American Television Sets in Brazil? (appliances, houses, buying)

[ericsemily]

Hello. I'm hoping someone out there can help me. My husband and I are moving to Belo Horizonte, Brazil in two weeks. I am trying to finish deciding what to ship down.

I have been told that tv's from USA don't work in Brazil. Then I read that the new tv's do. Anyone know the answer to this? Internet searches haven't helped! We would like to buy a new tv to ship down (since they are so expensive in Brazil.)

Thanks for the input!
Emily

[Crew Chief]

Ericsemily, I've never been to Brazil,, but maybe my experience in Europe will help. As I understand it, there are three seperate (not interchangeable)broadcast systems in the world; NTSC, PAL and SECAM. NTSC is used in North America, Korea, the U.S. military network worldwide and other countries, but I'm not sure which. PAL is the standard in Europe (and possibly other places in the world, I just don't know) SECAM is the system that France uses. It may be used elsewhere besides France, but I'm unaware that it is. If you can find out which of these TV broadcast systems Brazil uses, you'll be all set. Also, when we were overseas, we were able to purchase "multi-system" TVs that would work with all 3 systems. Perhaps that may be the solution to your problem. Hope this helps & Best of luck!

[WeeMadArthur]

You should also find out what voltage they use in Brazil. You don't want to ruin any appliances by plugging them into the wrong voltage.

[Ultrarunner]

I bought a small Grundig 13 inch "Multi system" TV. It works on all three systems, plus AC and DC of varying voltages...

I bought it in Austria on vacation and am really impressed by it.

Some of the major US cities, like San Francisco and New York have specialty retailers that sell appliances designed for overseas use.

[DoctorWatson]

For regularly TV viewing over the airwaves, it probably will not work because the TV channel frequencies are most likely different in Brazil and the USA.

Like Crew Chief mentioned, you also need to be concerned about the PAL/NTSC formating as well; even if you bring the TV it may not work with Video and DVD players in Brazil. Basd on this article PAL - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia it would appear that Brazil uses PAL.
Your best bet is going to be to buy a TV in Brazil I think.

[Crew Chief]

Originally Posted by WeeMadArthur

You should also find out what voltage they use in Brazil. You don't want to ruin any appliances by plugging them into the wrong voltage.

Excellent point, WeedMadArthur! Most of the rest of the world uses something besides our 115V/60 cycles. 220/50 cycles is standard in Europe. Every country seems to have their own unique wall plugs, too. You might want to check on adapters for the electrical items you bring from the U.S.

[colony14]

I moved to Peruibe, Brasil in December of 2007. My belongings finally arrived 7 weeks later. I shipped my 57 inch Sony HDTV projection TV down here because you simply can't buy a set that large here - at ANY price. I've seen 40-plus inch plasmas for outrageous prices ($4-5,000 US), so I'm not buying anything new down here.

Tomorrow I'm driving two hours to Sao Paulo in hopes of finding a PAL-M to NTSC converter there. The locals here say I should be able to find one there, but I'm not sure I believe them. (They also brag that they are good drivers and the houses here are large - neither of which is true.) Online I can find converters from Pal to NTSC, but they all seem to have RCA plugs. That does me no good, as the cable from the wall is RF.

I can allegedly cancel the cable service and get satellite, as the satellite box supposedly will convert PAL to NTSC for me and has the right inputs and outputs for me. But satellite is a lot more expensive than cable in this town, and the yahoo at the satellite store refused to open the carton to show me the set-top box so I could view its connections.

So, wish me luck in Sao Paulo. If I get lucky, I will re-post here.

[wastina]

As others have advised, you want a multisystem television. Do an internet search (on Yahoo shopping or other search engine) and you can find retailers who will send and ship one. Prices have come down, and you can find good tvs as low as $300.

Don't forget to get a multisystem DVD and/or VCR player, too.

If you've got multisystem, you're good to go anywhere in the world. I live overseas and have toted my multisystem DVD player with me (buying tvs locally). Region and electrical issues disappear, as multisystem allows for everything.

[recycled]

Originally Posted by colony14

Tomorrow I'm driving two hours to Sao Paulo in hopes of finding a PAL-M to NTSC converter there. The locals here say I should be able to find one there, but I'm not sure I believe them. (They also brag that they are good drivers and the houses here are large - neither of which is true.) Online I can find converters from Pal to NTSC, but they all seem to have RCA plugs. That does me no good, as the cable from the wall is RF.
So, wish me luck in Sao Paulo. If I get lucky, I will re-post here.

Too bad you have to leave your coastal paradise and drive to SP. Some of the worst traffic on the planet from what I recall. Do you have the names and addresses of a few stores to go to? The one thing working in your favor is this. SP is home to a very large population of immigrants from Japan. Japan has NTSC TVs too like the USA. Lots of people that immigrate from Japan to Brazil probably ship their home electronics stuff including TVs just like you. They want PAL to NTSC converters too. Look for a a consumer electonics store in SP with a Japanese sounding name and you will find what you need.

[fabio-francoso]

Brazil :

AC 220v / 60Hz
AC 110v / 60 Hz

Broadcast (uhf-vhf) Pal-M (is a ntsc with a pal adapted color) 60Hz

You will receive in black and white in a ntsc tv

The converters have a bad performance.

DVD disk and vhs tape are in ntsc

================================================== ========

buy a tv in brazil and send the another equip. nstc
tv in brazil is multi (ntsc-palm-paln) and auto volt 100v to 240v ac 60hz


tv brazil work in usa
tv usa black&white in brazil

you don't lose the tv if you buy in brazil , you pack to usa and then will work
================================================== ============