When we
heard last September that General Electric was aiming to enter the "premium" HDTV market, we all had a brief laugh and continued on about our day. Apparently, our doubts are completely unfounded. According to an interview with numerous GE executives tied in with the initiative, the GE-branded sets will be serious contenders. In fact, bigwigs are hoping to make their sets "a top-tier brand that rivals the likes of Sony, Samsung, and Sharp." The secret sauce is the differentiation, as GE is looking to stuff internet connectivity, wireless audio and many other "advanced features" onto its sets in order to show up rivals. Among the early prototypes shown at CES earlier this month was a 46-inch HDTV with a GLT edgelight that utilized white Luminus LEDs and GLT's lightguide blades. It's also looking to expand into wireless video boxes with 1080i support, which means the sky really could be the limit here. Obviously, we're keeping our skeptic hats on until a commercial device hits the market, but you can definitely color us intrigued.
[Image courtesy of
DecoRadios]
posted Jan 21st 2009 11:59PM
Given how "premium" brands like Samsung are cutting quality and using cheap Chinese panels, it shouldn't be hard to match some "premium" televisions.
I remember seeing a TV like that when I was little. my Grandfather had one.....
Is this the real GE or another company using the GE badge like those cheap clock radios and phones?
The real GE makes large appliances, nuclear reactors, light bulbs, locomotives, aircraft engines, owns NBC-Universal, makes healthcare products like x-rays, MRI machines, etc.
GE exited the consumer electronics business in the 80s and sold their name to other companies including Thomson of France (which owned RCA brand also).
Brilliant. Maybe they should start manufacturing cars too. Hmmm, now that I think about it, maybe they could stun the auto world with an electric car for the masses.
I'm not surprised they are boxing all those "features" in with the TV. "Features" don't make something premium. Quality does. GE products are typically garbage because they break within the first year. They add everything they can to make the "specs" look good, but the resulting product is cheaply made.
They seem to think that if McDonalds were to throw in a free hot apple pie and an ice cream cone, their meal deals would be "premium".