The Tele has just decided to go to sleep, Unfortunately I live with a man that can not live without his tele and could not possibly watch a portable.

As we are not going to Oz for 12-18 months I need to get a replacement. I have looked at rentals but they are about £35 Plus, therefore I think I might just as well buy one.

Does anyone know what I should ask for to make sure that the TV in compatible with both regions.

Most of the shop assistant look at me as though I am something from out of space !!!!!

JW,
Try the search field and put in "Television" or "Satellite".
Found all sorts of info in previous threads.
(some contradictory)
This posting had a lot of techie stuff:-



22 Apr 2002 09:13

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Re: Will your UK TV work in Australia ? - yes, it might
Hi
As etlniwd suggests, you need to check if your UK TV supports "PAL B/G" instead of the usual PAL I.

It's not just the sound, in some cases you can't get the picture either. Here's the detail:

PAL I, used in the UK, is 625 lines, UHF

PAL G is 625 lines UHF but with a different audio frequency. Most channels in Oz are PAL G, so an older UK TV and even some quite modern ones will only display the picture. A cheap modification can be made to get the sound working in your UK VCR or UK TV by a TV engineer in the know.

PAL B is 625 lines, VHF with the same audio frequency as PAL G. If you move to an area in OZ like Brisbane, (but not the Gold Coast), where some TV channels are VHF, then your standard PAL I UK TV won't get these channels at all, and modification is really out of the question.

If your TV is "multisystem" (Panasonic and Grundig make some), then it should support all of the PAL formats, and also SECAM and NTSC.

Regardless, you can still use your UK TV by connecting to an Australian VCR (available cheaply as low as $199), and connect it to your TV using a/v cables such as Scart, composite or S Video cable, and you quickly get used to having to use two remotes - one for the tv for volume and one for the vcr for the channels. If you get cable, satellite or an Australian games system over here, these will all work fine too as long as you connect using these a/v cables. If you instead tried to connect using the normal ariel lead and tune in, you will not get the sound unless you have had the TV modified.

If however your TV does not have any audio/Video or Scart sockets on the back, i.e. it ONLY has an ariel lead - then I would definitely not recommend bringing it, and it will have zero resale value here. You might consider bringing it if you intend ONLY to connect it up to a UK games system or perhaps a UK VCR for playing tapes only.

Note, IF you are buying a DVD player - DVDs and DVD players bought in England are Region code2. DVDs and DVD players bought in Australia are region code4. (region 1 for USA). Although the TV systems are the same for UK and Australia, the DVD player will not allow you to play a disc from a different region - and most shops will neglect to tell you that discs from another country won't play. DVDs are cheaper out here by the way! The answer is to have a modified player that is "Region Code Free" or "Region select / auto select" or "All regions". Just don't buy a player that is locked on one region! which is what most retail stores will only sell. Many players can be modified, which no doubt affects warranty and costs around £60-£100 I think. Much easier to buy a code free or selectable region player - and sometimes the very cheapest players from Hong Kong or Taiwan are code free. But you can get upmarket players like Pioneer or Sony that are region free as well by purchasing mail order - just search for "code free dvd" on the net.

I've got various info up at http://emigrate.hotshopping.com.au
Tim

We've got nearly the same problem - on its last legs and the sound keeps flicking off - very annoying. How about getting a cheap one on Ebay / free ads to keep you going? I may resort to this if my sound goes completely!

Ah, the sound of silence

Worth remembering is that tube tv's (the old style - ie not plasma or lcd screen) Are manufactured to be either Northern Hemisphere or Southern Hemisphere standard. It's all to do with compensating for the direction of the earth's magnetic field. Basically... use your tv/monitor in the "wrong" part of the world and it will wear out much faster. Best bet it to buy locally.

cany ya just turn it upside down

We've got a Panasonic which can be 'fixed' and will then work normally in Oz, however it costs £118 and the only people who do it are near Heathrow.

Sounds like the same bull about water going down the plug hole in a different direction and that compasses point to the South Pole below the equator. Good job the later's not true otherwise James Cook wouldn't have discovered the southern continent.

I'm sorry... Are you accusing me of making that up?

I have seen that mentioned so many times but only by word of mouth. It strikes me that if you turn the TV around in the UK you would be changing its orientation to the earths magnetic field. I struggle to see difference.

http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_cr...tml#CRTFAQ_020

Read 4.14 to 4.17
That explains everything if you have the patience to wade through it.

Interesting there is a third neutral type which I guess is for those around the equator.

our uk tv works fine through scart.

The earths magnetic field would have minimal affect on the electron gun as the magnetic field produced by the coils to direct the electron beams is much stronger, within the confines of the tv set, than the earths magentic field in that same space.

It certainly would not 'wear out faster'. Even if you hold a massive magent next to a television it would alter the path of electrons (produce distortion on the screen) but not wear the coils or the emitter out at all.

If you constantly moved a very large magenetic field near the coils or emitter than....yes you could do some damage through induced currents....but if this is a result of the earths magnetic field I wouldn't bother coming to australia as you probably want to spend the last few hours before doomsday with your family in England.

Jay

Its not bull about the water and the plug hole..it DOES go down the opposite way!!

Yea - that was news to me too (third type of tube). I work for a broadcaster as a reporter over here and they told me not to take any of the kit over from London but to buy locally - for that tube reason, that's how i first heard of it.