Q Because we've lived in Europe for a while, we have lots of VHS videotapes in the European TV formats PAL and SECAM. Before I throw away my old multisystem TV (which is compatible with the European formats), I need to know if I can watch my European tapes (played on a multisystem VCR) on an HDTV monitor. What do you think?
MAUNO Silpala, Edina
A You're going to need a converter box for HDTV.
Until now you've only been dealing with the incompatibility of international TV standards. Traditional U.S. sets use NTSC format (national television system committee), while many European TVs use PAL (phase alternate line). French TV uses SECAM (a French acronym for sequential color with memory.) The three standards differ primarily in the number of lines per picture, which is why you needed a multisystem VCR and TV to handle them all.
Now you'll need an up-converter box between your VCR and your HDTV. Why? HDTV displays up to twice as many lines per picture as PAL, SECAM or NTSC, and as a result can't use those signals.
You could buy a multisystem HDTV with a built-in converter (accepts signals in PAL, SECAM or NTSC formats). A multisystem 42-inch LCD TV costs around $700. See tinyurl.com/2f2djel or tinyurl.com/n5opvv.
Or you could buy a separate up-converter box ($330 and up) that will work with any HDTV. Some will convert PAL, SECAM and NTSC video signals into HD format, while others convert only NTSC and PAL. For a list of up-converter boxes, see tinyurl.com/2cmzv5s; tinyurl.com/2cpz6cb or tinyurl.com/26tbfsr.
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