Japanese electronics prices vs US electronics prices

[jecca-neko]

I've been interested in picking up an LCD TV for quite a while. I wanted to get one pretty soon. However, since I might be going to Japan now I was wondering if it would be worth holding off for such a thing and buying it in Japan. For those of you living in Japan, what are prices of electronics, like LCD TVs, generally? I'm not interested in knowing a specific brand, just general price range. If you know a good place online I can look for yen prices for such things just to get a general idea that would be nice too.

Thanks for any help!

[ayumu]

Here's Yodobashi's (electronic store chain) TV page (http://www.yodobashi.com/p/35844873.html) to give you an idea of prices. Keep in mind that not only to do you have to think about getting it back home someday, but also that you may have to buy an expensive (well, not compared to the TV) adaptor to make it work back home.

[jecca-neko]

[ QUOTE ]
ayumu-chan said:
Here's Yodobashi's (electronic store chain) TV page (http://www.yodobashi.com/p/35844873.html) to give you an idea of prices. Keep in mind that not only to do you have to think about getting it back home someday, but also that you may have to buy an expensive (well, not compared to the TV) adaptor to make it work back home.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why would I need an adaptor? I'd be using it in the US. I already have a Japanese PS2 (have had for 2 years now) and the voltage difference doesn't seem to affect it.

[hideyuki]

As TV broadcast frequency of Japan is different from that of the US, you need an external tuner (e.g. cable set top box) to use the TV in the US.

[ayumu]

[ QUOTE ]
jecca-neko said:
Why would I need an adaptor? I'd be using it in the US. I already have a Japanese PS2 (have had for 2 years now) and the voltage difference doesn't seem to affect it.

[/ QUOTE ]
The PS2 uses a lot less power than a TV would. You'd need an adaptor for something that big.

Also, a lot of portable electronics (laptops, hairdryers, etc) are made to work on different voltage. It's possible the PS2 falls in this category.

You don't have to take my word for it, of course, but if I were going to drop a couple thousand dollars on something, I'd want it to make sure it actually worked at home.

[Fieri]

[ QUOTE ]
ayumu-chan said:
[ QUOTE ]
jecca-neko said:
Why would I need an adaptor? I'd be using it in the US. I already have a Japanese PS2 (have had for 2 years now) and the voltage difference doesn't seem to affect it.

[/ QUOTE ]
The PS2 uses a lot less power than a TV would. You'd need an adaptor for something that big.

Also, a lot of portable electronics (laptops, hairdryers, etc) are made to work on different voltage. It's possible the PS2 falls in this category.

You don't have to take my word for it, of course, but if I were going to drop a couple thousand dollars on something, I'd want it to make sure it actually worked at home.

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually if I was going to spend that much.... I'd probably just buy it here. Stuff like game consoles and players I might buy in Japan, but we're talking about a tv here.

[quenelf]

The power usage shouldn't make any difference. I'm sure the electronics will cope with a small voltage difference. (It is a small difference, IIRC?) Being made to work on different voltages only applies for the ~120V vs ~220V difference between US(and Japan)/Europe. Differences within the general range probably will be OK as voltage can vary slightly even within a country based on the situation of power stations etc so they have to be able to cope with it.

The TV frequency thing hideyuki mentioned might be an insurmountable problem though... I wouldn't risk it for a large purchase.

--quen

[Mononoke]

[ QUOTE ]
ayumu-chan said:
Also, a lot of portable electronics (laptops, hairdryers, etc) are made to work on different voltage. It's possible the PS2 falls in this category.

[/ QUOTE ]
The Japanese and US electrical standards are so close that electronics purchased in either country are basically cross-compatible. The US standard is 120V and JP is 115V, if I recall. Most devices in Japan and the Americas are designed to be tolerant of between 100-127V, so pretty much anything will work. The PS2 is an example of one.

I think you're thinking of Europe, which uses 220V, and for which you'd definitely want an adapter or compatible device.

[wrex]

[ QUOTE ]
quen said:
The power usage shouldn't make any difference. I'm sure the electronics will cope with a small voltage difference. (It is a small difference, IIRC?) Being made to work on different voltages only applies for the ~120V vs ~220V difference between US(and Japan)/Europe. Differences within the general range probably will be OK as voltage can vary slightly even within a country based on the situation of power stations etc so they have to be able to cope with it.

The TV frequency thing hideyuki mentioned might be an insurmountable problem though... I wouldn't risk it for a large purchase.

--quen

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with the frequency thing... I had brought over a Picture-in-Picture tuner from the States here to Japan and the images were horrible... almost like watching scrambled channels. If you buy an LCD TV in the States (most likely an expensive purchase), you'd just be throwing money down the toilet if you wanted to use it here in Japan.

[ayumu]

Okay, so I admit I don't know what I'm talking about with the TV. /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif But that being said, I have had some things not work right when using them where I didn't buy them, and I wouldn't take the chance of buying something expensive like a nice TV if might turn out to be a really expensive endtable.

[MSGundam]

You can get Dell 26" widescreen LCD TV for about 120,000 yen. Dell Japan often give 10-15% discount coupon code. You can't get it cheaper than that in Japan.

[Mononoke]

[ QUOTE ]
wrex said:
I agree with the frequency thing... I had brought over a Picture-in-Picture tuner from the States here to Japan and the images were horrible... almost like watching scrambled channels. If you buy an LCD TV in the States (most likely an expensive purchase), you'd just be throwing money down the toilet if you wanted to use it here in Japan.

[/ QUOTE ]
But.. Given that Jecca wants use the TV for DVDs and Games, would that really matter? The tuner isn't relevant if you don't watch broadcast TV.

On the other hand... If she made it to Japan, she probably would want to start watching broadcast TV /images/graemlins/sweat200.gif.