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My guess: the best crt's were what RCA & Zenith were turning out in the 70's. Japan,Inc. was putting the squeeze on them but moreso it was Korea. (with China around the corner) Money had to be cut; surveys were done showing that picture tubes were lasting longer than they "needed to" and so things were redesigned. That sure looks like what happened with Zenith, anyway. Again, just a guess. Not that long ago most color picture tubes were made in the US; I guess most of what is still being made today is sourced from China or the smaller "third world" countries. A color crt is still a complex piece of equipment. I suspect the biggest problems with tubes that don't last are cheap cathodes, skimpy guns, and impurities.
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Bryan
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