So my dad thinks all electronics are....

[DragRace]

made in one factory and different labels,casings,etc are applied to make them appear to be made from other companies. What I mean is,he thinks Panasonics are made within the same assembly lines as the Sony's, LG's etc.

Can someone shed some light as to how I can explain to him this isnt the case?

 

[d00df00d]

"All electronics" are made in one factory? Does he mean that literally, or is he just saying that many companies share manufacturing facilities?

If it's the latter, then he's roughly correct. The big companies are fairly vertically integrated but there is definitely some sharing, at least for the individual components like capacitors and ICs and stuff. However, the assembly work is almost always done by the individual company in their own factories.

If he means it literally, the counter-argument is that that would be absurd.

That's all you need to say since he hasn't provided any evidence to back up his claim.

 

[Pablo]

Well your Dad is way more correct than most people know.

I have been in Foxconn (for example). Same floor of one very modern factory building had Canon camera parts, HP parts, Xbox parts, Apple stuff, Panasonic, etc....the point being that almost ALL electronic companies use contract manufacturing (in China) for full or partial assemblies. And there are only so many large contract manufacturers in the world.

But there is no one single factory if that's what he thinks.

 

[Kestas]

When I bought my VCR back in 1988, I learned the same design had four different labels on it, i.e., Magnavox, Quasar, (and two ohers). This was verified by Consumer Reports. So there is some truth to your dad's statement. But all?... probably not.

 

[wavinwayne]

I used to assemble television sets in a Goldstar plant in Madison, AL back in the summer of 1992. Imagine that, a TV assembled in the USA!!! Assembled with care by a fellow BITOGer. Maybe one of you has/had one in your home at some point. The plant is still in operation, purchased several years ago by LG. I'm not sure what type of products they make. So I can say with 100% accuracy that as of 1992, not all electronics were made in the same factory. Nowadays, who knows?...

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Kestas
When I bought my VCR back in 1988, I learned the same design had four different labels on it, i.e., Magnavox, Quasar, (and two ohers). This was verified by Consumer Reports. So there is some truth to your dad's statement. But all?... probably not.

Magnavox is owned by Philips. Quasar is (was) a brand name of Panasonic, along with others such as Technics and National.

 

[XS650]

Wayne, LG is Goldstar, just a name change.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: XS650
Wayne, LG is Goldstar, just a name change.

Yup. Actually LG stands for Lucky-Goldstar.

 

[daves66nova]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: XS650
Wayne, LG is Goldstar, just a name change.

Yup. Actually LG stands for Lucky-Goldstar.
Hmmm, i thought it was for low-grade!

 

[CivicFan]

Originally Posted By: Pablo
Well your Dad is way more correct than most people know.

I have been in Foxconn (for example). Same floor of one very modern factory building had Canon camera parts, HP parts, Xbox parts, Apple stuff, Panasonic, etc....the point being that almost ALL electronic companies use contract manufacturing (in China) for full or partial assemblies. And there are only so many large contract manufacturers in the world.

But there is no one single factory if that's what he thinks.


Pablo is quite correct.

There are a handful of component manufacturers in Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, etc. The parts are then shipped to China for assembly in company owned or subcontracted facilities.

The electronics companies are mainly about R&D and marketing. The component makers are mainly about R&D. The assembly plants are mainly about low labor and capital costs.

 

[eljefino]

Look at anything from Radio shack and I bet you can find an equivalent, used to be usually Panasonic. The remote controls will work on both etc.

As gizmos get cheaper there is usually a "single chip solution" for stuff like DVD players, DTV set top boxes etc that you then just have to design a box around to hold. People have opened DVD players without S-Video and soldered connectors to untapped parts of the circuit boards, "upgrading" them to nicer models-- the cheaper one could do it for 10 cents more but marketing hobbled the gear.

When I was a kid we had this ghetto VCR and its remote only had a channel up button. Got a universal remote with up and down and they both worked.

 

[97tbird]

Samsung makes some Sony panels (the higher-end sonys)
Sharp sometimes makes some Toshiba panels.
LG also makes panels for Toshiba.

Most mid-low end Onkyo DVD players are Pioneers.

Panasonic and Samsung share some lcd/plasma panels which are made by companies like AUO, CMO, etc. Those could be pretty much in any LCD tv brand,depending on what line it is.

some people think Cambridge Audio dvd players are rebadged Oppos in a better housing.

 

[SZR48207]

Originally Posted By: wavinwayne
I used to assemble television sets in a Goldstar plant in Madison, AL back in the summer of 1992. Imagine that, a TV assembled in the USA!!! Assembled with care by a fellow BITOGer. Maybe one of you has/had one in your home at some point. The plant is still in operation, purchased several years ago by LG. I'm not sure what type of products they make. So I can say with 100% accuracy that as of 1992, not all electronics were made in the same factory. Nowadays, who knows?...


I'd venture that I might own one. When I was a young'n, my parents bought me a 12" Goldstar tv.

I still have it to this day and it works fine. Flips channels faster than any other and has survived water being poured into the back guts. I just let it dry overnight and it worked fine the next morning.

 

[mechtech2]

It is true that many components are only from a few sources.
Computer monitors are basically made from the 'Big 3' , and are sold with many other names on them.

 

[DragRace]

His argument was,everything is made in one, giant factory

 

[Shannow]

If that's the case, tell him about the manchurian chip.

That will get him cycling.