TV Wonder PRO NTSC to PAL?

[Marcus Stade]

Hello!

I wonder if anyone knows if it's possible to convert a TV Wonder PRO
from NTSC version to PAL? I can see no jumper or such which might be
of use (in fact, I can't see any at all). Will it be enough to just
solder something or did they actually make two different versions of
the TV Wonder PRO, one for PAL and one for NTSC?

I would be surprised if the latter is true, HW manufacturers rarely do
something like that ;o)

Cheers!

 

[Ben Pope]

Hello!

I wonder if anyone knows if it's possible to convert a TV Wonder PRO
from NTSC version to PAL? I can see no jumper or such which might be
of use (in fact, I can't see any at all). Will it be enough to just
solder something or did they actually make two different versions of
the TV Wonder PRO, one for PAL and one for NTSC?

I would be surprised if the latter is true, HW manufacturers rarely do
something like that ;o)

I'm not sure... if there is no jumper, then possibly a BIOS flash?

Ben

 

[Paul Murphy]

Hello!

I wonder if anyone knows if it's possible to convert a TV Wonder PRO
from NTSC version to PAL? I can see no jumper or such which might be
of use (in fact, I can't see any at all). Will it be enough to just
solder something or did they actually make two different versions of
the TV Wonder PRO, one for PAL and one for NTSC?

I would be surprised if the latter is true, HW manufacturers rarely do
something like that ;o)

Cheers!

There will be significant hardware differences between the currently
available NTSC version and the PAL/SECAM Version (when its released). NTSC
is a very different format and the frequencies on those cards differ to
those on PAL/SECAM cards. The tuner module (in the metal can) will be
different, hardware PnP ID in its EEPROM/EPROM will differ and there will
probably be many other differences as well.

When NTSC All-In-Wonder 8500s were being sold for much lower prices in the
US than the PAL equivalent over the ditch, there was a report from someone
who'd attempted this conversion. It was far from straight forward and with
something as cheap as a TV Wonder Pro, the question of "is it worth the
trouble" is relevant.

FYI, I've enquired about the availability of a PAL TV Wonder Pro in the UK
and was advised they "hope to have this ready in the 1st quarter of this
year". Although Sweden uses a different version of PAL than the UK, If the
manufacturers keep the "Universal PAL/SECAM" capability as per All In
Wonders, then the UK version would be usable in Sweden just by configuring
the software/OS correctly.

Paul