Syntax-Brillian Files For Bankruptcy

H

HardOCP News

[H] News
Joined
Dec 31, 1969
Messages
0
Syntax-Brillian, the company behind brands like Vivitar cameras and Olevia LCDs, has filed for bankruptcy. The majority of the company’s assets will go to one of Syntax-Brillian's original partners, the TCV Group.

Syntax-Brillian Corporation (SBC) has filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code and the company announced that it has entered into an asset purchase agreement to sell Vivitar, the company's brand of digital still and video cameras to Olevia International Group (OIG), which is under common ownership with the TCV Group.
Click to expand...
 
wow....one of my first cameras when i was a kid was a vivitar...kind of noisy but still a great old film camera:D
 
Good! Makes one off brand company off the streets! TV's were crap and I never bought a vivitar due to POS. Fry's were plague this s**t.
 
doodwidflipflops said:
Good! Makes one off brand company off the streets! TV's were crap and I never bought a vivitar due to POS. Fry's were plague this s**t.
Click to expand...

My Olevia 32" HDTV is great. I've never had any problems with it,. I like it so much that I bought one for my parents as well.

Just because they were relatively inexpensive doesn't mean they were junk.
 
My Olevia 36" HDTV is absolutely fantastic... this is sad news.
 
There will be someone else to fill the void.

I would count on someone buying the Vivitar Brand and continuing support, its a very highly recognized name.

Olevia on the other hand.. They are probaly SOL... They were a great budget brand..
 
My 37" Olevia is fantastic....upscaler issues aside (just use the cablebox/DVD player's own upscalers, problem solved).

I also liked how they encouraged the users to flash the firmware, adding new features to older sets. Mine lacked discrete codes until I recieved a firmware update, which I did myself in all of 20 minutes for example.
 
My 4 year old 32 incher is still looking fabulous and if you look at its specs compared to the "modern" specs of LCD TV's, it should be a "POS". But I still get comments from people that come over and say wow, that looks awesome. So I guess if you have a 12 inch rod up your rear, then yes, I guess these are POS tv's.
 
Now only if Vizio would go bankrupt.

Oh joy I got a 720p 50inch LCD/Plasma for $800. Too bad it looks like shit and will probably be dead in 2-3 years. :rolleyes:
 
doodwidflipflops said:
Good! Makes one off brand company off the streets! TV's were crap and I never bought a vivitar due to POS. Fry's were plague this s**t.
Click to expand...

What the hell are you talking about? Olevia was the driving force behind the shard drop in LCD prices over the last few years due to their high quality TVs and low prices.

Stop talking shit when you don't know shit.
 
crawford60 said:
My Olevia 32" HDTV is great. I've never had any problems with it,. I like it so much that I bought one for my parents as well.

Just because they were relatively inexpensive doesn't mean they were junk.
Click to expand...

Probably one of the jokers that has some kind of price-quality link in his head.

$100 says he listens to 128kbit MP3s on a $10,000 stereo system and talks about how great his music sounds.
 
To all Olevia owners good luck on warranty. Now someone here should tell allied semi-conductor in richardson tx to throw away there refurbs that they have been trying to sell off on CL!
 
this is potentially very bad news for people who own olevia LCD screens... like me. :(
 
Nemesis999 said:
Probably one of the jokers that has some kind of price-quality link in his head.

$100 says he listens to 128kbit MP3s on a $10,000 stereo system and talks about how great his music sounds.
Click to expand...



you're a buffoon.

the picture quality on olevia lcd sets using the RealtaHQV processor is stunning.

obviously you've never seen one in action.
 
snaggletooth said:
you're a buffoon.

the picture quality on olevia lcd sets using the RealtaHQV processor is stunning.

obviously you've never seen one in action.
Click to expand...



+1 for lack of reading comprehension, sorry.

i'm a little emotional right now at this news.
 
I can see people being upset at this news and yet some praising it. I guess it depends on what you're willing to spend on an hdtv and what you're using it for.

Honestly the picture quality is decent for the price you pay, and not bad for a 2nd tv for the bedroom, kids room,game room/pool room imo. I wouldn't use one as my main set that I watch blu-ray/hdvd's, game on or watch directv hd on, on a daily basis.

When I'm doing these things I want to see the best picture I can since it's my free time I'm using to do these things and why not enjoy it at the best quality you can afford/possible.

Honestly, the warranty was awful on these sets, basically if they break, you might as well toss it in the trash and buy a new one. You pay freight both ways after 30/45 days, depending on the size of your set.

You pay all parts and labor after 90 days, they do offer an extended warranty but you still pay freight each time you have an issue and both ways, which would make the cost close to just buying a new one. :rolleyes:

I'm glad some of you enjoy the sets you purchased for the price you paid, but I think a lot of the tier 2/3 lcdtv companys screw the majority of people with their shoddy warranty and customer service.

I never have, nor will I recommend any of those brands to friends or family members for those reasons alone.

You pay for what you get period, and that's a QFT!
 
Its bad for the market in a way. Vizio, Olevia and a few others brought the LCD and Plamsa TV market down to consumer friendly prices very quickly with their low cost offerings. If it werent for Olevia and those other budget sets, we would still be paying $2K+ for a 42" set.
 
I'm just more glad now that I spent the extra $100 for an LG. :cool:
 
AOM said:
You pay for what you get period, and that's a QFT!
Click to expand...

Except that's not true.

Had companies like Olevia not brought high quality products for the market at far lower prices then their competition you'd still be paying $4,000 for a 42 inch sharp.

You rarely get what you pay for. You get what you pay for, minus profit margins and Olivea brought those margins down ten-fold for all the big companies.
 
The picture quality on all Olevia sets was utterly horrid. You think only one thing when you see someone buy one "Wow there goes someone too cheap to buy a HDTV that doesn't look like a SDTV".

As far as my experience, I worked for the company that underwrote the warranty on those TV's for 5 years. The Failure rate was so bad it was laughable, They were basically unrepairable, and the picture quality on them was so substandard it was not even funny. They were a blackhole product aimed at people too cheap to buy something decent. I should know, i saw all their marketing material. Anyone who thinks the picture quality on them is anything shy of terrible is either blind or has never seen a quality hdtv connected to quality cables and an actual HD source.
 
Dekoth said:
The picture quality on all Olevia sets was utterly horrid. You think only one thing when you see someone buy one "Wow there goes someone too cheap to buy a HDTV that doesn't look like a SDTV".

As far as my experience, I worked for the company that underwrote the warranty on those TV's for 5 years. The Failure rate was so bad it was laughable, They were basically unrepairable, and the picture quality on them was so substandard it was not even funny. They were a blackhole product aimed at people too cheap to buy something decent. I should know, i saw all their marketing material. Anyone who thinks the picture quality on them is anything shy of terrible is either blind or has never seen a quality hdtv connected to quality cables and an actual HD source.
Click to expand...

So I guess my 3 or 4 different HD sources connected via HDMI, VGA, etc running 720p and 1080p depending on what I'm doing are all SD. I suppose I shouldn't be able to tell any difference between SD and HD content then when I flip around recorded shows... hmm.

Go troll somewhere else, great all-knowing superior warranty underwriter. That sounds like a position that would know a lot about HDTV engineering.
 
rocky928 said:
So I guess my 3 or 4 different HD sources connected via HDMI, VGA, etc running 720p and 1080p depending on what I'm doing are all SD. I suppose I shouldn't be able to tell any difference between SD and HD content then when I flip around recorded shows... hmm.

Go troll somewhere else, great all-knowing superior warranty underwriter. That sounds like a position that would know a lot about HDTV engineering.
Click to expand...

He just proved his point with your comment. Just because you have all this neat stuff connected to your TV (a specific model) does not make you an expert. Put an Olevia compared to actually some of better designed TV's and the differences become night and day.

I'll agree that Olevia does compete very well in some parameters. But as a product whole when trying to meet the needs of the many, they fall short.
 
Trepidati0n said:
He just proved his point with your comment. Just because you have all this neat stuff connected to your TV (a specific model) does not make you an expert. Put an Olevia compared to actually some of better designed TV's and the differences become night and day.

I'll agree that Olevia does compete very well in some parameters. But as a product whole when trying to meet the needs of the many, they fall short.
Click to expand...

My comment doesn't prove him right, nothing proves either one of us right :) I am just saying I am anal about displays and if I were getting shafted I would know if it were a poor quality display. MY specific model is not. Maybe everything else fails.
 
My take, I got my 37" for $550 minus remote (it was a display unit, but in flawless condition), and I task anyone to find a display in the sub $1k normal price range of that size that matches it in display quality (This set's normal price was about $800).

Olevias do require a rather extensive calibration for optimal output, but once that's done....the output is very surprising to say the least. So far everyone I know have been trying to get one....perhaps the price drop that will follow will help in this....I'll just send them my room lighting specs and calibration profiles :)
 
rocky928 said:
So I guess my 3 or 4 different HD sources connected via HDMI, VGA, etc running 720p and 1080p depending on what I'm doing are all SD. I suppose I shouldn't be able to tell any difference between SD and HD content then when I flip around recorded shows... hmm.

Go troll somewhere else, great all-knowing superior warranty underwriter. That sounds like a position that would know a lot about HDTV engineering.
Click to expand...

Wasn't a troll, just a statement of fact from my viewpoint. The quality control on them is terrible, I know this from watching failure rates. I am not a lowly underwriter I am afraid bud, I am a BA so all the numbers for everything ends up going through me at some point. Simple fact of the matter was that one brand in hd lcd's accounted for a disproportionate amount of loss compared to other units. In addition I have seen them side by side with nearly everything on the market. Their picture quality is at best only slightly better then a high quality standard definition picture and at worst is poorer. Sat side by side even with other "Budget" Lcd's they have at best average picture quality. Sit them beside mid tier and they look horrible. The big factor to consider here is cost for what you get. The reality is 95% of the time you are saving $150 or less for a significantly inferior picture, and a set that is highly likely to die within 2 years or less on the average. The long term comparison sets the value of these sets as costing most owners more money in the long run due to failure.

The adage of "You get what you pay for" in this instance is very true. This company going bankrupt does not surprise me in the least. While I am a huge fan of competition, at the same time you don't need so much competition that you muddy the water.
 
Dekoth said:
Wasn't a troll, just a statement of fact from my viewpoint. The quality control on them is terrible, I know this from watching failure rates. I am not a lowly underwriter I am afraid bud, I am a BA so all the numbers for everything ends up going through me at some point. Simple fact of the matter was that one brand in hd lcd's accounted for a disproportionate amount of loss compared to other units. In addition I have seen them side by side with nearly everything on the market. Their picture quality is at best only slightly better then a high quality standard definition picture and at worst is poorer. Sat side by side even with other "Budget" Lcd's they have at best average picture quality. Sit them beside mid tier and they look horrible. The big factor to consider here is cost for what you get. The reality is 95% of the time you are saving $150 or less for a significantly inferior picture, and a set that is highly likely to die within 2 years or less on the average. The long term comparison sets the value of these sets as costing most owners more money in the long run due to failure.

The adage of "You get what you pay for" in this instance is very true. This company going bankrupt does not surprise me in the least. While I am a huge fan of competition, at the same time you don't need so much competition that you muddy the water.
Click to expand...

I still think you are full of it. When I was in the market to purchase a new display I did my homework and looked into the different panels that companies use. Olevia uses some of the highest quality displays used in low-line, mid-tier range. Also their tuners and scaling chips are of excellent quality as well. For you to go as far as saying that it looks slightly better than a SD signal is a crock of shit. My TV looks FAR better then an SD signal and I am a huge graphics whore. Olevia may not had made the best TVs ever, but you are getting quite the bang for your buck. Also I am not too sure about your warranty return numbers. I have known three seperate people with Olevias and not one of them has had any problems (besides one of them getting stolen). They may not have an incredible warranty but they have the mid-quality parts to back them up.
 
Hell Syntax Brillian also offered ISF Calibration free from the factory so that your display looked as good as it could. REST IN PEACE Olevia.
 
MrSatan said:
I still think you are full of it. When I was in the market to purchase a new display I did my homework and looked into the different panels that companies use. Olevia uses some of the highest quality displays used in low-line, mid-tier range. Also their tuners and scaling chips are of excellent quality as well. For you to go as far as saying that it looks slightly better than a SD signal is a crock of shit. My TV looks FAR better then an SD signal and I am a huge graphics whore. Olevia may not had made the best TVs ever, but you are getting quite the bang for your buck. Also I am not too sure about your warranty return numbers. I have known three seperate people with Olevias and not one of them has had any problems (besides one of them getting stolen). They may not have an incredible warranty but they have the mid-quality parts to back them up.
Click to expand...

Think what you like but the difference in perspective is sheer numbers. You have experience with a few of their units, I have seen thousands. Averages are based off large numbers, not individual experience.

As far as your argument of picture quality, sorry i am going to dismiss it outright. Several reasons; 1) I have seen more HDTV's side by side then I care to admit. 2) there are people who simply cannot tell the difference between picture quality and or are blinded by a lowball price and will simply justify the picture quality as good enough. 3) Same thing as people who still think dialup is fast enough, Perspective. Perspective is I have seen hundreds of HDTV's side by side under all kinds of setup circumstances. After extended periods of time looking at them, you will start noticing every little flaw. The syntax Olivea line was consistently the worst picture out of anything sitting on the floor.
 
Dekoth said:
Think what you like but the difference in perspective is sheer numbers. You have experience with a few of their units, I have seen thousands. Averages are based off large numbers, not individual experience.

As far as your argument of picture quality, sorry i am going to dismiss it outright. Several reasons; 1) I have seen more HDTV's side by side then I care to admit. 2) there are people who simply cannot tell the difference between picture quality and or are blinded by a lowball price and will simply justify the picture quality as good enough. 3) Same thing as people who still think dialup is fast enough, Perspective. Perspective is I have seen hundreds of HDTV's side by side under all kinds of setup circumstances. After extended periods of time looking at them, you will start noticing every little flaw. The syntax Olivea line was consistently the worst picture out of anything sitting on the floor.
Click to expand...

Who were your top 3 best looking sets?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top