You might be surprised to find out who made your set
By James K. Willcox, Last updated: August 12, 2016
For many shoppers, there's comfort in choosing a familiar brand. But before you go out and buy a new TV set, there's something you should know: Even if it carries a brand name you recognize, the TV might have little connection to the company that built that brand.
For example, RCA, one of the most iconic TV brands in American history, now appears on sets produced by a Korean firm named On Corporation. Sharp TVs? They're manufactured by the Chinese TV brand Hisense, which also bought Sharp's TV manufacturing plant in Mexico.*
"For many years, TV making was limited to the few large consumer electronics companies that could afford the investment," says Paul Gagnon, who monitors TV manufacturing for San Diego-based IHS Markit Research.
But that barrier to entry has been lowered significantly, which in turn decreased the margins, creating a landscape far too competitive for the industry's titans. "For some brands," says Gagnon, "the TV business was not profitable anymore."
Companies such as Sharp, JVC, and Toshiba exited the U.S. market, licensing their brands to lesser-known firms. And companies in China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan eagerly adopted those brands, hoping their products would enjoy greater recognition and credibility in the U.S.
What Does This Mean for Consumers?
Just because a TV carries a licensed brand, it doesn't mean it's poorly designed. But it's hard to predict how it will perform.
"Some companies choose to license their brands to manufacturers, mostly from China, who will then build the products based on their own technology," Gagnon explains. "This isn’t always the case, though. In some instances, the licensing brands still have a lot of input into the design of the product and performance requirements as a part of the agreement."
In fact, some Hisense-made Sharp sets did well in our testing—though none yet rivals the top models in our ratings. And some Westinghouse-branded sets scored poorly. To protect yourself, you should probably purchase the new TV with a credit card that doubles the manufacturer's warranty. A retailer such as Costco will grant you the same cushion. This will safeguard you if the TV stops working or needs repair.
Keep in mind that it might be more difficult to get the set serviced, especially if it requires parts from overseas.
You can also ask retailers for a 30-day guarantee that allows you to return the TV if you're unhappy with the picture quality. As you might imagine, it's not always easy to find reviews and information on licensed-brand models.
At the end of the day, your best option is to consult our ratings, which feature TVs that have been put through the paces by our testers.
So which company made the TV in your living room? Or, more to the point, which company made the set you're thinking about buying? We recently did some digging to learn more about the corporations that use the common TV brands of today. Here's what we discovered.
Before you choose a new set, you might want to check out this list.
Brand
Details
Element - first came to our attention during Walmart promotional events. The manufacturer earned some press a few years back for touting that its TVs were assembled here in the U.S., first in Detroit, now in South Carolina, though much of the part production was done in China. But since then the American company has been quietly acquired by Chinese manufacturer TongFang, which also owns the Seiki and Westinghouse TV brands.
JVC Since late in 2011, the JVC TV brand has been licensed to the Taiwan manufacturer AmTRAN. The company's U.S. arm, AmTRAN Video, is also known for producing TVs sold under the Vizio brand.
Magnavox Once a U.S. market leader, the Philips-owned Magnavox brand is now licensed by Funai Electric. The Japanese manufacturer also controls the U.S. licenses for the Emerson, Philips (see below), Sylvania, Sanyo, and Symphonic brand names. Funai recently created a stir by announcing it would stop producing VCRs. It goes down in history as the last company to make them.
Philips This one's licensed to Funai via a subsidiary called P&F USA. The deal, which also includes the Magnavox name, runs through the end of 2018.
Polaroid
The once-venerable Polaroid name has become something of a cautionary licensing tale, at least as it pertains to TVs. In 2001, the genuine Polaroid declared bankruptcy but reorganized and licensed its brand to the Petters Group Worldwide, which bought the name outright in 2005. But Petters Group filed for bankruptcy protection three years later after an FBI investigation concluded the company was being run as a multi-billion-dollar Ponzi scheme. In 2009, a group of investors snapped up the Polaroid brand and launched a company called PLR IP Holdings, which now administers the licenses. The current U.S. licensee is Empire Electronics.
ProScan Once the premium sub-brand of RCA TVs, the ProScan name is owned by Technicolor, which controls RCA as well. The brand is currently licensed in North America by Curtis International, an Ontario, Canada, manufacturer and distributor of value-based consumer electronics products.
Quasar
Ask your grandfather about the Quasar name and he'll probably remember it fondly. This TV brand launched by Motorola was acquired by Matsushita (the parent company of Panasonic) in the '70s, but the little-used trademark expired in 2007. About three years ago, though, Panasonic re-registered it. And now, Quasar TVs can be found in a few retail outlets, including B&H Photo and BrandsMart.
RCA
One of the most significant consumer electronics brands in American history (the original company helped develop the NTSC standards for color televisions) is today owned by Technicolor. Over the past decade, the trademark, which stood for Radio Corporation of America, has gone through several TV licensees, including TCL a few years ago. But the U.S. brand is currently licensed to On Corporation, a Korean TV manufacturer.
Sanyo Two years ago, Panasonic agreed to license the Sanyo TV brand to Funai Electric. Today, Sanyo TVs seem to turn up mostly in Walmart stores, almost as a private label for the retailer.
Seiki Seiki, which gained some prominence in the U.S. by offering early 4K TV sets at very low prices, is another TV brand controlled by TongFang. (See Element and Westinghouse.)
Sharp No company did more to develop and commercialize LCD TV technology than Japan's Sharp Corporation. Despite owning one of the most advanced LCD plants in the world, the company yielded to market pressures here in the U.S. and decided last year to license its brand to Chinese TV manufacturer Hisense.
Toshiba Joining the growing list of Japanese TV manufacturers that have found the U.S. market too competitive, Toshiba pulled the plug on its U.S. TV business last year, licensing its brand to Taiwanese manufacturer Compal.
Westinghouse The Westinghouse TV brand, still controlled by a CBS subsidiary called Westinghouse Electric Corporation, is now part of TongFang Global's growing portfolio of TV brand names. The Chinese electronics manufacturer sells those Westinghouse-brand TVs through a subsidiary called Westinghouse Electronics. It acquired the rights to do that following the dissolution of prior licensee Westinghouse Digital.
Source: https://www.consumerreports.org/lcd-led-oled-tvs/tv-brands-arent-always-what-they-seem/
