 Sony WEGA logo, 2004 | |
Native name | Wuerttembergische Radio-Gesellschaft mbh |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electronics |
| Founded | 1923 Stuttgart, Germany |
| Defunct | 2005 |
| Fate | Rebranded as BRAVIA |
| Successor | Sony BRAVIA |
Area served | International |
| Products | Radio and LED television receivers |
| Parent | Sony (1975-present) |
WEGA was a German audio and video manufacturer that manufactured some of Germany's earliest radio receivers. [2]
WEGA, pronounced "Vega", was founded as Wuerttembergische Radio-Gesellschaft mbh in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1923. In 1975, it was acquired by Sony Corporation. [2] They were then known throughout Europe for stylish and high-quality stereo equipment, designed by Verner Panton [3] and Hartmut Esslinger. [4] Sony continued to use the WEGA brand until 2005, when liquid-crystal displays superseded the company's Trinitron aperture grille-based CRT models. [5]
Starting in 1998, Sony released a television line called FD Trinitron/WEGA , a flat-screen television with side-mounted speakers and a silver-coloured cabinet.
Sony says that the FD Trinitron WEGA was named after a star ("Vega" in English) in the Lyra constellation, and made no reference to the original WEGA firm. [6]
Sony has also used WEGA as a name for flat-screen televisions with newer technologies than CRT. Their flat-panel LCD televisions were branded LCD WEGA until summer 2005 [7] [8] [9] when they were rebranded BRAVIA. There are early promotional photos of the first BRAVIA televisions that still bear the WEGA label.[ citation needed ] Introduced in 2002, Sony's plasma display televisions were also branded as Plasma WEGA until the BRAVIA LCD line superseded it. Sony's rear-projection televisions, either Silicon X-tal Reflective Display (SXRD) or LCD-based, were branded as Grand WEGA until Sony discontinued production of rear-projection receivers.[ citation needed ]
The quality of the design by Esslinger was highly appreciated, to the extent that the Museum of Modern Art in New York [10] exhibits one example, the Concept 51k sound system, for which a special stand was an available option. [11]
In 1980, Sony used half of the production in Stuttgart for its Trinitron televisions. [12] [13]
