PAL -> NTSC with a twist

[davkuo]

Someone please help me!
I bought my nice lcd tv from USA to Singapore, and now cannot figure out a way to use it. Singapore is on the PAL standard.

I bought a Pioneer DVR-530H-S thinking that it would solve my problem.

I have a Sharp Aquos LC-37GB5U 37" LCD tv which I bought to Singapore from USA. The TV has only a NTSC tuner, but has composite, component, DVI and HDMI inputs. Singapore is on the PAL system, like UK. My dilemma is in trying to connect the RF antenna in signal to my tv to watch broadcast tv on my NTSC-only tv. On the mistaken idea that using component inputs would resolve the issue, I bought a Pioneer DVR-530H-S. This is multisystem PAL/NTSC dvr. Unfortunately, it is geared towards PAL tv. NTSC RF inputs can be converted to PAL, but PAL RF inputs are not converted to NTSC. So now, I have a rather useless DVR without a return policy. In case you are curious, this machine has only a 80GB hard drive, unlike the 160GB I read selling in Europe. Purchase price was SGD800, or about US$482. I am now reading up on hardware NTSC<->PAL converters, among them the heavily advertised CMD-1200, but am unsure whether they are any good, and if they will look terrible on my LCD screen. Can someone please suggest a solution. Thank you for any help.

http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/home_av/video_recorders/0,39037597,39094401p,00.htm?

[FulciLives]

Sell the TV and either buy a Multi-System TV that is PAL/NTSC capable or buy a TV in the format you need.

There are some PLASMA TV's that can do NTSC and PAL.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[davkuo]

These are not feasible solutions for me. Who is going to buy a NTSC tv from me in Singapore. And the TV was purchased recently, costing me quite a bit of money. I am in a bind. How capable are converters, such as CMD-1200?

[edDV]

ebay

[FulciLives]

These are not feasible solutions for me. Who is going to buy a NTSC tv from me in Singapore. And the TV was purchased recently, costing me quite a bit of money. I am in a bind.

I guess my point is ... then why did you buy the TV that you bought? It makes no sense unless you didn't understand the whole multi-system thing or didn't know then that you would need PAL capability???

How capable are converters, such as CMD-1200?

I have the CMD-850 which is a slightly older model but spec wise does not appear to be all THAT different from the CMD-1200.

The CMD-850 is a POS (Piece Of Shit). Somehow I do not hold out much hope for the CMD-1200.

In short you are screwed. Best to ditch the TV and get a PAL only TV or better yet a multi-system TV.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[davkuo]

i was relocated to Singapore recently from NY, and didn't realized the issues involved. One possibility is to get a PAL tuner card for my PC and watch tv through VGA/DVI output/input. does anyone know if that works well?

[FulciLives]

i was relocated to Singapore recently from NY, and didn't realized the issues involved. One possibility is to get a PAL tuner card for my PC and watch tv through VGA/DVI output/input. does anyone know if that works well?

That might actually be a viable solution BUT how well that will end up looking ... hard to say.

My guess though is that it will look "good enough" for TV stuff.

When it comes to DVD movies you can easily buy a "region free" DVD player that does PAL to NTSC and NTSC to PAL conversion on the fly.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[NoodleMaps]

I think your computer solution may be your best option.

[davkuo]

I think I found the best solution for this problem. I just bought a video scaler which takes any input (NTSC or PAL) and output to in HDTV or PC format. This is perfect for my LCD tv.
http://www.cypress.com.tw/category.php?CId=005