Where To Buy PAL VCR's In The USA?

[bewley]

Hello... I hope this topic is OK for the Capturing Forum! If not...

I have a friend living in Europe who would like for me to convert his PAL video tapes to (X)VCD. Unfortunately, I only own NTSC equipment and having the tapes converted professionally from PAL to NTSC first is very expensive. Since I have no desire to view these tapes on my TV, I assume that I can hook a PAL VCR directly to my capture card and capture away without the need of a converter or expensive multisystem VCR..?

My question, where can I buy a PAL VCR in the USofA that works with a 120volt power supply?

Thanks in advance,

[sush]

B&H Video has some multisystem and PAL VCRs for sale. Additionally, you can go to an Indian store.

http://www01.bhphotovideo.com/default.sph/FrameWork.class?FNC=CatalogActivator__Acatal...ID=ED05172A110

[sumibas]

check out www.220giftcenter.com they have PAL VCRS as low as 110 $

with free shipping

Baskaran

[bewley]

Thank you guys very much, this is certainly a help and has me on track now.

I appreciate the quick responses!

Thanks!

[Savant]

Actually a PAL VCR won't solve your problem unless the capture card accepts a signal PAL input. The capture program may account for it, but the hardware may not like it.

What you need is a multi-standard VCR. Then you can play the PAL tape and output the video in NTSC format and be assured of 100% compatibility with your capture card. You can see a store that has a pile of multi-standard items here:
http://www.planet3000.com/Prod_MSVCR.shtml

A search on Google for "multistandard VCR" will also help you out.

Regards,

Savant

[ChrisX]

That’s right, not only the VCR must be multi-system. The video card and the capturing program must also be multi-system for the PAL video to work in the computer.

I am in this situation; my video collection is both NTSC and PAL. My TV must be NTSC/PAL compatible to view all of my videos. My computer video card accepts both NTSC and PAL and my computer's DVR capturing program is also multi-system. I have the best of both worlds - one for USA and one for England.

There are some stores in New York City sells VCR's like this, multi-system. I bought one, not only a multi-system VCR. It also digitally converts PAL TO NTSC OR NTSC to PAL for TV viewing. Unfortunately the VCR’s convertor no longer works and this doesn’t really matter. I just view the video as it is, PAL or NTSC.

[bewley]

Savant,

Thanks for the heads up... I was under the impression that my DC10Plus could capture both as the documentation and the software both have NTSC and PAL specifications.

I will have to research it further.

I was trying to stay away from a multisystem as a) they are generally more expensive then a standard PAL unit and b) I have read that some do not convert well and there is often problems with flickering, color, and quality.

Looks like more research is in order!

Thanks!

[Savant]

Yeah you have to be careful with this. Often what capture card makers will do is make TWO kinds of cards (one for PAL one for NTSC) and only ONE kind of software that can work with BOTH cards. (since it is cheaper) So your documentation may refer to PAL format, but if that is in the SOFTWARE manual, then don't believe it alone. Check the HARDWARE manual to make sure it will capture it.

I agree that a multistandard VCR is expensive, but it would be worse if you buy the VCR and then it won't capture from it. Best of luck.

Regards,

Savant

[bewley]

Agreed... But this is why I take the time to ask questions, seek advice, and do the research!

Thanks for taking the time to help out. I think I have a great starting point with this information and the web links.

Thanks!

[eusebio]

My experience:

PAL to NTSC converter VCR = pricey (or poor picture)
Multisystem VCR = more reasonable
Capture card -> Rather than finding an expensive card that is advertised as multi-system it is better to buy from a store that will let you return it if it doesn't do what you want. Typically the specs will mention which tuner is included but I have come across cards with an NTSC tuner that can capture a PAL composite or S-video signal without any problem (just the specs are not detailed enough to tell you!). I use the composite input of a matrox marvel G200 (NTSC tuner) and it works great. Remember to get a SCART to composite or S-video (chances are that you can find this cable from the same store that is selling you the VCR)

[ChrisX]

My converter VCR is really a multi-system VHS player. In other words no tuner. Not all that too expensive. Great to record via composite input, such as for example a LD to a VHS tape.

The picture viewing of the converted picture wasn't too bad; don't expect to be like a pure NTSC or PAL image. I was using this unit to play PAL videotapes on a NTSC TV.

I rarely use the conversion as I already have a TV, which is NTSC/PAL playable. The converter is out of order and really doesn't matter anyway.

On the subject of my TV card and another a video card, they are universal as far as the tuner is concerned. This means that the video/TV card can be used with any TV tuning system, any country video can be played. The tuner and composite input are both multi-system. I normally use the composite video input to capture from any source.

Generally, the video card manufactures make them as universal, so that the devices can be sold worldwide without the need to adapt to local TV systems. This makes sense and easier for worldwide distribution of these devices.

I’ve seen some TV/video cards as PAL or NTSC only. They are usually cheaper to buy.

[t0nito]

Well I have a capture card that is fully multi-system but only in the composite input. It supports without any problem PAL (europe, part of Asia) NTSC (US, Canada, Venezuela, etc...) SECAM (France, middle East) PAL-N (I don't know) PAL-M (Brazil) And there's a PAL-NC which I've never heard about before. But the tuner is only PAL-B/G, I doesn't support other broadcasting frequencies and in PAL-I (UK) it is posible to tune but there will be no sound just noise because the sound carrier frequency is different from PAL-B/G. It's a Zoltrix TV-MAX.