UK HDTV in the USA?

[VivaTheBeaver]

Hello, I will be moving to the US next year and wondered if anyone has moved a U.K. purchased, Sony Bravia HDTV to the US, and more importantly will it work? Sony advise against this but I get the feeling this is just the standard line, they didn't say it wouldn't work.

Thanks

VTB

[planecrazy.eu]

Hmmm, well i have to admit i dont 100% know but this is what i was told on my HD Training.

UK HD TV is PAL, 25 FPS, US HD TV IS NTSC, 30FPS

That alone would mean No, as the frame rates would be different...

Then they went on to say that HD TVs are in some way made so they can only have native things attached, so you cant attach a NTSC HD-DVD Player to a PAL HD TV Set.

The reason they said was so us UK guys cant buy a NTSC Player and get the movies imported before country release dates...

I have a feeling this is just one of those things they tell you, so you tell the customer, they tell their friends, all so they can sell more UK dvd's...

However, i think i am inclined to agree with the frame rate thing, as currently you cant take a UK TV to the USA unless is supports PAL and NTSC. I am aware that there are Sony Sets that do both.

Check the specs and that should tell you if it can support ntsc.

[P.Pilcher]

It used to p*** me off in the 80's that in Saudi Arabia (and no doubt many other places in the world), you could purchase multi standard TVs which would work happily anywhere and multi standard video recorders to play tapes through them. But in the U.K. it is PAL ONLY because we only transmit on one standard don't we. (er - the Saudi's only transmitted in SECAM of course - but that didn't stop multi standard TV's being available.)
These days I thouroughly enjoy recording a T.V. programme on my satellite Sky+ box and whizzing through the adverts at x12 or x30 if I'm brave. I also understand that a similar unit in the U.S.A. also possesses buttons which jump 30 seconds or a minute of recorded material - just the job for skipping the adverts - why can't we have the same over here? - Yes I know - it will be available next year on a new box at an extra cost of £10 per month!

P.P.

[airborne_artist]

I also understand that a similar unit in the U.S.A. also possesses buttons which jump 30 seconds or a minute of recorded material - just the job for skipping the adverts - why can't we have the same over here? - Yes I know - it will be available next year on a new box at an extra cost of £10 per month!

www.tivo.com/ (http://www.tivo.com/)

[Jimmy Macintosh]

There is the PAL/NTSC issue, I know that my DVD player does the conversion for the TV (multi region player) but I'm pretty sure that my TV can handle both signals, you could probably see from the manual whether yours can.

One of the bigger problems is the electricity supply, over in the US it's 110V at 60 Hz, but the UK 220V at 60Hz. SO unless you're prepared to buy a transformer with some meat in it, I'm not convinced it would last long before something died, if it worked at all.

[ZH875]

The UK is 50Hz, and probably nearer 230v, anything (like a timer) that was sync'd to the mains input would run at a different speed.

[ORAC]

The short answer is no - because of the power supply. The Bravia is 220-240V 50hz, the USA is 110-120V 60hz. You can get around the voltage easily enough with a transformer, the 50/60hz is a much more expensive option to get around. I looked into it several times, both when staying in LA for a year and for Americans moving here, and it was not worth the cost.

The Bravia does support NTSC 3.58 and 4.43 replay, but the tuner does not. You can get around that, as I did, by buying VCR, PVR or a cable box to plug into the HDMI or Component inputs and using that as the receiver.

But, I am afraid, the power problem makes that all irrelevant.

[hamishbrown]

Hi,

Sorry to join in your community with this question.

I too am moving to the US and was planning to take my Sony Bravia HD LCD TV with me to connect to a Cox Cble HDTV box.

I had thought this would be possible by using a USA to UK Step-Up Transformer from Maplin in the UK (link below), but after reading the previous posts I now have doubts.

Does anyone know if a step-up transformer will work? :confused:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=24488&doy=7m8&C=SEO&U=strat15

[planecrazy.eu]

Hey There...

Thats a USA to UK, you want UK to USA, so no that product wouldnt work...

Your better off trying to sell it over here and then just buying one over there, with the good $ and cheap prices over there you might not even loose any money...

I am not sure of where you can get the product you need from, a work friend thinks Monster USA sells them but i am not so sure...

[IO540]

I am an electronics engineer and would be very suprised if any modern TV cares about the mains frequency being 50 or 60Hz. The internal power supply should not care and it should be using the mains for any timing purposes either - there is the teletext data for getting precise time from, or one would use a crystal.

[P.Pilcher]

The HDTV issue is even mpre complex than that. Please have a read of: http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=258423

P.P.

[Keef]

I would be very surprised if the HDTV didn't have a switch-mode power supply (rather like computers these days), and quite surprised if it weren't capable of handing anything from 105 to 250 volts, 50 or 60 Hertz.

If it insists on 230 volts 50 Hertz, then you could get round that quite easily: all you need is a 110v AC to 12v DC converter (readily available in the USA) and a 12v DC to 230v AC converter (ditto in the UK). Just make sure the power ratings of both are adequate.

Unless the television set itself is dual-standard, the PAL vs NTSC thing will stop you.

I remember, years ago, earning a very nice bottle of wine for converting a very expensive German-bought television set to receive in the UK. The intercarrier sound frequencies are different - one's 5.5 MHz, the other's 6.0 (I forget which is which). It takes a couple of minutes if you know what to do.
I'm sure NTSC <-> PAL is much more difficult.

[Keygrip]

A 110>220 (120>240, call it what you will) transformer is VERY READILY available from most back street electronic shops.

There are some quite small ones, going for around US$50 (£25) that will handle something small like a fax machine - but they do tend to get a tad warm if left running for too long.

I have a couple of really chunky ones - a very tidy looking black thing, and a real scruffy beaten up industrial thing - but something in the region of $80<100 should see you running absolutely ANYTHING less than the kitchen stove.

I ran a UK Pro-Logic surround sound amplifier from one for the last eight years. The transformer is still going strong, but the rear amplifier has blown in the surround sound so the system has been replaced by a local one (that only wants 120volts).
I certainly would not go down the 120vac>12vdc>220vac route unless you have lots of space behine the cupboards to lose it in and a big fan to keep it cool unless you want to make toast.

As said - the BIGGEST problem would be the NTSC>PAL switching. Depends on the receiver.

I know a lot of UK video equipment will show an NTSC onto a PAL screen but I'm not sure I'd want to run it permanently.

There are, of course, video converters available, indeed I have two of them stored in my closet - but, although I've not tried it, I doubt very much that they can handle High Def.

[Keef]

The problem with the transformer route, Keygrip, is that it produces 230 volts 60 Hertz, and if the TV minds about the mains frequency you're in trouble.

The data plate on the device will say what it wants. It may be 105-230v, 50-60Hz, or it may be anything between that and 230v 50Hz. The former just plugs in and will sort itself out. The latter won't like a transformer, and if it goes BANG the warranty won't be valid. In between are the devices that would be happy with a transformer.

12v power supplies and 12->240 converters aren't that big, these days, and most don't need cooling fans.

[hamishbrown]

:ok:

A big thank you for all the replies.

I think, unless someone can confirm through experience that a UK Sony Bravia LCD will definately work in sunny California; then I wil just have to treat myself to a new 40" Bravia when we move over... :)

Anyone who lives near Edinburgh want to buy a nearly new Bravia 32" (only joking)... :O

Och aye the noo,
Hamish

[Tim_CPL]

Sell the TV in the UK and buy another one in the US.
These kind of consumer electronic devices are really cheap these days and manufacturers don't care about differing markets and making things multi-standard, as it adds costs that only 0.01% of the potential buyers care about.

I sold my 25" Sony when i moved from the UK to Austin and bought a 40" rear projection HD TV over here. I have just upgraded that to a 40" LCD monitor that cost me all of $900 over Christmas. The new TV is a monitor only as I used a Scientific Atlanta 9300 HD DVR hooked to the monitor via HDMI. The TV monitor claims to be multi standard and just for fun I put a PAL composite feed from an old AKAI VCR into the TV and it played just fine.....

After 5 years I am down to just one transformer, which is a 500W jobbie that runs the Linn turntable (via a 220AC to 12DC PSU and then a true sine DC to 220V inverter), a Beard valve pre-amp and Arcam CD player .... Seems like all the linear PSU's in these things were not designed to be multi-voltage or switchable.

- Tim