Television sets - DVB/HD Ready/lots of question

AIUI if you get a 2nd hand Echostar AD3600 from ebay this will convert the
French analogue SECAM trasnmissions to PAL. There are not so many SECAM TVs on
the UK market, though if you want one of these Philips is a brand to consider.

Yes they do have a build in SECAM to RGB decoder too

Most of the French channels are now available in digital. TF1 is the main
exception but there have been posts in alt.satellite.tv.europe suggesting that
there will be a digital version of this.

Any idea when as I haven't seen any dates?....

You only need a Sky digibox if you want the encrypted channels. All the BBC and
ITV channels are FTA.

With the exception of Channels 4 and 5 where you will need to pay for a
one off viewing card....
--
Tony Sayer

Thank-you all for your replies. I think that I might buy a Philips LCD
TV. It has PAL, SECAM and video playback: NTSC, PAL, SECAM.

However, the connector list is,
* Ext 1 Scart : Audio L/R, CVBS in/out, RGB
* Ext 2 Scart : Audio L/R, CVBS in/out, S video in, RGB out
* Other connections: Common Interface, S/PDIF out (coaxial), Antenna IEC75
* Front / Side connections: CVBS in, Headphone out, S-Video in, Audio L/R in
* Ext 6: HDMI
* Ext 5: HDMI
* Ext 4: YPbPr Number of scarts: 2

This looks like there is only one SCART RBG in on Ext 1. Ext2 only
lists an RBG out.

If this is the case, then could I use any of the automatic SCART
switchers listed on Maplin?
http://www.maplin.co.uk/searchtempla...T%20SW ITCHER



tony sayer wrote:
AIUI if you get a 2nd hand Echostar AD3600 from ebay this will convert the
French analogue SECAM trasnmissions to PAL. There are not so many SECAM TVs on
the UK market, though if you want one of these Philips is a brand to consider.

Yes they do have a build in SECAM to RGB decoder too
Most of the French channels are now available in digital. TF1 is the main
exception but there have been posts in alt.satellite.tv.europe suggesting that
there will be a digital version of this.

Any idea when as I haven't seen any dates?....
You only need a Sky digibox if you want the encrypted channels. All the BBC and
ITV channels are FTA.

With the exception of Channels 4 and 5 where you will need to pay for a
one off viewing card....

"zii kell" wrote in message
...
Thank-you all for your replies. I think that I might buy a Philips LCD
TV. It has PAL, SECAM and video playback: NTSC, PAL, SECAM.

However, the connector list is,
* Ext 1 Scart : Audio L/R, CVBS in/out, RGB
* Ext 2 Scart : Audio L/R, CVBS in/out, S video in, RGB out
* Other connections: Common Interface, S/PDIF out (coaxial), Antenna IEC75
* Front / Side connections: CVBS in, Headphone out, S-Video in, Audio L/R
in
* Ext 6: HDMI
* Ext 5: HDMI
* Ext 4: YPbPr Number of scarts: 2

This looks like there is only one SCART RBG in on Ext 1. Ext2 only lists
an RBG out.

If this is the case, then could I use any of the automatic SCART switchers
listed on Maplin?
http://www.maplin.co.uk/searchtempla...T%20SW ITCHER

Lot's of kit supports RGB passthrough to help solve this problem.

For recording purposes it can be inconvenient to use the TV is a huge
switching hub. For example, decent DVD Recorders will allow you to route the
RGB from your Sat box via the DVd Recorder. That way you can record the
decent RGB output without involving the TV, leaving you watching the Tv's
own Freeview tuner whilst doing so.

zii kell wrote:
It sounds odd that companies would make SD unwatchable on an HD set when
most medium is available in SD for the moment. When people claim
its unwatchable, have they got used to watching HD and now find SD is
not so nice on the eyes, or have they really got something to complain
about?

John Russell wrote:
"zii kell" wrote in message
...
Would this tele answer my question? I know that it has a DVB-T instead of
a DVB-S, but it seems unlikely that I would find one as you have noted.

Philips 32" 32PF5531 Freeview HD Ready Widescreen LCD TV
http://play.com/Electronics/Electron...archtype=genre


I wouldn't like to recommend anything I haven't used.

I would say this. The majority of the time you will be watching SD, not HD.
Scaling technology used to generate HD from SD varies greatly. Some users
find that SD is almost unwatchable on their HD set, implying this is an
absolute for everyone. It isn't. But it's a criticism that sticks.

Michael Chare wrote:

I've not seen a TV with a satellite or cable Tuner.

Probably not going to help the OP much, unless he is willing to take his
chances doing some online shopping from abroad, but there _are_ some
DVB-C tv sets on the Finnish market - so they do exist, at least.

A quick glance at the websites of the local consumer electronics chains
reveals that at least the following models are available with a DVB-C
tuner:

Sony KDL-32D2810
Sony KDL-32S2800
Sony KDL-40D2600
Sony KDL-40D3500
Sony KDL-40D3660
Sony KDL-40S3000
Sony KDL-40W3000
Sony KDL-46D3500
Samsung LE-23R86BCX
Samsung LE-26S86 Jasmine
Samsung LE-32R86BCX/FID
Samsung LE-32S86BCX
Samsung LE-37M86BCX
Samsung LE-37M86
Samsung LE-40N87
Samsung LE-40M86BCX
Samsung LE-40R86BCX
Samsung LE-46M86BCX
...

(Yes, it appears to be a party for only two brands at the moment...)

The model numbers in the above list cannot be trusted blindly. The
manufacturers will usually customise their models for different markets,
and despite of doing this, they may still use the same model designation
for all the local variants - the differences being denoted with some
additional funny numbers or letters tacked onto the "main" model
designation... (or with some additional submodel designation, somewhere
on the back of the set.) But those kind of detailed, "full" model
designations are not necessarily printed on the ads or mentioned on the
websites.

Many (all?) of these would appear to have _both_ a DVB-C and a DVB-T
tuner... I think. (Their sister models on some other markets probably
have dual DVB-T tuners.)

Since the OP was asking about HD as well, it should be noted that all
these are "HD Ready" or "Full HD" sets but their built-in DVB
tuners/decoders cannot decode HD channels - you'd need an external box
for that.

* * *

The model designations in the above list were gathered primarily from
these websites:

http://www.mustaporssi.fi/Katalogi

http://www.expert.fi/index.php?mid=308

http://tekniset.fi/Valikoima3.asp?Tu...ryhma_id=13 0

http://tekniset.fi/Valikoima3.asp?Tu...ryhma_id=13 2

http://tekniset.fi/Valikoima3.asp?Tu...ryhma_id=13 3

(A quick Finnish lesson:

"kaapeli" = cable
"antenni" = aerial
"viritin" = tuner
"verkko" = network

"kaapeliverkkoon" = for cable (tv) network
"antenniverkkoon" = for terrestrial network(/reception)
"kaapeliverkon viritin" = tuner for cable (tv) network
"antenniverkon viritin" = tuner for terrestrial network(/reception)
)

--
znark