwings

I am scratching my head on this one too.. What model TV do you have?

rediffusion

this one

BSTNFAN

Have you checked your DVD player to be sure it will not output an NTSC signal? My DVD players have an option to output a PAL signal (or native), but I keep it set at NTSC as that is all my TV will accept. My region free player does decent PAL to NTSC conversion for me...If it turns out that your player will not output NTSC or does crappy PAL to NTSC conversion (and you're determined to keep it), the only place I've ever seen TVs for sale in the US that accept a PAL signal is on military bases. They sell them that so if the buyer gets restationed in Europe they can bring the TV with them.

Spiky

It is easier in the US to find a player that converts, rather than a TV that is capable of both. That is why you are getting the answers above. Your best option may be to get a new player for NTSC. Keep your old one for PAL if you really like it.

As for PAL compatibility, the best method is just to check specs when shopping. There are hundreds of TVs, I couldn't possibly come up with a list of ones that have this feature. Projectors are usually multi-system capable, but not many other TVs. It may be more likely that an LCD monitor would have the capability. Or you could import one from Europe.

Numanoid

It would seem really silly to spend extra hundreds of dollars for a PAL-capable TV rather than spend $60 for a new region-free player (like the aforementioned DVP-642).

X

If your player has VGA or DVI output and the TV can accept either of those signals PAL/NTSC becomes a non-issue. You should be using a digital signal on a set like that anyway.

Component wouldn't matter either, would it? Just composite or s-video should be a problem.

rediffusion

the DVD player has a SCART output but the TV doesn't
this is how i used to connect the two

rediffusion

this is what i have on my TV. i am currently using the Video out + L & R Audio from my DVD

mbs

You are doing yourself a serious disservice by using composite video. Use component or HDMI.

X

Absolutely.

You can always get something like this:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?...ges&doy=search

but I would just find a player with a DVI or HDMI output that can be hacked region-free.

rediffusion

Thanks for all your advice.
This is the DVD I have
and this is what's available for connections....


what's the best way of connecting the DVD to the TV?

rediffusion

Is it possible to link via a SCART to HDMI lead? Does such a thing exist?

X

Nope. SCART is analog, HDMI is digital.

Can't you use the player's component connection? That doesn't care about NTSC or PAL (I think). It should be very much like VGA which doesn't.

Spiky

X,
I'm afraid component does care. It is not an official NTSC connection, but it still uses the technology. (scan rate, color info, etc.) I believe the same would be true for VGA/DVI. You may be thinking of the Oppo or some other player where it doesn't matter over DVI, but that is more likely because the Oppo is doing a conversion to ATSC.

rediffusion,
A UK player and US TV is the worst combination. It would've been better to keep your TV and get a new player than the other way around.

It may be possible to get SCART to HDMI, but I have a feeling it would cost hundreds. I looked up PAL to NTSC converters, and they range from around $100 to hundreds. But they are still only Svideo, so you would be sending your TV a pretty poor signal for all that money, 480i only. An iScan or other scaler should do this conversion, also. If you were interested in a scaler, that would give you lots of features that could be helpful. The latest, greatest iScan is $2000. I'd love to have one of these for other reasons.

Sorry if the price of solutions keeps increasing. Cheapest would still be to get a different player for now.

X

No, VGA/DVI don't care at all. That's how you can play a PAL DVD on a computer and all you need is a region-free DVD-ROM or one that hasn't locked into region 1 yet.

When a VGA or a DVI signal comes out of a video card there's no PAL or NTSC info, it conforms to VGA or DVI standards at that time. You can specify whatever you want for the scan rates/timings/resolutions in order to conform to your monitor. A large LCD with DVI or VGA input is just a large computer monitor.

I just wasn't sure about component because I haven't tried it. I don't know if component coming out of PAL players has different timings than from NTSC players. I tend to think it doesn't but I suppose I'll have to set a player to PAL and use component to find out for sure.

X

Nope. I just tried an interlaced component signal with the player set to PAL and the picture rolled. Wrong timings evidently.