German VHS question (1 Viewer)

[Matt_Vaudrin]

I have a question about a German VHS tape. if this isn't the right place for this, please move it.

A friend of my mom, got a VHS tape from someone in Germany. But there's a problem.

When she plays it, she can hear the tape, but no picture shows up on the screen.

She tried a different tape that she got in the US, and that one worked just fine.

Does anyone have any idea on what the problem might be?
Are German tapes different from U.S. ones, could that be the problem?

Any ideas?
Please let me know.

Thanks.

 

[Jonny_L]

It's probably in PAL or SECAM, a different standard then the NTSC TV's we use here in North America. I've never done it personally, but I think you'll need both a PAL or SECAM TV and VCR, or a converter that would convert the native format of the tape to NTSC.

If you're lucky you could find a local business that takes tapes and converts them, or converts them and puts them on DVD.

 

[Steve Phillips]

Germany is on the PAL color standard.

A multi-standard VCR that converts on the fly is all you need to watch on a US NTSC set; but these aren't cheap; starting around $200.

If it is just one tape, simply look in the phone book and call someone who does international conversions. They'll likely do it for about $15.