Are brand name electronics better? Or is saving the extra money just fine? We set out to find out more after we saw a segment on The Today Show earlier this week. In that segment, the guest expert shared that the Olevia LCD TV had exactly the same specifications as the better-known brands, but was much cheaper. Unfortunately, the segment isn't available on-line, but we've got a few other resources to share.
The Consumer Electronics Association states that they're in a $145.7 billion dollar industry. Marketing, obviously, plays a huge part in trying to gain companies a larger slice of that pie.
But where you put your money depends on your needs, wants, and desires. We've got a number of tips to share with you about what you can trust and what you should be wary of.
Although the stat is relatively out of date (Dec. 2004), we're guessing the ZDNet research still holds true: 70% of on-line searching is by generic product, not name brand. Name brand comes in after people start to find what they want. Most retailers want to cater to both the high and low end of the spending spectrum, as well as the middle, so they offer a lot of options. In fact, in the past, people wouldn't own up to purchasing generic items, but now days, it's an entire field to itself: the Private Label.
Best Buy is one relatively recent entrant into the "store brand" market with their Insignia and RocketFish brands. This is one way stores try to gain a larger share of the market. Often, their products are made by the same manufacturers that are used by well-known brands. Sony has recently announced that it will launch a "Bravia M" line for mass-market retailers, such as Target and Wal-mart, which will try to build on the high-end nature of the original Sony Bravia products. But buyers beware: the TVs won't have all of the features of the highly-rated Bravia products.
There are a few specific generic-vs.-brand name recommendations out there. Consumer Reports says that brand-name inks are a better value in the end because they ofter more ink if you're printing a lot of photos or want really good quality. However, you can stretch your dollar by refilling or recycling them at franchised stores. Don't bother, though, with the home re-fill kit, as they're far more hassle and mess than they're worth. If you're just printing text, go with the cheaper options.
As for laptop batteries, the brands get blurry because manufactures can supply batteries to multiple end-brands. For you, that means that spending more doesn't guarantee quality, so there's no need to spend the extra for brand-reassurance.
iPods are an extreme example of a brand taking over an entire market. Do you need an iPod? Well, you do if you want the brand, and a very specific design. But like any consumer electronics choice, brand is just one piece of the total picture. (Pictured on the right is the iRiver Clix, which is an iPod alternative that's got more features than a comparable iPod Nano.)
So how do you choose? Luckily for us, there's the ability to ask other AT readers, and tools like CNET's TV buying guide and customer reviews that abound here and on other sites like Amazon can guide you where you need to go. You can also get a subscription to Consumer Reports (on-line or not), for as little as $6, and they'll tell you about performance and reliability, as well as provide buying guides. After that, it comes down to matter of weighing your options compared with your needs and desires, like price, looks, how you want to buy the item, and technical specifications.
-Sony MHC-RG220 picture by Christian Fleschhut.
Olevia LCD by dsearls.
Love Your PC by rofflecopterr.
Also, one further point I failed to mention originally: consider the return policy and good faith customer interest any place you purchase the item from when you go to buy. An obscure website might have the cheapest price, but if something goes wrong, they might be less likely to stand behind the product, and getting it repaired might be a huge hassle compared with being able to drop the item off at a local store.
view kate's profile
there is an inherent problem with using manufacturer's spec sheets to determine like products, especially with things like flat panel televisions and monitors - that being these spec sheets have become little more than another marketing tool, full of misleading information for the benefit of the dealer, not the consumer. consider for instance, the number of 6 bit LCD panels quoting colour depth of 16.7M. doing the math will show you that no, they're not actually capable of 16.7M colours like their 8 bit cousins, they employ persistence of vision tricks (temporal or spatial dithering) to achieve the EFFECT of 16.7M colours. some people can see these effects outright, some cannot, but there's no excuse for the deception. in addition, you now have contrast ratios measured in the more forgiving grey-to-grey, and often complete omission of specs for the light behind the panel (which has a huge impact on colour reproduction).
as for something like the iPod, i can tell you my reason for (eventually) choosing one over Apple's competitors: third party support. occasionally the fact that everyone else has one too can weigh in the consumer's favour by offering a greater market of third party support, the helpful vultures piggybacking on the product's popularity, which extends the enjoyment one can get from their purchase beyond what the name brand wants of you. compare the number of options you have simply for cases between the iRiver Clix and Apple iPod.
marketers and analysts have been struggling with the iPod's success for years now. they always return to the features perspective, which is both the loudest cry ("an iPod alternative that's got more features" as here), and the most vexing. the simple answer is likely that the iPod is not a success in spite of its lack of features, but directly because of it. it's simple, well covered, and has a huge amount of support behind it. that's a comfort for the consumer that can't be found in spec sheets or price tags.
view vinegar's profile
We have been doing our research and like the Olevia 242T 42" LCD TV but here are a couple of questions we have: 1) do some tvs include radios - some sites' specs mention radio? 2) will we be missing any important features with this tv that will make my husband miss his stereo and television that we currently have? 3) does anyone have any alternatve suggestions in this same price range?
view mrbabykelly's profile
Each product category is going to have different issues. A TV is a huge investment (and a depreciating asset) so I think it's important to pick one that will last, accomadate some of the newer technology on the horizon (although future proofing is impossible) and most importantly, let you enjoy it.
Store brands can offer great value, but don't usually have the wide feature sets that International brands do. Best Buy's Insignia line is made by a Chinese company, one with a well known and best selling brand name in China but not here. It compares well but somewhat less favorably than the majors to a more discerning eye.
When it comes to sound, you'll never get anything as good in a built in speaker on a TV as a seperate audio system. If you really want to fully enjoy an entertainment experience, then keep the components and figure out a good solution for making them work in your decor.
And consider the store's extended waranty. There's really only two products where that can be true. laptops (they take a beating) and LCD or Plasma screen TVs. They can be delicate and are very expensive to replace.
view techgirllaura's profile