Thinking of importing a VT50.

The_Zizzler

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Any takers on my question regarding the importing this badboy from the states? What am I going to sacrifice by importing it over at the price of £1752.00?
 
The_Zizzler said:
Any takers on my question regarding the importing this badboy from the states? What am I going to sacrifice by importing it over at the price of £1752.00?

Is it ok to use the ones from the states ?. I thought these ran slightly differently power and voltage wise. You would need to buy uk power cables though
 
Any takers on my question regarding the importing this badboy from the states? What am I going to sacrifice by importing it over at the price of £1752.00?

By the time you add in tax, import duty, customs & the lack of warranty I would say its not worth the hassle.
 
Not only that, freesat freeview and many other apps won't work. You need a proper mains transformer not to mention servicing if needed

Then getting to you in one piece and you have to add on import taxes.
 
Not only that, freesat freeview and many other apps won't work. You need a proper mains transformer not to mention servicing if needed

Then getting to you in one piece and you have to add on import taxes.

Steve,

Would Freeview/Freesat be so much of a problem if I have a full subscription to Virgin Media cable services? Also, back in the day most electronic devices (in the USA) only supported one type of voltage - 110v. However, these days most devices support a range between 110-240v right?

Apps wont be too much of a problem but import taxes etc will be. That said, the current best price of a VT50 65" in the UK market is approximately £3400. The price in the US is around £1750. The difference is £1648.

Surely, Surely I can import the TV for less than a grand?

The real cause for concern is the reliability of the shipping however, I would make sure this would be taken care of.
 
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Im going to do some investigating and find out if whether the state-side beast will support 240v....
 
Also, don't forget, the US sets don't support 50Hz so that's all your broadcast TV and DVD's out of the window.

EDIT: sorry, already mentioned but it is a really bad idea on many levels :)
 
The_Zizzler said:
Im going to do some investigating and find out if whether the state-side beast will support 240v....

Your mission should you choose to accept it is find what it will take to make this work in the UK, how much the parts will cost and where from and how much import fees are and good shipping.

As ever should any of your IMF team be captured the CIA shall deny all knowledge of your teams mission. Good luck Mr Zizzler.
 
The_Zizzler said:
Steve,

Would Freeview/Freesat be so much of a problem if I have a full subscription to Virgin Media cable services? Also, back in the day most electronic devices (in the USA) only supported one type of voltage - 110v. However, these days most devices support a range between 110-240v right?

Apps wont be too much of a problem but import taxes etc will be. That said, the current best price of a VT50 65" in the UK market is approximately £3400. The price in the US is around £1750. The difference is £1648.

Surely, Surely I can import the TV for less than a grand?

Virgin, yes you are correct

The sets here say 220-240, tvs are not like other devices. You will need a decent step up transformer capable of dealing with 500 watts. It's not a 12v transformer!!! Saying that never tried it so I'm applying a logical guess.

Does that price include local US taxes. Bet it doesn't.

It's your choice. I know how hard it is to transport a 65" set in the UK. The chances of it getting to you in one piece would be no better than 50/50 IMHO. How will you get any service if you need it. Surly the free 5YG has some worth. Thats gotta be worth at least £500.

It's your choice. No way I'd do it on transportation alone because it will be YOUR responsibility. Check the price to insure the transportation.

Edit. Mark is right. No 50 hz support so virgin will judder like a machine gun.
 
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Mark Hodgkinson said:
Also, don't forget, the US sets don't support 50Hz so that's all your broadcast TV and DVD's out of the window.

Theres that too
 
******** @ TPS said:
Virgin, yes you are correct

The sets here say 220-240, tvs are not like other devices. You will need a decent step up transformer capable of dealing with 500 watts. It's not a 12v transformer!!!

Does that price include local US taxes. Bet it doesn't.

It's your choice. I know how hard it is to transport a 65" set in the UK. The chances of it getting to you in one piece would be no better than 50/50 IMHO. How will you get any service if you need it. Surly the free 5YG has some worth. Thats gotta be worth at least £500.

It's your choice. No way I'd do it on transportation alone because it will be YOUR responsibility. Check the price to insure the transportation.

Edit. Mark is right. No 50 hz support so virgin will judder like a machine gun.

Royal Fail cant even get an Amazon parcel to me in one piece. Now im meant to trust some neanderthal with my tv on a ship or on a aeroplane. The sheer chance for damage. Id give you a 15% chance itll arrive safely.
 
Ok you bastids you have pushed me off the whole US transport!

So let me throw a curve ball - What about getting it from the EU? Will all these issues still apply - voltage, hertz, apps, import duty etc?
 
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The_Zizzler said:
Ok you bastids you have pushed me off the whole US transport!

So let me throw a curve ball - What about getting it from the EU? Will all these issues still apply - voltage, hertz, apps, import duty etc?

I think you are ok with HZ and voltage but would need a uk power cable. But with buying in the uk you are less hassle with warranty etc :thumbsup:
 
Ok, after a phone call to my account manager at Insight (using our business suppliers at work), I can get the TV shipped to my gaff for £2707 including taxes from the EU. What a result!

Of course the TV is labelled VT50E and not VT50B but I guess that identifies the region more than anything else. The manufacturers warranty still applies so i am covered in that sense. Well I think it does (will check)

Are they any hertz issues similar to those that have been described above for US sets?

I know ill get a 2 pronger, but I can easily replace this with a 3.

Thanks gents!
 
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No Hz problems but no Freeview/Freesat EPGs and no 'Red Button' services. Probably no iPlayer or BBC Sport apps either, off the top of my head and lots of European's forums are discussing the fact that black levels in the Pro modes are raised in comparison to the less accurate modes. We don't seem to have that bug here.

It's a much better idea than importing from the US mind :)
 
DON'T!!!
I have used US TVs for testing of STB software and they didn't support European frame rates (1080p25, 576i etc.). The dispaly panels support 50 and 60Hz :facepalm:
This was Samsungs but I wouldn't rely on it working on ANY US because it is software controlled and there is a completely different software stack for the US.
I was working on test for US products which was OK then checked to see if we could use the TVs with European products...
European stacks have 30/60Hz support but US stacks don't bother with ROW (Rest Of World) support.
Buy a US TV if you are ONLY going to use it for Blu-rays!
 
you can Get a vt now for 3300 give it another few months(the time it will take to arrive from America) it is likely to be around 3000 given after tax etc the American still gonna be cheaper it may be worth the extra layout for peace of mind etc so dont go import. Thats my advice.
 
So where in the EU have you ordered it from ?

I've used our IT supplier at work - Insight.

They have sourced a distribution source to get it for that price.

FYI guys, this is not a US import. This is an EU import and includes VAT and delivery. The ONLY difference is:

1. It will come with a 2 pronged power cable
2, The model is VT50E and not VT50B
3. Freesat/Freeview might be an issue but I have Virgin Media TV services.
 
No Hz problems but no Freeview/Freesat EPGs and no 'Red Button' services. Probably no iPlayer or BBC Sport apps either, off the top of my head and lots of European's forums are discussing the fact that black levels in the Pro modes are raised in comparison to the less accurate modes. We don't seem to have that bug here.

It's a much better idea than importing from the US mind :)
Black levels are visibly worse in the pro modes on the E model.
 

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