The "cheap" TV's had a great picture too......

[drh4683]

Thanks for the nice words. Id like to mention that I found some more "cheapness" in this TV: I noticed this evening that the legs are actually molded plastic, with brass end caps on them! They still use the same 1/4-20 threads that screw into the bottom of the cabinet like the typical wooden legs. These budget sets are the hardest ones to find, they got used and thrown away. Being cheaper in design, they were a little "flimsy" in design from a mechanical stand point. Most didnt last too long and they didnt have any special value other than being just a TV, much like a portable or table sets. Its great to find zeniths and RCA's but this was a very nice unique find for the collection.

ceebee, this set came from a Chicago estate sale a couple week ago. Found in the basement of an apartment building.

As for cabinets, I can agree with all of you that commented. I enjoy the plain cabinet sets or danish modern best. Thats why I like the 60's table/portable sets so much, as they're simple, for function only with good 60's industrial design.

[wkand]

What a HOOT reading the marketing literature. My favorite is the "25,000 volt chassis for fringe reception" line. As if the HV has anything to do with it, or as another AK'er pointed out all of 'em had 25 KV anyway. I'm surprised they didn't put in something about AGC for sharper picture.

[Sandy G]

"Sell th' Sizzle, Not th' Steak..." or more apropos in this case, "If you can't Dazzle 'em w/Brilliance, Baffle 'em w/Bullshit". You have now completed Marketing 101. Please send $250 to Dr. Ing. Professor Unca Sandy, & he'll send you back a genuine imitation sheepskin proclaiming as such... Seriously, GREAT save on a rare roundie...

[oldtvman]

Originally Posted by nasadowsk

This brings up an interesting question - did anyone in the US public at the time even REALIZE that all color TV sets were more or less exactly the same, and that all the advertised 'color guard' and all gimmicks were basically nothing?

Just as now most people don't grasp the concept of HD, nor do they know what it takes to actually watch HD. When I worked at Circuit City, people would buy HD monitors and hook them to cable and wonder why the picture looked worse than it did on their analog sets. Basically color was the same way. Unless you had a trained eye most people couldn't tell the difference between one set and the other. Up until the time when the auto color features came in, I remember going to peoples homes and the flesh tones weren't set properly and the color was run almost all the way up.

[julianburke]

Some years back someone was selling "rabbit ears" in Parade magazine that resembled a miniture satalite dish. Remember those? They were really playing with words such as "you're not getting cable because you're not paying for cable" and "Uses proven RF technology" to name a few. But what they were really saying touting these antennas would also apply to a coat hanger wire as well!!

[Sandy G]

Yeah, I remember those ! I remember reading the ads, too, & while they DIDN'T actually lie, they kinda sorta didn't tell the whole story, either, sorta like. Again, the "Baffle 'em w/Bullchip" story....

[sampson159]

i remember many "cheap" tvs having very good pictures. i owned a 25 inch pennys set the early 80s (console with a space at the top for a vcr), that had one of the best pictures ever. dont know who made it,but was it sharp! my friend has a 32 inch sanyo flat screen bought at walmart. stunning to say the least. convergance is perfect,very deep reds,and the fleshtones are like an early zenith.beautiful! analog set that blows away my hd dlp. the cost-229.00!
back in the shop days,we had many sears,pennys,wards,packard bells,etc that had fantastic pictures.the best picture i ever saw was a 25 inch penncrest hybrid in a used furniture store back in the late 70s.it had a rauland crt and i think it was a wells-gardner. great set. looked just like a low hour zenith. perfect in every way!

[bgadow]

Originally Posted by sampson159

i owned a 25 inch pennys set the early 80s (console with a space at the top for a vcr), that had one of the best pictures ever. dont know who made it,but was it sharp!

I think every solid state era Penneys set I've seen was a rebadged RCA-they were always a safe bet.