TV & DVD advice
Discussion
US Ph'ers a moment of your time please for some advice.
Mrs CVP and I are relocating to Brooklyn for a couple of years from mid March. We've already been through all the paperwork and both have nice shiny 5 year work visas and the lease documentation for a small appartment is winging its way to us, so we're now addressing the more mundane items
Key question is for electricals like a TV what are the reputable stores on/off line where we are likely to get some decent advice? Are places like Best Buy and Circuit City OK or are we likely to be told total hogwash. J&R in New York seems good, anyone have any experience of dealing with them? Do any of you have multi-region DVD players, and if so where did you get them, I guess part of the above question really.
Advice greatly received.
Cheers
Chris
Mrs CVP and I are relocating to Brooklyn for a couple of years from mid March. We've already been through all the paperwork and both have nice shiny 5 year work visas and the lease documentation for a small appartment is winging its way to us, so we're now addressing the more mundane items
Key question is for electricals like a TV what are the reputable stores on/off line where we are likely to get some decent advice? Are places like Best Buy and Circuit City OK or are we likely to be told total hogwash. J&R in New York seems good, anyone have any experience of dealing with them? Do any of you have multi-region DVD players, and if so where did you get them, I guess part of the above question really.
Advice greatly received.
Cheers
Chris
Ok I have the info but you have to tell me what car you are getting first
I personally don't like circuit City, Best Buy is ok, some of the stores are very busy though.
Basically most stores including Best Buy only sell region 1 stuff
Here is a link to a region free player http://bargainoffers.com/catalog/cyberhome-chdvd-3...
Out of stock, but if you copy and paste the model number into Google you may find another supplier.
I personally don't like circuit City, Best Buy is ok, some of the stores are very busy though.
Basically most stores including Best Buy only sell region 1 stuff
Here is a link to a region free player http://bargainoffers.com/catalog/cyberhome-chdvd-3...
Out of stock, but if you copy and paste the model number into Google you may find another supplier.
jeff m said:
Ok I have the info but you have to tell me what car you are getting first
Thanks for the info guys.We're going to live right in Brooklyn on Montague Street so we're planning on not actually buying a car and just renting when we need, the upside no insurance costs, parking costs, depreciation etc. It also means when we do go away for the weekend I will be hiring something with a good old V8 to get my fix. Some of the new stuff like the new Charger I really like
The downside, I'm selling my beloved Z4 M Coupe here in the UK before we come. God I'm going to miss this car, that straight six M engine is just incredible
Chris
You do realise most rentals are auto, just thought I'd warn you.
You may find that you need a "run about" even in Brooklyn. Lugging the supermarket shopping back in the summer could be an ordeal. You'll sort that out after one or two trips
You can still rent something for getaways. Tell your wife there is great scenery around Watkins Glen.
Good Luck.
PS really reccomend Sat nav purchase, basic Tom Tom around $180
You may find that you need a "run about" even in Brooklyn. Lugging the supermarket shopping back in the summer could be an ordeal. You'll sort that out after one or two trips
You can still rent something for getaways. Tell your wife there is great scenery around Watkins Glen.
Good Luck.
PS really reccomend Sat nav purchase, basic Tom Tom around $180
Edited by jeff m on Friday 25th January 21:01
CVP said:
US Ph'ers a moment of your time please for some advice.
Mrs CVP and I are relocating to Brooklyn for a couple of years from mid March. We've already been through all the paperwork and both have nice shiny 5 year work visas and the lease documentation for a small appartment is winging its way to us, so we're now addressing the more mundane items
Key question is for electricals like a TV what are the reputable stores on/off line where we are likely to get some decent advice? Are places like Best Buy and Circuit City OK or are we likely to be told total hogwash. J&R in New York seems good, anyone have any experience of dealing with them? Do any of you have multi-region DVD players, and if so where did you get them, I guess part of the above question really.
Advice greatly received.
Cheers
Chris
I bought a multi region VCR player from these guys by mail order:-Mrs CVP and I are relocating to Brooklyn for a couple of years from mid March. We've already been through all the paperwork and both have nice shiny 5 year work visas and the lease documentation for a small appartment is winging its way to us, so we're now addressing the more mundane items
Key question is for electricals like a TV what are the reputable stores on/off line where we are likely to get some decent advice? Are places like Best Buy and Circuit City OK or are we likely to be told total hogwash. J&R in New York seems good, anyone have any experience of dealing with them? Do any of you have multi-region DVD players, and if so where did you get them, I guess part of the above question really.
Advice greatly received.
Cheers
Chris
http://www.220-electronics.com/dvd/dvdorig.htm
They were very cheap and the service was first class.
If you want to buy from a big-box store then Circuit City and Best Buy are OK, they're not going to be the cheapest but they won't mess you around if something goes wrong.
The way I would look at it is that if you want to take a TV back with you at the end of your stay then buy a multi system (i.e. NTSC / ATSC / PAL ) with multi voltage (110V / 220V). You then need matching DVD & VCR to be able to play and record anything from anywhere.
But if you want to get something good and cheap, then go to the equivalent of Tottenham Court Road in Manhattan, look at everything, and buy online from whoever gives the best deal.
GavinPearson said:
The way I would look at it is that if you want to take a TV back with you at the end of your stay then buy a multi system (i.e. NTSC / ATSC / PAL ) with multi voltage (110V / 220V). You then need matching DVD & VCR to be able to play and record anything from anywhere.
This is our current plan to try and get stuff that we can then take anywhere with us.Cheers
Chris
DVD players - nearly all of them can be cracked so that they become multi region. I de-regionalised both DVD players that I have. Ways to do this can be found easily on the internet - usually involving some sort of sequence of button presses.
TV's - I am told that Philips TV's have PAL & NTSC receivers inside them, but are only marked according to the local flavour wherever they are sold. I found this out after I had bought a Philips TV - which I bought because it was one of few that was dual voltage. Regardless, most TV's can accept either NTSC or PAL input so if you take an NTSC tv back to the UK and hook it up to a skybox, it will work just fine, you just won't be able to use the internal receiver. I'm just a layman with this stuff though, so my understanding might be flawed!
TV's - I am told that Philips TV's have PAL & NTSC receivers inside them, but are only marked according to the local flavour wherever they are sold. I found this out after I had bought a Philips TV - which I bought because it was one of few that was dual voltage. Regardless, most TV's can accept either NTSC or PAL input so if you take an NTSC tv back to the UK and hook it up to a skybox, it will work just fine, you just won't be able to use the internal receiver. I'm just a layman with this stuff though, so my understanding might be flawed!
Hey Chris,
Best Buy & Circuit City are basically your Dixons and Curry's over here. Can't really go wrong with either. As for online, thats more tricky, Newegg has a whole bunch of stuff, Geeks.com have some cheap off-brand LCD TV's and of course old fleabay.
As for multi region players, the US is very different to the rest of the world. Region one players don't normally play any other regions, unlike the UK where you can hack your player to work with anything. However, there are a few that do work, my Denon S301 DVD/Home Cinema box is a US version but can also play all my UK DVD's, just takes a bit of research.
However, if I was starting again I would purchase a HTPC. These will play anything you throw at them and you can have the added bonus of downloading your UK shows and watching them too. By Sunday night on the West Coast I have downloaded the latest Top Gear that was shown the same day in the UK!
Best Buy & Circuit City are basically your Dixons and Curry's over here. Can't really go wrong with either. As for online, thats more tricky, Newegg has a whole bunch of stuff, Geeks.com have some cheap off-brand LCD TV's and of course old fleabay.
As for multi region players, the US is very different to the rest of the world. Region one players don't normally play any other regions, unlike the UK where you can hack your player to work with anything. However, there are a few that do work, my Denon S301 DVD/Home Cinema box is a US version but can also play all my UK DVD's, just takes a bit of research.
However, if I was starting again I would purchase a HTPC. These will play anything you throw at them and you can have the added bonus of downloading your UK shows and watching them too. By Sunday night on the West Coast I have downloaded the latest Top Gear that was shown the same day in the UK!
Well, of course, downloading Top Gear is completely illegal and I certainly would not suggest going to www.finalgear.com
Re the Direct TV choice it was our apartment block (no dishes allowed). The only suppliers we could have are Time Warner and Direct TV (through a reseller) as Verizon FioS is not in our area yet. Work colleagues gave me their view on Time Warner as not a satisfactory supplier plus the Direct TV package offer inc DVR was better.
So far Direct TV have turned up on time and installed no problems and the service has been completely fine. Still getting used to the frequency of the advertising
I've used Time Warner for the broadband service at home and so far they have taken three appointments to actually install but once installed it's then been reliable.
Cheers
Chris
So far Direct TV have turned up on time and installed no problems and the service has been completely fine. Still getting used to the frequency of the advertising
I've used Time Warner for the broadband service at home and so far they have taken three appointments to actually install but once installed it's then been reliable.
Cheers
Chris
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