I'm not terribly surprised by this. I really think it has little to do with reputation and customer support. Undoubtedly the prime factor is profit. A senario that is common the audio/video equipment market is for manufacturers to refuse to provide warrantee service if their products were purchased from unauthorized sources. If this is legal or not has been the subject of much debate, yet it is still happens. Usually the justification for this policy is to protect the dealers and consumers alike. Since many of these manufacturers don't take action against the distributors who sell to unauthorized dealers, the motivation is painfully obvious. They get to sell product yet don't have to provide warrantee service. Net result, better profits. If Philips next step is to adopt a policy of no warrantee unless purchased through an authorized dealer, I'm pretty sure what their motive is.

Jim L