Home theater question (Europe related)

[shankman007]

AT Gurus - long time lurker, first time posted on this forum.

I am planning to take up a 2 year expat assignment in Belgium starting next month. I currently don't own a Home theater system and am planning on taking one with me that is 220V compliant. Any recommendations ? I have tried to call stores to find if they have a 110/220 compliant HT, but no luck so far.

On a separate note, I am planning to buy a 60" Plasma TV (probably will buy this in Belgium because of the NTSC/PAL issues). Any recommendations on a stand for this? Looking to have this shipped along with my other furniture.

Thanks

 

[The Boston Dangler]

I'm not finding any 110/220V gear sold in the US. I think your best bet would be to pick up a converter.

 

[shankman007]

Thanks for the reply. I have heard that with a transformer driven power input, there is some distortion to the sound quality. Any merits to this?

 

[RupTheKid]

Why not buy 220 gear there? There are so many good English, Danish, and Swiss brands that you can pickup overseas for less than here. If it's the region encodings you're woried about, many of the players are zone unlockable.

 

[shankman007]

I assumed that Electronics in Europe is more expensive in general compared to the US because of the relatively poor penetration of internet retailers (compared to the US). Wondering how I can confirm some prices in Belgium before I move...

 

[Quasmo]

build a home theater PC and get a projector. Both can work off 220V, also if you buy a TV that has PAL tuners you can't use those tuners in the US. if you come back and you have an HTPC you can simply swap the tuners out saving you hundreds.

 

[RupTheKid]

shankman - for companies based in Europe, you save $$$ because you don't have to go through an extra layer of North American Distribution. Some companies will artificially inflate numbers locally to keep them even across the board, but by and large companies take care of their home countries.

 

[shankman007]

Thanks for tips! I was leaning towards getting a Plasma TV with external tuners (so that I can get the TV back to the States and just swap out the tuners). The HTPC idea sounds great, but I don't think I have time to buy all the components before my movers come in on Wed (Aug 1)