The main address for this site is http://expat.silvert.org. All other sites are mirrors and may be out-of-date.

TV and Video in Portugal

Portugal, like most other European countries, uses a video format called PAL. PAL has higher-resolution than the NTSC format used in North America, so expats from the US and Canada should be pleasantly surprised by the good definition (if not necessarily the artistic quality) of Portuguese TV.

However, North American video equipment is generally not compatible with PAL - your VCR tapes and video cameras cannot be plugged into a standard Portuguese TV, and your American TVs will not work. Don't bother bringing them.

Fortunately many of the new TVs sold in Portugal now accept both NTSC and PAL inputs, so if you have a North American VCR you can play NTSC tapes (assuming that you plug the VCR into a 110 v. transformer of course!). It is also possible to buy VCRs that play both PAL and NTSC tapes, but they are expensive.

If you have a video camcorder from North America it probably only has NTSC output, so to see your videos on a TV you need one with NTSC input. However, many digital cameras let you switch between NTSC and PAL output, so that you can show your photos on ny TV with video input jacks.

There are many other TV formats used around the world, and France uses a SECAM system that is incompatible with both NTSC and PAL.

As for DVDs, the geniuses who run the industry have decided to divide the world into six regions such that DVDs ppurchased in one region will not play in any other. North America is region #1 (of course), and Europe is region #2. The idea is that if you go to any other part of the world and buy a DVD, you should not be able to play it when you get home, whether the DVD is legit or pirated. Fortunately many DVD players get around this snafu and can play DVDs from any region, and most others can be modified to do so. The ability to play DVDs from any region is called "code-free", "zone-free", "multi-zone", or something similar.

This site is maintained by William Silvert, to whom all questions, comments and complaints should be addressed. You are also welcome to record your visit on the guestmap.