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Originally Posted by zenith2134
First off, I have firsthand experience with Orion picture tubes from the two sets I owned with them. One was a 1981 Portland, really cheap (rudimentary) for 81, not even having auto color or an electronic tuning scheme. It had a 19 inch Orion tube- I don't recall the number, but that set is still going strong in my aunts basement almost 7 years later. She has it hooked up to a yagi-type rooftop antenna and the pic is actually quite good.
Next I fixed my neighbor's Daewoo 19" set, I would say it was a 1984-5 model, but a very simple design. he says he bought it new and it never gave any trouble until it was hit with a lightning strike. I basically replaced the whole power supply section of the mainboard(it seemed it wheeew) but expected a terrible picture. I saw the set operating around dinner time last thursday. He has it on DTV digital cable and the raster is just as bright and crisp as ever. Maybe Orion has gone downhill now and Toshiba chose them because they are cheaper? Who would have done that back in the 60's-70's....? Eh.
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Couple of wrong infos regarding Orion...(I have over five years of experience understanding the Toshiba-Orion connection, so you can believe me, although I don't go to this forum too often.)
Your 1981 Portland TV was actually made by Daewoo with Orion tube that was a Korean firm and owned by Daewoo. This is not the same Orion company found in the TVs that are Made in Thailand today, in fact, they are not owned by each other. Back then, Orion Electric Co. Ltd. Japan produced video products for Emerson and TMK (Toyomenka) in Japan until they moved the entire production to Thailand beginning in 1990. The Orion Electric Co. Ltd. Korea has only made CRT picture tubes for televisions and monitors for Daewoo, Funai, Goldstar, Samsung, Sharp, and Zenith.
If you are talking Toshiba, you must be referring to the Orion Electric Co. Ltd. Japan one. Orion did not go downhill, actually. Orion sold the Emerson brand to Funai in 2000 so they can start expanding their facilities and dream of making products for major brands that they can actually sell in stores. Orion sent an invitation to Toshiba way back in 2001 to try outsourcing to them, and Toshiba agreed to join. So, the first Toshiba products to be made by Orion ever were the CRT TVs sized 27" and smaller, some VCRs, and one DVD/VCR combo (model SD-V280). As time goes on, Toshiba starts to be more satisfied with Orion because off its production performance and low-cost, so Toshiba begins to outsource their products to Orion more. Today, Orion makes ALL of Toshiba-branded CRT tube televisions, LCD televisions sized 23" and under, plasma televisions, and DVD/VCR combos. More than 65% of Toshiba TV/video products sold in the market today are made by Orion. It has been predicted that next year, Orion will be making all of Toshiba televisions (CRT, LCD, and Plasma, but not DLP projection), regardless of what price. So, if you see a TV with a Toshiba brand in store, it is made by Orion. Toshiba is the first and only major brand so far to outsource their entire TV/video production to a third-world supplier, including Orion. Nobody is doing this yet. I wonder how long will Toshiba stay in business before the consumers will know that they are getting Orion-made TVs for the premium price they pay? Just to be clear, Orion is NOT owned by Toshiba. Toshiba is a LOYAL Orion customer who fills out a lot of order forms to them waiting for the products to be made. Orion will soon be the world's most powerful OEM maker and will beat Funai in a couple of years. Because Orion has Toshiba, and Toshiba has kindly asked Orion to hide from the public, Orion was forced to discontinue making all of their own off-branded products (Broksonic, Memorex, Orion and Sansui), and they are no longer available at stores, which means consumers will not be aware of the Orion company anymore. Toshiba still refuses to admit the public that the TVs are made by Orion, and they will always lie to their customers saying that the TVs are still made by Toshiba (give me a break). Don't ever try contacting Toshiba's customer support.