Founded 1978 | ||
CGV – Compagnie Generale de Videotechnique is a French industrial company making video appliances which was founded in 1978 in Strasbourg, Alsace, France. Ownership passed to the Alsatian industrial group "Info Reality" for 3 years from 1998, before the present CEO Tony Fasciglione bought up the company with the help of several banks. In 2005 smaller new premises were built several miles south of Strasbourg in Ostwald to better suit its needs, as production had been transferred to the Far East several years before. A new complementary section of consultants specialised in professional Video surveillance (CCTV) and Public address systems (CGV Systeme) joined the company in 2002. At present the development of new products is a joint venture with various small firms in the Far East.
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Products
The first products invented were video adapters/RF modulators to let people connect a Game console to the aerial input of their TV set. This was before the advent of SCART sockets on TVs. Then came adapters (the REP range) for the Canal+ Decoder which arrived in 1983. After that there were colour transcoders PAL-SECAM and SECAM-PAL, a balanced line video transmission system for the home (the Visiline), and then the wireless video transmitters (Freeline) and remote control relays (Zapline). There were all sorts of RF video modulators (Moduline) too. For the last six years the main product has been the Premio, and now Etimo range of Set-top box or Digital TV adapters, since by the end of 2011 France has finished changing entirely to Digital TV. In 2010 CGV added to its product line two HD Digital Sat receivers Set-top box, (Premio Sat HD-W TNTSAT) and (E-Sat HD-W FRANSAT) with recording of Satellite television channels on an external USB hard drive, and Powerline communication systems named (CPLine 2B), (CPline WiFi) and (CPLine AV-HD).
Company Policies
Innovation is an essential part of the domestic video market, and CGV commercializes several new products every year. However the brand CGV has been associated with quality in the French market since early days in the 1980s when all Research and Development (R&D) was done in Strasbourg. Since production has moved to the Far East, CGV has introduced corresponding levels of Quality control. The design of a new product is developed, checked and improved by the R&D Lab at the HQ in Strasbourg. Once production has begun, there are three levels of inspection: in the Far East, first on the production lines, and then by a CGV inspector before shipment to Europe; on arrival at CGV in Strasbourg samples of the new products are then re-checked. The principal retail outlets in France are the hypermarkets and superstores.
Increased Web presence
The first web site of CGV with its Online shop was launched in 1999. A new more pro-active version was launched in June 2009. In June 2008 the CGV Forum was launched for users to provide feedback on products. Press articles on the latest CGV products in French can be found in this forum under the heading Actualites.
Acronym for CGV in French
A Google search for CGV with pages in French often comes up with Conditions Generales de Vente (General Sales Conditions) which hinders a search for the company CGV of this article. However associating CGV with "TNT" (Television Numerique Terrestre i.e. DVB-T), "video", or one of its product lines such as "Premio" or "Etimo" brings up several useful links.