logo Sign In

Wanted: I'm looking for a PAL VCR... — Page 2

Author
Time
Post link
Ok guys, you all seem to be pretty clued up on this stuff, so maybe you can help me some more - It looks like I'm gonna have to bring my VCR and maybe DVD player with me to America when I move. Here in England our electrical sockets put out 240v while I think in America it's 110 (?) which means I will need a step up convertor to boost that 110 in order to power my machine. I've done some quick research and you can actually buy said convertor from Radio Shack. What I want to know is, can you get multi socket convertors, so I can plug 4 British appliances in and have them all work? That would save me from having to buy multiple convertors and also means I could bring my PC without having to open it up to install a new power supply. Any help is greatly appreciated - I have a lot of cool and obscure PAL VHS and DVDs and I am bringing them with me, whatever it takes (have you seen how crappy the American Back to the future DVD set looks compared to the british one?)

Incidentally, I believe the difference between PAL and NTSC players is that in Europe our TVs display more lines of pixels, giving a clearer picture, or something like that...

War does not make one great.

Author
Time
Post link
Nothing to stop you plugging a standard 4-way extension into a single converter, although I don't know what current the US outlets are fused at - in the UK it's 13 amps, so the total load must not exceed 13A x 240V = 3120W
Quote
Incidentally, I believe the difference between PAL and NTSC players is that in Europe our TVs display more lines of pixels, giving a clearer picture, or something like that...
Better picture definition, yes, but more flicker...

Guidelines for post content and general behaviour: read announcement here

Max. allowable image sizes in signatures: reminder here

Author
Time
Post link
Yeah, you can get multiplugs/surgestrips here in the U.S. that allow you to plug in anywhere from two to 14 items. However, you would need to plug in one of each of your adaptors and possibly even the step ups into that.

However, I'm not clued in enough other than that. Your best bet, if you can stomach the international call, would be to call a Radio Shack and ask them what their advice would be. I'd recommend this course of action over an e-mail simply because you can never guarantee if an e-mail will garner a reply.
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
-------------------------
Kevin A
Webmaster/Primary Cynic
kapgar.typepad.com
kapgar.com
Author
Time
Post link
Yeah. I'll give em a call. I'll do it from work- hehe.

Moth3r said:

"Nothing to stop you plugging a standard 4-way extension into a single converter, although I don't know what current the US outlets are fused at - in the UK it's 13 amps, so the total load must not exceed 13A x 240V = 3120W"

Does anybody know what the US outlets are fused at?

Rikter - try this website. Although you will have voltage problems like I've been discussing, their prices are good. Don't know if they mail internationally but we could sort something out:

www.richersounds.com

War does not make one great.

Author
Time
Post link
I thought it was 220V. Could be wrong. Radio Shack should be able to answer that for you.
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
-------------------------
Kevin A
Webmaster/Primary Cynic
kapgar.typepad.com
kapgar.com
Author
Time
Post link
Quote
Originally posted by: Yoda Is Your Father
I could bring my PC without having to open it up to install a new power supply.


That's probably not necessary anyway. Most power supplies are quite happy with anything between about 100V and 240V. Some have a switch on the back, but others just work. Then all you'll need is a power cord with the US/Canada three-prong plug.

Many DVD players available in North America will do PAL with no sweat. Many (but fewer) can be made region-free with remote keypresses. (Mine, of course, does everything now that I've poked around under the hood...) But unless you're also bringing your TV (did you say you were?), then won't your DVD player be sorta useless, because its S-video (etc.) out will be PAL, while your new North American TV will be made in China -- uhh... I mean it'll be NTSC. And I've never, ever seen a dual-standard TV for sale in North America.

Or are you planning to run everything to a computer capture card? Then you'll be fine either way.

BTW, I'm pretty sure most home circuits in North America are either 10A or 15A max. I think it depends on the wire gauge, and what sort of service (i.e. washer & dryer? or just general? or whatever...) you're running from. Nobody outside electricians will really know this well (and it'll depend on your actual abode). But you might find something online if you look for the electrical code for the place you'll be moving to. Or check some online forum like that of Fine Homebuilding magazine.

Author
Time
Post link
Thanks for the PC advice, and good point about the DVD player/TV adaptability, although I believe mine is dual PAL and NTSC, at least that's what it says on the box (It's a Wharfdale DVD 750). It was one of the first reasonably priced (well, 200 pounds over 5 years ago) DVD players available in england many moons ago, and although it's ancient now, I've found no reason to replace it.

War does not make one great.