? "Jukka Aho" <jukka.***@iki.fi> ?????? ??? ??????
news:fX76h.51634$V04.37011@reader1.news.jippii.net...
> Charles Goodman wrote:
>
> > I'm moving from the US to Argentina in December and will be in another
> > country (don't know which yet) in 2 years as a result of my job.
>
> For some reason (Digital divide? Language barrier?) people from South
> America seem to be underrepresented here. From time to time someone asks
> technical questions about the somewhat peculiar tv broadcast standards
> used in South American countries such as Brazil and Argentina, but is
> often met with silence, or will only get some stray comments and
> guesswork from people living in other countries.
>
> This post falls in the latter category: I'm posting from Europe, living
> in a PAL B/G country (which is about to become a 576i/25 [625/50] DVB
> country next year) and I've never even set my foot on the continent of
> South America.
>
> > I've been wrestling with the need to buy a multisystem TV vs. just a
> > video converter. I've got a relatively new LCD TV that I'd rather not
> > toss and the multisystem TVs seem quite expensive...probably just a
> > result of limited resellers.
>
> As this is South America we're talking about, you need to be careful
> about tv standards. Even though PAL color encoding _usually_ implies a
> 625-line 50 Hz raster scanning standard, some South American countries
> use PAL color encoding in combination with an NTSC-style 525-line 59.94
> Hz raster. When weighing your options, the local raster scanning
> standard is what makes the main difference. Color encoding formats (PAL
> to NTSC, or vice versa) can be easily converted, but converting from one
> raster scanning standard to the other (625/50 to 525/59.94, or vice
> versa) is difficult, and will almost always significantly degrade the
> image quality (especially if you only have "domestic" standards
> conversion equipment at your disposal, and not something like the Snell
> & Wilcox Alchemist Ph.C.)
>
> As it turns out, the PAL-N broadcast standard, as used in Argentina, is
> a 625-line 50 Hz format. In other words, different from what is used in
> the US, and what your current tv set will accept. Hence, conversion with
> good quality is pretty much out of the question. You can get a watchable
> picture by using a domestic PAL-to-NTSC standards converter, but it will
> have motion artifacts (such as motion judder) and/or it will be blurrier
> than the original - especially for any part of the image where there is
> motion.
>
> > I plan on either getting cable or satellite TV, so I should have a
> > digital "box".  I also like to watch DVDs.  I'll probably mainly use
> > Netflix (I'll have access to an APO/FPO for delivery), but I'd like
> > the option of renting/buying local DVDs too, so I'll probably buy a
> > region free player.
> > As I understand it, if I've got a cable or satellite box, then I only
> > need to worry about converting the format (PAL to NTSC).  If I'm not
> > pulling TV off an antennae, then I don't see what a multisystem TV
> > would really get me. Am I missing anything?  Are there any other
> > reasons (in my situation) to consider a multisystem TV?
>
> As discussed above, any (domestic) conversion from a 625-line 50 Hz
> system to a 525-line 59.94 Hz system will introduce motion artifacts
> and/or blurriness, and therefore reduce the image quality. This
> reduction in image quality will happen regardless of whether the
> original 625/50 signal came from an antenna or from a set-top box.
>
> A multistandard tv set would benefit you by displaying both raster
> scanning formats natively, without this reduction in quality.
>
> * * *
>
> Note that in Europe and Australia - both 625/50 PAL(/SECAM)
> territories - multistandard tv sets have become the norm over the last
> 15 years. Even though the NTSC color encoding standard or the 525/59.94
> raster scanning format are not used for local tv broadcasts, video
> rentals, prerecorded DVD/VHS sales, or camcorders, people have lots of
> connections to NTSC countries, and will occasionally want to view
> NTSC-formatted VHS tapes or DVDs (for example, home videos from
> relatives, or obscure indie movies ordered from overseas.)
>
> It is possible that a similar development has also happened in Argentina
> and in other South American 625/50 countries. That wouldn't be too
> surprising, especially considering that the NTSC broadcast standard and
> 525/59.94 raster scanning is used in many surrounding South American
> countries, and the border areas of neighboring countries can probably
> receive each others' broadcasts. For instance, Argentina shares a long
> border with Peru, which is an NTSC-M country. Argentina is also likely
> to receive lots of satellite broadcasts in 525/59.94 format. There's
> probably just as much (if not more!) genuine need for NTSC or 525/59.94
> support in Argentina than in Europe and Australia.
>
> If this speculation turns out to be true, you might want to check out
> what kind of tv sets are available locally. Perhaps, in the best case,
> you will find out they're more or less all NTSC-compatible, and could
> find a nice NTSC-compatible set that you could bring back with you to
> the US. The selection, in that case, could also be better than in the
> US, where multistandard sets are not generally available in Walmart and
> the like.
>
> * * *
>
> Whichever way you decide about this, you will need a voltage converter,
> since Argentina, according to the Internet, is a 220 V 50 Hz country.
> (Unless you manage to find a set that is multistandard with voltages,
> too.)

> I'm moving from the US to Argentina in December and will be in another
> country (don't know which yet) in 2 years as a result of my job.  I've been
> wrestling with the need to buy a multisystem TV vs. just a video converter.
> I've got a relatively new LCD TV that I'd rather not toss and the
> multisystem TVs seem quite expensive...probably just a result of limited
> resellers.
>
> I plan on either getting cable or satellite TV, so I should have a digital
> "box".  I also like to watch DVDs.  I'll probably mainly use Netflix (I'll
> have access to an APO/FPO for delivery), but I'd like the option of
> renting/buying local DVDs too, so I'll probably buy a region free player.
>
> As I understand it, if I've got a cable or satellite box, then I only need
> to worry about converting the format (PAL to NTSC).  If I'm not pulling TV
> off an antennae, then I don't see what a multisystem TV would really get me.
> Am I missing anything?  Are there any other reasons (in my situation) to
> consider a multisystem TV?
>
> Assuming I'm right, and a video converter is the way to go for me, can
> anyone recommend a top-notch converter?  Ports, video quality and number of
> formats supported will all be important to me.
>
> Thanks a lot for any help/advice.
>
> Best regards,
> Charles Goodman