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

[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.