I got word that Sony will no longer have the changer used with most Escient systems. Sony says a key part is no longer and they have limited QTY. Any solutions, could this really be?

TY

I heard the same thing. Honestly I'm scared. I have a couple jobs coming up that use the 777 and I'm going to have a hard time getting them.

It is indeed a fact....

Supply will be very limited until a new solution is out on the market.

Supply won't be limited, it will virtually be non-existant. As I hear it a supplier to Sony informed them they could no longer produce a key component to manufacturer the changer. This happened at the 11th hour and Sony got caught with thier pants down. A sizeable Sony distributor was allocated 2 changers.

I'm sorry, but do you really believe that? Do you really believe that a multi-BILLION dollar company like Sony would have someone else make a "key component" for them? Do you really think that Sony couldn't get this "key component" made by someone else?

I am sure that the 777 or 995 doen't make a dent in the overall Sony picture, but Escient, ReQuest, Control4, and Exceptional Innovation all relay on this piece. I have been told by both my Escient and Control4 rep that they would have supply until the end of 2008. Now independant Sony distys might not have access to them, but I am sure all those companies have contract with Sony to supply them for a certain period of time.

If those Sony players don't make a dent in Sony sales, there's your reason that Sony doesn't have the motivation to have a company make a custom part just for these units. If it's a processor of some sort, the cost could be way past what Sony's willing to spend. Philips is also a multi-billion dollar company, and when Pronto processors and screens ran out, they didn't get more designed and made by someone else. That could have been done.

Just my opinion. I could be wrong.

I would guess that its due more to product evolution than a parts sourcing problem. I've heard rumors about a possible replacement for the 777. But even without the rumors its not too hard to guess what that replacement piece will be like. Given the current state of the DVD player business (and more specifically the 'mega changer' segment), what do you think Sony would be coming out with next?

I'd also guess that sales were insignificat in the big picture sense, because the whole segment seems to be thin. Who else makes a changer that holds more than 6 discs AND has 2-way 232?

ive heard there is inventory until may at current sales levels

I really hope you don't believe that Sony makes all their own parts!! I would bet that Sony doesn't make a single chip for any of it's products.

Thats A Great Question.

Yes, I firmly believe that Sony would have key components outsourced. You may have been aware that NEC was providing Sony their 42" glass back when they were still in the plasma business. I would consider the glass to be a key component as well. One of thier suppliers on the 777 said that the part they provided had exceeded its life cycle and they were no longer able to produce it, or at least produce it at a price that Sony would pay.

I sat in a sales meeting today with one of the nations largest retailers and a Chinese TV manufacturer. This TV manufacturer builds 18,000,000 TVs' per year, 4,000,000 of them being flat panel displays. Yes, those numbers are accurate. I would almost guarantee that most of us have NEVER heard of this manufacturer. I would assume they are building TVs for some well known larger brands like a Sony yet you would never know it. Did you know that Samsung was supplying Visio with their panels until Visio got too big for their own good? Watch for the shortage of Visio panels in your local warehouse club store in the next few weeks.

Back to the original topic - large companies outsource all the time.

It was Fujitsu's ALIS panel for the first several years... The ones with the SONY at an angle in the bottom so it would look just as Stoopid horizontal or vertical.

It was somewhat of a coup for Fujitsu to be making the greater part of Sony's product, as Sony generally never outsourced larger parts of their video products at that time.

Sony was well know for being stubborn about making their own direct view CRTs in each size they competed in, as well as their 3-guns CRT front projectors.

In the era when Mits had them beat with the 35" tube (and provided glass to Toshiba, Hitachi and others), Sony decided NOT to use Mits as an OE for a quick release of a new large model SKU, and to hold pat with their 32" model for a few more YEARS until they could develop their own big glass.

Sony's Trinitron and the semi-exclusive XBR series drove dealers to offer Mits and/or Toshiba to have access to that big tube category... And since those companies' RPTVs were a better value, they displaced a lot of Sony RP SKUs in a lot of large accounts as well as many specialist dealers.

All over the decision not to allow an OE arrangement on one SKU.

Sony is not a completely vertically integrated company - they don't own every step of the supply chain.

Case in point - when the Playstation 2 launched in the US years ago, there was a certain video op-amp made by Linear Technologies that EVERYONE needed (including our company). The demand increased so quickly that the manufacturer of the part couldn't keep up. It resulted in hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of PS2 units in Christmas of that year that were not sold. It also hurt us really bad on distribution amplifier manufacturing!

Every manufacturer gets caught with their pants down at some point - the information we have is only as good as what is given to us. Heck, we had a Toslink jack go out of production earlier this year with little to no warning, and we had to re-lay about 15 different boards just to integrate the new part. If our purchasing guys hadn't found a large stock hanging out at an obscure parts distributor, we'd have been hosed!

I hope something comes up. I not only have a few on order (Sony CIS Dealer) I have several projects including my own home that need these. Escient does tell me they have supply for new orders but current customers who need more out SOL. I am double checking my last statement right now.

Thanks.

Tyler

What a great customer service attitude - Those of you whos money we have yet to see we will be happy to take without any foreseeable solution for future enhancement. Those who have given us your hard earned money to support our companys products can get bit. Nice!

I am pretty happy about now that we never sold a lot of Escient as I wouldn't be looking forward to the backlash from the guy the has money tied up in an MX-752 and a few changers and is looking for another 777.