Harrods showcases $32,000 TV

Well-heeled Brits are being tempted this holiday season with the Vivadi Saturn home-theater system, now on sale at Harrods for a mere £17,000 ($32,656) — speakers not included. The centerpiece of the system is a 46-inch plasma screen, and it includes a DVD recorder, DVR and 5.1 audio. While the system is pretty sleek, you could almost certainly do better by shopping around. The DVD recorder/DVR, for example, is actually just a Windows Media Center PC, and doesn't even include a dual-format burner,  while the plasma screen maxes out at 852x480; for half the price of the Saturn, you can pick up Pioneer's 50" PureVision PRO-1110HD, with a resolution of up to 1280x768. Chances are, however, if you're shopping for a home-theater setup in Harrod's, none of those things matter to you.

[~J~ @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

Looks nice, but I've been informed that Plasma's only last 5 years as the gas dies out! Anyone confirm this?

[El Pablo @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

I heard this too, from some muppet at Dixons (UK electrical retailer). It's a myth. You should get 30,000 hours from them. If you watched TV for 5 hours a day, this equates to 16 years usage.

[~J~ @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

Cheers El Pablo, doesn't sound that bad when you give it in realistic figures!

[XBR @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

Many current generation plasmas are now rated at 60,000 hours.

[derek rice @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

Plasma versus LCD who will win the war in the long term. This set from Harrods looks great but take a look at some of the LCD models at lower prices