Philips and Magnavox brands licensed to Funai
Posts with tag Funai
Magnavox Blu-ray player to be $128 at Walmart on Black Friday
[Via DVICE]
Funai sees operating income jump on sales of BD decks, DTV converter boxes
So, apparently sales of Blu-ray players and DTV converter boxes are on the up and up now that the format war is over and the DTV transition is quickly approaching in the USA -- who would've thunk it? According to reports, Funai's latest quarter saw an operating income increase of 108.8%, and it didn't hesitate to thank sales of Blu-ray players and DTV converters for such a surge. The outfit also proclaimed that sales of CRT TVs and DVD decks were down, and even though the boost from converter boxes will be short lived, it's hoping a deeper adoption of BD and sales of Philips-branded LCD TVs will compensate in 2009. Godspeed, we say.[Via VideoBusiness]
Funai's DivX-compatible B1-M110 Blu-ray player gets outed
Aw yeah, we dig where this is headed. Funai, best known for pumping out inexpensive wares under a variety of brand names, is evidently aiming to push its second Blu-ray player onto the market this October. Slated to launch initially in October in Europe, the B1-M110 will support DivX and, well, who knows what else. Oddly enough, the deck was actually outed courtesy of DivX, thus, we've no other specifications to mull over just yet. With the Insignia NS-BRDVD falling to $229, we can only hope that this unit becomes the first (or second, or third) to smash the $200 barrier.[Thanks, Anthony]
Digital Security Systems files patent infringement suit against major Blu-ray players
[Via FormatWarCentral]
Funai aims to bring LCD HDTV / Blu-ray combo units to North America
When Westinghouse launched its 40-inch LCD HDTV / DVD combo unit earlier this year, we really began to think of just how nice it'd be to broaden Blu-ray's appeal by shoving a drive into a new set for those looking for simplicity. Enter Funai -- the company currently responsible for the lowest priced standalone BD deck on the market -- which is reportedly aiming to loose an LCD HDTV with built-in Blu-ray player on the North American market next summer. The company typically brands its wares with names like Sylvania, Symphonic and Emerson, so we wouldn't expect the highest-end stuff here. That said, we're glad to see someone taking this very necessary step, even though you won't catch us recommending 'em to anyone but the technologically challenged. [Warning: read link requires subscription][Via CrunchGear]
Funai's NB500 Blu-ray player sliding into Wal-Mart for $298
[Thanks, Fernando]
Philips handing over North American TV manufacturing to Funai
by Richard Lawler, posted Apr 8th 2008 at 2:11PM 
Update: Philips let us know Ambilight remains dead and buried, but its 2008 models will continue as planned.
JVC and Funai hold hands, enter into LCD partnership
Funai announces NB500 Blu-ray player bound for North America
If you're waiting for the manufacturers of value priced gear to enter the Blu-ray arena, your day is coming. Funai, the company associated with brands Sylvania, Emerson and Magnavox officially announced that it will begin production of its NB500 series of players in Q1 2008 with the intent to bring them to the North American market during Q2. The NB500 will be a Profile 1.1 number, with HDMI 1.3a, DeepColor, a "high-bit-rate audio stream out," CEC and output of SD card video footage. The press release is calling for a retail price under $300, but with the recent price cuts seen in the market, we're thinking that Funai will have to come in at substantially less than that figure to stand out.
Funai getting into the Blu-ray player game, courting the budget set
You know those cheaper-than-a-DVD players (pictured) that hit England recently? Well, we're waiting for the HD disc equivalent, and you know Sony, LG and Toshiba aren't about to deliver such base "budget friendly" action. Obviously we're a long ways away from anything near that $18 price point, but a tiny little step was just taken in that direction with the announcement that Funai is going to be building a new Blu-ray player for OEM rebadge action. Analysts are pegging the initial offering at around $500, and it should be available before the end of 2007. Funai isn't ruling out an HD DVD player either, but the Blu-ray player will come first, and most likely will hit a near bottom pricepoint for its category, at least if Funai's LCD methods are any indication.
