Color TV for less than $500, in 1963 that is.

This is from a local (Colton CA) newspaper dated 11/23/63 so they must be 64 models or closeouts.
The smaller ad's around the edges are local TV shop ad's.

On the flip side is a multi page story about a man who was shot while riding in his Car in Dallas TX, can you guess who it was? I know you can.


Sorry about the poor picture, I'll scan it eventually.

The answer to the question above, as if you didn't know.
The paper is the San Bernardino Sun, Colton Edition.

And please folks, don't make any Political comments one way or the other, I posted to put the ad's in context. :yes:

[QUOTE=Eric H;3016096]Color TV for less than $500, in 1963 that is.

This is from a local (Colton CA) newspaper dated 11/23/63 so they must be 64 models or closeouts.
The smaller ad's around the edges are local TV shop ad's.

.

The Special model RCA CTC5 was advertised in 1957 for $495. It was a mahagony masonite table model.

Years ago I picked up and RCA set from a couple in Beverly Hills, they told me their grandma purchased the set a few days after Kennedy was shot. They said their grandma told them everyone was out buying color tvs after that event.

I dont know if its true but its and interesting tie-in.

Inflation calculator says it would cost $3,700 today.

I remember the Kennedy coverage was in B&W, & looks like its from some ancient time, far removed...And I have commented here long & loudly about how the video work looks SO amateurish, w/so many "Artifacts", & the camera tubes so obviously overloading...Kinda looked like they drug all their old 1948 equipment out of the janitor's closet, smacked it good & rolled w/it...

I remember the Kennedy coverage was in B&W, & looks like its from some ancient time, far removed...And I have commented here long & loudly about how the video work looks SO amateurish, w/so many "Artifacts", & the camera tubes so obviously overloading...Kinda looked like they drug all their old 1948 equipment out of the janitor's closet, smacked it good & rolled w/it...

Not sure I connect "amateurish" with "artifacts."
The video quality and artifacts (mainly image orthicon halo and grayscale) are generally what you would expect from B&W image orthicon cameras in uncontrolled lighting conditions. (Of course, there may be added artifacts from transfers to different media over the years.)

Yeah, maybe my choice of wording wasn't the best...But the JFK stuff DOES look like it was made in a different century than '63...

But the JFK stuff DOES look like it was made in a different century than '63...

That was probably because color TV was still a novelty in 1963, having been introduced only nine years earlier. Most people still had b&w TV sets at that time, with many smaller cities' TV stations not yet equipped for colorcasting, so most folks saw the JFK assassination in b&w unless they lived in or near a major city and/or had wealthy neighbors -- remember, a color television set cost close to $1000 in the 1960s, and that was for just the TV. Three-way entertainment centers of that era sold for much more, so most families fortunate enough to afford color had to settle for a standalone television, usually the cheapest, lowest-end set they could find. This meant, in most cases, a metal-cabinet 19-inch roundie. The three broadcast networks in existence at the time (NBC, ABC, CBS), moreover, were still telecasting mostly b&w programming, so even if one watched the JFK assassination on a color set he or she would see it as monochrome. However, the event probably, even likely, was not even telecast in color to begin with (again, because colorcasting was so new), so one would see it as b&w regardless of the type of set he or she was viewing it on.

most families fortunate enough to afford color had to settle for a standalone television, usually the cheapest, lowest-end set they could find. This meant, in most cases, a metal-cabinet 19-inch roundie.


I don't think so!
While a 19" roundies (19VP22 & 19TP22) did exist as a short-term step between the 15GP22 and the 21AXP22, by the time that smaller metal cabinet sets were introduced (such as the RCA CTC19 series) rectangular tubes (such as the 19EYP22) were used.

jr

On the flip side is a multi page story about a man who was shot while riding in his Car in Dallas TX, can you guess who it was? I know you can.



I saw it live on TV that day. I was sick from school, 4th grade that day. and was watching cartoons or such, and then the TV station cut to the breaking news story.

We only had B&W TV in my family back then. 2 sets, an Admiral bakelite console, and a TV from a Magnavox console.

All in all, I thought the networks did a good job scrambling to get things set up for the funeral procession for President Kennedy. I watched this again a few years ago, and noticed all the camera issues. I totally understand about the uncontrolled lighting, and the cameras overloading. It happened alot back then.

We watched the entire event on a brand new GE 19" portable. It barely lasted 5 years, before the CRT died... Turned it on one day, and the filament in the CRT was dead. Dad hauled it to the basement, where it stayed until we moved, and tossed it.

All in all, I thought the networks did a good job scrambling to get things set up for the funeral procession for President Kennedy. I watched this again a few years ago, and noticed all the camera issues. I totally understand about the uncontrolled lighting, and the cameras overloading. It happened alot back then.

What is probably seen of this footage today is from 16mm and 35mm kinescopes of the original videotapes which could account for the less than "live video" quality. These kines were probably played hundreds of times before any thought was given to their safekeeping.

I watched the filmed coverage from Dallas later on the news. There were, to the best of my knowledge, no live TV cameras set up that Friday along the parade route in Dallas, and the Zapruder film shot by an amateur is still the best record of the event.

Live TV coverage going forward began Saturday and then Sunday when Oswald was shot live on TV, as well as the following days of coverage of events in Washington.

I remember watching it all and thinking how surrealistic the clear B&W images made the whole event seem.

Editorial comment: I consider that to be the time I lost my innosense.

Cliff

Well, the point I was trying to make was how "2nd rate" the coverage looked compared to the average TV program of the time-And maybe we've all gotten spoiled by the advent of consumer grade video that is nearly as good as what the Big Boys have-and our stuff nowadays is light-years better than what was available to anyone in late '63.

News from television was still a novelty in the early 60's. ENG (Electronic News Gatheringing) was still way off in the future. News then was collected on 16mm film, rapidly processed/developed and edited to meet a deadline.

We today take for granted the ease how video may be collected on small HD cameras and edited on computer laptop workstations. It was far from a breeze in the early 60's.

I don't think so!
While a 19" roundies (19VP22 & 19TP22) did exist as a short-term step between the 15GP22 and the 21AXP22, by the time that smaller metal cabinet sets were introduced (such as the RCA CTC19 series) rectangular tubes (such as the 19EYP22) were used.

jr


When I read your post, it reminded me (I had all but forgotten) that I had a 16"-17" Sears Silvertone metal-cabinet table TV (don't know if the chassis was an RCA clone or not) in the mid-1970s -- a trash day find. The set had a rectangular CRT, was all-channel and worked very well, even on rabbit ears in the basement, in the Cleveland suburb in which I lived at the time, although it worked much better when I connected it to the attic antenna -- especially on UHF, as I expected it would, as that area was not the best on earth for color TV reception using indoor antennas.

This meant, in most cases, a metal-cabinet 19-inch roundie.

I don't think so!
While a 19" roundies (19VP22 & 19TP22) did exist as a short-term step between the 15GP22 and the 21AXP22...
Even though all of the post-15GP22 round-CRT sets had "21-inch" tubes, they have 19-inch-diagonal pictures, by more recent standards. It seems that most color-TV ads I have seen from the 1960s mention the square-inch size of the picture rather than the diagonal number. I wonder if that was already an early response to the misleading CRT-size-versus-picture-size issue.

News from television was still a novelty in the early 60's. ENG (Electronic News Gatheringing) was still way off in the future. News then was collected on 16mm film, rapidly processed/developed and edited to meet a deadline.

We today take for granted the ease how video may be collected on small HD cameras and edited on computer laptop workstations. It was far from a breeze in the early 60's.

I remember going to an event with my school and seeing a local station (WJBK, Channel 2) getting footage of the event with a 16mm movie camera and color film - in 1974!

When I read your post, it reminded me (I had all but forgotten) that I had a 16"-17" Sears Silvertone metal-cabinet table TV (don't know if the chassis was an RCA clone or not) in the mid-1970s -- a trash day find. The set had a rectangular CRT, was all-channel and worked very well, even on rabbit ears in the basement, in the Cleveland suburb in which I lived at the time, although it worked much better when I connected it to the attic antenna -- especially on UHF, as I expected it would, as that area was not the best on earth for color TV reception using indoor antennas.

Cool! Did it look like the small Silvertone shown on "radiola guy's" site, here:

http://radiolaguy.com/Showcase/VintageTV/Sears_5170.htm

The close-up shots of the chassis don't look like anything that RCA made (that I have seen, anyway), but RCA perhaps licensed some of the circuitry to Toshiba.

jr

Cool! Did it look like the small Silvertone shown on "radiola guy's" site, here:

http://radiolaguy.com/Showcase/VintageTV/Sears_5170.htm jr


Yes, except mine was a table model in a black metal cabinet, IIRC.

I remember the Kennedy coverage was in B&W, & looks like its from some ancient time, far removed...And I have commented here long & loudly about how the video work looks SO amateurish, w/so many "Artifacts", & the camera tubes so obviously overloading...Kinda looked like they drug all their old 1948 equipment out of the janitor's closet, smacked it good & rolled w/it...

I remember the Kennedy coverage I was 6th grade we watched it at school
on a 21 " zenith table top then at home on my parents Curtis Mathes combo
24" I think. The images were a far cry from what we have today but still vivid in my memory .
I think the network feeds were on phone lines then IIRC satellites were not in use yet for TV .
regards

I believe that the TV networks were either Coaxial or microwave then because a standard twisted pair phone system has mediocre band width when used for audio, and audio has much less bandwidth than video.

And a LOT of it looked like it was "Recorded for Prosperity" via kinescopes, rather than on tape. Of course, VTRs were still kinda new-fangled back in '63, I don't think they were widely used-or entirely trusted.

Cool! Did it look like the small Silvertone shown on "radiola guy's" site, here:

http://radiolaguy.com/Showcase/VintageTV/Sears_5170.htm

The close-up shots of the chassis don't look like anything that RCA made (that I have seen, anyway), but RCA perhaps licensed some of the circuitry to Toshiba.

jr

Back in the mid-60's, Sears had two suppliers for the 18" table models. Toshiba and Sanyo. The Toshiba's were a little higher end. The Sanyo's had more CRT and Flyback failures. Most customers had maintenance agreements on those models, for at least a few years.

Back in the mid-60's, Sears had two suppliers for the 18" table models. Toshiba and Sanyo. The Toshiba's were a little higher end. The Sanyo's had more CRT and Flyback failures. Most customers had maintenance agreements on those models, for at least a few years.


Hmmm. :scratch2: My Sears 16" set (don't know the vintage or, for that matter, whether the chassis was made by Sanyo or Toshiba) was working perfectly when I rescued it from the curb. I guess the former owner got tired of it or wanted a set with a bigger picture.

Color TV for less than $500, in 1963 that is.



How about under $400 in 1964?

http://file.vintageadbrowser.com/419249ukhcvre5.jpg

$400 was STILL "Big Money" back then...Remember, a Caddy Fleetwood Brougham was about $7500 then, as was a smaller home. My grandad rewarded himself-at 75- w/a '73 Fleetwood Brougham. He DIDN'T tell my granny, he just DID IT. Well, he went to pick her up in it, & unfortunately, had left the window sticker in the back seat...$10243,& some odd cents. My Gran blew about 3 gaskets- "TEN THOUSAND dollars ?!? My God, Fritz, are you out of your MIND ?!? That's more money than it cost The Good Lord to make the WORLD..." She stayed fuzzed up over that for SEVERAL days....Fritz was a meek,mild mannered fella, but she was a "Fire-Horse" enuff for the both of 'em...(grin) Meh...10 grand NOW won't even buy you the veriest econobox...

My parents paid $569 for a 1971 Zenith 23" (23VATP22) chassis 12B14C52. A rather basic contemporary dark wood cabinet (no legs). I still have it and after 14 solid years of use, the CRT is only a bit soft. It has HV regulator issues tho' and needs bench time I can't spare.
My 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix cost 10 times that amount in late '68, when a 23" color was $500.
Nowadaze, you pay $400 for an average LCD TV but an average car will cost you 40 times more. Funny how a TV is still relatively the same price as '63.

Cars are much different (and so are TV's), but car prices are unbelievable.
Sandy, your G-dad deserved that caddy! We could all learn something there.

We moved here in Sept 1963. We didn't have a TV for a couple of months (don't remember missing TV) but my dad answered an ad for a 19" B&W Emerson TV for $125 from a couple who had received it as a wedding present. Two days later Kennedy was shot and couldn't watch TV for almost two weeks. We only got 2 channels and I remember my friends at that time were commenting on that fact that we couldn't watch Gunsmoke!