- New licensing agreement provides VIZIO access to SRS technologies for VIZIO branded TVs and accessories
- VIZIO is the fastest growing flat panel TV brand is the US with LCD and Plasma models ranging from 20″ to 60″
SRS Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ: SRSL), the industry leader in surround sound, audio and voice technologies, announced today that they have formed a long-term strategic partnership with U.S.-based VIZIO granting the HDTV manufacturer access to SRS portfolio of audio and surround sound technologies for their TV and accessory products. VIZIO’s first technology implementation will be SRS TruSurround XT in flat panel TVs, beginning in Q2 2008.
VIZIO, the number 2 flat panel TV Brand in North America and number 8 worldwide for Q1 2008, is one of the industry’s fastest growing brands of HDTVs. Offering some of the most affordable HDTVs on the market, VIZIO also provides state-of-the-art features and technologies making them an ideal partner for SRS. The pairing of the two companies ensures consumers the best possible entertainment experience.
SRS TruSurround XT is a sophisticated multichannel processing technology which takes the surround content found in television shows and movies and creates an immersive theater-like entertainment experience over the TV’s built-in stereo speakers. With the size of the bezels shrinking in each new generation of flat panel TVs, audio quality becomes a greater concern because the drivers are also becoming increasingly smaller. With TruSurround XT, it is possible to provide correction for even the smallest speakers, regardless of whether they are down-firing or side-firing. The result is an engaging surround sound effect without the clutter, wires, added expense or complexity of a multi-speaker configuration.
“VIZIO prides itself on offering the most affordable HDTVs at any size, yet, we also want to provide our end users with the most current features and quality available,” said John Morriss, VIZIO vice president and general manager of VIZIO’s TV Business Unit. “With the physical constraints of today’s slimmer FPTVs, an optimal audio experience is a greater challenge. Working closely with SRS’ engineering team to custom-tune TruSurround XT to fit our product requirements, we’ve been able to ensure that our customers receive the highest quality surround sound experience from VIZIO TVs. We are very pleased to partner with SRS Labs to deliver state-of the-art audio performance that supports our aggressive business model,i added Morriss.
A 2007 Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) report found that 76% of all flat panel TVs are used without a separate audio amplification system and, therefore, consumer are left to rely on the internal speakers of the television when watching TV. In another study conducted by MarketTools, when asked what consumers would like to change about the TV they watch most often, consumers ranked “Better Sound” second, just behind larger screen size. Through the inclusion of SRS TruSurround XT in their TVs, VIZIO is providing consumers a cost effective solution to experience superior sound with high quality surround effects, drastically improving the experience of watching DVD movies and multichannel TV broadcasts.
“We are excited about this new strategic relationship with one of the leading flat panel TV brands in the US. The combination of our innovative technology designs and the ability to customize TruSurround XT for optimum performance with VIZIO products enables us to provide a great entertainment experience without any extra components, wires, or expenses,” said Allen Gharapetian, VP of Marketing for SRS Labs.
VIZIO will initially ship three models with SRS TruSurround XT, which includes a 42 and a 47-inch LCD plus a 50-inch plasma. Starting in the second quarter of 2008, these models will be available at Costco, Sam’s Club, Wal-Mart, Sears, K-Mart and Circuit City.
To celebrate this announcement, SRS Labs is running a sweepstakes together with its sponsoring partner, VIZIO, to give away 3 flat panel TVs featuring SRS TruSurround XT surround sound technology (a 42 and 47 LCD and a 50 Plasma). The sweepstakes will take place June 10 July 4, 2008. To enter for your chance to win, please visit www.srslabs.com/TVsweepstakes
About VIZIO
VIZIO, Inc. “Where Vision Meets Value,” headquartered in Irvine, California, is America’s #1 20 and above LCD HDTV Company. The VIZIO brand has been seen and heard on TV and radio, including NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, Dr. Phil, The Ellen Show and Live with Regis and Kelly, won numerous awards from leading publications including a #1 Ranking in the Inc. 500 for Top Companies in Computers and Electronics, Good Housekeeping’s Best Big-Screens, CNET’s Top 10 Holiday Gifts, PC World’s Best Buy, Sound & Vision’s Editors Choice, Home Theater Magazine’s Rave Award, PC Magazine’s Editors Choice, AVRev.com’s #1 Product We Love the Best and The Perfect Vision’s Products of the Year. VIZIO is bringing vision to the consumer electronics market through practical innovation. VIZIO products offer customers advanced technologies at the most affordable value. Products include the VIZIO, Maximvs and Gallevia lines of Plasma and LCD HDTVs. Many of these products can be found at BJ’s Wholesale, Circuit City, Costco Wholesale, Sam’s Club, Sears, Wal-Mart, and other retailers nationwide along with authorized online partners. For more information, please call 888-VIZIOCE or visit on the web at www.VIZIO.com.
About SRS Labs, Inc.
Founded in 1993, SRS Labs is the industry leader in audio signal processing for consumer electronics. Beginning with the audio technologies originally developed at Hughes Aircraft, SRS Labs holds over 150 worldwide patents and is recognized by the industry as the foremost authority in research and application of human auditory principals. Through partnerships with leading global CE companies, semiconductor manufacturers and software partners, SRS audio, surround sound and voice processing technologies have been included in over one billion electronic products sold worldwide including HDTVs, mobile phones, portable media devices, PCs and automotive entertainment. In fact, SRS Labs is the de-facto standard of HDTV audio processing with nine of the top ten name brand flat panel TVs featuring SRS technology. Additionally, SRS Labs surround sound solutions provide the professional broadcast and recording industries with high-performance production, back-haul, storage, and transmission capability. SRS Labs supports manufacturers worldwide with offices in the US, China, Europe, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. For more information, visit www.srslabs.com.
