Electronics are relatively cheap in the US. The stores to buy electronics include Best Buy and Circuit City. Or you can buy them online, using the comparison shopping service by clicking on the graphic at the bottom of this page.

Television - you should try to get a used TV. If you cannot, then a 19-in color TV is just around $150. You usually need to buy an antenna with the TV, unless you have cable-TV service. One feature you probably want is caption, which shows the sentences on the screen as they are spoken. Make sure it has video in, video out, audio in (two if stereo), and audio out (two if stereo).

VCR - even though DVD players are becoming more popular, you may still want to have a VCR. But remember US and China use different formats for video tapes.You can get Multi Format VCR from Amazon.com. Actually, even regular VCRs are hard to find in stores now. So online stores are your best bet.

Stereo System - this is for you to play tape and music CDs, and to listen to the radio. There are many music stations around each city. It's part of the American culture. One feature is called CD changers, which means you can have multiple CDs in there and select which one you want to play. Usually 3 CDs is as much as you can remember clearly which is which. Make sure that you can hook up your audio output from the television to the stereo speakers.

Camcorder - In US you probably will travel much more than in China. It's nice to have a camcorder to have a record of the places you went and the events that happened. There are basically four types of camcorders: VHS-C, 8mm or Hi-8, MiniDV, and DVD. No matter what you buy, make sure you have a color viewfinder (it's okay to have the side panel in color and the other viewfinder in black-and-white). VHS-C tapes are easier to play in a VCR. 8mm tapes have a little bit better quality. Both VHS-C and 8mm are considered analog. Digital camcorders use Hi8, MiniDV, or DVD disk.

DVD Player - When buying a DVD player, think about whether you will need to play DVDs from China, which will be in Pal format, as well as VCDs. Most DVD players sold in the US cannot play DVDs from China. Not all DVD players can play VCDs. Another trick is that DVDs have a region code in it. Most DVD players are set up only to play DVDs sold in the same region where the DVD player is bought. The following DVD player from Amazon.com can play DVDs from both the US and China, and can play VCDs too. And it's really inexpensive!