jabs1888uk

Panasonic 50" plasmas can run NTSC so assuming I got the power supply sorted I should be able to use them as monitors, analogue and DVB tuners wont work, but feeds from cable or dish to HDMI or component should be ok ? Yes or No?

Any help appreciated. I know they are as cheap as chips but I dont want to sell a 50 inch plasma that I paid over a grand for for peanuts if possible?

airways

Yes. How old is it? The modern high end stuff tends to be multi voltage. 3 out of 5 of my big screens are 110-240 50/60hz and multi region with USA as a digital tuning option. HDMI is a universal standard so PAL/NTSC is no longer a consideration.

If not you will need an inverter to bring the 110v up to 220v or take a feed from the cooker circuit which is 220v in the US.

jabs1888uk

one is about 3 years old, one 18 months and one 12 months, all panasonic vieras, how can i check if its dual voltage? And would i just be using as a monitor effectively?

dunroving

There should be a small information panel somewhere (probably on the back) that tells you voltage, frequency, etc.

jabs1888uk

OK I will check thanks

wtkp0u

Not sure this is strictly true. The connectors are standard but both devices must still support the same signal. Highly likely though with new equipment.

airways

HDMI defines the physical connections and the data throughout. It ends the difference in standards like PAL and NTSC. Think of it like a computer monitor rather than a TV. The monitor displays whatever is put into it. The difference between the US and UK in HDMI terms is just resolution and the HDMI standards encompass all the resolutions.

I have a US DVD player connected via HDMI to an LCD playing US DVDs. Same goes for my appletv.

wtkp0u

Frame rate still matters, but most modern equipment won't care as mentioned in previous posts.

airways

Again the HDMI standard encompasses the entire frame rate range as well. I could make a lengthy post about how all the standards work and how they achieved commonality under the HDMI and HD standards if you want?

Suffice to say that if a TV has a HDMI port it meets at least the HD Ready standard at 720P which encompasses all of the frame rates and resolutions underneath it.

wtkp0u

I bow to your superior knowledge.

Don't buy one of these then
http://www.amazon.com/Atlona-AT-HD56.../dp/B0011MOVN8

airways

Thats an HDMI scaler.........

Most AV amps these days have AV scalers built into them. In fact a lot of TV's have them now as well. A scaler is nothing to do with standards conversion, it merely upscales a source, 480 or 576 into a 720 or 1080 image.

My Yamaha amp does it as standard. My DVD player also upscales.

The difference between a Europe and the US in terms of HDMI standard def is the USA uses 480 and Europe uses 576. An upscaler takes those and pushes them up to an HD format which is 720p and on the newer stuff 1080P. Although television broadcast in HD is generally done at 720P. Blueray is designed for 1080P. The frame rate is irrelevant in terms of the panel display, that is only concerned with the resolution. The refresh rate of 50/60hz makes no different to the panel either. HD ready panels are capable of taking input up to 100hz full HD generally up to 200hz and I have even seen some that 600hz.

A panel in Europe that carries the HD Ready or FULL HD logos can take any resolution and refresh rate from 480 up to 720 for HD ready and 1080P for full HD. They are all multi region as well so if you have a non HDMI device for example a DVD player from the USA the output on that will be 480 and NTSC the panel will be able to display it in native format rather than converting to 576i.

In the old days before devices were compatible for example with VHS, if you put a US video in a UK player the picture would be in B&W and flicker unless the TV could accept a direct NTSC content.

HDMI is actually a small form version of the DVI digital format and the display is nothing more than a computer monitor when taking a signal as HDMI. Devices with HDMI ports output the signal digitally and its the panel that does the work to display it.

I could ramble on for hours about this if you really want. But to get back to the original posters question. Yes his UK spec plasma will accept and playback in native format whatever is put into it via the HDMI port.

Generally speaking going the other way tends to be a problem, i.e US to Europe as the US kit is often missing the full protocol set for interpreting specific NTSC based signals from older types of digital boxes.

wtkp0u

I continue to bow to your superior knowledge.

Bob

You don't want to do that.

It's not the same 220V...all to do with the way they phase it...it'll bork the tele.

md95065

No it won't.

However anyone attempting to connect European 220v or 240v equipment to as US domestic 220v supply needs to be aware of the fact that the US 220v supply consist of two 110v lines 180 degrees out of phase with each other and that *both* sides of the supply are *live* ("hot" in US parlance) wrt ground.

Realistically that probably only matters if you are poking around inside the equipment with the power connected but with the power switch on the equipment turned off - in which case you may find more live wires than you expected.

More practically, big plasma screens are bloody heavy - you would have to be insane to ship them to the US unless someone else was paying or they could be included with other stuff that you really *needed* to ship for no additional cost.

Bob

It would void any insurance though unless they had it in writing.

The other issue, and this really is a minor one as everyone uses either cable or satellite, but over the air tuner wouldnt' work on the tele here, would have to get an external tuner. Only really an issue is someone were living in the boonies and the cable offered wasn't HD, so no hdmi out of the box and this does happen in some of the boonies.