The Change Mariner

New Era: Watching Television on American-MadeTV's

DetroitFP:
For years Asian brands have ruled American living rooms. From TV sets and stereos to video games and DVD players, chances are if they are in your house, names such as Sony, Samsung and Panasonic are on them.

But advances in technology -- like the transmission and storage of music, movies and television in the computer code of ones and zeros -- have opened the way for American companies to get back in the game.

Long known for their computer prowess, U.S.-based Gateway, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Apple now are rolling out everything from DVD players and digital cameras to MP3 players and TV sets this Christmas season.

The last time a U.S.-based company manufactured a TV set was in 1995, before Zenith Electronics Corp. was acquired by a Korean company.

Even Delphi Corp., the Troy-based automotive supplier, has launched its first line of products for the home with its SKYFi satellite radio receivers and boombox.

"You go down the consumer electronics list and the companies are either Japanese, Chinese or Korean," said Tom Edwards, senior industry analyst for the NDP Group, a New York-based sales and marketing consulting firm. "It's nice to have America back in there competing again."

The new guys are not just entering the market, they are changing it.

Using the Internet ordering systems they've established to sell their personal computers directly to consumers, these companies are now able to sell their TVs, DVDs and MP3 players for a lot less.

As a result, consumers are cashing in on lower prices -- such as a Gateway plasma television that undercuts its Japanese competitor by $2,000.

"I never have thought about it before, but I don't think I have ever even watched television on an American-made TV," said Justin Smith, 33, who was at the Gateway store in Troy buying a plasma set. "I think it's cool, but I also like Gateway, so I know it's going to be good."