Using a PAL DVD player in France?

[Jack Kelly]

Hi there,

If I took a PAL DVD player from the UK and tried to connect it to a French TV using composite video, would it work?

I am a little confused. I understand that France uses SECAM but I've also definitely played PAL DVDs on French DVD players. Also, as I understand it, almost all modern TVs are designed to auto-detect if the input is PAL, SECAM or NTSC and switch accordingly. Is this correct? (i.e. manufacturers only make one TV which can be used in all territories - it saves them from having to build different hardware for the different territories).

Any help would be very greatfully received!

Many thanks,
Jack

[David Heath]

Originally Posted by Jack Kelly

I understand that France uses SECAM but I've also definitely played PAL DVDs on French DVD players.

To be completely accurate, a "PAL DVD" should be called a "576i/25 DVD" and could be considered as much a 625 SECAM DVD as a PAL one. The signal recorded is component, and the PAL/SECAM decision only gets made when a COMPOSITE signal is derived from it.

Also, as I understand it, almost all modern TVs are designed to auto-detect if the input is PAL, SECAM or NTSC and switch accordingly. Is this correct?

A lot are, though I wouldn't like to generalise. Certainly a lot of French TVs are able to handle PAL as well as SECAM.

[Jack Kelly]

Excellent reply, thank you.

So, if I understand correctly: is the SECAM/PAL distinction not applicable to component (YUV) and RGB connections?

Many thanks,
Jack

[David Heath]

Originally Posted by Jack Kelly

So, if I understand correctly: is the SECAM/PAL distinction not applicable to component (YUV) and RGB connections?

Exactly so. SECAM/PAL really refer to the way the U and V signals are combined, modulated, and put on to a carrier for combination with Y to give a single cable connection - composite. Remain component, as with Betacam or any modern digital format, and the only difference between PAL/SECAM equipment is the composite output.

"PAL" tends to get used to refer to 576i/25 in common usage, but PAL-M (used in Brazil) is a 480i/30 system (same as NTSC) but with PAL colour coding for transmission of the composite signal.

There's no definitive answer to your actual original question - "If I took a PAL DVD player from the UK and tried to connect it to a French TV using composite video, would it work?" - the answer is probably "yes", but it would depend on the individual TV, means of connection etc

[Jack Kelly]

Great, thanks for the excellent explanation. Good, technical stuff.