Prices On Plasma Tvs

[Thaiquila]

I can't help but notice that prices for plasma tvs seem to be much higher than in the US.

Aren't alot of these tvs produced in China?

Things like cheap DVD players from China cost about the same in Thailand and the US, so import duties doesn't explain this completely.

[Simmo]

I can't help but notice that prices for plasma tvs seem to be much higher than in the US.

Aren't alot of these tvs produced in China?

Things like cheap DVD players from China cost about the same in Thailand and the US, so import duties doesn't explain this completely.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Have you heard of this concept known as "market forces"?. When you have an expensive product and you sell it in a small 3rd world market , you need to sell it a higher price to return a profit than the same product in a large affluent market.

Hope that helps you out

[Firefan]

I do agree that they seem expensive compared to EU too. The cheap DVD players might be taxed differently than expensive stuff?

Meanwhile as long as people buy at the current prices the shops will not be fast to reduce - the better communication/internet comparisions we use in the US/EU ensures a much faster drop in prices on high tech goods.

I am still waiting for a 42" to hit 50.000 Baht....

Cheers!

[Thaiquila]

I can't help but notice that prices for plasma tvs seem to be much higher than in the US.

Aren't alot of these tvs produced in China?

Things like cheap DVD players from China cost about the same in Thailand and the US, so import duties doesn't explain this completely.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Have you heard of this concept known as "market forces"?. When you have an expensive product and you sell it in a small 3rd world market , you need to sell it a higher price to return a profit than the same product in a large affluent market.

Hope that helps you out

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Market forces? Yes, rings a bell, faintly. I will have to do a google, bear with me.

But I am curious about the specifics of electronics. Electronics for newer technology always starts higher and then goes lower. Why is this so much slower in Thailand? I imagine there is more to it than pure market forces. Otherwise, you don't think retailers would like to cut the price in half and sell so many more?

Edited November 29, 2005 by Thaiquila

[lopburi3]

It has nothing to do with market forces. It has everything to do with limited import sources. Just like the old "fair market price" used to keep retail price high in the US until the gray market killed it the few importers and market controllers here keep the price high for there own interests. Only second line/cheaper items that you find in Lotus/Carrefoure/BigC avoid this (but not on appliances - even those made here).

Market force is valid for the small cost savings of items in the US market (usually due to cost cutting in components for the huge market) but the idea China could not sell in Thailand at the same price as the US is ludicrous.

That is my uninformed and uneducated guess at any rate.

[Leo_Moscow]

It has nothing to do with market forces.  It has everything to do with limited import sources.  Just like the old "fair market price" used to keep retail price high in the US until the gray market killed it the few importers and market controllers here keep the price high for there own interests.  Only second line/cheaper items that you find in Lotus/Carrefoure/BigC avoid this (but not on appliances - even those made here).

Market force is valid for the small cost savings of items in the US market (usually due to cost cutting in components for the huge market) but the idea China could not sell in Thailand at the same price as the US is ludicrous.

That is my uninformed and uneducated guess at any rate.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i just finish market observe for tft market. after NY there wil be a down at everything in tft, specially TV without high resolution. and high-res will work normally only after 2008. ) sofisticated world

[TRIPxCORE]

Just to lend a helping hand in this situation, I'll let you in on something you might not know. When people are discussing the issue of the new, flat, hang on the wall style TV's, there are two sorts. Plasma & LCD. I own an LCD TV. They are the same thing you see hanging around all over BKK airport at the gates, LCD TV's. LCD generally gets a better recommendation over Plasma for several reasons. The picture quality is better and LCD doesnt suffer from the "burn-in" problem you can encounter with Plasma. Take a look a this link at your leisure and educate yourself on the differences.

Plasma vs. LCD

[chanchao]

As is obvious from the insane burn-in that the Bangkok Airport panels suffer (the ones above the check-in desks at domestic for example) : those are plasma screens. And having seen them, I now know plasma is not for me. And besides, the colors often look rediculous.. There's a reason they mostly demo them with cartoon movies and not real movies; when showing 'Shrek' or 'Nemo' you don't notice the rediculous skin-tones..

[Firefoxx]

The prices are really high in Thailand, not only for plasma, but for all big screen TVs. In many cases, twice as high as the US, and the US models include a HDTV tuner. I say that if they'd be willing to lower their prices to a more moderate level, they'd be selling a lot more, rather than having them rot in stores.

It's also true for certain electronics, such as scanners, printers, and most high-end things. I can understand the idea of market forces for expensive high-end items, but not for the more common low-priced stuff.

All TV types now have their highs and lows. Traditional CRTs don't have big sizes, guzzle electricity, have limted resolution, and are heavy/fat, but they produce the best picture/motion, have the best color/blacks, are the cheapest, and have the best viewing angle.

Plasmas are fairly expensive, can have huge sizes, are thin, don't consume much energy, have limited resolution, have ok color, great blacks, and have good viewing angle. As for the burn-in issue... do you run an airport in your home? Do you display the same thing 24 hours a day, seven days a week? If not, it's not an issue.

LCDs are very expensive, have medium sizes, are thin, don't consume much electricity, have the highest resolution, but have washed-out colors and limited viewing angle. The new Bravia series from Sony have pushed prices down a bit, and competitors are reducing their prices to match... but they're still expensive.

Projection TVs have good resolution, so-so colors, bad blakcs, very large sizes, low prices, good energy consumption, but extremely limited viewing angle.

So, everything is a compromise in one way or another. It's just a matter of what you're willing to pay, and what you're willing to live with.

[Tywais]

So, everything is a compromise in one way or another.  It's just a matter of what you're willing to pay, and what you're willing to live with.

That is a good breakdown on the +/- I started to write something up like that but didn't want to get into a debate over it as it appears some members have old information/misinformation and strong view points. The newer plasmas have a 60,000 hour half life fade which is more then the half life fade time of CRTs (yes, CRTs can have screen burn too).

I did a LOT of research and reading reviews before I decided on getting a 42" plasma recently. Knew all the pros/cons of each technology and decided the few cons were a non-issue. Contrast level on mine is 4000:1 and color reproduction from DVDs/VCDs and even UBC are very accurate and IMHO supurb.

The final deciding factor was they had dropped the price to 99,000 Baht as they were clearing stock for the new models. I am very satisfied with my choice and am now re-watching some of my DVDs to get the full big screen effect. Also the 4 speaker built in sound system is surprisingly good on this model so decided to holdoff on a home theater system. Also has VGA input for my computer and SD flash memory slot for my digital camera images.

Edited November 29, 2005 by tywais

[lopburi3]

As for the burn-in issue... do you run an airport in your home? Do you display the same thing 24 hours a day, seven days a week? If not, it's not an issue.

It is probably not an issue as the plasma seems to fail in a very short period.

But if you are lucky in that regard the local custom of having a different logo on each channel is going to cause burn over time.

[Meerkat]

Having had both a plasma and an LCD, there are pro's and cons of each, which have fairly accurately been explained here already. The TV station logo didn't cause burn-in, but I still managed to blow the ###### thing up!

I hadn't got the maid to clean the grilles where the cooling fans bring air in and they got clogged up (perish the thought that I'd clean them myself!). The thing just conked out and engineers from Fujitsu and a local repair shop here in HK both said that It'd be cheaper to just chuck the thing away as the repair cost would be over 75% of the price of a new one. Er...so I just left it hanging on the wall when I moved apartments...

The Fujitsu engineer said that he sees it quite often where the TV is mounted against a wall, as the grilles aren't easy to access. For future reference, he said that they provide an annual service (can't remember how much, but in hindsight comparatively cheap!), where they open it up and give it a thorough "scrub". Needless to say, nobody thought to tell me that when I dropped the original HKD 40k (THB 200k) on the thing!

Reduced to LCD in the bedroom now (and I don't like the quality at all compared to the plasma), but will get around to getting another biggie when the new house in LOS is finished.

[expatgaz]

Got a state of the art 46" Toshiba Plasma, 200k, absolutely shit hot. Whats money for if not to spend ........

[britmaveric]

LCDS are the way to go w/HD integrated. I'm waiting on the prices for the size I want to drop to reasonable levels before I jump in.

[Tywais]

LCDS are the way to go w/HD integrated. I'm waiting on the prices for the size I want to drop to reasonable levels before I jump in.

By the time HD gets common in Thailand I may be ready for a new TV and will look at LCDs several years from now. But for now my plasma is awesome even making standard broadcast look good.

[Nepal4me]

There are 42" plasmas at Big C for 79,999 baht. So the prices are in fact coming down, even here.

[Firefoxx]

Yes, the prices are starting to come down, as prices around the world drop. This means that Thailand's big-screen TVs are *still* utterly expensive relative to the rest of the world. When I walking around Sears in the US, I could see tons of big 42" plasmas being sold for less than $2000... but here, it's the exception, not the rule.

CRTs never needed any fans, yet all the new LCDs, plasmas, and projection TVs need em. A step backwards, perhaps? And the maintenance plan sounds a lot like the yearly maintenance needed on air-con units.

Most low-cost plasmas can only display around 852x480 resolution, which is a far cry from the true HD resolutions of 1280x720 (720p) and 1920x1080 (1080i). They're big screen, but not really high-definition. Some can manage close to the lower-res 720p, but so far only the utterly expensive can manage true 1080i. Of course, most can accept the *signal*, it's just that they won't actually display that many pixels.

But then again, there aren't that many sources of HD content available in Thailand now... no HDTV broadcasts, no HDTV cable, no HD-DVD players, etc. Only two practical ways of watching real HD content: via your computer, or via your HD camcorder (and as of now, I'm probably one of the very few people here who own one).

Thailand and HDTV broadcasts? Ha! I seriously doubt that I'll see that happen in my lifetime. Too many people up high have to get in line and get rich from it before it gets implemented.

[solo siam]

LCD TV's dont generally consume much power, substantially less than a similar sized CRT TV.

Thailands becoming a lot more reasonable in regards to TV's nowadays, Still some silly prices for the 50" screens but the LCD's are generally quite good value.

BenQ do a 37" LCD Screen with a 1920x1080 resolution for under 100,000 baht which isn't bad.

[The Coder]

BenQ do a 37" LCD Screen with a 1920x1080 resolution for under 100,000 baht which isn't bad.

That is 25,000 baht more than they go for in the USA.

[Firefoxx]

Yep, that's the point. Prices in Thailand are coming down, but they still lag behind prices elsewhere by a large margin. It is a bit ironic that whatever is governing the prices (market forces, marketing, greediness, whatever) makes it so that the people in poorer countries have to pay a lot more than richer countries for luxury items, which drives demand even lower than it already is.

However, since they're too much trouble (shipping not so much as customs) to import, you're stuck with paying a premium. I actually am pretty interested in the 37" Benq, and I've seen favorable reviews on the net. It's going for about the same price as 32" LCDs from leading brands which don't have DCDi and the 1080i resolution. The only thing lacking is HDMI input, although it has DVI input (and HDMI is basically DVI+digital audio, and you can buy an adapter cable). Pity about the butt-ugly styling.

[solo siam]

BenQ do a 37" LCD Screen with a 1920x1080 resolution for under 100,000 baht which isn't bad.

That is 25,000 baht more than they go for in the USA.

No its not, The cheapest I have seen them advertised in the states (online) for is $2,200 or so, then you have to add in sales tax which comes to 87,000 baht + the sales tax (7%?) = 93,090 baht.

The Benq costs 94,999 Baht from a normal shop here in Thailand, you can get it for less online, So its actually cheaper here than in the US.

A Sony Bravia costs $3,499 in Best buy, whereas here its 150,000 baht or so, again within 10% of the price.

The new LCD's here in Thailand (mainly Sony and BenQ) are very competetively priced, especially for the market. Plasmas have been overpriced for a long time, but now they are mainstream you will see the price come down to just about US/UK type levels. I can buy a 42" Plasma brand new here in Thailand for 69,999 Baht - Which is cheaper than I could get one for in the UK.

Oh and to the last poster its 1080P not 1080i and you can actually take the speakers off the BenQ giving it a much sexier look.

Edited January 16, 2006 by Ben@H3-Digital

[The Coder]

No its not, The cheapest I have seen them advertised in the states (online) for is $2,200 or so

Unlike Thailand, prices in the USA for a given product tend to vary a great deal. Anyone who wishes to can pick up the prices I alluded to with just a few simple searches. There is absolutely no reason to settle for the $2200 price tag you have conceded on. Also note it is common to find free shipping promotions and sales tax is typically 0 on internet purchases.

A Sony Bravia costs $3,499 in Best buy, whereas here its 150,000 baht or so, again within 10% of the price.

Same flaw as above--why compare with Best Buy when elsewhere in the USA runs $2799? Having to fork out an extra 30-40K more baht for the same product in Thailand is significant I would say.

The thing is, plasma in particular *should* be cheaper in Thailand because that is where many of the panels are manufactured. While it is encouraging the gap lessening, tossing that much extra baht into the wind doesn't make sense in my opinion. But it's your money. Looks like I'll just keep making do with my 19" mono TV for the foreseeable future

[Paul L]

I was looking for a TV before Christmas, the store I was in had both Panasonic LCD and Plasma together (both the same size). I had the both put on the same channel and stood back to take a look. No contest, Plasma wins hands down on picture quality IMHO.

[Firefoxx]

I recall reading on HD forums that the Benq was going for around $1500-1600 online. I didn't do a search myself, but that was the price that was being quoted by most people talking about it.

I don't think that Best Buy is a good place to quote... it's usually very close to MSRP prices on most items, with some select items discounted. They're not really the best buy, IMHO. I did a price check on Philips plasma HDTVs a few months ago, comparing between Amazon.com and Thailand, and the result was that Thai prices were around 50-100% higher than Amazon's. Also keep in mind that all of the HDTVs sold in the US have (by FCC regulation) HDTV tuners, and many also have cablecard slots. The ones sold in Thailand have plain-old SD tuners (of course Thailand has no HD broadcasts yet, but you'd think they'd charge less if they didn't put one in).

Some quick comparisons between Amazon and Thailand:

Sony Grand Wega 42" projection: Amazon $1579 Thailand $1949

Sony Grand Wega 60" projection: Amazon $2456 Thailand $4878

Sony Bravia V series 26" LCD: Amazon $1999 Thailand $1999

Samsung 32" LCDTV: Amazon $1339 Thailand $1999

As you can see, the Bravia is the exception, not the rule.

Prices in the US can vary a lot from store to store, especially online. For Thailand, as mentioned before, there is very strict price fixing by the manufacturer. Places like Sony Stores and Powerbuy/Powermall have pretty much exactly the same price on all products, to the point that promotions and price cuts are coordinated between rival stores. You can get a better deal at separate stores like Sahavittayu, which are situated outside department stores, but their discounts are usually no more than 5% off the quoted price (cash only), more if you don't want the freebies (dvd player, etc).

[Nepal4me]

The thing is, plasma in particular *should* be cheaper in Thailand because that is where many of the panels are manufactured.

I don't think you're corrent on this, I think all the panels are made in Korea and Japan.

To Paul L

"I was looking for a TV before Christmas, the store I was in had both Panasonic LCD and Plasma together (both the same size). I had the both put on the same channel and stood back to take a look. No contest, Plasma wins hands down on picture quality IMHO."

You need to be very careful with what you see in the stores. The sales people will set the contrast/colour/brightness etc to make one TV look better than another. Obviously the TV with the better margin for the store will be made to look better.

[solo siam]

My point was that the latest generation of TV's, That is LCD TV's by Sony and BenQ are the same price as the USA.

The $2,200 I quoted for the 37" BenQ was just about the best online deal I could find with a quick search.

Sony and BenQ have made a great move for the consumer in Thailand, Seriously whos going to choose the 200,000+ baht 40" LCD's by Sharp, Toshiba, Sanyo etc... over the 120,000-150,000 Sony (Which is also better IMO).

I'm actually quite surprised as Sony usually markets themselves at the higher price end, especially here in Thailand.

In regards to USA plasma sets having HD tuners I'm not sure about that as you certainly cant get High Definition through an aerial as such, or surround sound and a HD panel is a HD Panel, alongside all the electonic gizmos to scale and process a signal.

Also bear in mind there are very FEW plasma sets that are High Definition (Which is a resolution of 1280x720 or 1920x1080).

Plasma vs LCD, LCD normally wins on resolution but is still a more watchable picture, although it does lack the Pop of a plasma, I would go with LCD any day of the week, The previous poster was right about TV setups in shops.

Edited January 16, 2006 by Ben@H3-Digital

[The Coder]

Sony Bravia V series 26" LCD: Amazon $1999 Thailand $1999

As you can see, the Bravia is the exception, not the rule.

Or not. Amazon is expensive. I did a quick search and see them for $1400 elsewhere in the US. Thus, buying in Thailand costs 40% more. And I am no expert at finding the best prices so you might be able to do even better.

[Hikage]

Maybe it's just me, but to my eyes CRT sets still just look so much better than competing technologies, so despite the smaller sizes I wont be moving (I just move the set closer to my eyes lol) Why pay stupid prices for a worse picture? Until most of the content is HD I'm staying with the time tested technology, by this time, the newer technologies will be more mature and much more affordable!

Of LCD and Plasma, LCDs look the much better of the two to me, something about those plasmas that I just cant get used to.

Edited January 16, 2006 by Hikage

[Rj 81]

Richer Sounds UK for anybody who's interested

32" LCD = £699

42" Plasma = £999

[Paul L]

The thing is, plasma in particular *should* be cheaper in Thailand because that is where many of the panels are manufactured.

I don't think you're corrent on this, I think all the panels are made in Korea and Japan.

To Paul L

"I was looking for a TV before Christmas, the store I was in had both Panasonic LCD and Plasma together (both the same size). I had the both put on the same channel and stood back to take a look. No contest, Plasma wins hands down on picture quality IMHO."

You need to be very careful with what you see in the stores. The sales people will set the contrast/colour/brightness etc to make one TV look better than another. Obviously the TV with the better margin for the store will be made to look better.

mmmmmmmmmm. Never thought about that..............Thx