AFAIK the only problem you'll have is recieving TV off-air. The Netherlands uses PAL-G whereas the UK uses PAL-I. The only diffrence is that the sound is broadcast on a diffrent offset frequency so you probably won't hear anything.
Your TV might be able to switch between formats or alternatively you could buy a digital reciever in the UK and plug it into the Scart socket
Incidently, the only countries whose TV equipment works in the UK without any modification are South Africa, Hong Kong, The Seychelles and The Gambia - all have the same mains supply and Tv system
But with Ireland the tvs usually receive VHF signals as well as UHF where most sets in the UK are UHF only - you can't take a portable from the UK (which is UHF only) to the west of Ireland and be assured it works to receive RTE1/2 (though you might well get TG4 which is UHF!)
hhm ok thanks, well the tv is old & basic: not even a scar connection so I dodn't think any conversioning.
How about a dvd player / dvd hard disk recorder, am I likely to have the same problem with sound?
and yes the power connectors I know, but convertors for that are cheap
o btw... digital tv sounds nice but does it also work in Coventry & Warwickshire?
hhm ok thanks, well the tv is old & basic: not even a scar connection so I dodn't think any conversioning.
How about a dvd player / dvd hard disk recorder, am I likely to have the same problem with sound?
and yes the power connectors I know, but convertors for that are cheap
o btw... digital tv sounds nice but does it also work in Coventry & Warwickshire?
on digital satellite you will get all of the free services plus bbc coventry and warwickshire tv. digital terrestrial should be available - but its worth putting the post code into this website for a better indication
hhm ok thanks, well the tv is old & basic: not even a scar connection so I dodn't think any conversioning.
How about a dvd player / dvd hard disk recorder, am I likely to have the same problem with sound?
and yes the power connectors I know, but convertors for that are cheap
o btw... digital tv sounds nice but does it also work in Coventry & Warwickshire?
You'll only have a problem with the sound if you use the tuner section of the TV, The same with your DVD recorder, if it has a tuner
If you don't have a Scart, then the only way you'll connect digital TV to it is via the aerial socket, which uses the tuner, which means no sound
Most (but not all) DVD recorders (especially the cheap, off-brand ones) have multi-standard tuners built-in, and can receive signals in NTSC and often SECAM, and so the various PAL standards are usually not an issue (you can reset everything in the menus).
As I say though this does not apply to all DVD recorders, and you'd need to check the manual. What type of recorder is it?
I think it's safe to say that you'll have to junk the TV if it has no SCART, unless you can hook up a device to it with a tuner capable of receiving PAL I and outputting PAL B/G through it's modulator. Again, a lot of DVD recorders can do this, but you'd need to have the TV tuned to the DVD recorder the whole time to get sound. Pictures will be fine. You might even be able to hook the DVD recorder up to a stereo to get the sound and mute the TV, if this is only going to be a temporary setup.
If it's permanent, I'd take the opportunity to ditch the TV and buy a new one. If it's fairly old, it'll only be something like 20/22" most likely. You can get a better replacement in the UK for well under £100, which may even work once you take it back to NL. Thomson and Philips TVs will generally work in both countries without issue (the tuners in these sets will switch between the various standards). Many other TVs will also be fine.
Indeed, my Thomson 24" widescreen set is the only one which resolves NTSC signals. The others switch to 525/60, but only show Black & White (they do show colour in RGB mode, but not composite. Only the Thomson shows colour in NTSC composite).
One other thing while I remember. One ingenious method a friend of mine employed to get round the same problem you're having with an old TV was to buy a tiny black-and-white portable and use this as the sound source. You can pick the 5" B/W TVs up in a number of places for less than a tenner now, and tuck it away in a corner, using it for sound only.
Bit of a cheap-and-dirty solution, but if you are only bringing the TV over for a short period of time this might be a viable solution for a few days.
