A long-time AV industry buddy said to me, "you have a crush on VIZIO." Was it so obvious?

You can tell a lot about a person by their crushes. Since my late teens I've had a crush on Bono. It intensified when he used his celebrity as a champion in the international movement to end extreme poverty and nearly morphed into love when I saw U2 3D.

I have a crush on an older, intellectual Sean Penn, and my sports crush is on Manu Ginóbili of the Spurs who understands that real women don't mind his new bald spot especially because he sports it with the same enticing confidence he brings to his game.

My buddy asked if VIZIO had replaced Panasonic as the apple of my eye. This made me pause.

I was desperately dreamy about Panasonic Professional plasma early in the flat screen game because I marveled at their ability to meet the minds and needs of the early adopter crowd - also known as the techie nerds or gadget geeks who, truth be told, still rule the planet and pay top dollar for the latest and greatest.

Smitten by Panasonic charms of form and function, these higher income, well educated tech savvy men lovingly referred to the plasma displays as "Pannies," a pet name coined on Internet forums and purred lovingly for years to follow.

The formula was simple: Panasonic listened with sensitivity to the voice of the user and was attentive to their needs. I liked that.

Flash forward to 2008 and VIZIO is a brand for the times.

My editor writes in his review of the VO47LF that "VIZIO has gained a reputation - and a considerable chunk of the market - for producing solidly performing, well priced HDTVs."

He referred to the VIZIO JV50P as "a meat and potatoes HDTV" that might leave a more "persnickety videophile" wanting for a more expensive brand.

Like an iconic fist in the air, VIZIO is leading a populist movement that is in tune with the wants and needs of the people buying HDTV's today. They came out of nowhere and went from a $700 million to a $2 billion dollar company between 2006 and 2007.

I personally sold plasma displays online when they were $8,000 to $10,000. VIZIO's business and distribution model has transformed what had been a high-end luxury item into a commodity everyone can enjoy.

Average Joes and Marys, who just want a great picture when ya turn the thing on, UNITE!

E

May 9, 2008
HDTV Solutions

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