Pulaski

Thank you for the clarification. I will remember that in future. ...... But why do people report that vacuums and food mixers, that I recall, don't run at the right speed when run on a transformer?

scrubbedexpat085

hi pulaski i have lived and worked here in the USA for over 30 years now and I brought my electrical and electronic equipment with me and I have helped others through the same experiences so far no fires or any notice able motor sped problems.
please bare in-mind that most UK equipment is also designed to work in Europe on its mostly 220 volts and normally the most noticeable difference is that heating elements used in the likes of kettles and the water heaters tend to heat more slowly.
I am an electronics engineer/ technician for 35 years now and having lived here in the USA for over 18 years i have helped a lot of people out on a lot of forums and nobody has gone up in smoke yet?

scrubbedexpat085

normally it is that the transformers they use are of poor quality and or too small a rating thus causing the voltage to drop to the point that it effects the motor speed drops enough that it becomes noticeable.

scrubbedexpat085

here is some insight into the American mains electrical system it arrives at the transformer near you house at up-to about 6000 volts and then it is dropped to 220 and fed into your house. the transformer is a centre tapped one that means that it is capable of supplying both 220 and 110 volts at the same time I.E. when you measure the two outer terminals you get 220 and when you measure the centre to the outer terminals its 110 thus you have both 110 and 220 in the house. here we have items like heavy duty motors and also anything with a heater element is connected to 220 and most all else is 110. I hope this helps clear up some of the miss understandings and myths.

WaitWhat

Okay, so, first post. And, Hello!

This is hugely helpful (and a bit confusing with all the answers and info), so, here's my question:

My wife and I are moving to the US (LA in October). I have a lovely TV, a great multi-region blu-ray and a sweet surround sound DVD system that I would really lie to take with me - they are all great pieces of kit with plenty of life left in them.

The TV (Samsung UE40D6530) says AC220-240V - 50Hz 130W on the sticker on the back.

My Blu-ray (Sony BDP-S490B) is multi-region and has the following power requirements: 220V -240V AC, 50/60Hz

My DVD home cinema system (Sony DAV-IS10 but used for sound and not playing discs) has the same requirement as the Blu-ray for power.

All are HDMI connective.

So, take and make them work - an answer to 'how?' would be appreciated too with any relevant links - or don't bother and just buy all new stuff there?

I also have an Amazon Fire TV box and Apple TV - I guess the solution there is just sell those as they won't work in the US.

Finally, as an aside, my XBox360... keep and take or sell? Not a huge gamer so I won't shed tears over this one...

All help is HUGELY appreciated. Thanks!

Pulaski

Based on current advice and the recent experience of others, everything should work based on their power usage/ needs if plugged into transformers. This may be contrary to your household insurance, so unplug them if you're not around, which shouldn't be a huge issue as your question is entirely about entertainment systems.

I am not familiar with any current issues on digital TV standards and compatability, now that NTSC and PAL are dead. I believe the digital TV standard in the US is still incompatible with digital TV in the UK, but I am not sure how/if that will impact you.

Buy the best transformer(s) you can find - I bought what were sold as "smoothing transformers", which help clean up the notoriously "noisey" US mains power. Also, I would recommend that you buy transformers rated (wattage) for at least twice what you are planning to plug into them. I use a 2Kw smoothing transformer for my hifi.

Bob

Transformer, but if you're using them daily, it would be better so sell and buy new.

Xbox would work with a new lead but getting games over here might be a hassle, certainly DLC content and renewing online subscription can be a chore.

No idea on the Amazon/Apple boxes, but they would probably work fine, though with Apple, you'd create a US iTunes account I would imagine.

WaitWhat

Yeah, likely to use them most days - or at the very least on a regular basis.

XBox - I might just sell it/pass it on then I think. I hardly use it so can totally live without it.

I'll look into the Amazon and Apple boxes again and see what else I can find out. Your help is much appreciated!

Any other further feedback also gratefully received.

Bob

That's an easy fix even if it were a concern, digital aerial and connect it via hdmi cable.

End of the day, whether it is worth doing or not will depend on if someone is paying to ship the stuff for you or not. If they are, you've nothing to lose except the hassle of selling if it the transformer route doesn't work out. If you're paying to ship it yourself, better to flog it while you're able to get something for it and buy new and save on the cost of shipping.

yellowroom

I bought an apply box in the U.S. and it works fine in the UK with a new cable, so will be ok going the other way. The apps and services you get depend on your iTunes account, so UK services with a UK account etc. if you bought an Apple TV in the U.S. but you haven't changed your iTunes account to the US, you wouldn't see any difference whatsoever.

slices

Same is pretty true of a the amazon firetv. You can set the region your amazon devices use in your amazon account settings.