moving to the USA, will my Pioneer Kuro plasma TV still work

moving to the USA, will my Pioneer Kuro plasma TV still work

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hugepiece

Original Poster:

724 posts

233 months

Thursday 7th January 2010
quotequote all
does anyone know? I only bought my 5090 Kuro 50" plasma a year ago but am moving to the USA very soon, i'm loathed to have to buy a new one. I know that the US runs NTSC but I am assuming that this only impacts the in-built tuner, as I will be using a HDMI cable box im assuming that doesnt impact me??? Also does anyone know if it's dual voltage?

PJ S

10,842 posts

233 months

Thursday 7th January 2010
quotequote all
Should say on the back of the TV, the standard label all TV's carry. I imagine it would be auto-voltage, but then as it's not an external PS for a portable device, it may very well not be. Makes sense for it to be - standardisation of parts stocked.

hugepiece

Original Poster:

724 posts

233 months

Thursday 7th January 2010
quotequote all
the tv is wall mounted and i cannot see the sticker sadly, the manual only mentions 220-240v but I am told that this doesn necessarily mean anything. Was just wondering if anyone knew offhand

PJ S

10,842 posts

233 months

Thursday 7th January 2010
quotequote all
From what I've been able to glean, it looks like EU ones were 220-240v, and US Elite Pro's were 110-120V.
Changing the transformer wouldn't be a problem, assuming the layout of the PSU board and mainboard is same irrespectively, the only potential issue is SD NTSC at 480i, an external converter box so all inputs are 1080p or 720p would get around that.

hairyben

8,516 posts

189 months

Thursday 7th January 2010
quotequote all
240v/60Hz is often available domestically in n america but not used in general power circuits, only heavy duty stuff like aircon.

Probably cheaper to change the PSU or use a step-up transformer/inverter than mess about having a special circuit installed. If the latter watch the frequency changes too 50/60hz.

redtwin

7,518 posts

188 months

Thursday 7th January 2010
quotequote all
What would be the cost of shipping it there?. From what I gather, they must be kept upright will the movers guarantee that?. Will any warranty left on it be valid in the US?.

Check the cost of a new TV in the USA with full US warranty support vs what you could get for your current TV + the cost of shipping, insurance, changing out power supply etc.

After a nightmare ordeal with repairs on an LG plasma and the prices of the parts the technician changed out (luckily covered under warranty) I wouldn't want any plasma without full warranty cover.

OldSkoolRS

6,832 posts

185 months

Thursday 7th January 2010
quotequote all
I was thinking along similar lines (going to joke that you could leave it with me to look after smile ) but given the ready market for a used Kuro I'd consider selling it here and buying something new over there. Keeping it upright the whole way without the original shipping packaging to protect it could be a challenge.

I know it's a good set, but there are altenatives, even buying another used one out there for example or one of the newer Panasonics perhaps?

hugepiece

Original Poster:

724 posts

233 months

Sunday 10th January 2010
quotequote all
Well my company are paying to ship all my personal effects and furniture so the cost of the move are not really an issue. It sounds like I may have to use a transformer if I take it. It's all insurance covered so if they break it they need to pay for it.....

How much is it worth second hand? I did think about putting it on ebay but I was assuming I wouldnt get much for it so didn't bother. Having just bought it last year I was a bit loathed to take a 50% hit on it then end up having to buy an inferior set out there!

anonymous-user

60 months

Sunday 10th January 2010
quotequote all
I moved back the other way (US to UK) with a Fujitsui 42inch plasma.
I bought the Fujitsui as it supported both PAL and NTSC formats.

Pleasingly when i got back i found that it would work on both 110V or 240V, if it hadn't though, as others have mentioned you could just buy a transformer (I thinks these cost around £60 from memory) and can step up or step down voltage. You need to make sure the transformer you buy can handle the power consumption of your Pioneer though.

Enjoy - I had a great time over there (California) - where abouts are you relocating to?

bandit

rhinochopig

17,932 posts

204 months

Sunday 10th January 2010
quotequote all
Friends moved out to Cali a couple of years ago. They had a large grey widget which enabled them to plug all their UK spec electrickery equipment into the US power supply and have it work.

hugepiece

Original Poster:

724 posts

233 months

Monday 11th January 2010
quotequote all
i'm off to Irving Texas (hopefully). It sounds like the the power transformer may be the way to go. But im hearing of potential Hertz issues, any ideas?

rhinochopig

17,932 posts

204 months

Monday 11th January 2010
quotequote all
hugepiece said:
i'm off to Irving Texas (hopefully). It sounds like the the power transformer may be the way to go. But im hearing of potential Hertz issues, any ideas?
They had no problems, and found them a very reliable car rental company.

The transformer also worked fine with no problems whatsoever

anonymous-user

60 months

Tuesday 12th January 2010
quotequote all
hugepiece said:
i'm off to Irving Texas (hopefully). It sounds like the the power transformer may be the way to go. But im hearing of potential Hertz issues, any ideas?
I know my Fujitsui worked at either 50 or 60hz - it automatically adjusted.
Have you still got the manual for the Pioneer? I'm sure it should have all the information you need in there.

Enjoy Texas - I hope you like either Rock/Country music or gangsta rap (there is no inbetween over there !)
Also don't forget to buy the biggest truck you can and then drive it really fast at unsafe speeds while on your cell phone - you'll fit right in ! hehe

(spent a lot of time in Houston and Austin...haven't been to Irving though)

hugepiece

Original Poster:

724 posts

233 months

Wednesday 13th January 2010
quotequote all
Cheers, have heard the same about the dodgy music - sadly i like neither. I have decided to go down the largest capacity muscle car instead and skip the whole truck thing :-)


Bandit said:
hugepiece said:
i'm off to Irving Texas (hopefully). It sounds like the the power transformer may be the way to go. But im hearing of potential Hertz issues, any ideas?
I know my Fujitsui worked at either 50 or 60hz - it automatically adjusted.
Have you still got the manual for the Pioneer? I'm sure it should have all the information you need in there.

Enjoy Texas - I hope you like either Rock/Country music or gangsta rap (there is no inbetween over there !)
Also don't forget to buy the biggest truck you can and then drive it really fast at unsafe speeds while on your cell phone - you'll fit right in ! hehe

(spent a lot of time in Houston and Austin...haven't been to Irving though)

GlenMH

5,259 posts

249 months

Tuesday 26th January 2010
quotequote all
Do yourself a favour: buy an internet radio that can do BBC listen again. It has saved my life in Japan!

Don't forget that you will need a UK DVD player to play all your DVDs - unless you have ripped them to a hard drive.

If you buy a TV in the US it may not be able to display the UK resolution.... even over HDMI. I currently have the reverse situation with a UK PS3 that plays blurays fabulously but cannot play DVDs on an US spec Panny over HDMI via a UK Onkyo AV amp.... The TV just does not do 576 vertical resolution.

Good luck!