Quote:
Originally Posted by Telecolor 3007
2) The Japanese wanted to show they can make better sets;
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There were a few Japanese tube TVs sold, but the Japanese started exporting into the U.S. in earnest about the time the switch to SS started. As a result, most Americans first experience with Japanese TVs were the SS variety, which gave them a big (and somewhat undeserved) reputation as high quality.
Even the best vacuum tube TVs required more or less regular repair. Once the SS TVs came out, the incidence of repair dropped dramatically regardless of who made the TV. Since almost all Japanese TVs were SS and the people who bought them were replacing an older vacuum tube TV, they assumed it was the "made in Japan" label that made them more reliable than the tube TV they replaced.
We sold just about every brand of TV there was, and even the low end Emersons were pretty reliable. Next to the Zeniths, Panasonics/Quasars, RCAs, Sonys, etc., they performed OK but couldn't match the picture, stability on marginal air signals, black level, etc. of the better brands. Even the remote control range was lower on the Emersons, but they were pretty reliable compared to other SS models and far more reliable than the tube TV they replaced.
I would say the domestic and imports were pretty neck and neck for reliability, but the one area that the domestics had an advantage was high hour longevity. When we sold TVs to bars, we pretty much kept them to Zenith and RCA unless they asked for a different brand specifically. Those boat anchors would run ridiculous hours for years on end with very little service required.
John