 Sony WEGA logo, 2004 | |
Native name | Wuerttembergische Radio-Gesellschaft mbh |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electronics |
| Founded | 1923; 103 years ago (1923) Stuttgart,Germany |
| Defunct | 2005; 21 years ago (2005) |
| Fate | Rebranded asBRAVIA |
| Successor | 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 earliestradio receivers.[2]
WEGA, pronounced "Vega", was founded asWuerttembergische Radio-Gesellschaft mbh inStuttgart, Germany, in 1923. In 1975, it was acquired bySony Corporation.[2] They were then known throughoutEurope for stylish and high-quality stereo equipment, designed byVerner Panton[3] andHartmut Esslinger.[4] Sony continued to use the WEGA brand until 2005, whenliquid-crystal displays superseded the company'sTrinitronaperture grille-basedCRT models.[5]
Starting in 1998, Sony released a television line calledFD Trinitron/WEGA, a flat-screentelevision 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 theLyraconstellation, 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. Theirflat-panelLCD televisions were brandedLCD WEGA until summer 2005[7][8][9] when they were rebrandedBRAVIA. There are early promotional photos of the first BRAVIA televisions that still bear the WEGA label.[citation needed] Introduced in 2002, Sony'splasma display televisions were also branded as Plasma WEGA until the BRAVIA LCD line superseded it. Sony'srear-projection televisions, eitherSilicon X-tal Reflective Display (SXRD) orLCD-based, were branded asGrand 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 theMuseum of Modern Art inNew York[10] exhibits one example, theConcept 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]
