Eric, why do you say these sets are junk? There are a few Sony sets in there (if I am to believe the description), which, according to what I've read in this and other threads here in the year or so I've been an AK member, are made even better than some Thomson-built RCAs, namely the ones with the on-board RF tuner. Certain makes of TVs are more troublesome than others, as were the RCA-branded Thomson sets before the company saw the error of its ways and started making them with the tuner separate from the main chassis. My own 1999-model RCA, which I bought new just a month (!) after it was made, has only had one repair (yup, you guessed it, the on-board tuner's ground points) in the five years I've had it, and it works very well now--no CRT or chassis problems whatsoever (except for a small problem with the signal-processor "jungle" IC, but it turns out that doesn't affect the set's operation much, if at all, since I use the set with a cable box and leave the tuner on channel 4 at all times; the picture is wonderful, the jungle IC problem notwithstanding).
The point I am trying to make is simply that I do not think it is a good idea to condemn all modern televisions as "junk" just because they are housed in black plastic cabinets and are built offshore. As I said earlier, all makes of TV sets (or anything else) have their quirks, even those big Thomson-built RCA consoles (which I don't think Thomson makes anymore--I don't see it on their website as of late) or Zenith's 25- and 27-inch console sets. The fact that most everything is manufactured well offshore these days is a contributing factor, but by no means the entire problem. The automated assembly lines used in the manufacture of today's home-entertainment gear are largely to blame as well. Sometimes the automated equipment fails to solder certain underchassis connections properly (as in the 1999 and earlier vintage Thomson/RCAs with their OB tuner problems), or, in cases of defective CRTs (as in Zenith-branded Gold Star TVs), the machinery doesn't assemble the electron guns properly, etc. because of faulty programming of the machine's controllers (these assembly lines, as I said, are mostly if not completely computer-controlled these days) or other problems with the software or hardware.
Just because anything, whether it be a television set or an automobile, is made offshore doesn't necessarily mean it is junk. Some offshore products, such as many Sony, Sharp, etc. TV sets, are trouble-free right out of the box and remain so for years. (Again I refer to my 1999 RCA TV, which has had only one small repair in five years; the set has been trouble-free ever since, and I use it several hours a day, every day of the year.)
The problem with many smaller manufacturers, as I stated above, is largely with the slap-dash manner in which everything is done nowadays in the name of increased productivity; quality control is in many cases a thing of the past with smaller offshore firms. I personally would think twice before purchasing a TV set with a name I never heard of, for one never knows who really makes these off-brand sets. Since Thomson/RCA seems to have licked the OB tuner problem in its current production of television sets, however, if I were to buy a new one tomorrow I just might consider getting another RCA. This brand, manufactured offshore though it is (mine was built in Juarez, Mexico), is still a fairly good make, IMO, and now even better since the tuner problems have been solved in the newer ones.
Don't forget that even the older models with onboard tuners will work for years once the ground points on the main PC board are properly soldered. It has been almost three years since I had the OB tuner in my set resoldered; the repair is still holding and the TV itself, as I said, makes a great picture on cable. I expect the set to last many more years.
Goldstar/Zenith, on the other hand, is a different story. GS still does not seem to have licked the CRT problems and numerous chassis troubles being reported with these sets, which accounts for the large number of GS-built "Zeniths" winding up on curbs on trash pickup day in many residential neighborhoods each week. These TVs are not worth repairing after the warranty expires, especially if the CRT shorts and takes much of the video circuitry with it (as we all know, this is an all-too-common problem with current-production GS/Zenith sets).
Goldstar/Zenith is about the only brand of TV set I can think of right now that could be considered junk, unless of course you consider the offbrand sets sold in discount stores like Circuit City, Best Buy, et al., many of which are and have been junk since they burst on the market. This includes those cute little 5" AC/battery portables with continuous tuners and AM/FM radio; I recently saw one (with the name Sylvania on the box) in a discount house in my hometown for $11.97. These are hardly worth repairing when they go bad for any reason and from any cause.
BTW, I wouldn't have one even if they were made well, as I live in a fringe area where rabbit ears and certainly monopoles do not work well at all; moreover, those small sets aren't designed to be used with external antennas or on cable, which is really the only way to get decent TV reception here.
The lightning-bolt Z logo may still be on the cabinets of GS-built Zeniths, just below the CRT, but don't be fooled. These sets are definitely NOT the Zenith TVs we knew back when Zenith meant The Zenith Radio Corporation of Chicago, Illinois. Heck, even my 1995 Zenith Sentry 2 19" remote color set was made in Mexico, even though it has a computer-generated label on the back which bears the following: Zenith Radio Corporation, Glenview, IL 60025. (This label also states that the television was manufactured in Mexico.) My best guess is that this address was that of the company's business offices; the manufacturing plant went offshore several years earlier. (That address is out of date, by the way; Zenith's corporate offices, or at least what is left of them in this country, are in the Chicago suburb of Lincolnshire, Illinois.)
I understand GS has ceased using even the lightning-bolt Z logo on its color sets, and CBS' high-definition disclaimer on its HD shows no longer states "Brought to you in High Definition (where available) by Zenith." The name "Zenith" on that disclaimer has since been replaced by LG.
I wonder. If GS no longer uses the Zenith lightning bolt on its TVs, what brand identification
does apprear on Gold Star sets? My best guess is their round "LG" logo, such as is used on their appliances, now appears on these TVs where the Zenith logo once was.
I wonder as well whether appliances other than televisions (microwaves, air conditioners, refrigerators, washers, dryers, etc.) made by LG are just as poorly made and have such a lousy reliability record as the firm's electronic gear. If so, I would begin to wonder. More to the point, I'd steer clear of LG-built anything, as it clearly isn't worth the proverbial hill of beans.