tucker

hola, not the greatest with technology and not had time to research properly so here goes.
If we fetch our computer over will it work in oz, ie be able to get it to connected to the internet etc
Also, would we be better buying a TV/laptop/Wii in the uk or waiting while we get to oz, pricewise. I'm aware of the plug situation.
We are goin to Adelaide.
thanks in advance

sparks124

computer will work when you change the plug, tv may be a slight problem with the diffeant PAL systems between uk and aus. if your thinking of buying new then i would wait till your here as you can have problems with warranty as well as pictures and no sound, although some tv you can change the settings and they work fine, even if you cant you can watch them through a video/dvd player or set top box, but is that what you want to do with a new tv? as for the games systms im not sure some one will know though and give the answer.

bigAPE

PC/Laptop

Not a problem, but if you plan on bringing your UK ADSL Router/Modem you might have to change a couple of the settings (but it's generally not an issue). Absolute worst case scenario is that you buy a new Modem.

TV

Don't buy in the UK to bring to Australia, that's just pointless. Specifically if you buy a new HD LCD with integrated HD Tuners as it's possible you might not be able to upgrade the firmware or change the settings to get them to support the Australian DTV standard.

Yes, the PAL standard here is slightly different but most people these days don't watch analogue TV any more and as the difference will only affect the regular analogue Tuner in the TV it's not really an issue. If you want to bring your UK TV out, then just buy a cheap Set Top Box out here in Australia (as you would with Freeview DTV in the UK), plug it in and it will work fine.

Wii

This will also work fine (our does). You should be aware though that it's better to buy one out here than buy in the UK and bring it over with you. This is because when you come to trade it in to an Australian games shop a couple of years down the line (when you upgrade to the next generation of Wii) they will not accept the UK Wii. They won't even take UK Wii games as trade in's.

A note on plugs. yes you should change the plugs on all the equipment, but to do that you will technically need a qualified electrician to do it and you'll need a certificate to prove. The alternative is to bring over a decent multi-port power trellis (the long adapter with 4-5 plugs and a long power cable) with some decent surge protection and then just get the plug on that changed and certified then plug all the UK gear into that one.

To be honest these are probably the most common questions asked on Expat forums and a quick search would have yielded all of these answers.

Hope this helps,

Al

oliver1982

An alternative for changing the plugs is to bring the multi trellis powerpoint thingy, mentioned above and just buy a travel adapter for a couple of $

scrubbedexpat001

If it's a plug-in lead like most electical items these days (eg: computer, laptop, PS2 etc) just go to Tandy and buy a new Aussie 2/3 pin lead, unplug the UK one (keep if you think you may return to the UK) and insert the Oz one - no need for a qualified electrican.

If your going to replace the moulded UK 3 pin plug just pop to to Bunnings, Kmart or Tandy and pick up "DIY" aussie 3 pin plugs for a couple of $$'s each (guess your suppose to get an electrician to do these but ....).

For anything with an adapter don't use those travel convertors long term, bring a couple of UK 4/6 way surge protected leads with you, cut off the UK plug & stick on an OZ one, that way you can still charge your cordless drill/tourch/Ninento DS/Mobile phone/whatever.

beaumonts

DEFFO BUY IN OZ - the cost of bringing it will not be worth it - or if you plan to use weight allocation (suitcase) there are miles more important things to bring - for instance can prob buy a wii for around $400 from EB games and with todays exchange rate would more or less be sme price

also when buying a tv and other electrical things go to "good guys" they will give you a good deal especially if you buy together

tucker

thanks