I know this is a forum about stand-alone dvd players, however, since I didn't find any other place to post this, it will be here. I'm going to buy a Portable DVD Player i.e. 'Philips PET1002', which is much cheaper in the United States (259$) than in Europe (538 Euro = 700$). However, my concern is that it might not work in Europe. I checked through its technical information and it says it supports NTSC and PAL. As I was checking through some stores in Manhattan though a few salesmen told me that NTSC & PAL are related to Television and Region 1 (i.e. US) and Region 2 (i.e. EU) is what matters. My question to you is: 1. Is there a difference between NTSC/PAL and Region 1/2? 2. Can you confirm that the Philips PET1002 sold in US works in both continents? 3. As last do you recommend me this dvd player? I would appreciate your help.
Never mind about the compatibility, will it be such a bargain when you find that the carrier will have to clear the package through customs (Douanes, Zoll, Doganale) before you can have it. They will deliver you, not a DVD player, but a notification that they need to:- 1. Collect the Import Tax from you. 3. Collect VAT from you. 4. Collect a fee + VAT from you for doing this. 5. Finally deliver the DVD player. Maybe you need to learn how to price check with Google. You can buy it in England from Laskys for £265 which is 387 euros and you don't pay more VAT or import tax in EU. BUT... France 316 euros at Multidiscount. (free delivery in France) http://www.pricerunner.fr/pl/4-557456/Lecteurs-DVD/Philips-PET1002-comparer-les-prix Österreich 339 euros HIFI Votruba - Online Deutschland 344 euros Directshopper online http://www.google.co.uk/search?num=...s+PET1002+comparer+les+prix&btnG=Search&meta=
Well, I never thought about that... BUT...I once ordered/bought a Dell Notebook here in the US and I had it delivered to a friend of mine in NY. I personally was in Europe. He brought it to me a few months later when he travelled to Europe...I'm not sure if he took it in the airplane or if it was in the laggage, however, I know that he was not asked to pay any fees. I guess if I take it with me and make use of it I won't have to do that either. About the price...I only compared US Amazon.com and German Amazon.de.
Import duty and VAT are levied on new purchases imported from outside the EU. If you arrive from the US with a brand new camera, PC, whatever, you are legally obliged to declare it and pay customs duty and VAT. If you order it from Europe to be delivered in a package, same law applies. Used items may be exempt, depending on how long since the purchase. Like, 1 week is not long enough, 1 year probably OK. Check with customs in your country. If you take a nearly new laptop, camera, etc, out of the EU it is a good idea to take either the receipt or a copy thereof, because when you come back you may need to prove that it has already had tax paid on it. Bringing goods in from outside the EU, and going through the "nothing to declare" channel with the intention of avoiding duty is a crime, called "smuggling".
Alright, thanks for the information. I don't wanna go off-topic and ask you more about importing laws and stuff. I will settle everything and do it just as it should be done! Still, I have to know the answers to the questions I mentioned in my first post, since I intend to do this. Do you happen to know the answers?
It's a standalone player with its own screen? So you will not be worrying about connecting it to a TV? Your issues (1) PAL & NTSC PAL is the European TV system, 625 lines, 25 frames per second, DVD format is 720 x 576 pixels. NTSC is US TV system, 525 lines, 30 frames per second, DVD format is 720 x 480 pixels. So far so good. Your player will, it seems, happily play either format of DVD so no problems there. (2) Region 1 and Region 2 This is a separate issue from NTSC/PAL. The commercial DVD video player specification dictates that DVD players must be coded to play discs that contain the region code for the country in which they were sold. By law, all new DVD players shipped in the USA are set to Region 1. In the USA, it ilegal for the manufacturer to provide any means of changing the region code to allow the use of other region's discs. (It is not illegal in countries outside the USA) All DVD players and PC's with DVD sold in the USA must implement Region Coding. It is however, quite legal for Americans to own a Region Free DVD player as it is legal for them to modify a player to be Region Free. This means that if you buy a DVD player from the USA it will be set to Region 1. That means it will only play Region 1 DVDs. These will mostly be NTSC I expect, but they may not all be. South America (Region 4) contains both NTSC and PAL countries. Anyway, this, allegedly, is the Region Hack for the Philips PET1002 which would set it to Region 0 (Region-free). Ultimately, Region Coding was developed at the behest of the major Hollywood movie companies in order to control the release of films around the world. In theory, the use of Region Coding would prevent a US DVD movie from playing on a European DVD player thus enabling titles to be distributed in different parts of the world at different times. The player will refuse to play discs that are not coded for the same region as player's region. Regional codes are entirely optional for the disc manufacturer. Discs without codes - Region 0, Region Free or All Region, will play on any player in any country. The Region Code is not an encryption system, it is just one byte of information on the disc that the player checks. Region 1 U.S., Canada, U.S. Territories Region 2 United Kingdom, Europe, South Africa, Japan, and Middle East Region 3 Hong Kong, Southeast Asia and East Asia Region 4 Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, South America Region 5 Former Soviet Union, Indian subcontinent, Africa, North Korea, and Mongolia Region 6 China Region 7 Reserved for future use Region 8 International Venues such as Aircraft & Cruise Ships
