Audiovox Bows Acoustic Research Flat-Panel TV Line
By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 3/8/2004
HAUPPAUGE, N.Y.— Audiovox recently announced plans to enter the flat-panel television market, offering HDTV-level LCD TVs under its namesake Audiovox brand and both plasma and LCD TVs under the Acoustic Research trademark it acquired in its purchase of the Recoton Home Audio assets.
The company's first plasma TVs — a 42W-inch EDTV-level monitor and a 50W-inch HDTV-level monitor — will carry the Acoustic Research name, with exclusive retail distribution directed to the electronic specialty channel. Additionally, the AR line will include a 30W-inch HDTV LCD TV.
The 50W-inch AR5000 plasma model will ship in the second quarter at a $7,600 suggested retail price and will feature a wide 1,366- by 768-pixel screen, dual NTSC tuners, DVI/HDCP and HD component video inputs.
The 42W-inch AR4200 will ship in the second quarter at a $4,500 suggested retail and will include 852- by 480-EDTV resolution, one NTSC tuner, and DVI-HDCP and HD component video inputs.
The AR3000 is a 30W-inch LCD TV, which will ship in the second quarter at a $3,500 suggested retail. It will feature 1,280-by-768 HD resolution, one NTSC tuner and HD component video input.
"We believe that the combination of outstanding picture quality on these plasma TVs, and AR's reputation for consistently delivering high quality products, will make these units a must-carry in the high-end specialty dealers and a must-have for their discriminating customers," said Patrick Lavelle, Audiovox CEO.
Under the Audiovox brand, the company will carry another 30W-inch LCD TV in the FPE3000, which will ship in second quarter at a $3,200 suggested retail. The unit features 1,280-by-720 resolution, 1 NTSC/125-channel cable tuner, preset EQ (movies, music, speech, custom, standard), custom sound EQ (bass, treble, balance), parental control with V-chip, SAP, picture-in-picture, time/date display, headphone output and remote control. Suggested retail is $3,200.
Also planned for later delivery is the FPE2000 20-inch 4:3 LCD TV with EDTV resolution, 1 NTSC/181 channel cable tuner, remote control, VGA computer input, two built-in speakers and sleep/timer. It will carry a $1,200 suggested retail.
Audiovox will also market the 17W-inch FPE1710DV, which will include a 17W-inch 16:9 LCD screen, built-in DVD player, EDTV resolution, 1 NTSC/125 channel cable-ready tuner, remote control, two built-in speakers and sleep/alarm timer. Also included is a VGA computer input and V-Chip. It will carry a $1,050 suggested retail.
