Using a US TV in the UK

I've seen a few posts on here regarding home cinema equipment etc, so I thought I might get some knowledgable response!

I've had an offer to buy a US spec plasma TV over here in the UK, I'm unsure as to the suitabillity of it.
First I'd obviously I'd need a 110V step down transformer.
I'd be getting the screen itself (i.e. no TV tuner part) so as far as I can tell, there'd be no problem with NTSC/PAL compatability issues is this right?
The last question I have is compatability with other devices - over here we usually use SCART sockets, but as far as I can tell the US use component inputs - what are these exactly?

Thanks for any advice/answers.

Cheers.

I know that I cannot run PAL directly to any TV I've owned. It's possible that the specific model you're looking at will support it, but you'd have to check with some authoritative documentation to be sure.

SCART, IIRC, is a big plastic block connector with multiple conductors, right? This is absolutely nothing like anything that's ever been used in the US. Component inputs are uncommon, but do exist on higher-end TVs, of which I'm sure the plasma display you reference is. They are, essentially (and this isn't entirely correct, but it's close enough) Red, Green, and Blue each on separate cables. The cables are the exact same size and shape as an RCA cable, like the kind that the audio output on the empeg would use. I believe that the impedance, et al., is the same, but I don't know for sure. The more common connectors are composite, which is a single RCA-type cable (definitely the same impedance, et al., as an audio cable) that carries the entire video signal, and S-Video, which is a multi-conductor cable that carries chromaticity and luminance separately, and looks rather like a PS/2 keyboard or mouse connector on both ends except it has 4 conductors and a plastic key inside the surrounding shield. There are a couple of other connectors that you still see, but they're reasonably obsolete and will mostlikely not be on a plasma TV.

The only thing you'll lose though not having scarts is auto source/format switching. If you get a Component screen, you can use it with an RGB source by either buying a bodge box from Maplin or if you're a real man, download the designs and build a matrix to convert the signals, it's basically a bunch of opamps. Let me disappear to find some schematics....

PS, the difference between RGB and component is that component signals comprise of a monochromatic luminance signal and two colour difference signals. RGB is simply three luminance signals representing the red, green and blue parts of the picture.

this should do the trick....

I skipped over that part about the precise nature of component because I thought it wasn't really relevant. I guess I was wrong.

BTW, it's been brought up here before, but, thanks, Official Deciders of Terms, for giving us both ``composite'' and ``component''. More than the first half of each word is the same.

Most US plasma TVs/monitors have S-Video as well as component and composite video inputs.
Unless your source has component output then you will not need it. Only my DVD player has component all the rest are svideo.
The closest thing to SCART is SVideo. But there are problems coverting between them because SCART on makes all of the SVideo lines available one way, you get black and white going the other way.
Check out http://www.videocapturecard.com/svideoscart.html for more info.
I did buy one of the cheapo cables and it does indeed only give B&W.

Thanks for all that info everyone but, as ever, I still have a couple of questions!

Am I correct in thinking that if I'm using an RGB or Composite style input, PAL/NTSC etc won't matter to me? So I just need to daisy chain my SCART devices together then stick an RGB-YUV convertor on the end and I'm off to go?
Anything else I should be wary of?

Thanks a lot for that schematic!

Cheers.

PAL/NTSC will definitely still matter.

Hmmm, OK. More research required. Again, thanks for the info.

Cheers.

BTW, it's been brought up here before, but, thanks, Official Deciders of Terms, for giving us both ``composite'' and ``component''. More than the first half of each word is the same. -wfaulk

As the offical grammar policeman, I wouldn't have expected that complaint from you, Bitt.

When I was reseaching buying a plasma, I found that they were all NTSC/PAL capable. They are all so expensive, that buyers expect all the bells and whistles, and this is one of them. I would be extremely surprised if it wasn't multi-format. Similarly I found that the majority of them were universal voltage. The main culprit that claims different voltage operation is Panasonic. Of course sometimes this is just a bluff to discourage grey imports, and you can in fact run a machine stickered at 115v on 220v. But you have to be very very brave to try it out... and I definitely wouldn't recommend it.

What is the model you are looking to buy ?

Regards

Mark

NTSC and PAL just decide how the colour information is coded on the composite signal. You might be down by 100 lines but I have a feeling it won't matter. The chances are your plasma will have been built in the far east, therefore it probably has a multistandard chassis.

RGB and component don't need any complicated encoding on the chroma. They are simply colour difference signals. When I was over at NAB we had to hire a video projector, once we fed it with RGB it worked quite happily with the UK DVD player and the PAL disc we were using.

Just out of interest, how much of a saving are you making on this TV?

Yes, but if you can find a plasma which doesn't do both NTSC and PAL, you're doing well - as they're high-end, all plasmas I've ever seen are multiformat.

Hugo

It was a 50" Fujitsu. And yeah - you're right it does support PAL and NTSC and probably a whole bunch of others.
It was a extraordinary saving but, like all extraordinary savings, it wasn't worth it! So thanks anyway, everyone, for the help and info; I'll keep it in mind when I've saved up enough to get a proper one

Cheers.

like all extraordinary savings, it wasn't worth it!

I can think of at least one extraordinay savings that was more than worth it (read: Rio Car Fire Sale!)

Yeah, I'd say 50% off a Ferrari Enzo would be an extraordinary saving but I still couldn't afford it!

Ok then, like most extraordinary savings . . .