Why even in 1976-1982 color tv where still expensive for people from USA?

[mr_fixer]

Originally Posted by Telecolor 3007

Why even in 1976-1982 color tv where still expensive for people from USA?
I've read (even around here) that some people could only afford a color set only after 1976, and some get one only in 1978-1982 + a 2nd color set was expensive for a lot of pepople. Where price so big? Did it count that most people from U.S.A. had to invest in car so there where less money left for an tv set?

I think the issue isn't about "why were they so expensive back then but why are they so cheap today" Case in point: If you purchase a big box store HDTV today and it fails within the guarantee period, The factory will ship you a new set vs fixing your old set. The only way this can be profitable is if the cost to build a new set is cheaper that the cost of fixing it in the home market. The only way this can happen is through the "dark magic" for foreign currency exchange where 1 hour of labor of a person in China is only worth a small fraction of a hour of labor from someone from the EU or USA.
Just my opinion,

[bgadow]

I was thinking about the way some prices constantly increase while others remain dormant or drop, with none of this indexed for inflation. Cars have continously risen in cost but then, look at how much you get! A new Chevrolet of the mid-30's might be outdone in options by the average golf cart these days. Meanwhile, Sears is running a radio ad this week for a $269 washing machine. Sure, you can spend a lot more, but at the bottom end washers & dryers have been stagnant for a l-o-n-g time. Continous cost-cutting, & then finding at last that even big, bulky things like major appliances can be shipped around the world cheap enough to build them in China.

[Beachboy]

My dad was too cheap (frugal) to even buy a TV and grandma took pity on us after JFK's death in 1963 (and we were unable to watch the funeral proceedings), and bought us a Zenith 18" BW TV. I kept that set alive until 1974, when I finally "gave up" and told dad he was on his own. He splurged and bought a 25" Magnavox solid state console model, and I took the broken Zenith back to college with me, where I found a reasonably-priced TV shop that fixed it. Kept that old Zenith until '78 when I moved. One reason we didn't get color TV earlier was that we lived in a marginal signal area, and legend had it that color wouldn't "work" unless you had a pristine signal. The Magnavox worked fine on our attic antenna and lasted until the early 90's.

[Colly0410]

Interesting thread... Here in England it'd be the early/mid 1970's when colour TV's started to become popular, a lot were rented, some with a 50 pence coin meter on the back or side. My parents bought a Sony 18 inches colour set in 72 or 73, they got a free Elizabetan T12 B/W TV free. (I've still got it) The Sony cost just over 200 pounds, you can buy a new flat screen TV from Aldi for 179 pounds (about 210 dollars) today. Last time I saw a B/W as someones main TV would be early 80's. A thing putting a lot of people off colour TV was the more expensive colour TV licence, it was (still is) about 3 times the cost of a B/W one...

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by Colly0410

Interesting thread... Here in England it'd be the early/mid 1970's when colour TV's started to become popular, a lot were rented, some with a 50 pence coin meter on the back or side. My parents bought a Sony 18 inches colour set in 72 or 73, they got a free Elizabetan T12 B/W TV free. (I've still got it) The Sony cost just over 200 pounds, you can buy a new flat screen TV from Aldi for 179 pounds (about 210 dollars) today. Last time I saw a B/W as someones main TV would be early 80's. A thing putting a lot of people off colour TV was the more expensive colour TV licence, it was (still is) about 3 times the cost of a B/W one...

Is the color licence only for one set, as many people have more than one TV.
I know, the TV licence subsidizes BBC programing.
Some people might disagree with me but the BBC has some excellent programing. PBS shows much of their best.

[Colly0410]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

Is the color licence only for one set, as many people have more than one TV.
I know, the TV licence subsidizes BBC programing.
Some people might disagree with me but the BBC has some excellent programing. PBS shows much of their best.

The TV licence covers a house/apt & you can have as many TV's as you want, we have 5 TV's = 3 colour & 2 B/W, one from 1972. You need a licence to watch or record any live TV & watch BBC i-player catch up service. You can watch ITV, channel's 4 & 5 catch up services & you tube/online films with no licence though..

[DavGoodlin]

Originally Posted by Colly0410

The TV licence covers a house/apt & you can have as many TV's as you want, we have 5 TV's = 3 colour & 2 B/W, one from 1972. You need a licence to watch or record any live TV & watch BBC i-player catch up service. You can watch ITV, channel's 4 & 5 catch up services & you tube/online films with no licence though..

I recall a visit to Great Britain in the late 70's, maybe there were only BB1,2 and ITV. The UHF Yagi antenna mountings varied with the odd chimneys and building structures yet were all pretty consistent. The different bands of UHF had their own specific antenna but all looked similar.

I was given by this one innkeeper an indoor, set top UHF antenna "Labgear", zig-zag helical with a 72 ohm push-on connector. It works as good as any other non-amplified indoor UHF I've tried, even with ATSC.

[Colly0410]

Yes the 1970's/80's UHF antennas all seemed to look the same, some were a bit longer in the few weak signal areas. When digital terrestrial TV fired up in the late 1990's/2000's the sales people would tell buyers their old antennas would no longer work & millions of people bought new ones. (including my in-laws, I was annoyed when I found out they'd paid 225 pounds for a new so called digital antenna) & now there are lots of antennas with 4 to 6 reflectors, a dipole & up to 10 X shaped directors. My old loft antenna works perfect on digital TV but the digital sales lady tried her best to get me to have a new antenna.

In 1982 a new channel called channel 4 fired up, although it didn't transmit on VHF channel 4, (BBC1 was on there till 1985) in my area it was confusingly on channels UHF 31 & 54. In 1997 channel 5 fired up, that was on UHF 37 from 2 distant TX's that interfered with each other, a year later it fired up on the local TX's on 34 & 35. We thought it was great to have 5 channels after so long with only 3. Now we have about 50 odd on digital freeview...

[Jon A.]

The Sony consoles are heavy buggers too, anyone collecting those should try to get hold of an engine hoist, especially if they get hold of a KV-3000.

The Freelings were up to their necks in Sony sets, and even their neighbors had one. Their respective living room sets also had the most unique ability to be able to respond to Zenith Space Command 600Z clickers.

[colorfixer]

Originally Posted by Jon A.

The Sony consoles are heavy buggers too, anyone collecting those should try to get hold of an engine hoist, especially if they get hold of a KV-3000.

The Freelings were up to their necks in Sony sets, and even their neighbors had one. Their respective living room sets also had the most unique ability to be able to respond to Zenith Space Command 600Z clickers.

IMHO:
The Freelings were subject to creative product placement with Sony and the producers. ET also was the subject of creative product placement with Reese, Atari, Texas Instruments, and Kuwahara (bikes).

[Jon A.]

Originally Posted by colorfixer

IMHO:
The Freelings were subject to creative product placement with Sony and the producers.

Natch, and even a Sony U-Matic was brought in to record the paranormal activity.

[dishdude]

I guess we were trashy, we had a GE console in the living room!

[ChrisW6ATV]

Originally Posted by Telecolor 3007

Why even in 1976-1982 color tv were still expensive for people from USA?
I've read (even around here) that some people could only afford a color set only after 1976, and some get one only in 1978-1982 + a 2nd color set was expensive for a lot of people. Where price so big? Did it count that most people from U.S.A. had to invest in car so there where less money left for an tv set?

There are probably many different answers to your question.

1) From 1973 to 1982, there were many changes in the economy in the USA, and many homes/families did not have extra money to choose color TV after they paid for food, rent, and other expenses. (Yes, many times a car was needed, but many families such as mine did not have a car, either.)

2) Even in the 1970s, color TV sets often needed repairs more often than most other home possessions, or people believed that they needed repairs often, so many people kept their black-and-white sets because of fear of repair costs. This fear would stop many people from buying a used color TV and instead buy a new B&W TV set again.

3) This comment is valid also:

Originally Posted by Celt

LOL! Friends of mine had a 19" Sony....they thought 25" consoles were tacky and vulgar.

Even portable color TV sets were "big" compared to black-and-white sets with the same size screen, so a color TV would be more conspicuous and many people did not like that.

In my family, we never had a color TV set together, but my mother and her sister's family joined money and bought a new Hitachi 19-inch color set for my grandmother (their mother) in 1974 for US$420. My brother bought a 19-inch Sony in 1977 when he was 20 years old for US$490, then I bought my own 19-inch Sony in 1979 when I was 19 years old, for US$450.