On topic:
My DS1052E came in a plastic bag secured by a foam frame packed in two cardboard boxes. I don't recall if there was a protective film over the LCD.
Offtopic:
I don't see the point in discussing cultural differences that have been established over many years (i.e. which side of the road etc.) Some things are simply hard too unify (right/left traffic) and some things are refused to unify (currency). Many of the standardization bodies are very young compared to what's going on in Europe (the continent) and the CEE 7/4 SHUKO plug is simply what the majority of the countries have come to agree upon. This plug is now practically compatible with the French.
Some in this thread say "Europlug", note that it is something else entirely for low power appliances that do not require protective earth.
As to if the SHUKO is more safe or better than the UK's BS 1363 be aware of that wiring (and its colours) has been different in countries and whenever standards are being introduced they are always combined with long grace periods (read: nobody cares until that deadline runs out, and then they rant because changing all of the wiring does cost money they don't want to spend). So as far as I understand, most of the "unsafe" conditions discussed are simply caused by assessing a plug in an environment it wasn't intended to be used in. Why is it important that the plug cannot be plugged "the wrong way" in? Is it a plug problem or an appliance design problem? Simply replacing a plug with the other standard and point out that it is now unsafe to use is really not the way you should present things.
I'm quite fascinated by the BS 1363 plug but I do not agree with most of the presented evidence why this one should be better or worse than the ECC. My ECC plug does not fall out of its socket all the time and I guess neither of them wins a beauty contest. It's also not the plug's fault for being put into an incompatible socket, and I doubt that any of those electrocutions that were mentioned have anything to do with a BS 1363 plug or socket.
Which we invented and widely deployed before most other countries had standardised on one plug, let alone the EU.
May I point out that other plugs in other countries have also been invented by their respective inventors and were deployed before most other countries have standardised their plugs. These things predate the EU in any case so why do you put it like this?
driving at the other side of the road
Which we were doing before you, and places the typical dominant hand on the steering wheel, where it belongs.
The Napoleon in me disagrees!
Shock, horror, we use our own currency, let the world (which is bigger than the EU, FYI, just like it's bigger than the US) know immediately.
Maybe some day when we all have the same currency and citizenship, we can focus on discussions without those pesky differences.
I despair when I see what plugs Europe, Australia and the USA use!
nitpick: you will always be a part of Europe