Pioneer ranks equally to Sony in the HD TV brand stakes despite the fact that globally, Sony spends up to 10 times more on advertising than Pioneer, claims a new HD TV research report. Pioneer was also the brand that scored best in customer satisfaction.
According to J.D. Power and Associates, Pioneer’s plasma, Sony’s Bravia LCD, and Samsung’s DLP rank highest in customer satisfaction in their respective large-screen HD categories
J.D. Power interviewed 5,389 high-def owners worldwide who purchased their sets between August 2006 and July 2007. The study measured customer satisfaction by examining four factors:
1. Picture and sound
2. Ease of operation
3. Features
4. Appearance and styling.
Based on those factors — and the consumer interviews — the company then rated high-def brands in the following categories: 37- to 49-inch HDTV; 50 to 65-inch HDTV (both of these segments included either LCD or plasma technologies); and the rear projection HDTV.
37 to 49 inch Category
Sony’s Bravia LCD series ranked highest in customer satisfaction with a score of 815 out of a possible 1,000 points. J.D. Power said the Sony series performed particularly well in picture and sound performance, features and appearance and styling.
The LG LCD and LG Plasma finished second and third in the 37 to 49 inch category, scoring 799 and 794 respectively.
50 to 65 inch Category
The Pioneer plasma series scored 845, performing well in picture and sound, ease of operation and appearance and styling. Sony’s Bravia LCD was second in this category with 833 points. Pioneer’s 845 score made it the highest ranking brand in the entire study.
Rear Projection
Samsung’s DLP series was first with a score of 785, followed by Sony’s WEGA which scored 777 and Toshiba’s DLP which got a 776.
J.D. Power also reports that more than 90 percent of high-def owners would purchase the same brand if they buy a new set.
“Considering that purchasing a High Definition television involves a sizable investment, these remarkably high repurchase and recommendation intent levels demonstrate that the vast majority of owners are delighted with their large-screen HDTV purchases,” said Larry Wu, senior director of the technology practice at J.D. Power and Associates. “This presents an excellent opportunity for manufacturers to not only retain market share but also to leverage their repurchase intentions to other products they sell.”