SCART TV Questions

I've been thinking about buying one just to have at home (in the USA) to try out because I hear that SCART is very good picture quality.

Im a newbie to SCART TV's so bear with all my questions:

• What is the smallest tv I can buy with a SCART adapter, or do they all come with that built in in Europe?
  
• What kind of power adapter would I need to buy to make a SCART Television Set work with the USA power outlets?
  
• Is there any Namebrand or any good reccomendations on what model TV is good to buy for a SCART TV?
  
• What are the prices on these kinds of tv sets?
  
• Is the SCART picture quality any different than an Arcade RGB Monitor?
  

I would be interested in a screen size around 19 Inch or Smaller depending on the price.

Im sort of afraid to ask about how much it would cost to ship something like this to the USA but it cant be that expensive. I think the price is worth it if the thing works as good as they say.

Thanks!

A RGB SCART transcoder would be cheaper.

Basically all new European TVs come with a SCART, but you need to make sure it accepts RGB through it and it is 60hz and NTSC compatible too. Most high-brand TVs are. You can have all sizes starting from 14''.

You would need a 125->220V stepup converter, compatible with the type of power plug of your TV, this depends on what country it is from.

I would get a Sony TV, or any other well-known brand.

Prices vary a lot depending of the brand, specs of the model, size and country you buy it from. For example, my Sony 21'' mono TV costed 300€ 4 years ago. Now, a good 19'' TV should cost around 200-250€.

For me, the scart RGB picture is as good as an arcade monitor.

1) All TVs will have one or more scart sockets except smaller, portable models.

2) Something like this:
http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=813&item=TC-200A&type=store
(Note that a 21" is about 60W while a 29" will be 130W or so)

3) Sony FD Trinitrons are usually a good choice...

4) USD450-500 for a Sony 21" stereo model. Mono will be some 80-100 bucks less.

Examples:

http://it.kelkoo.com/b/a/sbs/it/hifiVideos/line/TV/motcle/stereo/mark/Sony/126801.html

http://www.dealtime.co.uk/xPP-Standard_Televisions--19___21_in_-brand_sony-stereo

5) The answer cannot be a straight yes or no because the technology behind a modern RGB TV is not the same as that of an old (say 10-15 years ago) RGB arcade monitor: you don't get that typical "fuzzy" pic where pixels are almost unnoticeable on these newer TVs but I still have a 15yr old one that gives a picture practically identical to the old Hantarex MTC9000 I have in my cab. Newer TV tubes are too good for older low res stuff whose "defects" are consequently enhanced...but I've noticed that even newer generation arcade monitors somewhat suffer from the same "problem" (cause to some that may not be a real problem, it's more of a matter of personal taste).

edit: in any case it would be recommended to get a TV with the scart socket(s) in vertical position as they don't suffer from the stress caused by the weight of the cable as it happens when the socket is horizontal (scart is an awfully designed connector), this may lead to serious picture problems in the long run. Sony bigger models have vertical scarts, smaller horizontal...

I do agree the scart connector is very bad designed, I always have trouble trying to plug it in the back of the TV without seeing it... It is also prone to break somehow. However I've never seen a vertical socket, only horizontal ones.

By the way, I forgot to mention that the step-up adapter should of course have enough potence (in watts) to suit the TV needs, as MKL said.

i bought my tv for £80, its a 29' matsui flat screen, and it gives the BEST RGB picture i have seen in a long while in fact its got a review from home cinema stating the very same thing!. apparently theres a 25' model too.

You can get around the vertical Scart thing by using a Scart with a ribbon cable as oppose to the standard screw-in type, maybe slightly harder to find but deffo worth it.

Robert Wallace said:

I've been thinking about buying one just to have at home (in the USA) to try out because I hear that SCART is very good picture quality.

Im a newbie to SCART TV's so bear with all my questions:

• What is the smallest tv I can buy with a SCART adapter, or do they all come with that built in in Europe?
  
• What kind of power adapter would I need to buy to make a SCART Television Set work with the USA power outlets?
  
• Is there any Namebrand or any good reccomendations on what model TV is good to buy for a SCART TV?
  
• What are the prices on these kinds of tv sets?
  
• Is the SCART picture quality any different than an Arcade RGB Monitor?
  

I would be interested in a screen size around 19 Inch or Smaller depending on the price.

Im sort of afraid to ask about how much it would cost to ship something like this to the USA but it cant be that expensive. I think the price is worth it if the thing works as good as they say.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

I don't believe in buying the big brande name TV's as they are a rip off.There are only a few manufacturers of TV's in the world with the main ones being Daewoo and Thorn.

You can buy say and Sony 28" surround sound TV with all the features you need(twin scarts with rgb,compatibility with NTSC systems so you can play import consoles and dvd's and loads of little tricks and gadgets)for £500 or you can get the TV that does exactly the same thing with for about £230.All they do is change the fascia's and the remote controls and then stick a Sony badge on with an extra £200 plus on the price tag.

My TV is a Bush 28" widescreen,and plays anything,not just through rgb but I can even play stuff like a famicom or pc engine through rf in full colour.It gives a perfect crystal clear display no msatter what I am running and the quality of games and dvd's through scart(therefore rgb) is astounding.

As for importing well the cost is gonna be sky high due to the immense weight of such a set.But over here every new tv has a scart socket,its just one of theose things that we get as standard.