If you cruise through lots of gear that's out there, you'll find a limited number of manufacturers - it's not surprising in the least when companies take the glass from Matsu****a (Panasonic), Fujitsu/Hitachi, NEC (Pioneer), Samsung, or LG and build a device around the panel.
You'd be surprised (or not) at the big name companies that don't make their own projectors, DVD players, etc...
To me it's what they do with it after they get the glass that counts (whose boards and chipsets they use, or do they make their own). And price is always an issue, sure, but we have to examine to see if it's justified. Anyone can get a cheaper product - I don't think that's the point.