funai - Gizmodo

posts about #funai more →
Vizio Import Ban Overturned, Free To Ship TVs To US
Ban on Vizio HDTV Imports Upheld, But Does It Even Matter?
Vizio Blocked From Importing TVs into the US
Philips Won't Sell Home Theater Equipment in North America Anymore
Sony To Drop Blu-ray Player Price $100, Others to Follow
Funai (Sylvania, Symphonic and Emerson) Will Sell HDTVs With Blu-rays In 'Em
Dealzmodo: Wal-Mart Spotted Offering Funai NB500 Blu-Ray Players For $298
Philips Won't Sell TVs in North America Anymore

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MJDeviant
07/09/09

In reply to Vizio Import Ban Overturned, Free To Ship TVs To US
Vizios arent terrible but they are sub-par, and that's coming from me, a cheap-skate. My aunt who knows nothing bought one and was impressed by the size and clear picture, so that is technically what they are getting. I mean, if you don't go out and examine every HDTV then I'd guess you'd probably be pretty happy with it. As for me, I will wait until I have enough money for one of the Deals of the Day Tv's on here. Hopefully something 47" and somewhere along panasonic or toshiba quality.
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Mr_Human
07/09/09

In reply to Vizio Import Ban Overturned, Free To Ship TVs To US
The image quality of Vizios can't compare to the premium brands. But they're no bad at all. I bought a 26' refurb for $250 from Buy.com and I'm pretty happy with it. The big question is: will it last a while before something goes wrong with it?
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anexanhume
07/09/09

In reply to Vizio Import Ban Overturned, Free To Ship TVs To US
I'm more interested in Sharp's patent dispute with Samsung and the subsequent ban import. For competition's sake, I hope that one goes away as well.
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tande04
07/09/09

@anexanhume: How does patent disputes "going away" have anything to do with competition?

Don't steal other people's shit.
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anexanhume
07/09/09

@tande04: Patent disputes are rarely about tech actually being stolen. Often, you have cases of parallel though or readily available methods that someone happens to patent in hopes of blocking competition.

If the dispute goes away, Sharp can sell TV's here. That means more competition, no?
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my name is jonas
07/09/09

In reply to Vizio Import Ban Overturned, Free To Ship TVs To US
Vizio is picking up the specs nicely on their LCDs (240 hz LED). Even though I probably wouldn't buy a Vizio, hopefully the competition should push the price down on similarly speced sets from premium manufacturers.
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Cordfucious of Tech Clan
07/09/09

@my name is jonas: I think Vizio is taking aim at the big boys and proving you can put out decent quality and not gouge people for it. I give them another generation or 2 before they really step things up and offer more comparable features (i.e. ports and inputs) for less than their big name competitors
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Dr. Evil Genius
07/09/09

@Cordfucious of Tech Clan: The question remains if they can deliver a quality product. The tech is great as long as the consumer doesn't have to constantly call for tech support.
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snoop_dizzle
07/09/09

@Cordfucious of Tech Clan: I'm still not going for one, as I still never have seen one that impresses me.

But, if you do want a deal, go for a Panasonic Viera. there are various levels of them, but they have some pretty inexpensive models as well and from what I have seen (though it was a high end model) Vizio doesn't really even compare.
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Cordfucious of Tech Clan
07/09/09

@Dr. Evil Genius: I don't think they have a reliability issue. I just think their tech is not top notch, how could it be. I doubt they have the R&D budget of they big boys, but for what they are working with they have a formula that's hard to beat right now. I think they are on the way up to tier 2 status very quickly
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eagles3 speeeedin
07/09/09

In reply to Vizio Import Ban Overturned, Free To Ship TVs To US
So no one of sufficient valor has comment as of yet?

Well this is kind of lame...

If this means cheaper TVs than I'm in.
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ceilingFANBOY
06/10/09

In reply to Ban on Vizio HDTV Imports Upheld, But Does It Even Matter?
"The products involved with this particular claim are obsolete. Therefore, we believe the claim will affect all of our products."

Fixed.
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OMG! Ponies!
06/10/09

In reply to Ban on Vizio HDTV Imports Upheld, But Does It Even Matter?
If it is as you say, John, then it is a hollow victory on par with being awarded a judgment against a bankrupt defendant. It sounds like Funai has a fancy piece of paper and Vizio may have a write-off of indeterminate value.

Of course, I do personal-injury law not IP law but an empty judgment is an empty judgment.

Congratulations to the attorneys involved for generating legal fees in connection with a feigned issue.
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Acemonster (on a quest to get his star)
06/10/09

In reply to Ban on Vizio HDTV Imports Upheld, But Does It Even Matter?
As a lawyer-in-training, I can say with some reasonable certainty, John, that you are correct. After reading the article, it is apparent that Funai filed a suit with a claim against chipsets in televisions that are no longer in use by Vizio; they screwed up. The suit should have been more encompassing of relative technology. This is not to say, however, that Vizio's road in the near-future will not be a rocky one. The appeals process may be lengthy, but the most important part will be whether the ITC will the stay the order on the exclusion of the ban. This will determine whether Vizio can still sell TVs at all while it appeals.
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John Herrman
06/10/09

@Acemonster: thanks! I'm still trying to find some more sources on this though, since I'm wary of trying to glean too much from these releases
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hostile17
06/10/09

In reply to Ban on Vizio HDTV Imports Upheld, But Does It Even Matter?
This article was confusing without reading the previous articles...

Imported to wear, if the International Trade Commission said this and they are international. And President of what? A country, the Commission, Vizio?
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hostile17
06/10/09

@hostile17: It was updated. :) Glad my comments helped. Thanks for listening.
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John Herrman
06/10/09

@hostile17: and thank you, for pointing that out.
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davezatz
04/11/09

In reply to Vizio Blocked From Importing TVs into the US
So I guess Vizio sets will cost $2.50 more going forward. I can swing that.
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ripfire
11/19/08

In reply to Philips Won't Sell Home Theater Equipment in North America Anymore
Item number one, "Lose Accountability". Check!
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jdbaile3
11/19/08

In reply to Philips Won't Sell Home Theater Equipment in North America Anymore
So if I am gonna get a blu ray player, is the PS3 still the best way to go? Id rather spend under $300 if possible.
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dc-united
11/19/08

@jdbaile3: It probably is for most people, since you get the latest spec player and you get a game system thrown in.

For some folks (like me) it isn't quite what I need to fit into my home theater for a variety of reasons.
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FrankenPC
11/19/08

@dc-united: It's loud. It's get's hotter than hell. It's a power hog. Oh, and it has a bizarre habit of turning on unexpectedly which can have really bad consequences if you have one enclosed in a cabinet.

But, yeah, for the money you get an excellent HDMI 1.3 capable BluRay player and Some pretty damn good games.

FYI: Don't flame me. I own one.
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robinandtami
11/19/08

@jdbaile3: Not really. We're starting to see standalone players that are more full featured than the PS3, with load times just as fast as the PS3, and cheaper than the PS3.

It's also going to depend upon your audio system. If it doesn't accept PCM audio via HDMI, but you do have multi-channel inputs; you'd want a blu-ray player that decodes HD audio and has multi-channel outputs. If you have a really nice receiver with HDMI, you'd want a blu-ray player that can bitstream the HD audio to your receiver and let it do the decoding vs. the PS3 which can not bit stream hd audio.
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Striderhayasa - Can we get some damn m/kb support?!
11/19/08

@FrankenPC: My PS3 is almost dead silent and the heat that comes from it is from the right side vents which is what it's supposed to do.
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