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SRS Labs and VIZIO Develop Multi-Year Strategic Partnership

Posted by David in June 11th 2008

SRS Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRSL) , the industry leader in surround sound, audio and voice technologies, announced today that they have formed a long-term strategic partnership with U.S.-based VIZIO granting the HDTV manufacturer access to SRS’ portfolio of audio and surround sound technologies for their TV and accessory products. VIZIO’s first technology implementation will be SRS TruSurround XT(R) in flat panel TVs, beginning in Q2 2008.

VIZIO, the number 2 flat panel TV Brand in North America and number 8 worldwide for Q1 2008, is one of the industry’s fastest growing brands of HDTVs. Offering some of the most affordable HDTVs on the market, VIZIO also provides state-of-the-art features and technologies making them an ideal partner for SRS. The pairing of the two companies ensures consumers the best possible entertainment experience.

SRS TruSurround XT is a sophisticated multichannel processing technology which takes the surround content found in television shows and movies and creates an immersive theater-like entertainment experience over the TV’s built-in stereo speakers. With the size of the bezels shrinking in each new generation of flat panel TVs, audio quality becomes a greater concern because the drivers are also becoming increasingly smaller. With TruSurround XT, it is possible to provide correction for even the smallest speakers, regardless of whether they are down-firing or side-firing. The result is an engaging surround sound effect without the clutter, wires, added expense or complexity of a multi-speaker configuration.

“VIZIO prides itself on offering the most affordable HDTVs at any size, yet, we also want to provide our end users with the most current features and quality available,” said John Morriss, VIZIO vice president and general manager of VIZIO’s TV Business Unit. “With the physical constraints of today’s slimmer FPTVs, an optimal audio experience is a greater challenge. Working closely with SRS’ engineering team to custom-tune TruSurround XT to fit our product requirements, we’ve been able to ensure that our customers receive the highest quality surround sound experience from VIZIO TVs. We are very pleased to partner with SRS Labs to deliver state-of the-art audio performance that supports our aggressive business model,” added Morriss.

A 2007 Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) report found that 76% of all flat panel TVs are used without a separate audio amplification system and, therefore, consumer are left to rely on the internal speakers of the television when watching TV. In another study conducted by MarketTools, when asked what consumers would like to change about the TV they watch most often, consumers ranked “Better Sound” second, just behind larger screen size. Through the inclusion of SRS TruSurround XT in their TVs, VIZIO is providing consumers a cost effective solution to experience superior sound with high quality surround effects, drastically improving the experience of watching DVD movies and multichannel TV broadcasts.

“We are excited about this new strategic relationship with one of the leading flat panel TV brands in the US. The combination of our innovative technology designs and the ability to customize TruSurround XT for optimum performance with VIZIO products enables us to provide a great entertainment experience without any extra components, wires, or expenses,” said Allen Gharapetian, VP of Marketing for SRS Labs.

VIZIO will initially ship three models with SRS TruSurround XT, which includes a 42 and a 47-inch LCD plus a 50-inch plasma. Starting in the second quarter of 2008, these models will be available at Costco, Sam’s Club, Wal-Mart, Sears, K-Mart and Circuit City.

To celebrate this announcement, SRS Labs is running a sweepstakes together with its sponsoring partner, VIZIO, to give away 3 flat panel TVs featuring SRS TruSurround XT surround sound technology (a 42″ and 47″ LCD and a 50″ Plasma). The sweepstakes will take place June 10 – July 4, 2008. To enter for your chance to win, please visit http://www.srslabs.com/TVsweepstakes.