If you’re as old as me, you remember when television sets were built as sturdy as the mighty oak. They were wood enshrined monuments that seemed to weigh a metric ton. They’d be a good place to hide behind in the event of a tornado. Unlike today where electronics sail in and out of homes every Christmas, these suckers were built to last until the next Ice Age, and cost an ungodly amount of cash.
I have a gigantic flat screen, and I love it. Don’t get me wrong. It just doesn’t have the charm of these wooden relics which resembled more a piece of furniture than an electronic. My wimpy flat screen has to be handled with kid gloves – the slightest tap or shake could be its demise. These old hosses from 1971 were constantly being beat to rattle the picture into shape.
I’ll also add that these TVs were HD. Yeah, you heard me – high definition. Nowadays you need HD because the screens are so huge that things get pixelated…. and it’s digital rather than a feed through your rabbit ears. No pixelation on those old warhorses; your quality depended on your signal. Most people have never seen a high-quality NTSC (Analog TV) picture. A ‘pristine’ signal, on a properly adjusted, high-quality monitor, is absolutely stunning.
Anyway, I came across this 1971 Zenith Color TV catalog, and the illustrations were just too damn good not to share.
Check out the advanced technology. It’s like there’s a lightsaber in the back of every TV.
We had a remote with a cord in 1983. I don’t remember cordless remotes as early as 1971.
In 1971, a lot of people still didn’t have color TV, so hue was a new concept.
Somewhere out there this TV is still running. That hourglass is spent – yet the TV doth stand. It’s vaguely poetic.
Do you see what I mean when I say these TVs had character? The lute (or mandolin… whatever it is), the classic candle and the regal TV seem to actually go together! It’s a TV that befits the Lord’s and Lady’s Chamber in a Medieval Castle. Can you even fathom your plasma rectangle alongside such antiques?
These next eleven pictures of smaller televisions really entertained me. Each attempts to show us a glimpse of what’s on the tube. Amazingly cheesy, obviously faked, but a joy to behold.
We owned the variety of TV behemoths that many will remember : the kind that had a hinged lid that when opened housed a turntable. I would love to have that beast back even if just to retrofit it now.
So many memories of hanging out in front of the stately wood-encased boob tube watching Saturday morning cartoons. (deep sigh)
You may have noticed that the cover of this little catalog claims the televisions are “hand crafted.” Excuse me, what? It turns out, Zenith was the last to abandon hand-wired chassis and go to printed circuit boards, so every TV was indeed hand-wired/”hand crafted”.
And now you know.
I know a TV service technician who can verify that many of these Zenith Chromacolor sets are still playing today. Can you even imagine your crummy flatscreen lasting 4 decades? These things were built like tanks!!
THE END (click!)
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