What does a brand name on the outside of a TV actually mean? For many people, a brand is associated with a specific country of origin, a certain expectation of quality, and a particular design philosophy. That’s by design, but ultimately a brand is just a word printed on the box. The actual facts about a product can be rather complicated.
For one thing, most brands don’t build the entire TV themselves. The overall design and secret sauce software might be by Sony, for example, but the actual panel on the inside could be from Samsung. TV manufacturing is a labyrinth of wheeling and dealing, which is yet another reason you shouldn’t pay too much attention to the name on the outside of your set.
Brand ownership and manufacturing can be completely separate
Credit: Chayaghar Photography/Shutterstock.com
The world’s manufacturing chains, especially when it comes to extremely high-tech semiconductor products like a flat panel display, are pretty complicated. In the old days, a company making tube TVs could set up its own factory and make those sets locally. That’s where many well-known TV brands become household names.
However, when it comes to flat panels, whether LCD or OLED, only a small handful of companies in the world can manufacture them. In many cases, it makes more sense to have a third party completely assemble your design, with minimal input from the core company behind the brand, when it comes to manufacturing.
Even premium brands are shifting who actually builds the hardware
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For a long time, the practice of outsourcing your TV manufacturing to some degree has largely been associated with cheaper TV models or brands that aren’t considered “premium,” but this sort of thing is happening higher up the stack.
The big recent news as of this writing is that Sony is spinning off its Bravia TV line in a joint venture with TCL, where the Chinese company will own a majority stake. Sony’s brand, image, and audio processing technology will still be in these TVs, but the manufacturing and assembly (and some input on design and technology) will now be TCL’s baby.
Some “brands” are essentially brand-name shells on generic designs
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At the most extreme end of the spectrum, you can have TVs that have absolutely nothing to do with the company that owns the brand. In this case, the brand itself is licensed out to various companies or sold outright. The most well-known example might be Philips, which was a world-famous TV brand in the 90s.
In the 2010s, Philips sold off its TV brand and division to TPV Technology Limited. So when you buy a Philips TV today, it doesn’t have anything to do with the Dutch company we all knew back in the day. A company that still exists. It just doesn’t make TVs anymore.
It can lead to some poor purchases when someone who hasn’t been paying attention and only buys a new TV every decade or so will see a brand they used to know and assume it’s a quality product. Which it may be, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not from the company they’re expecting.
Market shifts mean brand perception can lag reality
Credit: TCL CSOT
This isn’t entirely a brand-new development in the history of televisions. If you’re of a certain vintage, you might remember a time when LG (formerly GoldStar) and Samsung were thought of as cheap brands. It was also true; these companies knew that to get a foothold in the market, you had to start at the bottom and work your way up.
After a few decades, they became the two most well-regarded display manufacturers in the world. Well, companies like TCL and Hisense are now at that tipping point where their products (and the brand perception) have gone from “cheap junk” to “great value.” It probably won’t be long before they’re considered premium in their own right.
The thing is, these companies have been able to make premium TVs for a while; it just takes time to get the market to accept your brand on a premium set with higher prices. Companies like TCL have been helping make TVs for big, well-known brands for some time; it’s just not their name on the outside. It’s not that these are just rebranded sets; they are collaborations.
TCL and Hisense don’t have to be silent partners like these anymore, however. They’re competing intensely on value and innovation. People are starting to notice, and the more first-hand experience we have with these products, the more comfortable people will feel buying from these brands.
The most important lesson to take from it is that you should never buy a TV based on its brand alone. The brand doesn’t really tell you all that much about the TV. Even “premium” brands like Samsung, LG, and Sony make bad TVs from time to time. Always evaluate a TV based on its actual specifications, independent reviews, and, if possible, your own in-person testing.
7/10
Brand
TCL
Display Size
85-inches
Dimensions
74 x 42 x 2.3 (without stand)
Operating System
Google TV
