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WEGA was a German audio and video manufacturer, manufacturing some of Germany's earliest
WEGA at radiomuseum.org (German)
{{Authority control Sony products German brands Electronics companies of Germany Manufacturing companies based in Stuttgart Manufacturing companies established in 1923 German companies established in 1923 1975 mergers and acquisitions Manufacturing companies disestablished in 2005
WEGA was a German audio and video manufacturer, manufacturing some of Germany's earliest radio receiver
In radio communications, a radio receiver, also known as a receiver, a wireless, or simply a radio, is an electronic device that receives radio waves and converts the information carried by them to a usable form. It is used with an antenna. ...
s.
History
WEGA, pronounced "Vega", was founded as ''Wuerttembergische Radio-Gesellschaft mbh'' inStuttgart
Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
, Germany in the year 1923. In 1975, it was acquired by Sony Corporation
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (imaging and sensing), ...
. They were then known throughout Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
for stylish and high-quality stereo equipment, designed by Verner Panton and Hartmut Esslinger
Hartmut Esslinger (born 5 June 1944) is a German-American industrial designer and inventor. He is best known for founding the design consultancy Frog Design, frog, and his work for Apple Computer in the early 1980s.
Life and career
Esslinge ...
. Sony continued to use the WEGA brand until 2005, when liquid-crystal display
A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other Electro-optic modulator, electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers to display information. Liq ...
s superseded the company's Trinitron
Trinitron was Sony's brand name for its line of aperture-grille-based CRTs used in television sets and computer monitors. It was one of the first television systems to enter the market since the 1950s. Constant improvement in the basic techno ...
aperture grille
An aperture grille is one of two major technologies used to manufacture color cathode-ray tube (CRT) televisions and computer displays; the other is the shadow mask. The first patented aperture grille televisions were manufactured under the T ...
-based CRT
CRT or Crt most commonly refers to:
* Cathode-ray tube, a display
* Critical race theory, an academic framework of analysis
CRT may also refer to:
Law
* Charitable remainder trust, United States
* Civil Resolution Tribunal, Canada
* Columbia ...
models.
Starting in 1998, Sony released a television line called '' FD Trinitron/WEGA'', a flat-screen television
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
with side-mounted speakers and a silver-coloured cabinet.
Sony says that the FD Trinitron WEGA was named after a star ("Vega
Vega is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Lyra. It has the Bayer designation α Lyrae, which is Latinised to Alpha Lyrae and abbreviated Alpha Lyr or α Lyr. This star is relatively close at only from the Sun, and ...
" in English) in the Lyra
, from ; pronounced: ) is a small constellation. It is one of the 48 listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and is one of the modern 88 constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union. Lyra was often represented on star ...
constellation
A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object.
The first constellati ...
, and made no reference to the original WEGA firm.
Sony has also used WEGA as a name for flat-screen televisions with newer technologies than CRT. Their flat-panel LCD television
A liquid-crystal-display television (LCD TV) is a television set that uses a liquid-crystal display to produce images. It is by far the most widely produced and sold type of television display. LCD TVs are thin and light, but have some disadvanta ...
s were branded ''LCD WEGA'' until summer 2005 when they were rebranded BRAVIA. There are early promotional photos of the first BRAVIA televisions still bearing the WEGA label. Introduced in 2002, Sony's plasma display
A plasma display panel is a type of flat-panel display that uses small cells containing Plasma (physics), plasma: Ionization, ionized gas that responds to electric fields. Plasma televisions were the first large (over diagonal) flat-panel displ ...
televisions were also branded as Plasma WEGA until being superseded by the BRAVIA LCD line. Sony's rear-projection television
Rear-projection television (RPTV) is a type of large-screen television display technology. Until approximately 2006, most of the relatively affordable consumer large screen TVs up to used rear-projection technology. A variation is a video proje ...
s, either Silicon X-tal Reflective Display (SXRD) or LCD-based, were branded as Grand WEGA
A liquid crystal rear projection television system using a patented "optical engine" made by Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group enc ...
until Sony discontinued production of rear-projection receivers.
Importance
The quality of the design by Esslinger was highly appreciated, to the extent that theMuseum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
in New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
exhibits one example, the ''Concept 51k'' sound-system, for which a special stand was an available option.
In 1980 Sony used half of the production in Stuttgart for its Trinitron televisions.
References
External links
WEGA at radiomuseum.org (German)
{{Authority control Sony products German brands Electronics companies of Germany Manufacturing companies based in Stuttgart Manufacturing companies established in 1923 German companies established in 1923 1975 mergers and acquisitions Manufacturing companies disestablished in 2005