# Screw you, Vizio. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 26, 2011, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-vizio/604118 "2011-11-26T04:14:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-vizio/604118/21 "2011-11-26T17:37:58Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Sorry, but… why did you think it was smart to buy something whose brand is (or at least looks a lot like) an intentional misspelling? This is so stupid it almost defies belief. > [@Nava](#): > > It sounds like a misspelling of either vision or _vicio_ (vice; constant malfunction). One of the countries where they sell is Mexico, I’d love to hear the jokes. Fistly, the OP isn’t in Mexico. Secondly, most English speakers, when they hear Vizio, probably associate it with the word “vision,” which is pretty logical logical for a company that produces high definition televisions. And whaddayaknow? Both visión and televisión are words in Spanish too! Who would have believed it? > [@Nava](#): > > Considering the amount of money and effort companies pour into branding, maybe **friedo** thinks that selling something called konstent malfunktion is schmott, but I’ve heard many times the stories blaming its name for the bad sales of the Chevy Nova in Hispanic markets (_no va_ = doesn’t move) or the jokes about an organization for “smart people” being called “stupid girl” (in Mexico, _mensa_ = stupid girl). That’s an urban legend, and as a Spanish speaker you should well know that a native speaker of Spanish would be extremely unlikely to describe a broken-down car by saying “no va.” > [@Alessan](#): > > Look, the Vizio brand obviously doesn’t exist outside the U.S., and to us foreigners the name sounds very much like that of a cheap rip-off. “Sony” is a brand. “Phillips” is a brand. “Samsung” is a brand. “Vizio” is something you buy off the street in Chinatown. And yet, while it is one of the cheaper brands, Vizio has a reputation for making pretty decent and reliable televisions. Reviews at CNet, one of the most prominent online electronics review sites, consistently give Vizio televisions pretty good ratings, especially in terms of value for money. I have quite a few friends with Vizios, and the TVs all seem to produce a perfectly good picture. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-vizio/604118/22 "2011-11-26T17:54:06Z")
OTOH, you have to admit [Mitsubishi’s Pajero](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_Pajero) was an unfortunate model name for marketing in Spanish speaking countries… ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-vizio/604118/23 "2011-11-26T17:54:35Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > It’s dumb to pit an entire brand because one item they made broke down. That happens occasionally with even the best brands. Exactly. Read the Amazon or NewEgg customer reviews for just about _any_ model of television and you’ll find reviews that say things like “Dead On Arrival” or “It worked fine for three months and then it died.” This applies to cheaper Vizio or Westinghouse products and to top-of-the-line Sony and Sharp and Panasonic televisions. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-vizio/604118/24 "2011-11-26T18:00:20Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Sorry, but… why did you think it was smart to buy something whose brand is (or at least looks a lot like) an intentional misspelling? Yeah, I’m piling on, but what the fuck? How many companies have names that mean anything? And if you don’t know anything about electronics brands, why would you chastise the OP? Vizio is considered a “budget” brand, but it’s not like it was built by drooling idiots in the back of a van. Vizio is a real company that does a huge business. Any place that buys TVs in bulk (like bars or waiting rooms or whatnot) buys Vizio. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-vizio/604118/25 "2011-11-26T18:06:03Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > Vizio has been the biggest seller of LCD-TVs in North America since 2007. Costco has started selling them in Japan. An American brand made in China. I wonder how that will go over? My understanding is that Vizio is one of those companies that doesn’t really make or do anything, but just kind of packages things. They’re somewhere in the L.A. area, and have only about 150 employees. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-vizio/604118/26 "2011-11-26T18:24:30Z")
It pays other companies in China and Mexico to make things according to its designs. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-vizio/604118/27 "2011-11-26T18:59:50Z")
> [@Noodles\_Fellicini](#): > > It worked in the morning but didn’t work in the afternoon (sound but no picture – may be an inverter problem.)… When you turn it on, do you have the picture for a second or two? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-vizio/604118/28 "2011-11-26T21:21:01Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > That’s an urban legend, and as a Spanish speaker you should well know that a native speaker of Spanish would be extremely unlikely to describe a broken-down car by saying “no va.” Actually, I have heard more than one native speaker of Spanish describe a broken-down anything by saying _no va_, and I use the expression myself. We even have the expression _no va ni pálante ni patrás_ (it doesn’t go either forward or backwards) to indicate something that is completely broken down. And I did mention that Vizio looks like a misspelling of, among other possibilities, vision. If that’s what it’s supposed to be, it’s still an antZ kind of word. My original post was tongue in cheek and evidently has fallen flat, but anybody who thinks brand names are unimportant is welcome to talk with the people who banned the Poison perfume or with any Spaniard who owns a Mitsubishi Pajero (compulsive masturbator), which **Fury** already mentioned. Having one of those is worse than having a Pikachu - at least with these people just ask how come yours isn’t yellow (for some reason, the Citroen Xsara Picasso, aka Pikachu, seems to have been specially popular in silver). ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-vizio/604118/29 "2011-11-26T21:34:08Z")
In the interest of fighting ignorance, [Christian Dior] Poison was banned from restaurants because it smelled too strong, not because of the name. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-vizio/604118/30 "2011-11-26T21:37:04Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > …but anybody who thinks brand names are unimportant… Brand names can be incredibly important. But anyone who not also a complete blithering idiot recognizes that the brand name is just that—a brand name and a marketing device—and has no necessary relationship to the quality of the product itself. It’s possible to have a fantastic brand name and a shitty product, and it’s also possible to have a really stupid brand name and a great product. I buy much of my tech gear from a website called NewEgg. What sort of stupid company name is that? It has no relationship at all with the type of merchandise the company is selling, and it just sounds silly. And yet NewEgg is generally considered, especially by people who buy a lot of computer equipment, to be one of the best retailers in the United States. More to the point of this particular thread, the fact is that anyone in the United States who is in the market for a new television has heard of Vizio. It is a brand name widely associated, both by consumers and by industry reviewers, with decent quality and good value for money in the world of HDTVs. Unfortunately, the OP happened to get a lemon. It happens, even with the best brands. The best thing, in this case, is that at least it happened within the warranty period. As for Poison, the fact that it’s still available more than 25 years after it was released suggests that the brand name hasn’t done much hard to Christian Dior’s sales. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-vizio/604118/31 "2011-11-26T21:43:44Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Actually, I have heard more than one native speaker of Spanish describe a broken-down anything by saying _no va_, and I use the expression myself. We even have the expression _no va ni pálante ni patrás_ (it doesn’t go either forward or backwards) to indicate something that is completely broken down. Even if that’s true,\* it doesn’t change the fact that the name was not responsible for poor sales in Spanish-speaking countries. That’s just a myth. - Both of my Spanish professors in college—one from Madrid and one from Barcelona—were actually quite explicit in telling us that “doesn’t go” (no va) and “doesn’t work” (no trabaja) were not used in the same way in Spanish as in English. Each said that, while a Spanish speaker might understand you if you use such a locution, it would be more correct as well as idiomatically preferable to use a verb like “funcionar” or “marchar,” depending on what you were actually describing. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-vizio/604118/32 "2011-11-26T22:24:47Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Look, the Vizio brand obviously doesn’t exist outside the U.S., and to us foreigners the name sounds very much like that of a cheap rip-off. “Sony” is a brand. “Phillips” is a brand. “Samsung” is a brand. “Vizio” is something you buy off the street in Chinatown. Look, damn you, I know a genuine Panaphonics when I see one! And there’s Magnetbox and Sorny. ---
**Author:** ![Noodles\_Fellicini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e36b37/32.png) [@Noodles\_Fellicini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noodles_Fellicini)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2011, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-vizio/604118/33 "2011-11-27T02:09:47Z")
**Blank Slate** no, no picture, it is a little lighter blue for a few seconds but then dark. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2011, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-vizio/604118/34 "2011-11-27T02:55:15Z")
Given that it took some 30 or 40 years for CRT TV technology to advance to the point where a TV didn’t break simply from looking at it sideways, I’m fairly impressed with the quality and durability of the new technology that’s been developed in such a short time. I have memories of going down to the drugstore with my dad to test tubes. Those were the days. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2011, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-vizio/604118/35 "2011-11-27T03:56:27Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Even if that’s true,\* Wow, do you have to work at being that douchey? I’m glad you have taught all of us, including a native Spanish-speaker, that there’s absolutely no way for regional variances to exist _in the language she’s spoken since birth_\*. Especially since she’s lived in a lot of different regions and countries, so it’s not like she could be actually informing us of an interesting tidbit. Nope, clearly she’s either lying or just wrong. I know I’m way more likely to listen to a poster whose proof is two Spanish profs he had however long ago (who wouldn’t ever gloss over/ignore grammatically incorrect slang so students wouldn’t extend that into other instances). - give or take a couple years. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2011, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-vizio/604118/36 "2011-11-27T05:34:41Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > Wow, do you have to work at being that douchey? I’m glad you have taught all of us, including a native Spanish-speaker, that there’s absolutely no way for regional variances to exist _in the language she’s spoken since birth_ Bite me, douchebag. I fully concede that some people do use this locution, but it doesn’t change the fact that the story about the Nova’s sales in Spanish-speaking countries is a complete urban legend. It’s bullshit; it never happened; it’s a fabrication based on wishful thinking. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2011, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-vizio/604118/37 "2011-11-27T06:45:04Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > I buy much of my tech gear from a website called NewEgg. What sort of stupid company name is that? It has no relationship at all with the type of merchandise the company is selling, and it just sounds silly. And yet NewEgg is generally considered, especially by people who buy a lot of computer equipment, to be one of the best retailers in the United States. I assumed the name was a play on words on the retail store chain Egghead, which was still in business back then. > **[Egghead Software](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egghead_Software)** > > Egghead Software was an American computer software retailer. Founded in 1984, it filed for bankruptcy in 2001 and its domain name was acquired by Amazon.com. > The company was founded by Victor D. Alhadeff in 1984, as a single store in Bellevue, Washington. > Customers were able to sign up for a "CUE" card ("Customer Updates and 'Eggs' tras") that would provide discounts. > By June 1987, when Alhadeff was 40 years old, the company had 50 stores on the West Coast of the United States. ---
**Author:** ![iamnotbatman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/858c86/32.png) [@iamnotbatman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamnotbatman)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2011, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-vizio/604118/38 "2011-11-27T08:45:51Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > And I did mention that Vizio looks like a misspelling of, among other possibilities, vision. But I don’t get your point. It is incredibly common for even brand name products to use intentionally misspelled or otherwise corrupted words, from _Blu-Ray_ to _Qwest_ to _Krispy Kreme._ Part of the reason is trademark legalities. You aren’t seriously insinuating that Vizio could have been an unintentional misspelling, are you? ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2011, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-vizio/604118/39 "2011-11-27T13:47:43Z")
As was mentioned, LCD TVs are made up of a big LCD display panel, (these are made by either Samsung or LG in Korea/China), and the power supply, electronics package (which are made by a variety of firms (China, Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, etc.). So, of the hundreds of brand names, they are all made by a handful of OEMs. For example, we have a “Scott” TV (made by Panasonic, with LCD by Samsung). There are a ton of brand names (ie. Zenith, Philips, Westinghouse, Curtis Mathes, etc., which have Samsung displays. As far as I am concerned, most brands are just the names of long-dead manufacturers which are slapped on the front of the set. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2011, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-vizio/604118/40 "2011-11-27T14:06:52Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > As was mentioned, LCD TVs are made up of a big LCD display panel, (these are made by either Samsung or LG in Korea/China), and the power supply, electronics package (which are made by a variety of firms (China, Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, etc.). > So, of the hundreds of brand names, they are all made by a handful of OEMs. For example, we have a “Scott” TV (made by Panasonic, with LCD by Samsung). There are a ton of brand names (ie. Zenith, Philips, Westinghouse, Curtis Mathes, etc., which have Samsung displays. > As far as I am concerned, most brands are just the names of long-dead manufacturers which are slapped on the front of the set. While most of your post is true, it’s not certain that cheap sets have LG or Samsung panels. Some Chinese companies like ChiMei have their panels in a _lot_ of cheaper TVs, Sceptre is one who has used ChiMei panels quite extensively. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-vizio/604118.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-you-vizio/604118.md?page=3)