nice TV's in Japan

[Gaijin 06]

I'm going to buy myself a nice TFT/plasma TV soon, maybe a 42 inch unit from Sony/Sharp or another big firm... just wondered if there was anything I should watch out for, any common gotchas?

Things I was thinking about

HDTV - are all units capable of this? Does terrestial or cable TC come in this format?
Will they be usuable abroad (maybe back in the UK) with appropriate transformer?
Is it common to have English menus - I guess this is something I need to check

Just wanted to find out if there is anything that will trip me up before splashing out some serious cash, any advice would be much appreciated

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

I do not understand whether I can use these TV in the U.K.
I introduce Japanese popular TV.

Plasma television
1.TH-42PX500 (42)
(PANASONIC)
http://digitalmedianet.dealtime.com/xPF-Panasonic_TH_42PX500
http://www.dealtime.co.uk/xPP-flat_panel_televisions--1982_40___45_in_-digital_standard__list__hdtv-brand_panasonic
2.TH-37PX500 (37)
(PANASONIC)
3.PDP-436HD (43)
(PIONEER)
4.TH-37PX50 (37)
(PANASONIC)
5.TH-50PX500 (50)
(PANASONIC)

A liquid crystal television
1.LC-32GD7 (32)
(SHARP)
http://www.dealtime.co.uk/xPP-flat_panel_televisions--sharp~V-rows
2.LC-32AD5 (32)
(SHARP)
3.LC-45GE2 (45)
(SHARP)
4.LC-37GD7 (37)
(SHARP)
5.TH-32LX500 (32)
(PANASONIC)

The source of information
KAKAKU.COM
http://kakaku.com/sku/pricemenu/plasma.htm

[GaijinPunch]

The tuner on a Japanese TV will not be useable anywhere outside of Japan. It will work about halfway in the states (w/ my experience) but that's not worth it. You can just as easily use the tuner from the cable box or VCR (cable box if you want HD). Just look for "Hi Vision" TVs -- those are HD.

I would recommend an LCD of Plasma. They've been proven to last much longer, although are more expensive... or were last I checked. I've got one of the smaller Aquos by Sharp, and am very happy with it. Lots of inputs, and great picture quality.

[Gaijin 06]

Hi guys

thanks for the replies!

A Sharp Aquos sounds good, I know they are popular and my friend in Hong Kong just brought one a while ago.

Which services in Japan are transmitted in HD? All terrestial transmissions, and also cable TV (any providers in particular?)

I guess (from my experience in the UK with nicam, widescreen etc) that most schedules are a mixture of newly recorded stuff in HDTV, old stuff in standard format?

I'm planning on checking out that Akiko (I think it's called that, the huge new store in Akihabara) if that's a good place competitive on price?

[budd]

for next time

http://www.jref.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=40

[GaijinPunch]

Don't hold your breath on good HD programming. There are HD channels on BS (yes, that's really what it's called), but I'm not sure if the cable companies ever made the jump. The good news is that the next generations of game machines will be HD compatible, so it won't be a complete waste. :)

[Silverpoint]

If you're going down the LCD route, I wouldn't look any further than Sharp. They manufacture the lion's share of LCD panels and do a lot of the R&D, so they have the best understanding of getting the most out of the technology. Aquos is comfortably the leader of the pack.

Most of the other big brands buy their panels from Sharp. But the unit cost per panel is higher than making your own, so they have to use lower quality components in the rest of the system in order to compete on price.

[Sukotto]

speaking of teles, the last time we were in Japan - Tokyo, Shinjuku,
we came across a store with a television screen in the shop window.
I don't mean on the other side, I mean literally the window pane had
a section that had light-television content beaming from it,
and no box or solid border or anything. And if memory serves,
we could see through the image if we focused on the other side.

Would this be considered a plasma television or liquied crystal television?

Is anything like this likely to hit the consumer market anytime soon?
Not that I could afford such, that's for sure.

I thought that such a flat screen could possibly be on a screen
that could be rolled up like a scroll or window shade for easy transportation,
or used for a screen for laptop computers.

[Silverpoint]

The technology to do this is very expensive and limited in its capability. What you most likely saw was a projected image made to look like it was appearing in the window. I've seen this trick in a number of Japanese shops before.

[DoctorP]

speaking of teles, the last time we were in Japan - Tokyo, Shinjuku,
we came across a store with a television screen in the shop window.
I don't mean on the other side, I mean literally the window pane had
a section that had light-television content beaming from it,
and no box or solid border or anything. And if memory serves,
we could see through the image if we focused on the other side.

Would this be considered a plasma television or liquied crystal television?

Is anything like this likely to hit the consumer market anytime soon?
Not that I could afford such, that's for sure.

I thought that such a flat screen could possibly be on a screen
that could be rolled up like a scroll or window shade for easy transportation,
or used for a screen for laptop computers.


There are screens like this in production. I've seen a few, but not that often. They are so slim that they look like a piece of paper and they are capable of being rolled up. I think they will be available for sale in Japan in a year or two, but the price will not be something most people can afford. They wouldn't hit the US market for another 3-4 years though. I'll do some searching and see if I can find an example.