Will a TV bought in the North, work in the South?

F

fran00042

Guest
Hi,

I have searched and searched on the forum here, think I have the answer but need to be 100% sure.

I am in the process of purchasing a 42' LCD, and 'my understanding' is that there is indeed a difference between those that are sourced from the Northern Ireland (so UK) and those in South. But that difference is only regarding if tuning in stations from aerial.

I am then correct in my limited understanding that as I only need the TV for Sky viewing and DVD's, that I am fine in going ahead and purchasing from the North.

Would really apreciate 'those that know' to help.

Regards
 
Re: Need to understand on TV.....apologies

Sky is the same, the coming digital tv over an aerial is different.
 
Re: Need to understand on TV.....apologies

Yes you are fine buying from the North. Bought 4 TV's in the past 8 months from the North
 
Re: Need to understand on TV.....apologies

jhegarty said:
At the moment. Won't be fine once DTT comes online.
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I'm confused now. What's DTT and why won't the Northern Ireland TVs be good when DTT arrives? Is DTT same as what JHegarty refers to as "digital tv over an aerial"? As one who is about to buy TV from North I would really appreciate an explanation for "Dummies". Thanks v.much. BTW I will be using it to watch usual TV stations via SKY or NTL - haven't decided as yet - and also to watch DVDs etc.
 
Re: Need to understand on TV.....apologies

PetPal said:
I'm confused now. What's DTT and why won't the Northern Ireland TVs be good when DTT arrives? Is DTT same as what JHegarty refers to as "digital tv over an aerial"? As one who is about to buy TV from North I would really appreciate an explanation for "Dummies". Thanks v.much. BTW I will be using it to watch usual TV stations via SKY or NTL - haven't decided as yet - and also to watch DVDs etc.
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DDT is Digital Terrestrial Television. Basically it's the type of TV you will get from the aerial on your roof very soon.

The current TV (analogue) they we get will be turn off soon. This is scheduled for 2012.


Becuase the UK is way ahead of us in having DTT they use an older system called MPEG 2.

We are going straight to the newer (and more expensive) MPEG 4.

Because there MPEG 4 costs more than MPEG 2 then UK tv's will generally not be capable for it.
 
Re: Need to understand on TV.....apologies

jhegarty said:
DDT is Digital Terrestrial Television. Basically it's the type of TV you will get from the aerial on your roof very soon.

The current TV (analogue) they we get will be turn off soon. This is scheduled for 2012.


Becuase the UK is way ahead of us in having DTT they use an older system called MPEG 2.

We are going straight to the newer (and more expensive) MPEG 4.

Because there MPEG 4 costs more than MPEG 2 then UK tv's will generally not be capable for it.
Click to expand...
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Many thanks for that. Just so I'm clear .... is DTT exactly the same as what I would call High Definition (HD)? If so, then I understand.
 
Re: Need to understand on TV.....apologies

PetPal said:
.
Many thanks for that. Just so I'm clear .... is DTT exactly the same as what I would call High Definition (HD)? If so, then I understand.
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No for the purpose of this argument, DTT would be equivalent to Freeview in UK/NI (if you know what that is).

Its basically a digital signal that you can get through a roof-top aerial, and which will be transmitted by the likes of RTE once they switch off the anallogue transmitters.

HD signals are a high quality version of the same signal, but with more data, which allowd it to produce a better picture on a HD TV.
 
Re: Need to understand on TV.....apologies

jhegarty said:
We are going straight to the newer (and more expensive) MPEG 4.

Because there MPEG 4 costs more than MPEG 2 then UK tv's will generally not be capable for it.
Click to expand...

I don't get that -- MPEG2 and MPEG4 are just "software". MPEG4 gives better quality at the same compression ratio, or smaller data size for the same quality, compared to MPEG2. UK TVs won't do it because its not the standard in the UK. I wasn't aware that cost came into it.
 
Re: Need to understand on TV.....apologies

dub_nerd said:
I don't get that -- MPEG2 and MPEG4 are just "software". MPEG4 gives better quality at the same compression ratio, or smaller data size for the same quality, compared to MPEG2. UK TVs won't do it because its not the standard in the UK. I wasn't aware that cost came into it.
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On a PC these are only software, but in a device like a TV it's hardware.
 
Re: Need to understand on TV.....apologies

A set top box would solve the difficulty, and most likely they will be available relatively cheaply when DTT becomes available.

I beleive the Sony KDL 40W4000 (40") has a mpeg-4 decoder built in, as do some other TV's. If it's an issue, google for the specs of the TV before you buy. Samsung Series 6 doesn't

Anyway, given economic circumstances, is RTE likely to have the money to roll out Digital TV soon

For Sky and DVD's there is no issue.
 
Re: Need to understand on TV.....apologies

j26 said:
A set top box would solve the difficulty, and most likely they will be available relatively cheaply when DTT becomes available.
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All DTT will have to go through a set top box either to decode from digital to analogue, this will enable you to use a standard scart lead or decode the Mpeg 4 signal and use a HDMI lead for HD/HD ready TVs, so no problem. Just do not buy a TV with a built in decoder in the North as these will only handle Mpeg 2.
 
Re: Need to understand on TV.....apologies

j26 said:
Anyway, given economic circumstances, is RTE likely to have the money to roll out Digital TV soon.
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It is already available in a number of areas.
 
Re: Need to understand on TV.....apologies

j26 said:
Anyway, given economic circumstances, is RTE likely to have the money to roll out Digital TV soon
Click to expand...


Their funding it pretty much fixed by the license fee, and the capital costs are coming down. So I think 2012 for full roll out is possible.
 
If you want to get Irish channels without subscribing to Sky/NTL, you will need to get a TV with an MPEG4 tuner as described above.

If you intend getting your TV from Sky/NTL, any TV will work.
 
You want a freesat telly - they're newesh. Panasonic do one. That way you can tune in the free sat channels with out a seperate decoder box.
Most tellys come with freeview built in which is not much use to us here.
 
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