[mythtv-users] minimum card requirements for VDPAU

[Brian Wood]

On Thursday 12 March 2009 07:26:32 Andrew Close wrote:
> On Wed, Mar 11, 2009 at 11:17 PM, Anthony Giggins
>
> <seven at seven.dorksville.net> wrote:
> >> ditto New Zealand.
> >>
> >> Closest I got was tracking down the Aussie and NZ agents for Sparkle
> >> who seem to make such a card.
> >>
> >> http://www.sparkle.com.tw/distributor.asp
> >>
> >> Trouble is none of the distributors then list PCI cards on their
> >> websites. I have not taken the step of contacting the distributors
> >> with the specific request.
> >
> > I wouldn't waste your time, I've requested this information via their
> > various distributors online forms and or email and I'm still awaiting for
> > a reply, I suppose I could ring them....
> >
> > but time is a limiting factor :(
>
> please excuse my ignorance, i'm an american. ;)  i do understand that
> you may not be able to go to your local electronics'r'us and pick up a
> VDPAU capable video card, but can't you order one online?  or is
> shipping that terribly expensive?
> i would think that purchasing with a credit card would take care of
> the currency exchange issues.  or is it just that the online stores
> don't offer shipping options outside the continental US?
> if that's the case then we need to set something up to help our geek
> friends abroad...

I also wondered why folks not in the USA can't simply order from a US vendor, 
but I suspect it has something to do with import duties and/or other customs 
taxes/laws.

I have a friend in Brazil, and he says there are laws that prevent him buying 
a US-sold computer. When he visits here he buys machines, disassembles them 
and brings them home as "repair parts", which are apparently OK, but complete 
machines are not.

I suspect other countries may have similarly odd rules, perhaps intended to 
protect their domestic production or importation industries.

I have not had problems ordering from offshore vendors and having things 
shipped to me in the USA. I once ordered two items on the same day, one from 
Chicago and the other from Hong Kong, guess which one arrived first?

The US may have odd rules as well, I noticed the product I received from Hong 
Kong was labelled as a "video game", even though it had nothing to do with 
such, perhaps for customs reasons?

I once ordered an old watch from the UK. I was told I didn't have to worry 
about customs because it was over 100 years old. I guess it would be hard to 
find a VDPAU-capable card that met that requirement.

-- 
beww
beww at beww.org