TV in Spain
 

Okay. We've bought the villa and will be moving out in a few weeks. I know this sort of question has been asked before but I have seen conflicting answers. Does anyone know if my Sony Triniton super dooper 32 inch widescreen Tv (just less than 2 years old) will work in Spain, for sure?
I wrote to Sony, and they said -
"The UK operates a television standard of PAL/I (?PAL? for picture, ?I? sound), whereas Spain operates a standard of PAL B,G. With this in mind, your television will be incompatible with this broadcast signal. I am sorry for any disappointment my reply may cause."
Now you may say well there you are then, but this contradicts other advice I have seen, and also I got the strong impression that the Sony reply was a bit of a standard reply.
What do you think? It would be a shame not to bring it as its a brilliant TV, but if it won't work....

Unless you're going to be watching Spanish TV, it will work just fine off your cable or satellite. If you really really want to watch Spanish TV, though why anyone would is beyond me, a local TV shop should be able to send someone out to rectify the sound problem.

Right, that's it. I'm taking it. Thank you for that. And I quite agree about Spanish TV.

Sounds like a plan, and if you do feel the urge to watch Spanish telly, you can always get a dirt cheap portable at Carrefour or Caprabro etc.,

Watching Spanish tv is a good help to learning the lingo..:lecture:

"" Watching Spanish tv is a good help to learning the lingo..""

I agree - helps with learning and understanding culture - so do not dismiss Spanish TV

From UK - using SKY - ( channel 835 ) you can now watch TVE International
( and a plus point - hardly any adverts !! ):D

Good luck

PS . understand having satellite TV will cost an arm and a leg :scared:

Good point about Spanish TV being a help to learning the lingo and understanding the culture, etc. I'll get a cheap portable when I get there.

Re: TV in Spain
 

Hi,

The Sony reply no doubt is a standard one, and as far as trying to use a British TV to watch off-air Spanish broadcasts is concerned, it is correct. But it doesn't tell the whole story.

PAL (Phase Alternation by Line) is the system used for the transmission of color. It's used throughout western Europe with the major exception of France.

The "I" and "B/G" parts refer to a standardized list of various worldwide TV systems, and define the number of lines (625 in all modern European broadcasts), the way that the sound carrier relates to the vision carrier, and a whole load of other technical details that I won't bore you with.

B/G are by far the most common standards in western Europe (as always, excluding France). However the U.K. and Ireland adopted system I in the 1960s, which has some slight variations.

Quite a few sets sold in the U.K. in recent years will actually switch to alternate standards, but assuming you have a PAL/I-only set as stated by Sony, the following points apply to Spain:

1, You will not be able to receive regular off-air Spanish broadcasts. Or to be more precise, you will be able to tune-in some pictures, but will have no sound. Even if that were not the case,you would not be able to receive all of them anyway because the U.K. now uses only UHF channels whereas Spain uses both UHF and VHF.

2. If you take a British VCR, satellite receiver, or any other such box with you which has a PAL/I RF output, then obviously that will still work.

3. If you connect a PAL video signal from some Spanish box to the video/audio or SCART input on the TV, that will work. In fact, if you buy a Spanish VCR and link it to your TV via the SCART sockets, then you could watch off-air Spanish broadcasts via the VCR.

Hope this helps.

Paul
(Electronics engineer.)

WOW...........I know sooooooo much more now :D

Maybe you should set up your web site and charge:D

I will just leave mine here and buy a new one......and the dvd players will play american dvds so i am assuming they wil work out there as will PS2's

Ruth

Paul thanks very much for such a detailed explanation! It's always good to know the reason behind these things. I am taking my (Sony) dvd/ sound system and vcr as well so I should be able to sort it all out, and also get a Spanish vcr at some point.

I'm sure others will find the explanations useful as well.
Thanks again.

Re: TV in Spain
 

Sorry to dredge up this old thread but I have a couple of questions and thought it better to stick them here than on a new thread. I live on the north coast (Cantabria) and am interested in getting a Sky dish / decoder / package.
- All our TV sets were bought in Holland and Spain. Will this be a problem for receiving Sky?
- What size dish do I need here to receive BBC, ITV, C4, etc.? Are these channels included in the basic free Sky package? Do I need to register with Sky in order to get the free package?

Any links to relevant websites with FAQs would also be appreciated.

cheers, Jim

Re: TV in Spain
 

If you try to register with Sky giving a Spanish address, or any inkling that you're not in the UK, they'll cut you off and give you a perm ban. A local should be able to tell you what size dish you need to get the footprint.

Re: TV in Spain
 

I knew about not using a Spanish address, and there aren't any locals with Sky dishes in these parts, but thanks anyway.

Anyone else?

Re: TV in Spain
 

Have you looked at http://www.smartsat.tv/

Re: TV in Spain
 

Found something even MORE useful:
http://www.satelliteforcaravans.co.uk/
which is a step-by-step guide for dummies like me to buy and set up their own dish and system from scratch.

According to this site, 90cm should do me perfectly.