raseru
Member
From: california
Registered: 2007-05-23
Posts: 159
I'm going to Tokyo for a year real soon, and I think that a good idea to practice Japanese when I'm not doing anything is to watch Japanese TV with Japanese subtitles. This way I can follow along, see kanji as its used, and easily spot new words. I'd do that here but finding enough material with Japanese subtitles is ridiculously hard due to the fact that they're usually never recorded or they're stripped off.
So I'm guessing it's a good idea to buy a cheap TV and take it back to my dorm and trash it when I'm about to fly back to America. I've seen videos of Japanese trains and they can get so crowded that people are pushed in the train and I don't see how I could even hold onto a TV in a jam packed place like that.
I could buy a pricey TV that is flat and take it home with me but I believe that the TV won't work at the states (at least cable) so it might be best to not to
What would be perfect would to get a TV tuner card for my laptop, but I hear TV tuner cards don't display subtitles...
Oh and while I'm at it, does anyone know if you get a decent amount of channels from just regular ol' analog tv in Tokyo?
Last edited by raseru (2008 June 13, 8:25 pm)
johnzep
Member
From: moriya, ibaraki
Registered: 2006-05-14
Posts: 373
get a used non-HDTV TV.
I just got one that is around 28inches for 5000yen.
And when you leave, just sell it for whatever you can get or even give it away free...it will spare you the trouble of disposing of it properly.
New TV's are really expensive in Japan. Non-HDTV's are really hard to find in stores nowadays...they usually only have one or two models, that are pretty crappy and small for their price (15,000-30,000yen). Then the smallest HDTV's usually start at around 60,000yen and only 16-19 inches. A decent sized HDTV will be at least 100,000 yen.
used TV's are the way to go...and they are still good for a couple more years, which sounds like more than enough time for what you need.
As for the train...you can probably manage the TV on it assuming it's not too heavy for you...just don't go during rush hour and it should be manageable.
I was in a similar situation, and bought a rather nice TV, a 24V Aquos. Loved it. I was lucky enough to have a car though, so I just drove it back to my apartment. But yeah, if you're physically able to move the TV (it's not too heavy, or if you have some help) you could move it through the train system, it's not unheard of.
Here's the hard part though -- getting the thing back to the states. Anything too big, the Post Office won't send, period. UPS will, but they don't promise to get it there in one piece, and you'll pay out the nose for it. Again, if it isn't *too* big, you CAN take it on the plane, although you'll have to pay extra-- still, cheaper than UPS/PostOffice.
Having gone through all that, it isn't worth it in my opinion. The TVs in the states aren't far behind the Japanese models, and the price difference (if there is one) isn't worth the trouble.
For the record though, you could use it in the states -- but the built-in tuner won't work. You'll have to use a separate DVR or Tivo, cable box, etc. with it. Since I always use a DVR, that's not an issue for me, but for those who refuse to pay for cable/satellite/etc or have a separate box, well... then it is.
Honestly, do get a TV, but get a little one that you can tote back to the states, or a cheap one you don't mind giving away when you leave.
Oh, and one more thing. If you DO buy a TV that you intend to take back to the states in one way or another, DO NOT THROW AWAY THE BOX AND PACKING MATERIALS. The TV is obviously well packed by the company to survive shipping to the store and to your house-- don't try and find comparable packing materials elsewhere, because you probably won't.
I threw away the original packing materials, and that was a huuuuuge mistake when trying out how the hell to pack it safely.
Yeah, the space taken up by the box is definitely a consideration. Personally I had the space to spare, but didn't have the foresight to keep it anyway...
If I had to do it all over again, as much as I loved having my TV, I probably would buy a cheap used set and just give it to a friend or pawn it off for twenty bucks or whatever. I always had my computer hooked up to it (it had a DVI port built in, score), so I could watch any movies/TV I downloaded off the net, too. I had a wanseg keitai, but I couldn't stand the small screen, and I wanted a DVR and cable. Again though, I lucked out in a lot of ways, so I could afford it. I don't know what your living and money situation is (or if you're even interested in all that stuff), but I personally loved all the channel surfing.
Although obviously Jarvik's idea is the most economical, and will leave your bank account in a better place than mine was ; )
MeNoSavvy
Member
Registered: 2008-05-24
Posts: 131
Hmmm, I would definitely not recommend trying to carry a TV on the train during rush hour. If it is a small tv, it would be alright to take it on the train in non-rush hour. Like other people have recommended though, just get it delivered.
I think buying a TV in japan is not something you need to be overly concerned about as there are plenty of places selling new and used electronic goods. Probably there will be a place in your neighborhood and you might just be able to carry it from the store to your home.
Also forget about taking stuff back to the US, it is just a hassle and isn't worth it. A TV is just a TV, and it will be a pain in the ass trying to deal with the different tv standards.
One thing I would be worried about is the subtitles for Japanese shows. Some countries have subtitles or closed-captions that are broadcast with shows that can be turned on or off. I don't know how common this is with Japanese shows. In fact I would guess that the majority of shows don't in fact have them, although I expect popular drama series, the NHK news etc would have subtitles. Also I'm not sure how common support of this type of technology is. My apartment in Japan came with brand new appliances and the TV didn't support this. I expect not every tv for sale comes with this technology. In other countries nearly every tv supports subtitles.
A lot Japanese shows do have not proper subtitles but have colorful zany expressions that pop up on screen, emphasizing something wacky that the host has said for example.
The other issue is if I was using japanese tv to study, I would definitely want to be able to play back something several times. I'm not sure if a digital video recorder would actually store the subtitles. I live in NZ, we have subtitles broadcast both on analog terrestrial tv and on digital satellite tv, but when I record shows the subtitles don't get recorded also, because the digital video recorder doesn't keep that part of the signal.
There are heaps of used DVD places around, so you could well hit those kind of stores and find anime, movies, tv shows on DVD that have japanese subtitles. I think that would be your best bet.
Good luck.
