Will a american vcr tape work in europe?

Question

can a european vcr in the Netherlands play a vcr tape from the united states? is there anyway to get a vcr there that will work on american tapes? i figured if only some vcrs can play them it wouldnt cost that much to buy that vcr since most vcrs are realy cheap now

Answer 1

NO, the American VHS tape works on NSTC type VCR and NSTC type television. Europe uses PAL/SECAM standards for the televisions and VCRs so they are not compatible. There are VCRs that work on both PAL/SECAM and NSTC, but those are special ordered equipment and not available in regular retail stores. You either have to buy a one of this special VCR or have a video service make a converted PAL/SECAM video for you from a US NSTC video.

Answer 2

Although most VCRs in Europe are multi-system, that does not generally include the American system.

Your friend in the Netherlands will have to get a VCR that is capable of NTSC playback. He/she will also need a TV that can handle NTSC input.

Note that there are several flavours of NTSC. America uses NTSC-3.57. But a European VCR player would probably automatically convert this to NTSC 4.43 which is slightly similar to the European PAL system. Many modern European TVs will be able to display NTSC 4.43 when it is input via the SCART connector (the type of video connector in general use in Europe).

Answer 3

a blank tape will just work fine in the vcr but a video recorded tape in us can't be played in european vcr.vcr should be cheap but since the market for it has been declining so much the price remain in fair.people might think it's dirt cheap but it's not.