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I wonder, too, if the 9" models were US mfger attempts to try to stave off Japan, Inc... They gave you a bigger picture, were cheaper-a 5-303W Sony a few yrs earlier was right at $300 & maybe they DID give you a better picture. Never understood why Zenith or RCA, when confronted w/Sony, Panasonic, Hitachi, et al, didn't kinda throw down the gauntlet, introduce a 5-9" all solid state COLOR set, & say, OK, boys, top THIS... That would have blown Der Nips into the weeds circa 1967 or so...Especially if they hadn't so badly "Cheapened 'em up. I remember going into a full line RCA dealer's place about 1970. You had "Entertainment Centers"-AM/FM/turntables/TV, & maybe an 8 track all wrapped up in plastiwood, carnival plastic grade knobs & plywood that would fall to pieces if you spilled a drink on it. Those bad boys were Muy Expensivo, but they were so gotdang cheap & shoddy , they were hardly worth dragging home. If the electronics were of no better quality than the cabinetry, no wonder they were discontinued by the late Seventies. The American electronics industry has always bleated about Japan eating their lunch, & there's a lot of truth in that, but A goodly amount of blame is squarely laid at the feet of the companies themselves, I think. They wouldn't innovate, they spent too much time worshipping the FALSE god of Cost Accounting, & just basically "Didn't Get It." All the Sonys I've bought over the years, the only one I ever had to get someone in to set up had been the last one-A 55" screen model. And set up basically involved just mounting it on the wall. NONE of the Trinitrons ever needed set up-you just took 'em outta der box, hooked up the cable, plugged in the power, & you were all set. I remember my next door neighbor was an appliance dealer-And he kept a guy to "Tune up" the TVs til way in the '80s.
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Benevolent Despot
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