B&W, TP Vision Form Multiyear Partnership for Better TV Sound

Bowers & Wilkins and TP Vision announced a multiyear partnership Tuesday to create “outstanding visual and audio products in the TV market,” with first products to debut at IFA this summer. TP Vision is exclusively licensed to sell Philips-brand TVs in most markets outside North America. The companies will share internal engineering resources under the partnership, they said. The TV industry has allowed sound quality “to be the poor relation when considering TV performance,” said Martijn Smelt, TP Vision chief marketing officer, saying OLED technology makes creating high-quality audio solutions even more challenging. Products arising from “Philips High End TV sound” will offer a “uniquely premium experience,” he said. B&W Chief Revenue Officer Richard Campbell called the partnership a chance to “redefine the parameters of sound quality and performance on a TV.” On whether B&W is looking to join other companies in similar partnerships, Campbell emailed us to say the company is "always looking for partnerships that will provide consumers the best quality sound." B&W is excited about the TP Vision pact due to the companies' "shared tradition" for developing their own technologies in house "to ensure absolute quality." The companies intend to continue the exclusive relationship "in a meaningful way," Campbell said. Responding to our question about audio design under the partnership, Campbell said technology and form factor will be revealed at IFA, "where we will reveal how we were able to create an amazing sound stage through integrated on board componentry."