Would you buy a ‘no-name’ brand television?
You’ll never guess which company manufacturers the best-selling flat-panel LCD television in the U.S. Is it Sony? Nope. Samsung? Nuh-uh. Sharp or Philips? Not even close.
You’ll never guess which company manufacturers the best-selling flat-panel LCD television in the U.S. Is it Sony? Nope. Samsung? Nuh-uh. Sharp or Philips? Not even close.
The best-selling LCD TV in America is none other than Vizio. Huh? Say what?
Yep, according to a press release issued by the company, Vizio rose four positions, going from the fifth-placed brand in the first quarter of 2007 to no. 1 in the second quarter — passing by Samsung, Philips, Sharp and Sony in the process.
In fact, the company claims it’s no. 1 in North America, though I haven’t yet seen Vizio on Canadian retail shelves (have you)?
In the second quarter of 2007, the Irvine, Calif.-based Vizio shipped 606,402 LCD-TVs in North America, up a whopping 76.4 percent increase from 343,704 in the first quarter, according to iSuppli Corp. This surge caused Vizio’s North American unit market share to rise to 14.5 percent, up from 9.4 percent in the first quarter.
Vizio televisions can often be found at mainstream retailers, such as Wal-Mart and Sears, as well as warehouse clubs like Costco and Sam’s Club.
So my question to you is: would you buy a "no-name" television if the price is considerably better than premium brands? It seems Americans have. Will Canadians? Or do we have a higher regard for proven brands and company heritage?
NEVER! I'd rather pay the extra $$ for a better product.
That's the question, HOW do you know
MORE dollars equals BETTER products?
Time tells all! It may turn out to be a P.O.S., BUT it MAY be pretty damn good!
I can recall DOZENS of 'name products'
that have been recalled for various
defects!
(Do you remember SOMETHING called the
CORVAIR, hey G.M. is a BIG REPUTABLE
company, but they, (and everyone else
'has a bad day!'), what about the
Fix Or Repair Daily thingy's, they were
no box of chocolates either!!!!
SO……., don't be dumb enough to equate $$$$$'s with quality, it doesn't always work that way!!!!!
Barry
Toronto
Not im my lifetime will I ever buy anything that is a NO NAME and/ no frills label. I'd rather buy something that comes from a company that has made and proven themselves, instead of an up and coming company that just might buttom out in just a few years.
Every company has to prove themselves though, so if everone thought as you there would be no new companies, so just remember that your beloved companies were up and comming once also. So next time give your comment a little thought.
I have learned that you get what you pay for and for bigger ticket items such as TV's, it's better to stick with an established brand.
By the way, Vizio TV's are available for sale at Tiger Direct.
All companies, Sony, Philips, …etc were a no name when they started. They became known when more and more consumers adopted their products. The funny thing is, most of those companies have the same manufacturer and inside components, but different brand names. Check out the refrigerators for example, HotPoint, GE, Maytag, and a couple of others are the exact same manufacturer, with the same compressor and cooling component, the difference is the tag. I found out that when my Mom wanted a Maytag, just because it was a bit more expensive and had a better reputation. She actually got a fridge for her wedding back in 1966, a Westinghouse, it is still working today without one penny in repair!
At the end of the day, what matters is the service, that's where you see a better brand.
Years ago I bought a new name Goldstar getto blaster type machine turns out it was junk. By the same token I purchased a Creative Junkbox MP3 player that after three years is no longer supported by the company so now that is junk also. What's it prove?? I'm good at picking junk?
goldstar is now lg
Vizio's have been available at Costco in Canada for some time.
Yesssereee, I have to agree with you Sam. Your Comment on the beginnings of a lot of major brands was right on the money. They all started somewhere and had to make a name for themselves.
The other thing you mentioned was how and with which parts most units were manufactured with today. Again, right on the money as you mentioned Maytag as one of your examples and I was shopping for some new machines a while back and found out that the Neptune I believe was the only model that they actually built these days and that the other models from that brand were farmed out to other companies.
Now I can't say that these other companies are doing a bad job of it, But I can say that the heads-up on how things were being done these days did have an impact on my purchase as I chose another brand that was quite a bit lower in price but had also established a good name for themselves over time.
The savings were substantial and I am not at all disappointed with the performance, although I must point out that I have noticed that none of the products that I shopped for were built rock solid as things were built in the past. Everything seems to be built sort of disposable. What I mean is that the Steel and components are not only lighter but just don't have that forever feel about them. I did a complete swap of everything in appliances and I guess only time will tell as to the life of these New generation, shall we say, Appliances.
so far so good, after a year. one thing I should mention though and I'm sure your aware of is that fridge that your mom has that was built so well does consume quite a bit of electricity by today's standards. I moved my old one in the garage and when that beast started up the first few times I noticed the lights dim in there. I've since upgraded the wiring of that space and am going to replace the beast also as they say that it pay for itself in a few years, the new one that is, with the energy I will conserve. Again, how much beyond the few years will this new one last is anybody's guess and that is where the gamble is.
Nowadays, virtually all TVs are made in a handful of plants in China; it doesn't matter if the label says Sony or Panasonic or "Changzen", it's a fact that many models even use the exact same PC boards inside, and those that don't use the same boards usually do use the same ubiquitous chipsets.. The only differences in some cases is the plastic housing that the TV goes into, as well as the software loaded onto the controller that activate the various features and control the "look and feel" of the model.. Other times, the Chinese manufacturers will simply use a "reference design" from the chipset maker which provides a basic set of features without the tweaking that companies like Panasonic will do in order to get the best picture quality, etc.. Personally, I'm not an audio nor videophile, so the minor differences in sound and image quality are rather unimportant to me, so long as the picture is clear and reds, greens and blues look like reds, greens and blues..
Because of this, if all else was equal, I would have absolutely no problem buying "no-name" electronic products, but in most cases, the name brands do have much better support and warranty programs whereas you're pretty much SOL if you buy a no-name (unless you buy an aftermarket warranty such as the ones they like to push on you at Best Buy, etc).. That said, in my experience, most of these robotically produced electronic goods tend to be pretty reliable (discounting infant mortality) and after 2-3 years, you're probably ready to get a new one anyways, so it's basically up to you- is paying the brand name premium worth it for the "tweaks" that are put into the product and the (usually) better warranty??
One other thing to consider is that when the warranty runs out and it breaks down no matter who made the T.V it is very expensive to have it repaired. So in this age of disposable products, what is the better choice? Brand name items a higher price or no name at a significantly lower cost? Something to think about.
Vizios are on sale at Walmart. I have taken a look at both and I honestly don't see much of a problem buying a no-name type TV. It really would depend on the price difference, and over all the specifications of each TV. No-name food is just as good as name brand like Kraft (most of the time, but that is vice versa)
Honestly I don't see any type breaking faster than another, like someone said they're made from the same materials.
No name vs. name brand products…hmmmmm! I would suggest going to any store that sells more than one brand. When t.v.'s for example are on display side by side you can definitely see the difference in quality. It's like comparing no name ketchup to Heinze…there is a huge difference. The choice is up to the consumer and what they want from the product. If you are an avid t.v. watcher you are going to pay for quality and clarity. If you love ketchup you are going to pay for taste and not worry about saving .50 cents. I personally prefer quality over savings. FYI I purchased a 21" Sony t.v, vcr, and stereo all which are in mint condition with no repair service needed at all. I remember my father buying a dozen or more deck shoes when I was a teenager because they were inexpensive, however did not last. I finally persuaded him to purchase a pair of Wolverine deck shoes which I think he still has to this day…20 yrs or more. You cannot compare apples to oranges, you pay for what you get.
Sorry, me again. I purchased the Sony products back in 1990 and still perfect. I have upgraded my Sony products over the years, not only for there quality but for there cosmetics. They have stuck with close to the same look, unlike other brands which keep changing cosmetically. This allows for conformity in your entertainment unit…much easier on the eyes when all look the same.
You only get what you pay for and what "They" will give you for you money. Today "Things" are not ment to last as long as they once did because it's all about turnover of the product. The more you sell the more you make even if it comes down to the cusomer haveing to replace the product three times in a life time as to replacing it twice they know we'll get another one. As for "service", try to get service I dare you lol. Today we have to fight tooth and nail to get satisfaction. Most No-Name products will last some will not it's called a gamble. The same could be said about brand names. Most people will purchase what we can afford at the time.
Thanks.
For years I didn't even have a tv; that's how important it is in my life. Finally I bought one in 1994, when I had my first job. It was a 13" name brand, still new in the box, but because it had no remote control I paid $29 Canadian for it. This year the sound started to go on it, so I followed a parent's advice and got a no-name 29" flat screen at Superstore for $100. Basically, watching television is just not that important to me, and since we all know that no new tv I buy today is going to last as long as the old one, why should I pay more?
big name also doesn't mean good service… I'm currently being given the run around by Toshiba over a TV that was flawed out of the box…
a web search shows this type of customer 'service' isn't an isolated incident with Toshiba — I'll never buy a Toshiba product again…
on the flip side, Canon Canada has the best c.s. I've ever encountered for any company!
It simply depends what you are into. I'm a videophile and picture quality is most important. If the no-name tv brand made a tv that has a better picture than a big name brand then I'd buy it. Unfortunately this is not the case. Most no-names are sub standard brand name units that did not make the higher spec. IE and LCD that has a stuck pixle cannot be used for a SONY SXRD WEGA so now its a GOLDSTAR for a fraction of the price. Even though it could have been a sony if there were zero defects the proprietory technology that makes the SONY picture so good is just that proprietory. Vizio or whatever brand will not have the money for research and development. So the simple answer is yes based on picture quality…
Unfortunately, the trend today is toward absolute lowest cost versus better quality and enhanced features. Many consumers are unaware or are unable to appreciate the subtle (or not so subtle) differences in picture/audio quality, or purpose of the extra features found on many brand name products.
One needs to look no further than the widespread acceptance the MP3 audio format, the quality of which sends shivers down the spine of your true audiophile. Or the insatiable market for pirated DVD titles, despite the atrocious video quality resulting from being 'recorded' in a noisy theater with a shaky hand-held camera, and the 5.1 soundtrack being reduced to a monaural garble, (thanks to the built-in $3 microphone). Yet, these are considered to be 'acceptable' by so many consumers today. Now I suppose if your preferred a/v playback system consists of the 7.5 cm lcd screen on your cell phone and a pair of 'ear-buds', then you are not really too concerned about experiencing what the artist intended to begin with.
Thankfully, I find that many 'uninformed' consumers are fully able to appreciate the finer points of the better quality/higher-end systems upon being exposed to them for the 1st time, or when a knowledgeable salesperson takes the time to explain the differences. Unfortunately the trend in big-box retailing is to just push the high-volume, lowest-cost, no questions to asked products while leaving the consumer at the mercy of the high-turnover, lowest-cost, no answers provided sales staff.
I bought a 42" Visio TV about 3 months ago and I must admit I'm not disappointed so far. I also have name brand TVs in my house and a year and a half after buying my Sony TV, it broke down and cost me hundreds to have it fixed. Was it a lemon? Probably!!
That said, my very first color TV was a Candle back in 1980 (anyone remember Candle, it came from Consumer's Distributing)? I still have that TV and it's still going strong. Yes, it was a no name brand but damn, it still works well!!!
I'm not sure how long my Visio will last but I'm very happy with it right now. I guess time will tell.
Kim
Posted by Christopher (Chris) Bassoo
Hi there, I would buy a no name product if the price was right as I have seen both appen, great brands crap out or no name brand keep going, so it would depend on the situation, besides I would probably get an extended warranty with the store if it were that big of a purchase…your northern friends Chris Bassoo