You need to check if your UK TV supports PAL B/G instead of the usual PAL I.

It's not just the sound, in some cases you can't get the picture either.

Here's the detail:

PAL I, used in the UK, is 625 lines, UHF PAL G is 625 lines UHF but with a different audio frequency.

Most channels in Oz are PAL G, so an older UK TV and even some quite modern ones will only display the picture. A cheap modification can be made to get the sound working in your UK VCR or UK TV by a TV engineer in the know.

PAL B is 625 lines, VHF with the same audio frequency as PAL G. If you move to an area in OZ like Brisbane, (but not the Gold Coast), where some TV channels are VHF, then your standard PAL I UK TV won't get these channels at all, and modification is really out of the question.

If your TV is "multisystem" (Panasonic and Grundig make some), then it should support all of the PAL formats, and also SECAM and NTSC.

Regardless, you can still use your UK TV by connecting to an Australian VCR (available cheaply as low as $199), and connect it to your TV using a/v cables such as Scart, composite or S Video cable, and you quickly get used to having to use two remotes - one for the tv for volume and one for the vcr for the channels.

If you get cable, satellite or an Australian games system over here, these will all work fine too as long as you connect using these a/v cables. If you instead tried to connect using the normal ariel lead and tune in, you will not get the sound unless you have had the TV modified.

If however your TV does not have any audio/Video or Scart sockets on the back, i.e. it ONLY has an ariel lead - then I would definitely not recommend bringing it. You might consider bringing it if you intend ONLY to connect it up to a UK games system or perhaps a UK VCR for playing tapes.

Note, IF you are buying a DVD player - DVDs and DVD players bought in England are Region code2. DVDs and DVD players bought in Australia are region code4. (region 1 for USA). Although the TV systems are the same for UK and Australia, the DVD player will not allow you to play a disc from a different region - and most shops will neglect to tell you that discs from another country won't play. The answer is to have a modified player that is "Region Code Free" or "Region select / auto select" or "All regions".

Just don't buy a player that is locked on one region! which is what most retail stores will only sell. Many players can be modified, which no doubt affects warranty and costs around £60-£100. Much easier to buy a code free or selectable region player - and sometimes the very cheapest players from Hong Kong or Taiwan are code free. But you can get upmarket players like Pioneer or Sony that are region free as well by purchasing mail order - just search for "code free dvd" on the net.