July 9 - 10:20am EDT   VIZIO this morning earned a reprieve from US Customs that cleared its current TV line of possible patent infringements that might have blocked their sale in the US. The government agency made the ruling four months after the US Patent and Trademark Office rejected a patent from Japanese company Funai, which had hoped to use the patent to block US-based VIZIO's sets from reaching stores. Funai is expected to appeal, though VIZIO equally expects to win. [full story]

May 21 - 1:25pm EDT   the second time this year, flat panel HDTV maker Vizio has sued competitor Funai. Made official on Wednesday, the Vizio lawsuit is seeking an injunction of the sales of the offending Funai hardware in the US and unspecified monetary damages, arguing Funai has infringed on a number of patents held by Vizio related to manufacturing, importing and distribution of HDTVs. Vizio is seeking "millions in damages" for profits from the past sales of infringing products from Funai. [full story]

November 18 - 8:50am EST   Japanese electronics company Funai's research and development arm, the Funai Electric Advanced Applied Technology Research Institute, has developed a reflective display without a backlight, unlike conventional LCD displays. The company, which makes Sylvania-, Symphonic- and Emerson-branded LCDs, says the new display uses just one percent of the electricity per square centimeter needed by conventional LCDs. In place of the backlight, the display uses dyes that change color when exposes to an electric current. Fittingly, Funai says the clarity can be compared to that of characters printed on a piece of paper. [full story]

August 13 - 3:05pm EDT   Japanese electronics firm Funai, which makes products under the Sylvania, Symphonic, Emerson and Magnavox brands, will sell LCD TVs with integrated Blu-ray players in the US starting in the summer of 2009, according to Wednesday's reports. The company already offers LCD TV and DVD-player combos under the Sylvania brand in the US market, sales of which make up a full 20 percent of the company's sales. [full story]

May 12 - 5:00pm EDT   The Magnavox and Sylvania brands are already selling a Blu-ray player that breaks past the $300 price range, according to tips passed along by Blu-ray.com forum members. Made by Japanese company Funai, the Magnavox NB500MG9 and Sylvania NB500SL9 have both been found selling at Wal-Mart stores for $298, or a full $100 less than Sony's PlayStation 3 and other more common players. [full story]

April 8 - 3:15pm EDT   Philips today revealed that it will stop its direct development HDTVs for North America. The Dutch firm now says it will outsource all of the work for both these sets and Magnavox models to Japan-based Funai. The company will handle both manufacturing sets as well as marketing them in the two western countries. The move is cited as necessary to turn around Philips' loss-taking HDTV business, which is successful in Asia and Europe but has struggled in the more competitive North American space through tight profit margins. [full story]