New French tv's

Hello, can anyone tell me if my friend buys a new French tv if it is compatible to work in the UK?

Her tv has just gone phut! and she is looking at moving back to the UK next year.

Thanks,
Mike.

Yes, it will be fine.

Erm, nearly.

The TV will work OK but you might find that the EPG does not.

It is also possible that if it is a smart TV it will only offer French services.

Most of the large international manfacturers will offer a setup option for which country you are in, so it then adjusts the tuning and EPG settings.

Of course, if you’re going to use a set top box (like satellite) or a streaming device then it will all be just fine.

Possibly EU sets which could easily be sold in one country allow selection of country - I don’t recall seeing that on UK sets but it is a couple of years since I bought a new TV

Easy enough to re-run the setup and see if it asks for country though.

I bought a Samsung in 2020 in the UK, which I brought across, and it has the option. It sets up different antenna settings and offers a different set of apps.

I bought an LG TV in the UK in 2021 and had a similar experience.

In France, I usually set it up in French mode, but if I need to I can reset it and tell it that it’s in the UK. As with John, I get different options and apps depending on the country I’ve set.

I suspect how easily this can be achieved depends on the exact model and where it was bought

For example some discussion here for a specific case regarding Samsung sets, which only offered a couple of countries by default and, although more were possible, only by delving into otherwise hidden menus.

Which brings me to the obvious question to @michael_linsell - do you know what make/model of TV we’re talking about?

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Hi, no she hasn’t thought about one yet, i am hoping to pop over to my house next week so i can check out her system to see what is going on.
Mike.

Hi,just on the same subject,are the ariel sockets on French and UK tv,s the same fittings,thanks to anyone who knows.

Yes those will be the same

Yes, if there’s a tempest in the vicinity - otherwise, no need to be leary… :wink:

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Where’s the ā€˜badum-tish overcoat’ emoji when you need it?

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One thing to note regarding moving back to the UK is that using an ā€œaerialā€ to receive TV signals may not necessarily work - analog TV via an aerial was switched off in 2012; the digital equivalent (Freeview) doesn’t work everywhere - where I am in Surrey we are between two hills and Freeview reception is hopeless - we ended up having to pay for a satellite dish and receiver to get a decent signal (Freesat). This connects to the TV via an HDMI cable so the ā€œaerial socketā€ is redundant.

Also the trend these days is to get your TV via a phone line broadband connection so again the aerial socket is going the same way as the SCART socket (remember them?)

That connector is up there for the award for ā€˜Worst Connector Ever Invented’, along with whoever thought that BT should produce their own special 'phone connector when the rest of world got along & used the already available RJ types.

While I’m at it I’ll add the UK 13A plug to the nominees - what probably seemed like a clever & safe idea is anything but.

What’s your issue with the 13A plug?

Unless a country I haven’t visited has an even better design that I’ve not seen, it’s the best standard domestic mains plug in the world in my eyes.

The EU 16A plug/socket is a pet hate of mine as even space craft don’t need as precise alignment to dock.

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I thought that was just me, the bane of my life at times.

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Same here… our kettle in particular is a real pain to plug in. Drives me spare… I’m almost prepared to swap it for a UK 13A plug and use a travel adapter.

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You’d have to be specific as BS1363 is widely regarded as one of the better examples of a mains plug/socket globally.

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Have you seen the Tom Scott video about British plugs?

Although in balance perhaps I should also post this video :smiley:

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