Hola! todos.
Is there any way that i can watch"Spanish video tapes" that i bought a few years ago. The tapes have been sleeping in my drawer for 3 years.

Since i am going to study Spanish a bit seriously,i would really love to watch them and love to hear rich Spanish sounds.

I may have to buy PAL player. No?

Assuming your are in the USA with and NTSC moniter (American) then you need a multi format VCR (Samsung makes a reasonably priced one...around $400...try www.jandr.com) which can decode the PAL video signal to make it playable on an NTSC moniter. A simple (cheap) PAL VCR will play the tape ONLY on a PAL moniter and NOT on your NTSC moniter. That's why you need the VCR that can handle a PAL tape and also do the format conversion for you. Hope this helps...

Leche

i would like to ask a question regarding this as well. I am moving to Spain in January, and I want to know if I can bring my american videotapes to Spain and purchase a VCR there where I can watch american videotapes? do I have any options? I mean should I just cancel out the idea of bringing my videos to Spain?

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MissMadrid... you will need the same type of VCR (multiformat) that can play (understand) the system, PAL (europe) and NTSC (USA) and then decode that signal to the various types of moniters. By the way, are you moving to study?

Leche

[This message has been edited by Leche (edited 10-09-2000).]

a lot of video stores offer PAL conversion, but it can get expensive... ask at your local mom and pop video store... blockbuster(who edits the movies they rent you) won't offer this service..

good luck

Leche,

i am going to spain for these reasons:

1. Cause that is where my heart calls home.
2. Going to get CELTA Cert there from jan to march so i can teach english. Hopefully after i get certified i can find work.
3. to hang out and enjoy life.
4. continue my flamenco studies


we'll see where my life is next year before the school year begins in october to see if i could continue my educacion over there. but for now i am just going cause i want to and hopefully it will all pan out.

real_megia,

Here, in Spain, there are shops converting videos between the 2 systems. However, the recording you will get has worse quality. Copying tapes don't get 100% the quality of the original one.

BTW, be aware also of the European DVDs. They are not compatible with the American system.

Regards,

Antonio

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The best tips from your favourite hostal in Madrid.
Hostal Chelo at http://www.chelo.com

[This message has been edited by Antonio (edited 10-10-2000).]

Antonio,

I think I understood you comments but your are mistaken on this issue. The newest generation of multiformat VCRs (such as the Samsung I mentioned) CAN and DO perform the signal conversion for output to any system's moniter. You can play and PAL videotape and watch it on your NTSC moniter. You can play an NTSC videotape and watch in on your PAL moniter. Please don't speculate on something as detailed as this as it can confuse people.

Leche

ps....I brought up the multiformat VCR option because it sounded like the person who asked original question owned some tapes that they wanted to be able to watch all the time. Sure...you can find someone to convert them for you (pal to ntsc) with the going rate on the web at $10/tape but there is a dramatic quality loss if they don't have studio quality equipment. If you're only planning on watching the material maybe once or twice this would be cheaper but you have a large quantity of material you would like to be able to view and multiple times as I do a multiformat vcr is the way to go. In the last couple of years the cost has come down quite a bit. See here for a sample of what's out there: http://www.jandr.com/JRSectionView.proce...t=Current_Price

Leche

Hi, Leche,

Do you by any chance have names or addresses for places on the web that do the PAL to NTSC conversions for about $10? Do you have any idea about their quality? Is the quality of the original tape compromised in any way by the converting process? I was quoted $30 a tape at a local store. I have a few home videos in my mountain of PAL tapes that have a lot of sentimental value, and I'd like to convert them. Although the Samsung looks good, it's still a bit expensive for me (unless I read wrong, it's a lot closer to $500 than $400 ).

Just thought I'd check with you first before starting a search.

Thanks for your info on the topic!

Diana