By Craig Zammit
SYDNEY: Fujitsu General claims an article published yesterday by the SmartHouse consumer electronics website made several inaccurate statements regarding the brand’s plasma screens and confused the company with a completely different business.
“For the benefit of our retail partners and customers, Fujitsu General would like to respond to the article published yesterday by SmartHouse News, which made a number of inaccurate statements in relation to the company and its plasma display panels,” Fujitsu General Australia marketing manager, Milton Kaloudis, said today in a statement.
In the article, ‘Fujitsu Set To Struggle In Plasma Market’, http://www.smarthouse.com.au/TVs_And_Large_Display/Plasma/G4F8D8A3, SmartHouse publisher David Richards claimed that Fujitsu General “had to resort to OEM branding its plasma TVs”, had been “forced to pull out of the CEDIA trade show” and that Fujitsu Limited had “recently reported [a] $2.3 billion loss” despite Fujitsu Limited not producing plasma screens.
“These comments are ill-informed and do not relate to Fujitsu General’s plasma offering – Fujitsu Limited does not produce plasma screens,” said Kaloudis.
In response to Richards’ OEM claims, Kaloudis stated that “Fujitsu General would like to confirm that it does not OEM brand its plasma display panels, as claimed in the article”.
“The only component sourced from other OEM manufacturing facilities is the glass, and indeed one of those facilities is the Fujitsu Hitachi Plasma Display Limited factory of which Fujitsu General Limited still holds a share.
“All of Fujitsu’s plasma screens feature its Advanced Video Movement-II (AVM-II) digital video processor, which is exclusive to Fujitsu General. This exclusive digital video processor which is critical to the superior picture quality offered by Fujitsu Plasmavision displays and all other components are assembled in a Fujitsu General Limited factory in Japan.
“Regarding CEDIA, Fujitsu General Australia has chosen not to participate in this year’s event as it doesn’t currently have new product to display," said Kaloudis.
“However, Fujitsu General subsidiaries in Europe and the US, who have new product to showcase, will be attending their respective trade events. Fujitsu General has an excellent relationship with CEDIA and is firmly committed to supporting the association now and in the future. Fujitsu General also continues to support its members in Australia.”
The SmartHouse article also referred to the power consumption of Fujitsu’s 63-inch P63XHA40 plasma screen, which Richards, in tandem with eco-friendly website www.sust-it.net, stated could cost upwards of $500 a year to run.
“Regarding comments about the power consumption of a 63-inch P63XHA40 plasma screen, these figures relate to the product running on 110-volts in the UK/Europe and do not apply in Australia, which runs on 240-volts.
“Not only is the power consumption lower in Australia, but the P63XHA40 model quoted is at least two and a half years old – Fujitsu General has upgraded its range twice since this model from the 40 series to the 50 series to the 51 series, with the latest model offering considerably lower running costs.”