VizionWare, Maker of High-end HDMI Products, is Out of Business

VizionWare, the Austin, Texas-based developer of amplified HDMI cables and connectors, has filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.

Founded in 2002, VizionWare had raised about $21 million from several venture funds.

According to VentureBeat.com, Vizionware "started to unravel earlier this year when it failed to raise even $4 million in third round funding this June. It laid off some of its staff, which was already pretty slim, and began hunting desperately for a buyer. Its product revenue so far this year was a grim $318,000, which was only a slight dip from 2007."

The company lists 560,377 in assets and $788,140 in liabilities.

Among the assets are dozens of patents pending, which VizionWare values at $250,000. According to the bankruptcy filing (pdf), only one patent has been issued: Reduced EMI device and method thereof (No. 11/003,986).

Among the creditors are four employees that are collectively owed $236,000 in deferred salary. It appears from the patent filing that VizionWare does not owe former VP of sales and industry veteran Ben Jamison, who left VizionWare in August, joining Savant Systems.

VizionWare was a promising fixture in the custom industry, best known for its high-performance HDMI connectors. In its Hi-Wirez products, active HDMI technologies are implemented in silicon and embedded in the cables. "The result is superior video quality in a lighter and flexible configuration," according to VizionWare's statement as a finalist in the CEA's 2007 Mark of Excellence Awards.

Industry insiders speculate that the company simply spent too much money, especially in the early days of HDMI, when the confusing 1.3 spec was just starting to gel.

VizionWare faced several competitors in the high-performance HDMI cable category, especially companies that were better established and had a more diversified portfolio of products.

VizionWare's core business was based on amplified HDMI cables ranging from $199 for 1 meter to $1,299 for 20 meters. (Eventually the company diversified with some lower-cost HDMI solutions and a video switcher.)

Can the industry really support a high-spending manufacturer with that kind of focus? A small, niche manufacturer, maybe, but probably not one with $20 million in VC funding.

VizionWare was a good customer of ours, and an enthusiastic supporter of the custom industry, and we're sorry to see them go.

With its Chapter 7 filing, the company will liquidate its assets rather than reorganize for a comeback. Among some of the specialty HDMI testing equipment likely to go on the block: TDS 6804B Storage Oscope ($100,000 est. market value), Rhodes & Swartz spectrum analyzer ($40,000), and Tek DTG 5274 ($30,000).

While the VizionWare Web site has been shut down, the company's online store is still open at http://store.vizionware.com/