HDTVs in Japan...

[Justin Ellis]

Alright, so I'm a freshman in college majoring in Asian Studies, my area of concentration being Japan. Naturally, I've been taking Japanese 101 since the beginning of the semester. Apart from the regular course, there's an optional tutorial session where students may study, get help with our homework, ask questions and whatnot with Japanese exchange students. The 101 class is going well for me and I enjoy it quite a bit, I'm not behind (in fact, I'd say I'm ahead to a certain degree, but I'm not here to complement myself) yet due to the fact my voice is so low, people often have trouble understanding me even when I speak English, so I came in to work on my pronunciation.

Along the way, in a lull, I asked a girl I was working with (in English) from Fukuoka if I could get an HDTV in Akihabara for a reasonable price (as I plan on studying in Kanazawa next year), but she didn't seem to understand what I was getting at. Don't get me wrong, her English was more or less perfect, but she just didn't seem to know.

To make an entirely too long story short, do the Japanese call HDTV’s something else in particular?

[nice gaijin]

why would you want an HDTV in Japan? seems like a waste to me, if your only options to watch are Japanese shows and DVDs every once in a while. To be honest I didn't see too many big screen TVs in Akihabara (then again I paid more attention to their laptops, phones and mp3 players), the pricing was about on par with the states, perhaps a little more. If you were intent on importing one from Japan it'd be a waste of money (due to tariffs and such). The biggest TV I saw in a house was a 30" widescreen that was probably 5+ years old, and that family could definitely have afforded more.

but to answer your question: they call them HDTVs

[hapacheese]

While they're starting to refer to HDTVs *as* HDTVs more and more nowadays, for the longest time, they simply referred to them as "High Vision TVs."

They're becoming more and more common (hell, my grandparents have one), but I should warn you that...

a) prices are likely not to be that different
b) the voltage/current different between Tokyo and US is likely to shorten the lifespan of your TV unless you get a really heavy duty converter (most cheap converters are good for most electronics, but for something as high powered as an HDTV, you'd need something a bit more robust)
c) channels. Japanese TV stations work on different channels and would be a pain in the arse to use in America (of course, with a cable box, I assume that would be a non-issue).

[erbiumfiber]

Electronics in general in Japan are more expensive than in the US. My regular (CRT) TV was over $300 and I could have gotten a similar model (and lighter- my TV is incredibly heavy) in the US for less than $200. My tiny (bedroom sized) LCD TV was about $400 and it cuts off text near the edges of the screen which drives me crazy. They definitely charge less for the same product in America than they do in Japan. Probably electronics are cheaper in Hong Kong or Korea (at least for Korean electronics).

[NERD]

Korean electronics aren't that much cheaper either. Americans generally get a good deal because there's the competition between Korean, Japanese, Dutch(Philips) and American brands. I do know Korean manufacturers churn out more LCD tvs than Japan though.

[Pierrot le Fou]

yeah, HDTV is ハイ･ビジョン I believe (the katakana may be a tad off, but if you said that I figure they'd get it). And the only reason to get an HDTV in Japan is that by 2006 or 2007, all of the terrestrial broadcasts have to be done in high definition digital, while all analog broadcasts will stop in 2008...

The reason electronics are more expensive in Japan is that they release things first to their domestic market, reap a profit on those rich enough to afford them, have rather significant tarriffs on imported electronics, and phase out the low-end products. It is relatively difficult to find CRT tvs in most electronics stores here. I had trouble finding a simple VCR without any bells or whistles. In the US we have cheap-ass manufacturers in China making us simple VCRs that sell for $20, and TVs that are equivalently priced down. In Japan, they just cut out CRT tvs and VCRs to move towards flat screens and DVDs.

It's annoying as Hell.

[Sbabbari]

While they're starting to refer to HDTVs *as* HDTVs more and more nowadays, for the longest time, they simply referred to them as "High Vision TVs."

Ok, now i'm confused. I went to a TV station on a tour with my program, and they had a huge "High Vision TV". Then this evil Mexican kid was like "In A-me-ri-ca, we call it 'high defenition.'" Then the guy in charge explained that the two are different things, and high vision is sharper. :confused:

[atomiton]

pierrot... probably has to do with the fact that not as many would buy a cheap-ass TV in Japan... and since stocking space is more valuable... you can generally only buy new stuff. Try finding an old model digicam in a store after the new one comes out...