How to comply with the French TV laws

by Pauline Appleby Published: 30-Jul-2007

Television and video in France There are three main television/video standards in use throughout the world. The system used in the US, Canada, Japan and some other countries is called NTSC Most of Western Europe, Australasia and Southern Africa use a system called PAL Eastern Europe (and France) uses SECAM The three standards are not compatible with each other. This means that you can't watch a TV signal (or play a video) produced for one system on machinery that's been designed for another. (There is also a variant of SECAM called MESECAM, which Saudi Arabia uses but almost nowhere else. Many PAL video recorders happen to support MESECAM, but this does not mean they will deliver flawless playback of tapes recorded in France under the SECAM system - colours generally appear in black and white, and sound can be somewhat dubious.) So how do you get to watch what you want? Multi-Standard Equipment For maximum flexibility, use multi-standard TV and Video equipment, that can handle SECAM (for local TV and tapes) along with the signal that will be produced by: Any imported tapes. Your PAL (or NTSC) camcorder. Your PAL (or NTSC) DVD player. Your PAL (or NTSC) games console. And so on. A multi-standard Video recorder will also allow you to record tapes that you can send overseas in a format that will be readable by VHS machines in other countries. Thanks to the proliferation of camcorders, DVD and games consoles (few of which are ever made available to the French market in a SECAM version), nearly all modern French TV and Video equipment is dual standard, supporting the (broadly similar) PAL and SECAM standards. However, beware of older equipment - pre-1993? - that will almost certainly be SECAM-only.  Many modern VHS machines bought in France also support NTSC playback, but only a few high-end models can record NTSC-compatible information. Many high-end, US-sourced VHS machines and televisions can work with both NTSC and PAL signals, but very few bother to add SECAM-compatibility. French Television Licence You will need to get a French TV licence even if you only watch videos or dvds. When you purchase a TV in France, you will be asked for your French address and will automatically get a letter from the Licensing Authority asking for you to apply for a licence. They are persistant and after about 3 letters, you will receive a visit.

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About the Author

Pauline Appleby and her family moved to France 10 years ago.

Other articles by Pauline Appleby if available

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