JP/7/price

Electronics prices still falling

Prices of audio-video sets are still falling despite the decline of the rupiah against major foreign currencies, including the U.S. dollar.

As the new school year has just started, much money has been spent on education, which, for many families, simply means postponing their plans to purchase new audio-video sets despite their downward price trends.

The Sony KF-WE50A1 (50-inch) plasma TV, which is one of the most attractive products in the high-end market, was available for Rp 36,859,000 early last week, a decrease of Rp 6,600,000 from Rp 43,459,000 two or three weeks earlier. Please note that Rp 6,600,000 is enough to buy two Toshiba flat CRT TVs of the 29JZ5/6EI type that have AV Stereo and DVD input terminal features!

In the 29-inch flat TV market, LG has just cut the price of its (AV stereo) RT-29FA35AV, which formerly cost Rp 3,700,000, to Rp 2,825,000, a record low for a Korean-made flat TV. Earlier, the Samsung Plano CS-29K5 (AV Stereo), selling for Rp 2,900,000, was the cheapest Korean-made flat TV. Compare these with the 29-inch Sharp Czar 29ZF200/250 flat TV (AV Stereo), which is available for Rp 2,875,000, or the cheapest Japanese-made 29-inch flat TV, Sanyo CG-29AF2G (AV Stereo), which is available for only Rp 2,480,000!

Meanwhile, the price of the Sony Wega KV-DA29M61 (Full Stereo, Progressive Scan), has just been cut from Rp 7,425,000 to Rp 7,050,000. In the 29-inch flat TV category, Sharp has just launched its Czar 29ZPF200, which uses Plasmacluster technology and is sold for Rp 3,200,000.

In the 21-inch flat TV market, the Samsung Planof CS-21N30MJL (AV Stereo) is really tempting at Rp 1,250,000. Its close competitors are the Sanyo Dynamic Flat CG-21MF2 (AV Stereo), available for Rp 1,200,000 and the Sanyo Maestro CG-21EF2D (AV Stereo, DVD input), available for Rp 1,250,000. It is worth noting at this juncture that the Chinese-made Changhong 21E88 (conventional screen and full stereo), can be obtained for a mere Rp 975,000!

In the handycam market, the Panasonic NV-GS35 was available at Rp 3,975,000 last week, compared to Rp 4,050,000 the previous week. This handycam, which has a very powerful optical zooming capacity of 30 x, is the writer's favorite for photo hunting or observation of very distant objects. Meanwhile, the JVC GR- DX200AG (LCD 3.0" and still picture) has also been slashed in price from Rp 6,150,000 to Rp 5,800,000.

What about the prices of mini compo sets? The price of the Aiwa JAX-V77 has been cut from Rp 2,750,000 to Rp 2,670,000 while the LG LM-V332 is now available at Rp 995,000. Best value for money, indeed.

Meanwhile, if you prefer an inexpensive DVD compo, you can make your choice from among the following: the LG-LX-D3350 (Rp 2,030,000), LG LX-D2640 (Rp 1,245,000), LG LX-D5640 (Rp 1,725,000), Panasonic SC-VK62D (Rp 2,330,000) or Polytron GV-912 (Rp 1,200,000). If you want a VCD compo, it is worth noting that the price of the Sharp CD-E705V has been cut from Rp 1,450,000 to Rp 1,395,000, while the Sony MHC-RV22 is now available for Rp 2,000,000, which is Rp 50,000 lower than its previous price.

Doharto J. Simatupang

Latest prices of home entertainment products

No. Brand and type Specs Price (Rp) 1 Sony KF-WE50A1 50", LCD TV, Full Stereo, 36.859,000

Tru Surround, 100 Hz,

MPiP, PC input,

Memory Stick Slot 2 Sony KV-DA29M61 29", CRT TV flat, 7,050,000

Full Stereo,

Progressive Scan 3 LG RT-29FA35V 29", CRT TV flat, 2,825,000

AV Stereo 4 Sharp 51A200MS "21, CRT Conventional TV, 1,395,000

AV Stereo 5 Changhong 21E88 21", CRT Conventional TV,

Full Stereo 975.000 6 Blue Sky DVP-11404 DVD portable, LCD 7",

TV Tuner, All Region 1.800.000 7 LG DZ9411P DVD player,

Progressive Scan,

JPEG, All Region 535.000 8 Pioneer DV-373S DVD player, progressive Scan,

Tru Surround, 192/24 kHz/bit 750.000 9 Samsung DVD-P250K DVD player, Progressive Scan,

Full Karaoke, 192/24 kHz/bit 650.000 10 LG LM-V332 VCD Compo, 1400 watt,

3 Disc Changer 995.000 11 LG LM-D5640 DVD Compo, 6 Satellite Speaker,

Dolby AC-3 1.725.000 12 LG LM-D2640 DVD Compo, Three way,

Speaker Sub Woofer, DivX 1.425.000 13 LG LX-D3350 DVD Compo, speaker Sub Woofer 2.030.000 14 LG LX-5230 DVD Compo, speaker center &

speaker Surround,

Dolby Prologic II 1.675.000 15 Philips FW-D596 DVD Compo, 6 speaker,

decoder AC3, Dolby Prologic II 2.500.000 16 Aiwa JAX-V77 VCD Compo, Three Way 2.670.000 17 Panasonic NV-GS35 Handycam, 30X zoom Optical,

Mini DV,still picture 0.8

Megapixels 3.975.000 18 JVC GR-D300AG Handycam, LCD 3.0", Mini DV,

still picture, Megapixels 5.800.000

Surveys were conducted at Senen Electronic, Victory Electronic, AGIS, Kotaraya Foto Video and Carrefour between July 30 and Aug. 1, 2005