Which LCD TVs can play UK PAL DVDs?

[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]

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.


thanks :grumble: -ohbfrank- -confused- :rolleyes:
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]

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


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 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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_LC-26GA4M_DTL.shtml

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

http://www.focususa.com/showpage.asp?categoryid=15&category=electronics&subcategory=tvmonitor&subcategoryid=293&itemid=4276&template=product_info.htm&f=bz


http://www.streetprices.com/x/search.cgi?query=multi-system&pk_cat=15

[Numanoid]

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

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

[rediffusion]

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


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 (http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/vModelDetail?storeId=15001&catalogId=13401&itemId=93225&catGroupId=24974&modelNo=TC-26LX50&surfModel=TC-26LX50&cacheProgram=11002&cachePartner=7000000000000005702)

[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

http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/7021/tv18ab.gif
http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/364/tv22xr.gif

[mbs]

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


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

[X]

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

You can always get something like this:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=37141&TabID=1&C=SEO&U=SEOsearchPages&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 (http://www.home-entertainment.toshiba.co.uk/consumer/products.nsf/pages/dvd-dvdvideo-sd-240e?opendocument)
and this is what's available for connections....
http://www.home-entertainment.toshiba.co.uk/consumer/products.nsf/files/SD-240E/$file/sd-340e_sd-240e_conns.jpg

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]

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.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.

[Spiky]

Right, but the computer can read the PAL and has already converted it into VGA/RGB in your example. That may not always be the case with other machines. I'm just saying that shopping the specs is still necessary. For instance, I wonder if a USA Sony player can convert the PAL discs for output on HDMI.

PAL is a different resolution and different scan rate. This does not change over component unless your player has converted it. My TV can accept both PAL and NTSC native, and it tells me which it is. My player reads both, but does not convert well, so I use native output for both. The TV display changes from "525p 60Hz" to "625p 50Hz" when I switch to a UK disc. Or something like that, I think it uses full spec rather than viewable resolution numbers. Viewable would be 480p and 576p.

[X]

Right, but the computer can read the PAL and has already converted it into VGA/RGB in your example. That may not always be the case with other machines. I'm just saying that shopping the specs is still necessary. For instance, I wonder if a USA Sony player can convert the PAL discs for output on HDMI. You are correct in that the specs are important. While VGA is VGA and DVI is DVI, the refresh rates (scanning frequencies) will be different for NTSC and PAL output.

Notice the HDMI specs for his existing TV...

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/364/tv22xr.gif

So the player would have to output 60Hz to work on that set. His player's PAL output would probably be 50Hz so that won't work.

A computer monitor, LCD or a digital projector tend to allow many different frequencies. But you'd have to verify that the display could handle the 50Hz that the existing player probably outputs for PAL.

[dhmac]

this one (http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/vModelDetail?storeId=15001&catalogId=13401&itemId=93225&catGroupId=24974&modelNo=TC-26LX50&surfModel=TC-26LX50&cacheProgram=11002&cachePartner=7000000000000005702)

I have a TC-32LX50 which is in the same product line as your set but with a larger screen. And I have an Oppo DVD player and can playback PAL discs this TV.

So just get an Oppo and you're set.

[X]

this one (http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/vModelDetail?storeId=15001&catalogId=13401&itemId=93225&catGroupId=24974&modelNo=TC-26LX50&surfModel=TC-26LX50&cacheProgram=11002&cachePartner=7000000000000005702)That set appears to only support 60Hz so a 50Hz (PAL) digital signal won't work with it.

I'm surprised how many LCD TV sets seem to explicitly not support 50Hz, even when they support several other scan rates. A computer LCD wouldn't care in the least.

[Spiky]

Amazing how you remove bunches of functionality from a PC monitor, remove resolution, add in a crappy composite/Svideo card and a $2 tuner and you have a TV for twice the price. Bizarre industry.