Questions about canada

i'm off to canada, Whistler BC, to be more precise, on monday for 2 months and just had a couple of questions before i go.

i bought an xbox last weekend with the plan of taking it with me but i don't understand the whole NTS\PAL thing. i know i wont be able to run nts games, i'm more worried about the TV situation, is there any difference with tvs over there? am i going to have a problem getting it to run?

my other question is powering my electrical stuff in general. i'll be taking my laptop\camer\ipod(my ipod is american anyway so shouldn't matter) but i'm assuming i won't have any trouble powering them over there? obviously the plug is different(same as usa isnt it?).

any other useful canada info would be good.

thats about it.
cheers

 

American and Canadian household voltages are 115 Volts, so you'll want to make sure youre using the right adaptors and whatnot. As for NTS and PAL, they are totally different broadcasting standards-but Xboxes use composite video output which is universal across all countries as I understand it. And on a side note, I'll be about 150 miles below you, Olv

 

for the NTSC/PAL thing I'm pretty sure the xbox would work fine if you get an adapter to plug it in, and the NTSC games would work fine, PAL games I think will 'work' but might look funny, the resolution is different. the main difference between NTSC and PAL is the power used to operate the TV. I know more about this on the video side of things as for how games work I'm not really too sure. for tapes/DVDs you would need a PAL player and the only difference you should see on the TV is the resolution and FPS. but the FPS is negligable.

Which leads to the Electricity thing. I think theres an adapter that you can get that will change our plugs into whatever is used over there (I've forgotten the particular 3s)
I looked into thins a couple years ago for a similar trip to the UK, but my plans fell through.
Now that you've got me thinking I'll try to dig up something more concrete. best bet though would probably email a game manufactureer and xbox and ask them specifically.

 

good thing I type slow that was a bit more to the point. I was pretty sure that the NTSC/PAL thing was more of an analog issue, they were developed for radio waves to carry the signal so had alot to do with frequency, and the frequency of the power used.

 

cheers for that.

another point i forgot was my phone. i've got a nokia 7250i and as far as i'm aware i should be able to use it at least to send and recieve text messages, can anyone confirm this? my phone plan does have international roaming so thats not a problem.

 

there is nothing to understand, dump the xbox (should have a playstation anyways) and take your mountian bike!!!!!!!

 

nah, i'll stick to my skis thank you

 

you phone should be fine, im pretty sure its tri-band (my 7210 was) and as long as it is, you will pick up a network over there, either rogers or fido (microcell) i think were the two when i went over.

when i went over i was on PAYG and its like 49p/text but my mate had international roaming and it was 25p/text which is pretty good, and it was free to receive.

 

Bring a shovel, some mucklucks, and a good winter jacket. Be prepared for the weekly seal hunt. The eye's are a treat As well, since you'll be joining us in all of our drinking, polish up on your technique, you don't want to look like an american, now do you?

Oh, as for power, we don't have any, our igloo's would just melt. Silly person!

 

Olv, the Rockies are simply the best place on Earth - enjoy

 

canadians........drink?

not a match for true british power when i took them on at the old strawpeedo

 

if i need a shovel to dig myself out of the powder i'll get one while i'm there and i've got plenty of warm stuff, it's been -12 C recently at the top :brr:

i dont drink so technique is not an issue i'm afraid.

cant wait, not long to go now

 

I'm thinking you might have a bit of trouble if you can't somehow change your console to output NTSC. About your cell phone: If your going to be here for 2 months, I suggest just buying a really cheap phone (perhaps second hand?) and get a pay as you go card. Otherwise roaming charges could kill you. Im not sure what sort of cell reception whistler has, but Im thinking that shouldn't be too much of a problem. Pack a rain jacket though, if you plan on spending anytime off the mountian. Vancouver is always rainly . Your Laptop power converter should accept 220v but i still reccomend geting a converter (buy one in the UK if you can, and find a good sale becuase if you look in any tourist areas over here, your wallet might get raped for the cost of one).

let me think, if theres anything else you should know....

we drive on the CORRECT side of the road

the word "EH" can mean alot of things

Theres 7% GST (Goods and services tax) and 8% (i think its 8%) PST (provintial sales tax), but i think if you keep all your recipts, you can apply to have that returned to you since your a visitor (Im not 100% sure about this, but i'll check it out)

I'll update if i think of anything else.

EDIT: Ah found it

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pbg/gf/gst176/gst176-03e.pdf

Oh: and it appears to be high around +12 degrees in whistler (the town i think, not sure about the mountian tho)

 

They drive on the WRONG side of the road (i.e. the right side of the road - don't get confused there) - most of the world drives on the left, so...

You can get your tax refunded, only if you spend $50 or more on one reciept, keep the reciept and show it to customs at the airport upon leaving Canada. Excludes any food and drink related items.

Went to Canada last october, great country, and beautiful, and quite similar to America, if not better.

Use your time wisely.

 

i think countries that drive on the left of the road are in the minority.

 

Hotel, Car rentals, Ski Lift tickets pretty much cost 50+ and can rack up the GST pretty easily.

 

57% of countries drive on the left, most african countries, australasia, UK, and the Far East. Learnt that from Geography! Not that it's relevant!

 

interesting.

Thanks for TAX tips, i had read that it was refundable somewhere, useful to know.

guess i better start packing

 

I'm pretty sure you will need to chip your xbox to avoid any PAL/NTSC problems. It's worth doign anyway tbh. I'm pretty sure you will be able to get xecuter modchips in Canada. With an app called enigmah you can select between PAL or NTSC output (you can also output prog scan with the right leads, if you select NTSC).

 

i'd rather avoid chipping it if possible.

i'll just have to see if it works or not when i get there and if it doesn't try and sort it out.