Funai to OEM HD DVD players in late 2007?

Who is Funai? Does BB carry them?

It says uni. You left out the "F" in uni!

Did you ever hear of Emerson...that be them. Pure Garbage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"This area covers HD DVD players. If you are not here for HD DVD, move on."
I was noticing in another thread that you sold you HDDVD player...

I wouldn't bother with Funai. They are bottom-of-the-barrel bad.

Funai, is a mid-sized family owned Japanese manufacturer of low cost CE items and also was a large DIRECTV dish manufacturer until last year. Funai is the family name of the principle owner.

-Robert

Funai has been around along time. They flooded the market with cheap VCR's back in the day, and many companies used them for OEM contracts. Toshiba currently has a Funai made DVD recorder (D-RW2) on the market which is rated a best buy by Consumer Reports.

BTW Emerson product is OEM'd by Orion, not Funai.

100% correct ^

-Robert

I first heard of Funai back in the early 80's when they came out with the CVC videotape format.
This was a short lived, mini tape format similar to VHS technology, but much smaller tapes. CVC was soon crushed by Sony when they released 8mm shortly after.

Funai also make some Denon dvd players and if I recall Lexmark printers.

Sounds good to me !

Does Funai outsource Emerson to Orion? Because they have the brand on their website.

http://www.funai-corp.com/


I've heard that, too. IIRC, Funai also does Symphonic, Sylvania, and WalMart's Durabrand. Not sure if they're involved with Target's Tru-Tech, but some of those look oddly like a Funai product.

I've had several Emerson products before. Some were okay, some junk.


I think I read Orion does some Onkyo DVD players, but I can't confirm. The Orion TV I had was actually pretty solid.

Funai= fun!

FUNAI Corporation, Inc., established in 1977, has offices in Rutherford, New Jersey and Torrance, California. Funai Corporation is the North American sales and marketing company for consumer electronic products manufactured by our parent company, Funai Electric Co., Ltd., of Japan, under the brand names of SYLVANIA, SYMPHONIC, FUNAI, and EMERSON.

Funai Electric Co., Ltd., established in 1961, is headquartered in Osaka, Japan and is listed in the Tokyo Securities Exchange First Section (6839). In addition to the consumer electronic product brands sold by FUNAI Corporation and the products sold by other FUNAI sales and marketing companies in Asia, Europe, and South America, Funai Electric Company, Ltd. is a major original equipment manufacturer (OEM) supplier for appliance, consumer electronic, computer, and computer peripheral companies on a global basis.

For more information on the Funai group, please visit www.funaiworld.com.

Ever hear of any of these cheapo no-name brands Funai sells to or manufactures for?

TOSHIBA CORPORATION
TDK CORPORATION
MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC INDAUSTRIALCO., LTD.
PHILIPS CONSUMER ELECTRONICS COMPANY
HITACHI, LTD.
EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY
SHARP CORPORATION

Wal-Mart has given Funai "supplier of the year" awards twice in the past in the past five years. Just because they don't have a high profile under their own Japanese nameplate doesn't mean they make crap.

I am curious why they announced one format (Blu-ray) and only said they might (not will) make the other (HD DVD)?

/carmi

If they're getting their BD player on the market by late '07 then what chance is there of an HD DVD deck this year if they still haven't decided whether or not to make one?

HD DVD is mentioned only as an after-thought, it seems:

"it's also considering an OEM deal to sell HD DVD players."

I would imagine if this was really on their horizon it would feature more prominently in this PR. Dont think this is news either way until a firm statement is made.

Funai will make players for anyone. They were one of the largest makers of VCR's and they also make many DVD players for many other companies including the famous ones. I believe that Funi will also make low cost Blu-Ray players. I would not be surprised if the come up with a dual player at a really low price.

Not that I want to rag on Funai much, but those companies up there have their share of craptacular products, too. Could they be the Funai built ones? Who knows, but just because the big boys use Funai doesn't necessarily translate into a solid product. Just playing devil's advocate.

Also, concerning WalMart, their Durabrand line, which I'm almost sure is Funai, isn't all that hot, so I take their "award" with a grain of salt.

Joe V,

Is Funai planning on building HD DVD player(s)?

Thanks, & great post for clearing the air about Funai ^^^

I agree 100%...this would be right up their alley.

If they could turn out a dual player for under $300MSP that would be a big step in the mass adoption of HD video. The faster they come out with a low priced player the better. Both formats are not doing that well at this time. The film companies on both sides are only hurting themselves and the format war could be lost by both sides. We need inexpensive players and disks. Warners was first to offer regular DVD's at low prices. I wish they would become a leader again and do the same for HD. The only way the average consumer will even think about replacing a collection is if the price is right.

Because the price of BD players has been a major stumbling block for the format. Funai announced a $500 or less BD player for the OEM market later this year.

In related news, the Red Sox and their new $53 million Japanese pitcher, Daisuke Matuzaka, recently signed a lucrative advertising deal with Funai to display their logo. Even at Fort Myers spring training games, the logo is now prominently seen behind the hitters. WEEI had reported that this deal will cost Funai about $7 million over a 5-year period. Apparently they have some money to burn!

MIAMI (Reuters) - The marketing of Daisuke Matsuzaka is under way as the Boston Red Sox set up their Spring Training camp at Fort Myers, Florida.

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The Red Sox announced a partnership with the Japanese electronics company Funai, which will have a media presence at the team's spring training facilities, at the club's Fenway Park home and even when the team is on the road, mlb.com reported.

Funai, which makes televisions, DVD players and recorders, cameras and other electronic equipment, will have its logo prominently displayed when the media mob convenes to interview Matsuzaka at home, on the road and during Spring Training.

Financial details of the deal were not announced.

Matsuzaka mania has already begun.

I actually sold one of those units!
My recollection is Funai made pretty solid low end products.