Searching for a TV

A friend from England gifted my boys with a Wii, possibly their most expensive toy to date. The problem was, when we connected the Wii to our TV, the screen vibrated and there was no way it can be configured with that.

We figured that the power input might be the problem. The US uses 110 volts, while European appliances use 220 volts. We needed a step-up transformer to provide the necessary voltage. It took us an evening visiting the neighborhood stores looking for one but to no avail. I couldn't believe it, until a friend did say that the only place we could possibly check is the Internet.

So, I did. After a week, we got our step-up transformer and I was very excited to try it. However, the result was the same. With or without transformers, the screen was vibrating. I mentioned this problem to a colleague and he thought that it must be the TV. We did some googling and learned that Wii from England worked with PAL format, as opposed to the NSTC standard here in the US. Apparently, newer TV models should be able to handle both. The same friend lent me his 19" Samsung TV to test this, and when I did, it worked!

So now, we're in the market for a bigger TV.