JVC

The Victor Company of Japan, Limited (日本ビクター株式会社, Nihon Bikutā kabushiki gaisha), abbreviated and branded as JVC, was a Japanese electronics company. While defunct as an independent entity as of 2008, it survives as a brand owned and operated by its successor JVCKenwood. The company is best known for having introduced Japan's first televisions (in 1939), for developing the Video Home System (VHS) analog video format, and for its pioneering camcorder JVC GR-C1 (in 1984). JVC was founded in 1927 as the Victor Talking Machine Company of Japan. It sold its electronic products in its home market of Japan under the "Victor" name with the His Master's Voice logo. However, the company used the name JVC or Nivico in the past for export; this was due to differing ownership of the His Master's Voice logo and the ownership of the "Victor" name from successors of the Victor Talking Machine Company. From 1954 to 2008, the Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (now known as Panasonic) was the majority stockholder in JVC. In 2008, JVC merged with Kenwood Corporation to create JVCKenwood, with JVC becoming a subsidiary of the new entity. In 2011, the Victor brand for electronics in Japan was replaced by the global JVC brand and the JVC subsidiary dissolved and integrated into a single JVCKenwood company. However, the previous "Victor" name is retained by JVCKenwood subsidiary Victor Entertainment.