Technobabble

LCD TV Price War!

Posted by on Feb 12, 2007 | 9 Comments

There’s a crazy price war in the LCD TV marketplace and its been set off by a company you’ve most likely never heard of. Tempe, Arizona-based Syntax-Brillian Corporation’s line of Olevia LCD TVs have slashed the price point for 42-inch and smaller screens, causing a general ruckus in the market. What’s that? You’ve not familiar with Syntax-Brillian or their Olevia brand? You’re not alone …

The New York Times calls Olevia “The No-Name Brand Behind the Latest Flat-Panel Price War.” The company does not build their own flat panel LCDs, nor do they assemble their own televisions. Everything is contracted, with assembly taking place in factories in China and Taiwan.

Think that those big screen LCD TVs are cheap now? Just wait … the buzz is that prices are headed downward throughout 2007. But how far can the newfangled HDTV brands push the market? How low can they go?
As of this writing, TigerDirect is offering the 32-inch HD-ready LCD TV for just $499, a 37-inch HD-ready for $649 (after rebate), and a 37-inch HDTV model for $729.

With prices like that, are you willing to roll the dice with a no-name brand?

[tags]LCD TV, HDTV, TV brands[/tags]

  • http://www.computer-help.net Davis McCarn

    Even if Olevia had the best TV’s on the planet (which they don’t), I would still have serious issues about buying one because of the company’s past history.

    Syntax burst into the computer component market right around the turn of the century, offering systemboards, wireless lan devices, notebooks, and several other products at, too good to be true, prices. Because of their low prices, Charlotte’s TechConnect, a program to teach high school students all aspects of IT, including assembling a computer from scratch, used a Syntax SV-266A systemboard for the 2003-4 program.

    What a nightmare! Almost 50% of the systems would not boot into Safe-Mode after the initial XP installation because the memory timing was wrong, resulting in corrupted files being written to the hard disk drive. Even if the install did work, the provided CD merrilly installed the wrong drivers for both the network and the audio; sometimes killing XP and forcing the student to start over.

    After spending five days figuring out what the problems were and how to overcome them, I wrote an article with a step-by-step procedure and, I am happy to say, all but one of my students sytems worked the first time. To this day, almost 50% of the traffic to my website is a search for “SV-266A problems”.

    As you might guess, a 50% failure rate hurt Syntax’s business pretty badly and somewhere in early 2005, they dissappeared. When they did, they pulled the plug on their website and, while I don’t have clear evidence, I suspect they ceased to honor any outstanding warranty issues, as well. For those of you that might have a Syntax product, here is a link to what’s left which I stumbled upon purely by accident: http://64.168.125.230/support/Syntax/

    Having been in the computer service business for over 30 years now, I value product support very highly. Any company that will abandon it’s failed product line, leaving consumers high and dry, won’t be getting my business.

    • burt g

      I will never buy anything again from Tiger Direct after being cheated out of a rebate from their “Sister” rebate company. I recommend everybody avoid Tiger Direct and their shady rebates.

  • Danny Kidd

    I have a 37″ Olevia LCD and LOVE it! I researched HDTVs for over 6months and the Olevia LCD TVs were a great value for your money and I hadn’t found any negative reviews. Olevia’s computer division might be crap but their TVs are great.

    P.S. I’d be willing to bet that the TV is actually manufactured by someone else and Olevia’s name is just slapped on.

  • Chuck

    Actually, according to an article published last fall, not only does Syntax manufacture their own LCD televisions, they now do so in the United States. They opened an assembly facility in the fall for certain lines of televisions, to be assembled from parts made overseas. The rationale being that it is much easier and cheaper to ship the components en masse than it is to ship the assembled televisions. I believe the article stated that the factory is near Los Angeles, and they have plans to expand their manufacturing presence in the US.

    As for the Olevia sets themselves, I worked in a computer/electronics store last year, and we carried them. I was able to compare them side by side with Sharp, Sony and other brands. They had good picture quality and excellent color reproduction. They do tend to have less features than comparable models from the “big boys” but nothing that would keep me from buying on if I were crazy enough to consider spending $500+ on a television.

  • John

    I am with Burt on TigerDirect. I have about $200 in rebates they never paid and OnRebate will not even talk to you even if you can eventually find a number.

    Never again will I order from them and I have told them so by phone and email. The rebates are just a scam to entice you to buy and then they will pay some of the rebates and hope you don’t keep track of the others. Big mistake with me.

    They don’t seem to care. Even more reason to not ever again do business with them.

  • Don

    Morning Chris,
    this short note is in reponse to the Technobable article dated Feb.12

    In agreement with:

    burt g – February 14, 2007 @ 3:49 pm

    “I will never buy anything again from Tiger Direct after being cheated out of a rebate from
    their “Sister” rebate company. I recommend everybody avoid Tiger Direct and their shady
    rebates.”

    This is what I am thinking … This will be the second time , your “sister site” has screwed

    me out of a rebate and I like, this person will not do business with Tiget Direct any more.

    This Kind of Internet talk is what is going to hurt your business..

    Just to name a few..

    1. a 50.00 rebate on a LCD monitor that they screwed up and then told me “you didn’t get all
    the paper work in on time”… That is a bunch of Hoey…..

    2. Now this time they e-mailed me and said “your rebate is being processed.” Oh yes it was

    another 50.00 and I really don’t think I will get it back. .. well It wasn’t for me, it was an
    upgrade for a lady I know. The method they used sounds very fimiliar. and do I have my
    rebate “NO”, will I ever get my rebate?

    Oh, yes I can produce more people I know, whom I told “look at Tiger Direct”,

    because I use them myself. But not any more…

  • Jill

    I’ve purchased a 42″ tv from tiger direct and a projector tv with a rebate. My friends have purchased many things with rebates at Tiger and all of us have received our rebates. It makes me concerned that perhaps things have taken a turn for the worst. I hope not, I so far have been totally satisified. I do send all my rebates certified mail with return receipt, just to keep things honest.

  • http://twitter.com/gavin_campbell Gavin

    I wish I found this before I signed up for my RTM subscription. However I think RTM has a few other options I really like. I just wish it had subtasks like this.

  • http://twitter.com/memengo memengo

    Howdy. I’m Denis, the developer of GeeTasks. If you have any questions please stop by the forums over http://www.geetasks.com and I will gladly answer them all. Cheers!