about TV purchase (5-3-10)

After the Lehman collapse, the economic state of Japan is in the grip of a deflationary spiral which does not simply indicate recession. In the spiral, not only meals but as well products play on the competitive ground, as their prices are set as low as possible. Leaving department stores behind, which are closing one after another as a result of failing to tailor to what shoppers want or need, discount stores are doing well.

(To highlight the predicament department stores are facing, according to a weekly economics magazine, arms of Mitsukoshi-Isetan, Matsuzakaya and Sogo (or Seibu) closed; their total sales dropped by somewhere between 15% and 17% in March last year over two years.)

Mega electronics stores with their gigantic buildings are the paragon: these stores have been replacing the role of department stores, dealing with a broad variety of items beyond electric/electronic products. Some of them even sell retro toys, in addition to greatly reduced prices. And, I know one store has a restaurant floor.

Taking advantage of economic incentives, these electronics stores are thriving, attracting a host of shoppers. One of the measures is the introduction of eco-points for enviro-friendly machines, put into effect by the central government, which benefits consumers by enabling them to barter for other items. Amongst the products, TVs are in line with the ecological policy as it’s stated that Light-Emitting Diodes are more efficient in interpreting electricity for brightness and kinder to the environment. Furthermore, it’s said that LEDs enable pictures to be depicted more vividly and smoothly. With all these advantages emphasized, the purchase of TVs on the newest line is pushed nationwide to get in accordance with the conversion to digital terrestrial TVs from those on the analogue platform next year.

As for my sole TV, “he” and I have cohabited ever since I became independent in 1998. Bulky though, well, this Victor’s 21-inch display is surely among my best old friends; back then I visited an outlet of an electronics store chain which offered discounts and retrofitted my studio with a TV, a refrigerator and a washing machine, all with just basic functions. As it was probably a common understanding that these appliances were virtually necessities, for me as well there was no way but to purchase them. I did so, and don’t deny that arranging my own living circumstances accompanied a lot of excitement.

Recently, a TV program introduced and appealed the comfortable living in a residential complex some decades ago (it must have been in the ’70s). In a short movie, within the room a TV, if there was no other one, was among all the decorations. Suffice to proclaim, “my roommate” is eliter than this previous role model.

As of now, TVs with LEDs, a larger screen and a reduced thickness are on display in stores. Their such low prices (in comparison with those of former lines of TVs) might appear a little presumptuous even with available eco-points to shoppers who recently started living on their own. Meanwhile, to those who have families, renewing TVs is thus in season. Panasonic’s VIERA, for example, is demonstrating three-dimensional pictures to allow shoppers to see them and expand the range of their options. (My first experience of seeing 3D pictures was in a superstore in my neighborhood, free of charge.)

Well, when there were seductive women right before you, money can be out of the question. But no worries, adults can make a wise decision to settle on a choice. [non sequitur]

Although I am not so enthusiastic about 3D TVs, a wave of films that require viewers to don special glasses in movie theaters might either undermine or encourage the impulse of potential buyers of 3D TVs.

Surely, acknowledging the best qualities hands-on will lift the standards of TVs for each shopper and motivate them to buy a new model, as eco-points will be back. Indeed, even TVs that don’t have superlative functions on the descriptions show clear pictures with sharp contrast.

Some physics taken, Receiver Operating Characteristic curve (ROC curve) indicates how accurately pictures are translated from original objects. For instance, if a system of rendering pictures has a high ROC curve, viewers can identify one thousand cogs when a real gear wears the same number of them. With the same kind of measuring method, LED-embedded TVs should get high scores while 3D TVs brandish separate features.

I only recently learned to some extent about trendy TVs in electronics stores. While the most reasonable price tag persuaded me to decide on a certain model with its own specifications, the booklets of the products abounded in contents:

Again Panasonic’s VIERA line-up puts emphasis on the Internet accessibility with the services of skype, acTVila and YouTube; and appendages like DIGA (recorders), rack theater (a rack with an audio system) and digital cameras.

Sony’s BRAVIA line-up appeals high resolution in another dimension (120 Hz or 240 Hz); the Internet accessibility with YouTube, U-next and acTVila; aplicast (a channel for getting contemporaneous public information); and the router which enables archived contents to be viewed from somewhere distant in the same home.

While touting the collateral TV stand with its built-in audio system, SHARP’s AQUOS line-up warbles that the company pays great attention to its manufacturing process against environmental damage.

TOSHIBA’s REGZA line-up seems to succinctly promote clear pictures; that the series’ peak brightness (1250 cd/m2) excels that of all other counterparts in the industry, one of the key features. The REGZA line-up also offers accessibility with YAHOO!JAPAN, acTVila and Hikari TV. And the TV stand incorporates an audio system.

To conclude, I would buy a 40-inch TV made by either of the manufacturers above, for some over 90 thousand yen. The thing is, regardless of all the explanations down to here, the model which I have decided on doesn’t contain LEDs. (A staffer in an electronics store described LED-embedded screens as brighter, but I didn’t notice any difference in the quality of pictures between those two types, despite the gap of about 20 thousand yen. I chose the seemingly second best.) Nonetheless, as the model was classified as enviro-friendly, the eco-points amounted to approximately 20,000 yen. Sure it’s timely to buy domestically-made machines making use of eco-points before the scheme ends at the end of this year (although its closing time has once been prolonged).

Although the new friend is coming, the settlement doesn’t persuade me to part with my old friend. I will own two televisions in my home. Otherwise, I would rather organize a funeral for the old one, in the style of Buddhism.

After all, catching up with the rapidly advancing technology is quite challenging to me (aged 35). I may usually prefer sauntering in public parks, which are surrounded by those tall buildings in which businesses seem to require changing their mechanisms to avoid collapsing into desert, and sensing nature to staying sedentary before a TV.