Maker of Olevia LCD TVs files for bankruptcy

Syntax-Brillian, one of several smaller LCD TV makers to use club store sales to do an end-run around the category's traditional leaders, has filed for bankruptcy.

The Tempe, Ariz.-based Olevia television and Vivitar digital camera maker, filed for protection from creditors in a Delaware court following a year of missed sales targets, leadership changes, and accounting problems, according to Reuters.

The company's stock has dropped more than 90 percent in the last year, and its efforts to refinance and raise additional financing were unsuccessful. With just eight employees left at headquarters, it has ceased operations.

A new company, called Olevia International Group, has been created and will take on $60 million of Syntax-Brillian's debt, and the Vivitar digital camera unit will be put up for sale. The company had total debts of $259.4 million and assets amounting to $175.7 million.

Analysts that follow the flat-panel television market have been warning since late last year that there would be an eventual shakeout in the business, as more small brands piled on the growing LCD TV market.

Earlier this year, Philips announced it would no longer be producing its own televisions in North America, and enlisted Funai to do so on its behalf.

[mrorie]

Too bad, those things were super cheap.

[jayhawk73]

they were super cheap because they were super horrible. I tried to talk a co-worker out of buying one but she did it anyway. She owned it for 3 months before it failed. If something sounds too good to be true (price) then it probably is......

[GadgetDon]

Except I bought one, still works great.

[belawrence]

Mine still works great after two years, unlike my Sony Bravia, which cost twice as much and has been back to Sony twice for problems.

[larrynj460]

I have 3 Olevia sets. A 26 inch going back from when they first started selling them to a 37 inch which is a few months old. On all of them, great prices, and great pictures. They also all came with a one year in-home repair guarantee, which I've never had to use. This brand will be missed.

[smokeeeater]

If you ever have to actualyy deal with their customer service, then you will feel different about the company. I just spent the last hour waiting on hold to find out the status of a repair. I began having issues with my 37" the first week of August. As of today, they "think" that the TV is repaired (customer service could not confirm a status) and they "think" I should have it back by the end of the month. 9+ weeks without my TV. Not a great standard in my book.

[texashale]

Mine is also great. It isn't as nice as my Aquas, but then again, few are. I had a Sony for about a month and it developed dead pixels, had it replaced and the replacement, which was brand new also, developed dead pixels in about a week, which is when I replaced it with the Aquas. The Olivas has been great since the beginning. It doesn't upscale so great, but it is good enough for $450 for a 32" LCD!

[chuck_whealton]

It's a shame to see this happen. Yea, the quality may not be the absolute best, but not everybody is a perfectionist. Makers like Olevia and Vizio help provide competition.

Charles R. Whealton
Charles Whealton @ pleasedontspam.com

[gsmiller88]

I bought an Olveia TV from Kmart not even a month ago and thus far have no complaints. This is quite disturbing though and leaves a lot of questions such as what happens to my warranty? I have until 90 days after the purchase to get an extended warranty from Kmart, so I may do that ASAP. I really hope they continue making affordable TVs!

[hotfax]

Good Luck!! There are NO replacement parts available for these "throw-away TV's" If it works, Great, if it doesn't, Throw it away.

[joeaida]

have a olevia, no problems , great tv, thanks

[gggg sssss]

cheap made in china crap - not that the rest aren't. At least most Westinghouse are at least partly made in Mexico. Sony spends a fair bit on marketing locally at least How nuch does china buy from the US? right nothing. Dont send your jobs to a country that wont trade with us. and polutes like hell on top of that. RIP cheap chinese crap.

Where is Lou Dobbs when you need him?

[damann133]

The prob with the way you see it is that you fail to look at the fact that 90% of the company's in the us outsource mostly to china... Even Sony used the same company to make the Ps2 that Microsoft and Nintendo used to make the Xbox, Xbox 360, and Game Cube. So the fact that they market over here means nothing because the product is still coming from the same place.

[warren f.]

I have had my Olevia 32 inch for almost a year--no problems. It's a great tv, especially after hooking it up to my Onkyo home theater system. I also have it hooked up to my X box 360 Elite & it is awesome!! As far as picture quality goes let me say this-- I have a friend who has a 52 inch Mitsubishi plasma--my tv blows his away. I know that they are two different beasts but his has that shiny screen which makes the tv almost impossible to watch my tv has no shiny screen & it is watchable in any lighting. I'll take my tv over his any day.

[vperez5380]

This is the worst tv ever made , I sell these things and i hate selling them cause all they do is bring them back and have the guts to complain . reality is these tv's are for cheap people or for people who can't afford a real tv.If you can't afford a real tv you should stay with your tube. Oh and the guy that said that about mitsubishi tv's they don't even make plasmas they make lcd's.

[vperez5380]

Do your research, I sell these Tv's and I know there cheap so don't expect them to last . Panasonics are good sharp aquos , lg's only on lcd, and if your trying to be real cheap vizio's tend to last pretty good . Speaking out of 10 yrs experience selling these things. Plasmas= panasonic, Pioneer. LCD's = Sharp aquos , lg's , mitsu only theier diamond series, samsungs are good too, Sony XBR's are awsome. That's about all i recommend on real tv's. off brands = Vizio's , westinghouse, and zenith.
Not that i recommend any offbrand though they pay me the most and their the cheapest things. But the headaches and customer relationship gets thrown down the gutter.

[2riches]

I purchased an Olevia 23in 18 months ago for $600.00. It worked great for 13 months until the warranty ran out now I can't even get them to reply to my emails or to my phone calls. When I call they tell me someone will call me back and they never do. I have sent 6 emails without any replies This has been going on for 5 months.
If this is how they deal with customers I guess they will not be in business very long. Just be aware before you buy one.

[worthe]

Well, I bought a 47 inch olevia and it went dark in 3 months....the replacement came 30 days later. I hooked that one up and it went dark in 5 minutes.....I have been put on hold by level 2 supervisors for an hour every time I call them only to be told that they will replace the replacement set and will not issue a full refund or voucher to go and purchase another television....Some of the customer service people there are just plain rude...They talk to you as though they gave you the t.v. for free

[jsirwin67]

Are there any lcd tvs made in the USA? I have been trying to find out by researching on the internet, but have had trouble finding good info.

[metalnorphasis]

After 8+ months my 37" Olevia still works fine (Knocks on wood!)
Hope I can make it past the year warranty+++And then some.
BUT, Then, What about parts? Can we use any substitutes? Anything inside compatable with other brands?

[metalnorphasis]

So, As it stands, the company only changed hands and will still honor all warrantys, replace parts,etc. and will continue making TVs. Awesome! I love their TVs!

[nick6146]

I have 5 Olevia sets in the family. 2 model 542, 2 model 537 and a model 232. All are doing well. When I purchased them I let each one run non -stop for 5 days to weed out any early failures. This uncovered a blotch in one of the 542s' display. It occured only under certain picture conditions and testing at the factory before it was shipped may not have uncovered it. I called Olevia and talked to a tech ( I am an electronic tech myself )and explained the problem. They sent out a new set and shipping label to return my old set. Consider using the burn in process for this reason. And early failure is termed infant mortality. This gives you a chance to find a problem early and return the unit.

[metalnorphasis]

Good advice on any new electronic gear,to let it burn in...5 days is generous!
I usually give mine 2 days before turning it off the first time.
Also, (especially under humid conditions) its good to run all electronics for a bit to keep the components conditioned. If the electronic items are in low or non-useage.

[gwenn]

I've had a 37" Olevia for going on 2 years now and no problems, works great. Mine is from the 500 series, while most brick&mortar stores like Target are selling the 200's. I think the difference may be between those who buy online (like I did) and get the more advanced models and those who get the apparently crappier early models.