WEGA

For other uses, see Wega.

Not to be confused with Vega.

WEGA was a German audio and video manufacturer, manufacturing some of Germany's earliest radio receivers.^[2]

WEGA

Sony WEGA logo, 2004
Native name	Wuerttembergische Radio-Gesellschaft mbh
Industry	Electronics
Founded	1923; 102 years ago (1923) Stuttgart, Germany
Defunct	2005; 20 years ago (2005)
Fate	Rebranded as BRAVIA
Successor	Sony BRAVIA
Area served	International
Products	Radio and LED television receivers
Parent	Sony (1975-present)

Wegavision 2000, TV-prototype 1962, Pinakothek der Moderne

Wega tapedeck for Sony Elcaset, 1976–1980^[1]

History

WEGA, pronounced "Vega", was founded as Wuerttembergische Radio-Gesellschaft mbh in Stuttgart, Germany in the year 1923. In 1975, it was acquired by Sony Corporation.^[2] They were then known throughout Europe for stylish and high-quality stereo equipment, designed by Verner Panton^[3] and Hartmut Esslinger.^[4] Sony continued to use the WEGA brand until 2005, when liquid-crystal displays superseded the company's Trinitron aperture grille-based CRT models.^[5]

Starting in 1998, Sony released a television line called FD Trinitron/WEGA, a flat-screen television with side-mounted speakers and a silver-coloured cabinet.

Sony says that the FD Trinitron WEGA was named after a star ("Vega" in English) in the Lyra constellation, and made no reference to the original WEGA firm.^[6]

Sony has also used WEGA as a name for flat-screen televisions with newer technologies than CRT. Their flat-panel LCD televisions were branded LCD WEGA until summer 2005^[7][8][9] when they were rebranded BRAVIA. There are early promotional photos of the first BRAVIA televisions still bearing the WEGA label.^{[citation needed]} Introduced in 2002, Sony's plasma display televisions were also branded as Plasma WEGA until being superseded by the BRAVIA LCD line. Sony's rear-projection televisions, either Silicon X-tal Reflective Display (SXRD) or LCD-based, were branded as Grand WEGA until Sony discontinued production of rear-projection receivers.^{[citation needed]}

Importance

The quality of the design by Esslinger was highly appreciated, to the extent that the Museum of Modern Art in New York^[10] exhibits one example, the Concept 51k sound-system, for which a special stand was an available option.^[11]

In 1980 Sony used half of the production in Stuttgart for its Trinitron televisions.^[12][13]

WEGA Studio 3214 HiFi with record player Dual 1218 and loudspeakers Telefunken L 250, 1972