In article <1e9g7b4.1c72gw61q7vvqgN%dempson@actrix.gen.nz>, David Empson wrote: >Paul Schlyter wrote: > >> In article <956218548.85071@inv.ihug.co.nz>, >> Roger Johnstone wrote: >> >>> In article <8dlfui$19b$1@merope.saaf.se>, pausch@saafNOSPAM.se (Paul >>> Schlyter) wrote: >>> >>>> In article <956138319.317663@inv.ihug.co.nz>, >>>> Roger Johnstone wrote: >>>> >>>>> SCART is a standard for interconnecting video devices, . It's been around >>>>> for a while (20 years?) but it's not very common. >>>> >>>> WHAT? Virtually every TV and VCR sold today have SCART connectors.... >>> >>> Depends where you live. I know it's common in Europe (possibly because it >>> was originally a European standard), but in New Zealand most TVs and videos >>> still don't have it, which is definitely a shame. >> >> Well you can always import your TV sets from Europe. You do use PAL, >> 625 lines 50 frames/sec, don't you? > > Ah, but which version of PAL? There are at least three standards for > the broadcast format, There are no less than 8 different varieties of PAL. Apart from PAL-M (525-line PAL) the differences aren't that big though -- at worst, you'll lose the sound if there's a PAL version mismatch. > which vary in the frequency offset from the video > to the audio carrier. I know that NZ and the UK are different. (I > think the UK uses PAL I, while NZ uses PAL B/G.) > A UK TV will work fine with a NZ VCR as long as you use A/V connectors, > but it won't be able to get both picture and sound via the RF connector > (or use its internal tuner). Here you'll find more info about this than you probably want to know: http://hotel04.ausys.se/pausch/tv/tv.html Below I quote some relevant paragraphs. If you obtain your TV set not from the UK but from Germany, Spain or Scandinavia, you should do fine. =============================================================================== TV broadcast system parameters () = obsolete systems Sys- Lines Frames Lines Ch bw Vid bw Vid-Aud Vestig Video Color Sound Power tem /s /s MHz MHz sep, MHz sb MHz mod MHz mod vid/aud (A) 405 25 10125 5 3 -3.5 0.75 Pos - AM B 625 25 15625 7 5 +5.5 0.75 Neg 4.43 FM (C) 625 25 15625 7 5 +5.5 0.75 Pos AM D 625 25 15625 8 6 +6.5 0.75 Neg 4.43 FM (E) 819 25 20475 14 10 +-11.15 2 Pos 8.37 AM (F) 819 25 20475 7 5 +5.5 0.75 Pos AM G 625 25 15625 8 5 +5.5 0.75 Neg 4.43 FM 5:1 H 625 25 15625 8 5 +5.5 1.25 Neg 4.43 FM 5:1 I 625 25 15625 8 5.5 +5.996 1.25 Neg 4.43 FM 5:1 K 625 25 15625 8 6 +6.5 0.75 Neg 4.43 FM 5:1 (K') 625 25 15625 8 6 +6.5 1.25 Neg 4.43 FM 5:1 L 625 25 15625 8 6 +6.5 1.25 Pos 4.43 AM 8:1 M 525 30 15750 6 4.2 +4.5 0.75 Neg 3.57 FM N 625 25 15625 6 4.2 +4.5 0.75 Neg 3.57? FM =============================================================================== TV broadcast standards, country by country Europe: ------- PAL-B & G: Albania, Austria, Faroe Islands, Finland, Germany, Gibraltar, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland PAL-B & H: Belgium, former Yugoslavia PAL-B: Azores, Denmark, Malta PAL-I: Ireland, United Kingdom PAL-L & G: Monaco PAL-D & K: Roumaina SECAM-L: France PAL/SECAM B, G & L: Luxembourgh SECAM-B & G: Greece SECAM-D & K: Bulgaria, former Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, former USSR Africa: ------- PAL-B: Algeria, Cameroon, Ehtiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Madeira, Mozambique, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe PAL-B & G: Canary Islands, Nigeria, Swaziland PAL-I: Angola, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa PAL-K: Guinea SECAM-B: Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco SECAM-B & G: Tunisia SECAM-D: Chad, Congo SECAM-K: Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire, Gabon, Madagascar, Mali, Mayotte, Niger, Reunion, Senegal, Togo, Zaire SECAM-V: Djibouti Asia: ----- PAL-B: Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Qatar, Turkey PAL-B & G: Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, United Arab Emirates PAL-B & PAL-M: Thailand PAL-D: China PAL-D & K: North Korea PAL-I: Hong Kong, Macau PAL-M: Laos PAL & SECAM-B: Afghanistan PAL & NTSC-B: Yemen SECAM & PAL-B & G: Saudi Arabia SECAM-B & PAL-G: Syrian Arab Rep. SECAM-B: Iran, Iraq SECAM-B & G: Cyprus, Lebanon SECAM-D: Mongolia SECAM-M: Cambodia NTSC-M: Diego Garcia, Japan, Myanmar, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan NTSC-M & SECAM-M: Vietnam Australia/Pacific: ------------------ PAL-B: Australia, Cook Islands, New Zealand, Norfolk Island PAL-B & G: Papua New Guinea NTSC-M: Fiji, Galapagos Islands, Guam, Hawaii, Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Samoa SECAM-K: New Caledonia, Polynesia, Whallis Island America: -------- NTSC-M: Alaska, Antigua, Aruba, Bahamas, Barabuda, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, El Salvador, Equador, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent, Surinam, Tobago, Trinidad, USA, Venezuela, Virgin Islands NTSC-M & N: Bolivia PAL-B: Greenland PAL-I: Falkland Islands PAL-M: Brazil PAL-N: Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay SECAM-K: Guadelope, French Guiana, Martinique, St Pierre et Miquelon -- ---------------------------------------------------------------- Paul Schlyter, Swedish Amateur Astronomer's Society (SAAF) Grev Turegatan 40, S-114 38 Stockholm, SWEDEN e-mail: pausch at saaf dot se or paul.schlyter at ausys dot se WWW: http://hotel04.ausys.se/pausch http://welcome.to/pausch