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Forums - Gaming Discussion - need help from an electrical engineer or someone with better knowledge than me

endimion said:

and the video format is NTSC in the US and PAL in france.

No it isn't. It is SECAM in France. Your TV manual will tell you whether your TV set is compatible or not (modern TVs should be). It is pointless to recommend anything to you without knowing the model numbers. Almost all Hifi components have been multistandard for years so I doubt you can't use them. Your manuals will tell, not random users here.



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drkohler said:
endimion said:

and the video format is NTSC in the US and PAL in france.

No it isn't. It is SECAM in France. Your TV manual will tell you whether your TV set is compatible or not (modern TVs should be). It is pointless to recommend anything to you without knowing the model numbers. Almost all Hifi components have been multistandard for years so I doubt you can't use them. Your manuals will tell, not random users here.


yeah i know... but for the console market it's a pal region.... even tv's from the 80's were pal/secam at least where i'm from (next to germany) since there it is pal... so being over technical in that case was just complicating the issue....

my issue is not with my system.... i know what i have... my issue is or was if i can't keep everything then the video format could become an issue... if TVs in france (that i don't have yet, so no model number) have multiformat standard.... usually if sony or samsung or other of the likes do it on their 1000 bucks model it is usually safe to assume they do it on higher range models.... hence why i asked if most main brand are now multi format or not.... 

my main issue was power input compatibility.... and while a lot of stuff in europe are multiformat for electric input... it is not in the US... 110V @ 60Hz only is still widely dominating on bigger electric appliances beside computers or small electronic



endimion said:
SvennoJ said:

I did the same the other way around. Hz doesn't matter for the amp, it's all converted to DC inside anyway. If your amp doesn't have a switch to set it to 220v then you need to get a transformer with sufficient wattage.

http://www.aedinternational.com/voltage_converters.htm
I got the VC-2000 for sub-woofer and amp, enough to cover surge power consumption when turning the units on. I have a 12 year old Yamaha DSP-AX1, Rel subwoofer and Pioneer laserdisc player plugged into it and it all works fine. Don't forget to bring a power bar though to plug in multiple devices.

European tvs pretty much all accept 60hz ntsc as well, however I noticed that my tv here doesn't accept pal. It should be in the specs somewhere. Don't bother with a ntsc to pal converter, not worth it.

Shipping is cheap, for the minimum volume I could get I even took my crappy cabinets. I think I spend about the same as you on my surround setup and I'm glad I took it with me. Still sounds lovely after 12 years.


you guys are awesome, as much as we have console wars and flame thread year round... i believe this VG community to be one of the best arround today.... i knew i would get help fast here...

anyway that's what i was looking to buy before i started wondering about frequency and forgot electronic works on DC... i tried to find that specific brand for price without success any idea where i can buy this?? or if they a consumer brand ??? i was looking at that one http://www.amazon.com/Power-Bright-VC1500W-Voltage-Transformer/dp/B000MXZ2XK/ref=sr_1_29?ie=UTF8&qid=1339627590&sr=8-29&keywords=220v+to+110v+converter but with more Watts cause just the amplifier is rated at 600W .... i have no idea what are the quality brands

thanks again all

That one actually looks exactly the same as what I have, seems it is from AED after a quick search. Looks like a good price, it's listed for $90 everywhere else without free shipping.

As a rule you need twice the power of everything you connect to it added together for continous use.



A mere "transformer" may not do the job properly.

In order to smooth out the wavelength, capacitors are used after full rectification to bridge the power gap between the still fluctuating AC. The slower the frequency of the power input, the more capacitance needed in order to store a charge to effectively bridge the gap between voltage peaks.

Usually 50Hz to 60Hz is not a problem, as the capacitors simply do not charge as fully. However, unless the the power design is made for universal applications, using capacitance rated for 60Hz applications in a 50Hz environment can cause fluctuations in voltage. I had the same problem with an NTSC NES, which took 9V AC @ 60Hz whereas my power supply output was 9V AC @ 50Hz. You'll tend to get certain quirks in this instance (failing voltage regulators, some circuits unable to process digital values properly, buzzing of the sound or flickering of the screen.

This also does not take into consideration that some NTSC TV sets do not support SECAM conversion, too.



fordy said:
A mere "transformer" may not do the job properly.

In order to smooth out the wavelength, capacitors are used after full rectification to bridge the power gap between the still fluctuating AC. The slower the frequency of the power input, the more capacitance needed in order to store a charge to effectively bridge the gap between voltage peaks.

Usually 50Hz to 60Hz is not a problem, as the capacitors simply do not charge as fully. However, unless the the power design is made for universal applications, using capacitance rated for 60Hz applications in a 50Hz environment can cause fluctuations in voltage. I had the same problem with an NTSC NES, which took 9V AC @ 60Hz whereas my power supply output was 9V AC @ 50Hz. You'll tend to get certain quirks in this instance (failing voltage regulators, some circuits unable to process digital values properly, buzzing of the sound or flickering of the screen.

This also does not take into consideration that some NTSC TV sets do not support SECAM conversion, too.


so what can do a proper job ? or a better one....



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endimion said:
fordy said:
A mere "transformer" may not do the job properly.

In order to smooth out the wavelength, capacitors are used after full rectification to bridge the power gap between the still fluctuating AC. The slower the frequency of the power input, the more capacitance needed in order to store a charge to effectively bridge the gap between voltage peaks.

Usually 50Hz to 60Hz is not a problem, as the capacitors simply do not charge as fully. However, unless the the power design is made for universal applications, using capacitance rated for 60Hz applications in a 50Hz environment can cause fluctuations in voltage. I had the same problem with an NTSC NES, which took 9V AC @ 60Hz whereas my power supply output was 9V AC @ 50Hz. You'll tend to get certain quirks in this instance (failing voltage regulators, some circuits unable to process digital values properly, buzzing of the sound or flickering of the screen.

This also does not take into consideration that some NTSC TV sets do not support SECAM conversion, too.


so what can do a proper job ? or a better one....

That depends. You either need to get a new power supply unit inside the TV, or at least tested that the capacitors can maintain enough charge for a sufficient bridge across 50HZ. Sometimes it can be as simple as replacing the cord (plug), transformer and capacitors. However, you still have to make sure the TV can handle SECAM. There are a lot of TVs that cam handle NTSC and PAL (mainly in PAL countries in order to take advantage of 60Hz games)., but I'm not too sure about SECAM. I think it uses a different system to PAL's Luminance/chrominance levels. You'd need to research the model a little. Check the instructions.

As for the capacitor work, you'd need to take it in to a qualified TV repairman, or electronics tech. Any flat screen SHOULD theoretically be working on DC only, so tweaking the AC conversion portion according to country should allow it to work.

Another thought that occured to me is that there's also the matter of the digital broadcast standards for TV, which can differ for DVB-C (Cable), DVB-S (Satellite) and DVB-T (Terrestrial) television signals.

EDIT: America uses the ATSC method of encoding for HDTV, whereas France would most likely use DVB-T like the rest of Europe. Unless you get a set top box, you'll find that your TV wont be able to pick up channels.



fordy said:
endimion said:
fordy said:
A mere "transformer" may not do the job properly.

In order to smooth out the wavelength, capacitors are used after full rectification to bridge the power gap between the still fluctuating AC. The slower the frequency of the power input, the more capacitance needed in order to store a charge to effectively bridge the gap between voltage peaks.

Usually 50Hz to 60Hz is not a problem, as the capacitors simply do not charge as fully. However, unless the the power design is made for universal applications, using capacitance rated for 60Hz applications in a 50Hz environment can cause fluctuations in voltage. I had the same problem with an NTSC NES, which took 9V AC @ 60Hz whereas my power supply output was 9V AC @ 50Hz. You'll tend to get certain quirks in this instance (failing voltage regulators, some circuits unable to process digital values properly, buzzing of the sound or flickering of the screen.

This also does not take into consideration that some NTSC TV sets do not support SECAM conversion, too.


so what can do a proper job ? or a better one....

That depends. You either need to get a new power supply unit inside the TV, or at least tested that the capacitors can maintain enough charge for a sufficient bridge across 50HZ. Sometimes it can be as simple as replacing the cord (plug), transformer and capacitors. However, you still have to make sure the TV can handle SECAM. There are a lot of TVs that cam handle NTSC and PAL (mainly in PAL countries in order to take advantage of 60Hz games)., but I'm not too sure about SECAM. I think it uses a different system to PAL's Luminance/chrominance levels. You'd need to research the model a little. Check the instructions.

As for the capacitor work, you'd need to take it in to a qualified TV repairman, or electronics tech. Any flat screen SHOULD theoretically be working on DC only, so tweaking the AC conversion portion according to country should allow it to work.

Another thought that occured to me is that there's also the matter of the digital broadcast standards for TV, which can differ for DVB-C (Cable), DVB-S (Satellite) and DVB-T (Terrestrial) television signals.

EDIT: America uses the ATSC method of encoding for HDTV, whereas France would most likely use DVB-T like the rest of Europe. Unless you get a set top box, you'll find that your TV wont be able to pick up channels.

hmm don't care about broadcasting format in France as a matter of fact don't care either about it in the US.... i don't watch TV.... and the rest of my set up is US and works fine together.... so i just have to make sure all the 110V @ 60Hz only component can take the step down transformer....

i think i'll take the risk if it doesn't work... well i'll get my hands dirty and research a little more how to modify the circuitery internaly.... reminds me old times when geeking hard meant hard soldering component on your mother boards or video cards to improve performance.... 



endimion said:
fordy said:
endimion said:
fordy said:
A mere "transformer" may not do the job properly.

In order to smooth out the wavelength, capacitors are used after full rectification to bridge the power gap between the still fluctuating AC. The slower the frequency of the power input, the more capacitance needed in order to store a charge to effectively bridge the gap between voltage peaks.

Usually 50Hz to 60Hz is not a problem, as the capacitors simply do not charge as fully. However, unless the the power design is made for universal applications, using capacitance rated for 60Hz applications in a 50Hz environment can cause fluctuations in voltage. I had the same problem with an NTSC NES, which took 9V AC @ 60Hz whereas my power supply output was 9V AC @ 50Hz. You'll tend to get certain quirks in this instance (failing voltage regulators, some circuits unable to process digital values properly, buzzing of the sound or flickering of the screen.

This also does not take into consideration that some NTSC TV sets do not support SECAM conversion, too.


so what can do a proper job ? or a better one....

That depends. You either need to get a new power supply unit inside the TV, or at least tested that the capacitors can maintain enough charge for a sufficient bridge across 50HZ. Sometimes it can be as simple as replacing the cord (plug), transformer and capacitors. However, you still have to make sure the TV can handle SECAM. There are a lot of TVs that cam handle NTSC and PAL (mainly in PAL countries in order to take advantage of 60Hz games)., but I'm not too sure about SECAM. I think it uses a different system to PAL's Luminance/chrominance levels. You'd need to research the model a little. Check the instructions.

As for the capacitor work, you'd need to take it in to a qualified TV repairman, or electronics tech. Any flat screen SHOULD theoretically be working on DC only, so tweaking the AC conversion portion according to country should allow it to work.

Another thought that occured to me is that there's also the matter of the digital broadcast standards for TV, which can differ for DVB-C (Cable), DVB-S (Satellite) and DVB-T (Terrestrial) television signals.

EDIT: America uses the ATSC method of encoding for HDTV, whereas France would most likely use DVB-T like the rest of Europe. Unless you get a set top box, you'll find that your TV wont be able to pick up channels.

hmm don't care about broadcasting format in France as a matter of fact don't care either about it in the US.... i don't watch TV.... and the rest of my set up is US and works fine together.... so i just have to make sure all the 110V @ 60Hz only component can take the step down transformer....

i think i'll take the risk if it doesn't work... well i'll get my hands dirty and research a little more how to modify the circuitery internaly.... reminds me old times when geeking hard meant hard soldering component on your mother boards or video cards to improve performance.... 


Your biggest two would probably be the TV and sound system. Game consoles can generally get a change of power pak to the new region if they act unusual with a voltage stepdown (provided they're AC -> DC. If they're AC -> AC like the original NES or SNES, you'd need to buy a power pak that does voltage regulation to DC)