I think the proof is in the trash.
What I'm saying is, about the only color tube-type sets that I still see on trash day are Zeniths. More than once, I've brought them home, plugged 'em in, and they work. More than likely they were just tossed because somebody got sick of tripping over them. Same holds true for Zenith B&W sets.
The rugged steel chassis and console-style power transformer made their Chromacolor I & II color sets far from portable, but once you put them down, the pictures are often better than the chinese garbage that's 25-30 years newer.
When I used to fix sets as a kid, (I'm no expert, just good enough to swap parts, solder, etc.) the most frequent fault was cracked PC boards. Even though Zenith eventually switched to PC boards, they still framed the modules in steel. Others simply relied on the strength of the actual PC board, and of course we know what a disaster that idea often was.
I will give Sony their props for the Trinitron, but in terms of physical appearance, their sets were about as stylish as a 1980 Datsun. They had a cluttered look, more like they were a collection of parts, rather than anything that was "styled". For this reason, no matter how good they may have performed, they'll probably never be collectable. In fact, I think their biggest impact was probably their "halo effect" on the Asian electronics industry. (I know the proper term would be Japanese, but let's be honest, most Americans see no difference in cultures/prodcuts from Japan, Taiwan, Korea, China, etc.)
Sony products rightly deserved their good reputations, but other poorly designed brands from the 70s/80s (Hitachi, Gold Star, among many) churned out some real crap, but were able to ride the reputation of Sony in much the same way as people think of all Japanese cars as reliable (because of Toyota) while forgetting that terrible engines nearly bankrupted Mazda in the early 70s. (Would have, if not for an infusion of cash from Ford.)
I will say that my (formerly my parents) 1990 27" Zenith has been an excellent performer since new, with only one service done a few months ago (Power supply caps from Capt' Moody). Picture is still excellent after a decade of daily use. I do believe that this was likely the end of the line for Zenith quality however, as my parents recommended Zenith sets for two relatives in the mid-90s. Both of these had failed CRTs by 2000.
Captain Moody recently gave me a rather unremarkable '77 19" Chromacolor. Nothing too interesting about this entry-level-color set beyond its excellent picture. I kinda don't know what to do with it??? I was thinking this might be the one to keep in a bomb shelter with some canned food, flashlights and a shotgun. With this TV and a 318 Mopar, I could probably ride out the next 50 years without parts.
