Let the hive mind of Engadget get that for you.
"I just moved into a new apartment and have been reading about all of the new power strips out there, especially the green ones. I was wondering if you had any suggestions about which "green "power strips are out there with decent joules ratings. And when I say green, I mean power strips that have the remotes or switches to turn off all electricity flowing to certain plugs and with at least 2 plugs that are always on. I was looking specifically at sub $50 because I will need two, but if that is not possible I could be convinced otherwise. Thanks!"
He represents the HTSA, a buying group made up of high end electronics retailers and custom installers. He most certainly IS referring to Vizio, and all the rest you alluded to.
While I agree with him, it's a little polite to call him an analyst. I'd say more like a "public relations person" with the obvious agenda of driving customers away from Wal-Mart, and towards high-end independent retailers.
Here's a listing of HTSA's brands their buying group offers: http://www.htsa.com/manufacturers.php
Not really, brands like Vizio have often out performed their class in pretty much every area, sometimes even outperforming models in the Higher End. This is partly why the company has become so popular. I'm not trying to dig on the top end Sonys or anything, but there are scores and scores of reviews out there to do your research on concerning this. There really are three "tiers" to perceive in the HDTV market these days. High End (Sony Bravia, etc), Middle (Vizio, Samsung, etc), Low End (Random brand you've never heard of that you see for $10 on Black Friday sales.).
He is talking low end here.
@ Pip
Are you seriously lumping Samsung in the same group as Vizio?? You've got to be kidding me, first off Samsung doesn't belong in the "Middle" end, they've been high end for quite awhile. Secondly Vizio doesn't belong there either, they are low end to the bone.
Yes I know that Samsung makes lower end (cheaper) models, but so does Sony. Those low end models are the only ones that the Vizio's can sometimes stand next to.