panasonic are the leftover bits of Technics.
Naughty naughty, Panasonic are the biggest electrical manufacturer in the world, owned by Matsushita. Matsushita launched Technics in the 60's or 70's as a premium audio brand - as people moved away from premium systems towards cheap, short-life mini-systems etc in the 90's, Matsushita gradually wound the Technics brand down in the early 2000's (similar to what Sony did with Aiwa, albeit Aiwa was placed as the budget brand), except in the professional DJ sector, where the Technics 1210 turntables are still widely regarded by DJ's as the finest direct-drive turntables ever created.
Indeed Panasonic has, over the years, benefitted from Technics by using many of it's technologies in their products (just like a lot of cars benefit from developments [particuarly safety] in their motor-racing arms), but to say that Panasonic is just the left overs of Technics is well wide of the mark.
In fact, if anything, most of the Technics gear made from the mid-90's onwards was actually Panasonic hardware, with a more classy/premium styled casing, or at worst, simply re-branded Panasonic gear (similar to what happens in the world of cars, Mazda 101 and Ford Fiesta being an example). Don't get me wrong, it was still top-notch stuff, using a lot of Technics-derived technology (or to be correct, technology that was developed by Matsushita, but launched at bleeding edge in Technics equipment, commanding premium prices, prior to becoming mainstream), but much of it was built as Panasonic gear, and then rebranded in the UK market and a few others where the Technics brand was still prominent and highly respected.
Technics never really made anything outside of the realms of audio, and Panasonic/Matsushita are not only the worldwide market leader, but a key innovator and technology R&D company, in everything from audio to TV. Indeed, the IPS-Alpha panel in my Hitachi TV is a Panasonic, and for LCD's, Panasonic IPS-Alpha panels are regarded as the best IPS panels available.
Iirc, for instance, Panasonic are pretty much the only company that outside of Japan, have had the balls (or indeed maybe the only company big enough to take the inevitable hit whilst the sales are laughable at the extreme prices [still £400+ despite dropping from £1200 at launch]) to launch mainstream television-orientated Blu-ray recorders.
we have a samsung LCD in the bedroom, perfect quality for the money and bright picture, never had a problem with it. 
