Can you import televisions?

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2006-05-13 04:07am

I know the answer is probably 'of course you can', but I figured I'd check. Australian (insane) prices for modern, HDTVs have pissed me off, and I figure I can just import one. Are there any particular problems I should look out for, beyond the regular 110/230V thing? I assume the signal is digital, so that doesn't matter - but I don't know. So enlighten me.

Instant Sunrise · Post by **Instant Sunrise** » 2006-05-13 04:48am

Oz uses the European 50 Hz power system, thus HDTV will also be 50Hz instead of 60 Hz like in North America.

If you are going to import, make sure that your TV does 720p50 and/or 1080i50.

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2006-05-13 04:51am

Why is the refresh rate linked to power? LCD televisions are basically monitors with tuners, so why would they be limited in refresh rates?

Serious questions - I don't know much about televisions

Vendetta · Post by **Vendetta** » 2006-05-13 06:43am

skyman8081 wrote:Oz uses the European 50 Hz power system, thus HDTV will also be 50Hz instead of 60 Hz like in North America.

HDTV signals do not work the same way that SD signals do. They all run at 60Hz, irrespective of region.

Vendetta · Post by **Vendetta** » 2006-05-13 06:45am

Stark wrote:Why is the refresh rate linked to power? LCD televisions are basically monitors with tuners, so why would they be limited in refresh rates?

It's not. Not any more.

When home TV signal standards were first created, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, it was too fiddly to build a TV tube that worked on a different cycle rate than the mains power you were feeding it with. These days it's a snap. Which is why pretty much every PAL TV for the last twenty years has been able to display at 60Hz.

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2006-05-13 07:04am

Swat I figured. Thanks.

Instant Sunrise · Post by **Instant Sunrise** » 2006-05-13 11:06am

This is a press release by Europe's biggest sattellite TV provider saying that they will use 720p25 and 1080i50 for HD brodcast.

The reason why a lot of traditionally PAL countries are going with 25/50Hz refresh rates instead of the 60Hz of traditionally PAL contries is because of the AC power frequencies in use.

Vendetta · Post by **Vendetta** » 2006-05-13 01:25pm

The frequency at which the image data updates is not the same as the frequency at which the screen refreshes. (and screen refresh rates are irrelevant to LCD and plasma screens anyway, because of the way they function)

The link between AC power frequency and screen refresh frequency is a red herring, that was the original reason for the choice of refresh rate in the 1960s! Or have TVs in your house not changed at all since 1960?, it has not existed for years. Why do you think default monitor refresh rates are in the 85-100Hz range?

The only concern, as Destructionator has mentioned, is that you need a transformer to supply a compatible AC power source, so you do not blow up the TV.