Can I use my American camcorder in Europe?

Question

I bought this Sony HC36 here in the US. I guess I will not be able to plug it into a PAL TV in Europe with a success, right? But if I use a PC to burn the DVDs I should be able to play them on any DVD Player in the EU, correct? It just a matter of the software. Am I thinking correctly?

Anything I should be aware of? Any particular software to use for the burning?

And actually this question has a BONUS PART as well: what if I am about to purchase an laptop in the US? Obviously it has an American region code. Is there anything to do with this? How is an American Dell will be resulted in here?

Answer 1

Most modern UK/European TVs will accept an NTSC signal from a camcorder or DVD player. If you burn a DVD in NTSC it should play in a UK TV and UK DVD player, as there will be no region code. If you buy a laptop in the US you should not need to change the region code for the same reason, but you will not be able to play European, region 2 discs. You can normally change the Region code 3 or 4 times though. The us voltage is 120/60, the UK is 240/50 but most laptops power supply units are rated for international use and will be marked 120/240 50/60 Hz. My Sony certainly is. All you will need is a different connection lead with a UK plug or a 13amp 3pin UK 'shaver adaptor' which accepts European or US 2 pin plugs.

Answer 2

well, the camcorder it self would nt be a prob unless you use it outside the operational environment the manufacturer suggests.(temperature humidity etc) if you re from california and you use it in northen sweeden on xmass then u might have some prob.

the real issues will be the charger and maybe the recording media!! yes!! in usa u got 110 volts and different plug types. even if you get a plug converter make sure the 220volts european supply is supported.
as for the recording media, some brands use slightly different preformated DVD-RW in usa than most europe, making some brands sell different stuff here. this is though very unlikely to happen as the models are 2 early dvd recording models out of about 100 available.

Answer 3

TV sets have programmes enabling you to change to Pal , Ntc etc. If you use a PC to burn the DVDs you should be able to play them on any DVD Player in the EU.
I advise you to use Nero Burning.
The last advise is that you should be aware that in Europe we use 240/250 volts whilest in America you use 110 Volts.

Answer 4

hm.. well it wouldnt play.. since US is NTSC and there is PAL like you said.. it wouldnt play.. but if you burn it on a dvd.. youll have to tell it to burn it in PAL... i believe Ulead DVD Studio or MovieMaker allows you to do this.. not sure which one.. if you have an amererican Dell then you can use it there with no problems.. you can burn and watch on the laptop..

some dvd players plays both NTSC and PAL content.. its just a matter of which dvd player does..

Answer 5

make confident the cassette is NTSC often happening. it's going to say good on the packaging. maximum places in Europe could be. the only different option is chum often happening and which will maximum probable not artwork mutually with your camcorder.

Answer 6

ya.. u r right..

one thing you should aware of power supply .
here is 15Amp / 240 V . I dont have clue about US power supply. and
shape of pins of plug to be checked. anyway, there some plug converters available in the market.
in your bonus part... it will work fine..
if you have any prob.. u can contact dell in uk through website.. if any updates needed..

Answer 7

Hmmmm.. I've considered your question but found that I don't have an answer. Thanks for the points though!