[allyghee]

Hello All,
I will like to know if a panasonic plasma(TX-P50G20B) bought in the UK will have issues with a home theater (Panasonic SC-BT303 Blu-ray Disc™ Home Theater Sound System) i am planning to buy in the US.

Would there be issues with connecting the systems together?

Could you also recommend a Bluray HT system between 200 - 300 $$

thanks

allyghee

[coastie65]

Hi and welcome to the forums. To my knowledge it wouldn't work. The Panasonic HDTV bought in the UK is set for the PAL format. If You buy a BluRay Player in the US ( or Canada for that matter ), it is formatted for NTSC. Two different formats and incompatible with each other.

[LincolnSpector]

coastie65, on 13 January 2011 - 07:34 AM, said:

Hi and welcome to the forums. To my knowledge it wouldn't work. The Panasonic HDTV bought in the UK is set for the PAL format. If You buy a BluRay Player in the US ( or Canada for that matter ), it is formatted for NTSC. Two different formats and incompatible with each other.

I'm pretty sure that both PAL and NTSC are outdated analog formats. While there are still some analog cable stations, they've not many of them, and they've completely disappeared from over-the-air and never existed in satellite. OTOH, there may be similar differences in digital standards, as well.

And, of course, there may be voltage issues.

Lincoln

[allyghee]

Hi Lincoln,
please clarify,
for example, if i connect the two systems using an hdmi cable, can i play dvd / bluray content? can i get sound from the tv to the HT via an optical cable?

thanks

LincolnSpector, on 13 January 2011 - 07:58 AM, said:

coastie65, on 13 January 2011 - 07:34 AM, said:

Hi and welcome to the forums. To my knowledge it wouldn't work. The Panasonic HDTV bought in the UK is set for the PAL format. If You buy a BluRay Player in the US ( or Canada for that matter ), it is formatted for NTSC. Two different formats and incompatible with each other.

I'm pretty sure that both PAL and NTSC are outdated analog formats. While there are still some analog cable stations, they've not many of them, and they've completely disappeared from over-the-air and never existed in satellite. OTOH, there may be similar differences in digital standards, as well.

And, of course, there may be voltage issues.

Lincoln

This post has been edited by allyghee: 13 January 2011 - 10:05 AM

[waldojim]

This will all depend on the specific equipment. For example, I purchased a DVD player in Belgium that would "unlock" to play any content from from Europe or the US. It also supports multiple output modes. That company only had a few products released that could easily do all of that. What you are asking may require a great deal of research into the specific models you are looking to use.

As mentioned above though, the TV signal formats may not be too much of an issue (with HDMI), but region codes, and voltage will be.

[LincolnSpector]

allyghee, on 13 January 2011 - 10:03 AM, said:

Hi Lincoln,
please clarify,
for example, if i connect the two systems using an hdmi cable, can i play dvd / bluray content? can i get sound from the tv to the HT via an optical cable?

I'll try to clarify, but it's not easy because I'm not really sure, myself.

Let's pretend that you asked this question 15 years ago, and instead of a Blu-ray/DVD player, you're asking about a VCR. In that case, it wouldn't work, because the USA used one standard for analog TV (NTSC), while England used another (PAL). The connector wasn't the issue, the standardized signal was.

What I don't know is whether digital signals have a similar incompatibility between the two countries.

However, there are issues with another standard: electric outlets. The plugs are different, and I think the voltage is different. Plugs can be fixed with an adapter, but if your TV can't handle American voltage, that's a more serious problem.

Frankly, I'd recommend replacing anything electronic.

Lincoln

[waldojim]

LincolnSpector, on 14 January 2011 - 10:24 AM, said:

I'll try to clarify, but it's not easy because I'm not really sure, myself.

Let's pretend that you asked this question 15 years ago, and instead of a Blu-ray/DVD player, you're asking about a VCR. In that case, it wouldn't work, because the USA used one standard for analog TV (NTSC), while England used another (PAL). The connector wasn't the issue, the standardized signal was.

What I don't know is whether digital signals have a similar incompatibility between the two countries.

However, there are issues with another standard: electric outlets. The plugs are different, and I think the voltage is different. Plugs can be fixed with an adapter, but if your TV can't handle American voltage, that's a more serious problem.

Frankly, I'd recommend replacing anything electronic.

Lincoln

I wouldn't worry too terribly much about the TV itself, as most TV's I have seen are multi-voltage, and accept 50 or 60 cycle power. Now, this is coming from someone who brought back his TV and DVD player from Belgium back in 2001.

The signal formats apparently ARE still different, in frame rates only.
From wiki:
http://en.wikipedia....HDTV_broadcasts

Quote

* 23.976 Hz (film-looking frame rate compatible with NTSC clock speed standards)
* 24 Hz (international film and ATSC high definition material)
* 25 Hz (PAL, SECAM film, standard definition, and high definition material)
* 29.97 Hz (NTSC standard definition material)
* 50 Hz (PAL & SECAM high definition material))
* 59.94 Hz (ATSC high definition material)
* 60 Hz (ATSC high definition material)
* 120 Hz (ATSC high definition material)

However, it appears that HD material at 50hz is used primarily for video being up converted...

Quote

There is a wide spread confusion of using terms like PAL or SECAM or NTSC relating to HD material. PAL, SECAM, NTSC are only standard definition standards, not HD. There is no specific technical reason to keep 25 Hz as HD frame rate in a former PAL country (except in case of a need of compatibility with both HD and standard definition television systems).

One last issue - Europe does NOT USE ATSC for free-to-air Digital TV, they use DVB/T. That WILL be an issue if the op wants TV without a cable box or similar device.

[coastie65]

I think this will be the issue Region codeshttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/62/Blu-ray_regions_with_key.png/400px-Blu-ray_regions_with_key.png <A class=internal title=Enlarge href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Blu-ray_regions_with_key.png' class='thumbimage' alt='""' />http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.pngRegions for the Blu-ray standard:^{<A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc#cite_note-110">[111]} A/1: The <A title=Americas href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americas">Americas (except <A title=Greenland href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenland">Greenland), and their <A title="Dependent territory" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dependent_territory">dependencies, <A title="East Asia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Asia">East Asia (except <A title="Mainland China" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mainland_China">mainland China and <A title=Mongolia href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolia">Mongolia), and <A title="Southeast Asia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeast_Asia">Southeast Asia. B/2: Africa, Middle East, <A class=mw-redirect title="Southwest Asia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_Asia">Southwest Asia, Europe (except <A title=Belarus href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarus">Belarus, Russia and <A title=Ukraine href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine">Ukraine), Australia, New Zealand, and their <A title="Dependent territory" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dependent_territory">dependencies. C/3: <A title="Central Asia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Asia">Central Asia, <A title="East Asia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Asia">East Asia (<A title="Mainland China" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mainland_China">mainland China and <A title=Mongolia href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolia">Mongolia only), <A title="South Asia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Asia">South Asia, <A title="Eastern Europe" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Europe">Eastern Europe, and their <A title="Dependent territory" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dependent_territory">dependencies.As with the implementation of <A class=mw-redirect title="DVD region codes" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD_region_codes">region codes for DVDs, Blu-ray Disc players sold in a specific geographical region are designed to play only discs authorized by the content provider for that region. This is intended to permit content providers (motion picture studios, etc.) the ability to support product differences in content, price, release date, etc., by region. According to the Blu-ray Disc Association, "all Blu-ray Disc players...(and) Blu-ray Disc-equipped computer systems are required to support regional coding." However, "Use of region playback codes is optional for content providers..."^{<A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc#cite_note-111">[112]} Some current estimates suggest 70% of available [movie] Blu-ray Discs from the major studios are region-code-free and can therefore be played on any Blu-ray Disc player, in any region.^{<A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc#cite_note-112">[113]}

Movie studios have different region coding policies. Among major U.S. studios, <A title="Paramount Pictures" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramount_Pictures">Paramount Pictures and <A title="Universal Studios" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Studios">Universal Studios have released all of their titles region-free.^{<A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc#cite_note-113">[114]<A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc#cite_note-114">[115]} <A class=mw-redirect title="Sony Pictures" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Pictures">Sony Pictures and <A title="Warner Bros." href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_Bros.">Warner Bros. have released most of their titles region-free.^{<A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc#cite_note-115">[116]<A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc#cite_note-116">[117]<A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc#cite_note-117">[118]} <A class=mw-redirect title=Lionsgate href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionsgate">Lionsgate and <A title="Walt Disney Pictures" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney_Pictures">Walt Disney Pictures have released a mix of region-free and region-coded titles.^{<A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc#cite_note-118">[119]<A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc#cite_note-119">[120]} <A title="20th Century Fox" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20th_Century_Fox">20th Century Fox and <A class=mw-redirect title=MGM href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MGM">MGM have released most of their titles region-coded.^{<A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc#cite_note-120">[121]<A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc#cite_note-121">[122]}

The Blu-ray Disc region coding scheme divides the world into 3 regions, labeled A, B, and C.

• Region A includes most North, Central and South American and Southeast Asian countries plus the Republic of China (Taiwan), Hong Kong, Japan and Korea.
• Region B includes most European, African and southwest Asian countries plus Australia and New Zealand.
• Region C contains the remaining central and south Asian countries, as well as the People's Republic of China and Russia.

In circumvention of region coding restrictions, stand-alone Blu-ray Disc players are sometimes modified by third parties to allow for playback of Blu-ray Discs (and DVDs) with any region code.^{<A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc#cite_note-122">[123]} Instructions ('hacks') describing how to reset the Blu-ray region counter of computer player applications to make them multi-region indefinitely are also regularly posted to video enthusiast websites and forums. Unlike DVD region codes, Blu-ray region codes are verified only by the player software, not by the <A title="Regional Playback Control" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_Playback_Control">optical drive's firmware.

This post has been edited by coastie65: 15 January 2011 - 05:17 PM

[LincolnSpector]

coastie65, on 15 January 2011 - 05:10 PM, said:

I think this will be the issue Region codes

Regioon codes are an issue with DVD and Blu-ray players, not with TVs.

Lincoln