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Old 20th Apr 2011, 5:15 pm   #1
dazzlevision
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Default Philips pulls out of TV design and manufacture

Hello,

An article in yesterday's "Times" said that Philips has been making heavy losses in its TV division and is going to spin of the division into a separate company and sell 70% of it to monitor manufacturer TPV Technology of China (with the exception of mainland China, India, United States, Canada, Mexico and certain countries in South America). It will also licence the use of the Philips brand to TPV (excluding the previously mentioned territories). Philips already has existing brand license agreements in China, India and North America

In September 2005, TPV acquired a part of the monitor and flat screen television business of Koninklijike Philips Electronics N.V. (= Royal Philips Electronics NV, the official company name of Philips in Holland).

According to the article, Philips has European design and manufacturing facilities in Eindhoven, Brugge (Bruges) and Szekesfehervar in Hungary. I doubt they'll survive for long.

I think I'm correct in saying that Philips is (was) the last European mass market TV manufacturer left, after the likes of Grundig, Thorn-Ferguson, ITT/Nokia and Thomson have all either gone bust, closed down or sold off their TV manufacturing operations.

What a pity. At least we are preserving some of their heritage. Here's an interesting link about Philips in Brugges:

http://www.packed.be/en/resources/de...te/interviews/

Dazzlevision

Last edited by dazzlevision; 20th Apr 2011 at 5:16 pm. Reason: added link
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Old 20th Apr 2011, 5:36 pm   #2
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Default Re: Philips pulls out of TV design and manufacture

They lost a lot of cash with all those duff w/screen crts a few years that dropped like flies.

David
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Old 20th Apr 2011, 6:46 pm   #3
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Default Re: Philips pulls out of TV design and manufacture

Vestel and Beko in Turkey. Vestel is VERY big.

Widescreen was a bad mistake. They should have waited until HD.

It's crazy too, usually only 544 pixel width resolution for SD, same as 4:3 405 line, yet for 16:9 screen. What a con Widescreen CRTs were especially for people with only Analogue reception.
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Old 20th Apr 2011, 6:46 pm   #4
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Default Re: Philips pulls out of TV design and manufacture

This has been bubbling away in the background for a few years. When I worked for them (until redundancy in 2008) the smaller and 'low-end' sets were being made in China and Turkey...not even in Philips factories but by other manufacturers and a few where made by Philips in Szekesfehervar. Philips still did the quality control but that was it really. DVD's and stuff like that was being made by Funai.

The 'high-end' sets were being made in Brugge...the factory in Dreux (France) had stopped TV production about a year before I left. At about the same time, Philips in America stopped making TV's and it was being farmed out to a Japanese company. It was on the cards that European production would stop soon. It was made all the more obvious by frequent management meetings assuring us that 'there was no intension of stopping European production or pulling out of TV altogether'. We all knew it was going to happen, it was just a question of when.

I remember when Philips made 'Combies'....portable TV and VCR combined. The early models were excellent using the Philips 'Turbo' VCR mechanism. They sold well and were reliable. Then managment decided that they could be made by Funai so Philips pulled out of production and they were made in China. The 'combies' went down from that point with the unreliable flimsy mechanism.

Such a shame that all the expertise is gone as well. Whatever some think about Philips designs, I still think they produced some of the best TV's ever..at least up until the A10 chassis with the painter chip....!


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Old 20th Apr 2011, 7:42 pm   #5
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Default Re: Philips pulls out of TV design and manufacture

What a reversal, in the '50s and '60s they were buying everyone else up. They have designed some super radios in their time and were second to none for their tuned circuits and inovations such as variable bandwidth IFs.

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Old 20th Apr 2011, 8:00 pm   #6
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Default Re: Philips pulls out of TV design and manufacture

I can also echo Sidebands thoughts, that the writing was on the wall when Philips started farming out production to the likes of Funai.
This was almost a re-run of what Toshiba had previously done by farming their production out to Orion, and later to Vestal.

Philips did make some great reliable products (K30/KT3 springs to mind), and some great if not always commercially successful innovations (N1500/N1700/V2000), and the successful ones (compact cassette, major contributor to CD and DVD format).

My only minor criticism, from a servicing point of view! (they were not every TV engineers cup of tea), was they always seemed to try to re-invent the wheel, putting their own spin on circuits, which if anything were over designed, and the amount of changes, modifications and production changes to a design (K40/KT4 etc.), must have cost a fortune.

They seemed to design with a 'because we can' attitude, with some designs bordering on the absolute limit of functionality, which for the poor Non-Dealer could lead to difficulties servicing their products (when one was not privvy to 'inside information'). The L6 TV chassis springs to mind, where the 5 volt rail was designed right on the limit, with no headroom, even if the Wickmann fuse in this supply rose by about half an ohm, would cause problems (4.9 volts is too low!).

The much Maligned A10 chassis, was apart from the usual CRT failure (as all models at this time) and painter chip, very reliable otherwise, and with a better 'front end' would have been a reasonably reliable set.

Still a rather sad end to an Era, as although Vestal and Beko are still European, Philips must be the last of the 'Old Guard' manufacturers to pull out of TV manufacture.

Cheers,
Baz

Ps. I know a lot of forum members can go back a lot further than me, But Iam too young to comment on earlier developments
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Old 20th Apr 2011, 8:13 pm   #7
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Default Re: Philips pulls out of TV design and manufacture

A very sad day but inevitable in this climate. So when my old Philips crt finally dies I won't be able to replace it with a Philips flatscreen
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Old 20th Apr 2011, 8:22 pm   #8
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Default Re: Philips pulls out of TV design and manufacture

Hi.
Indeed a great pity. Philips always had a design flair that was not run of the mill and good on them for being different! I have repaired many Philips products from the 210 mono chassis all the way to the notorious A10, EL3302 cassettes and superintendences!
It seems that everything will now be built in China! We of course are to blame due to high wages and ridiculous prices, we are no longer competitive!
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Old 20th Apr 2011, 8:36 pm   #9
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Default Re: Philips pulls out of TV design and manufacture

Dont mention the A10! Memories of that "Painter IC".

David
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Old 20th Apr 2011, 8:57 pm   #10
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Default Re: Philips pulls out of TV design and manufacture

Quote:
Originally Posted by murphyv310 View Post
Hi.
Indeed a great pity. Philips always had a design flair that was not run of the mill and good on them for being different! I have repaired many Philips products from the 210 mono chassis all the way to the notorious A10, EL3302 cassettes and superintendences!
It seems that everything will now be built in China! We of course are to blame due to high wages and ridiculous prices, we are no longer competitive!
I'm always a bit mystified by this kind of thing. Economic theory suggests that high wage economies substitute labour with automation. I can't imagine there is much hand assembly going on in a modern TV plant, maybe the clock is being wound back and labour being substituted for capital investment in some of these Chinese plants ?

The other aspect to consider is that the loss of low grade manufacturing is not so important if the economy retains the high value R&D skills and retains new and high end manufacturing - a bit like the Germans have. The UK through seems to be in total retreat on all fronts WRT producing "stuff" - Seems we'd rather shuffle other people money (imaginary and otherwise) around
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Old 21st Apr 2011, 11:09 pm   #11
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Default Re: Philips pulls out of TV design and manufacture

It is a shame that they have decided to pull out of the market - my personal all time favourite was the G22K550 as seen here http://farm4.static.***********/3049/...11cb7db6e9.jpg just loved the simple design

There is site here http://www.philipstv.org.uk/ which is interesting if you have not seen it before
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Old 22nd Apr 2011, 3:58 pm   #12
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Default Re: Philips pulls out of TV design and manufacture

Philips were great innovators but either gave away or allowed their inventions to be licenced very very cheaply.

Some of their inovations included, Compact Cassette, Laservision which was used as a basis to the compact disc. The first colour video cassette recorder, the use of optocouplers as a regulator in switch mode power supplies.

I'm sure that others will add to the list.
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Old 22nd Apr 2011, 7:35 pm   #13
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Default Re: Philips pulls out of TV design and manufacture

Quote:
Originally Posted by evingar View Post
The UK through seems to be in total retreat on all fronts WRT producing "stuff" - Seems we'd rather shuffle other people money (imaginary and otherwise) around
Spot on!
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Old 22nd Apr 2011, 9:58 pm   #14
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Default Re: Philips pulls out of TV design and manufacture

Quote:
Quote:
Originally Posted by evingar View Post
The UK through seems to be in total retreat on all fronts WRT producing "stuff" - Seems we'd rather shuffle other people money (imaginary and otherwise) around
Spot on!
Agree with both of you but it's nothing new, it's been building up for decades we used to make some great TV's albeit in some cases with foreign owned factories, I still own British TV's but if I wanted to buy new now there are none at least mainstream - what is made here now in the electronics world?

I'm having problems naming anything
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Old 22nd Apr 2011, 10:06 pm   #15
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Default Re: Philips pulls out of TV design and manufacture

There was a factory in Wales making DTT boxes? Probably all gone as all seem to be rebadged Vestel (Turkey) or some Chinese.
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Old 22nd Apr 2011, 10:26 pm   #16
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Default Re: Philips pulls out of TV design and manufacture

Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Maurice View Post

Some of their inovations included, Compact Cassette, Laservision which was used as a basis to the compact disc. The first colour video cassette recorder, the use of optocouplers as a regulator in switch mode power supplies.
Remember that Philips supplied many components for our colour television manufacturing industry. The AT1022 scan coil assembly, the glass delay line type DL1, transductors etc.
Also radio and TV valves such as the ECL80, EF80, PL81 and of course the famous all glass EF50, all developed in Eindhoven.

In the early thirties Philips developed permament magnets for loud speakers.
The Superinductance TRF radio receivers which in the case of the later models like the 472 performed as well as a superhet.
All those 1930s Mullard valves were of Philips design. Someone once said that the only British part in Mullard valves was the vacuum.
Those Philips pre-war TV tubes were pretty good, the MW22-1 used in the Pye 815 was made in Holland.

I'm not surprised that Philips has given up on domestic TV receivers. A 32" LCD set can be had for £199. Take off 20% VAT that's £165. Not worth the bother selling such stuff. Used to get that for a 14" portable TV thirty years ago.

Anyway, Philips are well known for their medical electronics and I'm sure the company does lots of other products for industry.

DFWB.

Last edited by FERNSEH; 22nd Apr 2011 at 10:52 pm.
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Old 22nd Apr 2011, 10:36 pm   #17
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Default Re: Philips pulls out of TV design and manufacture

Quote:
Originally Posted by murphyv310 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by evingar View Post
The UK through seems to be in total retreat on all fronts WRT producing "stuff" - Seems we'd rather shuffle other people money (imaginary and otherwise) around
Spot on!
Quote:
Originally Posted by fiesata View Post
Quote:
Quote:
Originally Posted by evingar View Post
The UK through seems to be in total retreat on all fronts WRT producing "stuff" - Seems we'd rather shuffle other people money (imaginary and otherwise) around
Spot on!
Agree with both of you but it's nothing new, it's been building up for decades we used to make some great TV's albeit in some cases with foreign owned factories, I still own British TV's but if I wanted to buy new now there are none at least mainstream - what is made here now in the electronics world?

I'm having problems naming anything
Quote:
Originally Posted by neon indicator View Post
There was a factory in Wales making DTT boxes? Probably all gone as all seem to be rebadged Vestel (Turkey) or some Chinese.
Now that you've had your little rants, can you stop discussing the political situation and stay on topic.
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Old 23rd Apr 2011, 5:33 am   #18
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Default Re: Philips pulls out of TV design and manufacture

At the time I worked for Philips, they were the sixth-largest company in the world, with 2 or 3 of those above them being oil companies.
Then they started cutting back, first dropping out of retail / rental, then dropping some products, and then dropping brands.

Perhaps the biggest retrenchement was the closure of Mullards.
Now they have dropped out of one of their main markets.

It is sad to see a once great name shrinking even further. But perhaps inevitable.

I understand that they are still heavily involved in R & D for now products, and just hope that they dont "design" then fail to capitalise on those designs, as has happened in the past.
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Old 23rd Apr 2011, 9:16 am   #19
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Default Re: Philips pulls out of TV design and manufacture

Quote:
Philips were great innovators but either gave away or allowed their inventions to be licenced very very cheaply......

I'm sure that others will add to the list.
I2C is another of their innovations.
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Old 23rd Apr 2011, 9:34 am   #20
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Default Re: Philips pulls out of TV design and manufacture

This, from "Broadcast Engineering" says it all:

"Ridding itself of the television business accelerates a transformation of the Dutch company in the past decade from a diversified conglomerate into a manufacturer of lighting, health care products and consumer electronics including toothbrushes and electric shavers. Philips sold its camera, routing, switching, telecine and systems integration businesses (to then Thomson Multimedia) in 2000, and sold a majority stake in a personal computer monitor business to TPV for about $358 million in 2004, sold its semiconductor business to three equity firms in 2006, and got out of mobile phones."

RIP the real Mullard/Philips we all knew and loved(?)!
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