Help with TVs
 

Sorry to ask this as I know some people have asked similar questions.
My American husband and I (from UK) are moving to the US next summer. We have a British TV, DVD/VHS player and PS3 which my husband would like to bring over in order to have a 'games room' style set up in the basement. From what I can tell, the DVD/VHS player won't work connected to a US TV but can you advise if the above set up will work in the US at all or if there is a way of making the DVD/VHS player work on a US TV?
Thanks

Re: Help with TVs
 

If you connect from DVD to TV with HDMI, I think it will work fine. Just check the power supply is 'universal' 100-240volts our Xbox wasn't.

Re: Help with TVs
 

I run my UK setup (big screen tv and home cinema) via a voltage converter. I have a US Xbox plugged into the UK setup which all works fine together.

Re: Help with TVs
 

DVD player is easy to buy here and make regionless if your one doesn't have HDMI output. VHS, not worth the hassle.

PS3, games are region free, DLC is not, so that might be a issue if you have a lot of DLC.

Re: Help with TVs
 

Pretty sure one of my tvs (a Vizio) can play PAL or NTSC input.

Re: Help with TVs
 

It pretty much depends on how much your setup is worth to you and how much you can sell it for.

For me, I had a 46" LED Samsung TV that cost me over a grand 4 years ago and a matching Samsung Home Cinema (surround sound system) that I only bought 3 years ago.

When I looked into selling them, comparable second hand prices were pretty terrible, maybe 400 -500 quid if I was lucky. I never got any interest at those prices when I put them up for sale locally so decided to bring them with me rather than giving them away for stupid money. The converter only cost me $70 or so and was well worth the money to me.

That said If I had a cheaper TV that I didn't mind selling for what I could get for it, I'd have probably done that as TVs are much cheaper these days and even cheaper in the US. DVD players are cheap too and you can pick up a second hand PS3 or Xbox 360 for next to nothing too.

Re: Help with TVs
 

Thanks everyone for those replies and for being so nice!
They've been really helpful :)

Re: Help with TVs
 

One caveat to this....if it's only going to be used as a spare and not daily, that's probably fine. If it's a daily thing, running a transformer could and does void home insurance policies because of the fire risk.

Re: Help with TVs
 

Good point...and very important.

I would avoid the use of a transformer in regular use.

Re: Help with TVs
 

Planning out the man cave before the move though, i like it :thumbsup:

Re: Help with TVs
 

Can I just ask, we have 3 UK TV's all modern flat screen etc.. which we are currently using in Australia. Are you saying we could use them in the US but would need a converter and this would invalidate any home insurance policy.
Would I then be right in thinking get rid of them and just buy new in the US.

Am I also right in saying I shouldn't bring any electric appliances if they are from the UK or Australia?

Thanks for any answers (sorry for jumping on your thread)

Re: Help with TVs
 

If they're "modern" there's a good chance they'll run on 110v ...... Check the specs on the back and hopefully you'll see "100v-250v".

Re: Help with TVs
 

Many flatscreen are now 110-220v. Just look on the back of your existing model (where the power cord attaches) and you should see something, or just google the model number to see what the specifications are for that TV. Note: google the exact model number, with all the trailing 000s and ABCs, etc as sometimes a TV will have different variants for different countries.

That said, given the very high price for appliances in Australia and the significantly lower price in the USA, you might be able to sell them on eBay or craigslist in Aussie and buy brand new, possibly even better versions in the USA for the same price.

As for most other devices, sell and replace when you get to the US. Cheaper.

Re: Help with TVs
 

If everything has 110/240V 50/60hz written on the back you are fine.

- Our TV did, and that works perfectly.
- Your PS3 will not, it will only say 240v. But apparently on the inside it does say dual voltage. My PS3 works fine.
- Chances are your DVD player will not be the right voltage - but you can run it through a transformer which is what we do with our surround sound system. Or just ditch it and buy a US one. If you have a load of UK DVDs, you will need to buy a region free US DVD player. It will be HDMI, so PAL/NTSC doesn't matter.
You mention VHS - surely you dont still have tapes?

Re: Help with TVs
 

All of our TVs worked fine, I replaced the cables to have US plugs and were up and running from the set top boxes via HDMI in a few minutes.
My son's XBox 360 needed a new power 'box' with a US version and also no issues. He is keen for new games so are likely to upgrade to the XBox One for him. I plan to keep the 360 for my 'cave' as the trade-in value means it is not really worth it.
We do need a new DVD player, so will look for something region free or play them off the XBox.