TP Vision has announced a new partnership with Bowers & Wilkins which looks to combine the technologies associated with both companies into the same products. At present, neither company has provided any details on what the first of these products will be, or when they will arrive, although the joint press announcement does explain the first product(s) will be initially unveiled and showcased during this year’s IFA event in Berlin – due to begin on August 31.
With these companies being high-profile video and audio companies, respectively, the suggestion here is these new products will look to offer a heightened all-round TV experience compared to what is currently on the market. As per the announcement, the partnership will “create outstanding products that truly set new reference visual and audio performance standards in the TV market.” TP Vision, for example, is more likely to be better-known as the licensed provider of Philips-branded TVs in Europe. As a result, this may also prove interesting from the Android TV perspective as the Philips brand has heavily invested in supporting the Android TV ecosystem over the last couple of years. The most recent example of this came during this year’s CES event where a number of new TV sets were announced that are not only powered by Android TV, but also the company’s own P5 processor. On the topic of the newly-announced partnership, TP Vision’s CMO, Martijn Smelt, suggested audio has for too long been considered an afterthought when it comes to TV development, and this is something the company now hopes to change through the addition of Bowers & Wilkins technologies.
As for Bowers & Wilkins, this is a brand that has focused on excelling the quality of consumer-based audio solutions. While this focus was initially aimed at the loudspeaker market, the company has evolved over the years and now offers a wide range of personal audio products, including its P and PX line of headphones, as well as audio solutions for the car, and more. With this latest announcement, it now looks as though that portfolio will expand to include TV sets, and in particular, Philips-branded solutions. Bowers & Wilkins’ CMO, Richard Campbell, reiterated comments made by Smelt, while also adding how this partnership will now allow a new breed of customers to enjoy the ‘Sound by Bowers and Wilkins’ experience.