Hello! Just an electronics question here from a Canadian. I have a UK DVD player that I just purchased direct from the UK. My son is addicted to Numberjacks, and myself to Mitchell & Webb, and our old Region 2 DVD player broke. Anyway...the new DVD player arrived today to much fanfare and excitement.

However...it, of course, has a 220 V plug, suitable for the UK. Not here. Our old DVD player had a 110 V plug. So now what? Does anyone else have a UK appliance (electronic -- TV, DVD, computer, etc) that they can use here, with our 110 V outlets? Anyone have any ideas?

I have been looking into these voltage adapters on various websites but I'm a little lost. I'm not even sure what to look for. I have a UK DVD player that I want to plug in here, safely. If anyone can help, let me know! Poor Ben wants to see his "Jacks!" Numberjacks are a children's show on CBeebies, for anyone wondering.

Thanks very, very much in advance!

Jesse

This might help
http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Compat...f_Goods-Canada

I'll take a look...

What is this "$35 Region Free Machine" at Wal-Mart? Has anyone bought this and does it work? What kind of machine is it? That might solve my problem, too...

Your best bet would be to get a region free machine and then you would not have to worry about power. Saying that you can find region unlock codes for many DVD players if you look about.

I would look at the bottom of the DVD player and see if it states anywhere something like "Input: 100-240V" and then you know it would just be a matter of getting a plug adaptor.

Indeed, or simply cutting the plug off and wiring on a Canadian one.

From a previous thread:

"If you have UK DVDs/Blu-Rays then Wal-mart is selling a Seiki BD660 Blu-Ray player for $88 which can be hacked to play UK DVDs and Blu-Rays.

Hack details from Videohelp.

I bought one and it works fine on all the UK DVDs I've bought.

Back in the uk i picked up a £10 dvd player in asda, it plays all disks as standard and runs on power from 100-250 v (we use a travel addapter to change from 3-2pin plug)

In canada we brought another player for the second tv, this time from walmart, again it plays all region dvd,s as standard, cost $12

both work fine with our canadian tv's without changing anything.

slightly off topic but - $12 for a dvd player - thats mad eh

I am not a teckie wizz (or any sort of wizz, regrettably) but even I managed to unblock the regional codes on the DVD, so it can't be difficult.

Also on various threads on here, there is the info for popping on an Expat Shield patch, which enables watching Numberjacks direct from Cbeebies. My son, and husband, are addicted to Shaun the Sheep, and we can now see it via the BBCi player. Super! Good luck.

Many DVD players can be made region free. The longer they've been on the market, the higher the chance you'll be able to buy one that can be unlocked.

As for voltages, we've found a number of our electrical items even though they say 220v only, work just fine with a travel adapter. Then again, several other don't work unless you have a voltage converter. Looking on kijiji*, you will often find second hand electronics for a very reasonable price - including DVD players and TVs.

* http://www.kijiji.ca

Yep...bought one from Walmart when we first came over 7 yrs ago and still working fine..was $30 at the time. Brought a load of English DVD with us for the kids mainly Disney and stuff but well worth it.

The fabled $30 walmart DVD player is a cost effective solution but it does give me a smile now and then. Many of us have surround sound systems of varying quality to go with our big screens. Connecting your $30 wallymart dvd to your $2k surround sound system and your $2k 50" plasma means that you will be able to watch UK DVD's but should have low expectations as to sound and picture quality.

So true, that's why ours is connected to their TV...and not the main one

Hello! I just wanted to thank everyone for their kind and considerate responses. I ended up finding out how to "unlock" one of my existing DVD players, and Little Ben is now enjoying his Numberjacks -- all the time! He LOVES that programme...any other Numberjacks kids/parents on here, just by the way? Anyway, I've ordered more of the NJ DVDs and another arrived today. Fantastic!

Now I have to send the UK DVD back to Amazon in England...turns out it will cost $50 for 6-8 weeks or $100 for 4 days (arrival time). That's criminal! $100 to return a $100 item...madness.

If anyone wants to buy a brand new upscaling UK (Region 2) DVD player for a good price, let me know! :-)

we bought a toshiba dvd player from XS cargo which plays everything thank god...we also use a few things here with the uk plugs still on and we just put them into a travel adaptor. Also my husband has cut quite a few plugs off and wired up with a canadian plug