Televisions and computers - differences in France
May 7, 2007
Hi Tony
I aim to move over to France very shortly and although I have searched the net for some good advice on bringing my desktop computer and my TV over with me, I haven’t had much success in getting actual answers.
Please could you tell me if a tv (about two years old with digi box) will convert easily and give me a good reception or is it easier to leave here and buy new in France?
As I shall be spending quite a bit of time working in England at first, I have invested in a lap top but wanted to bring my fairly new desktop and leave in my study in France - again is it worth the bother and are there any good IT people who would be around to offer advice etc and have a better knowledge of French than I do (I’m learning but so many other things keep getting in the way of my studies)in order to get me set up on broadband etc.
I really do appreciate your newsletter and your readiness to give help and information to people like me.
By the way I am a personal development consultant, hypnotherapist and NLP Practitioner so if I can be of any help (you were sending a Mayday message for contributors I think?) then I’d be happy to get involved.
Regards
Jennifer
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Hello Jennifer,
I am pleased you have found a good, registered, builder - I have found that when they are good they can be very good.
TV in France is on a different system to the UK - in France we have a SECAM standard so if you plus in your British PAL television you will, at the best, only see French programmes in black and white - if all you want to watch is a satellite service then you can tune into the usual UK channels through a decoder and these will work on your British TV.
However, all TVs sold in France a dual-standard (many are tri-standard - America is NTSC - so you can watch American DVDs as well.
My advice is that it is really not worth bringing a British TV to France - on special offer in Supermarkets you can buy a new one for under 100 euro.
There is no problem with your computer, one of the main cottage industries in France is for ex-pats to set up as computer consultants and experts so you are bound to find someone near you who can mess up your operating system even more than it already is and set you up on a broadband service. You are better off keeping your UK computer as all the screen instructions and your keyboard will be in English and switching to a French keyboard is confusing with all the other stuff going on.
I am always in need of help for my own personal development and find red wine helps a lot - what is NLP ?
Hope this helps
Best wishes
Tony
Comment by Robert Humphrey-Taylor
Hi Tony,
NLP is Neuro Linguistic Programming.
Comment by Elizabeth
We have a virtual ruin in a tiny hamlet about 10 km from Limoges. In order to do some work on it we need to be in France but I also need to do my job (work remotely in UK). We were pleasantly surprised when we ordered a phoneline and broadband through France Telecom. It was really quick and easy. We called FT on 17th April, the engineers arrived on 23rd, were super efficient and we were up and running in 2 days. Amazing service.
Comment by Mary Rodger
Hi Tony,
Like Elizabeth I was impressed by the efficiency of France Telecom in installing a phoneline and broadband, however I find it very costly for a holiday home to pay 40 euros per month and more again for the phone line.
It is anomalous that you can suspend the phone line when not in residence but not the internet (though the internet can’t be used without the line!)
Given that Tiscali can supply broadband in Britain for less than £15, I wondered if there are providers other than FT who can offer a service at a better price. Any suggestions would be most welcome.
Hope your estate agency is flourishing. Look forward to all your info.
Best wishes
Mary
Comment by Peter
You might like to look at :- http://www.dslvalley.com/ where you can input your French telephone number and it will provide details of your line capability and the service providers who can offer a service and at what cost.
I use this site fairly frequently, to check if the length of wet string to my telephone has been replaced with shiny new copper, as I am nearly 6km from the exchange and the best speed I can obtain is 512kb
Comment by Alan Chapman
Hi Tony,
Helpful stuff on t.v.’s and computers,moving to France[24]soon. Is it O.K.to take all usual household electrical goodies ? If so can I buy French type plugs in U.k.? Have done web search, but nothing, any ideas?
Best wishes,Alan.
Comment by Jill
Tele2 will give you broadband and free calls to landlines in 30 countries for 29.95 euro a month (no FT line payment) - TV also included but a fairly miserable bunch of channels.