Expected lifetime of new TV sets

[superdeez]

Agreed that the late 70s and 80s sets are some of the best in terms of reliability.

I am still amazed at my old RCA 12" B&W portable. The set was manufactured in December, 1983, was used in my nursery, it became "mine" when I was about 7 or 8 and of course, I used to like to play with it (turning it on-off-on-off, etc.) it's been dropped at least once (a light fall from my bed when my mother was moving furnature, I think she might have wanted to break it...), moved around all over the place, blah, blah, blah and it still works like a charm...with no service whatsoever ever having been performed during its entire 23 year lifespan. Plus too, it was my daily watcher from...when I began watching TV until about a year ago.

Unfortunately, the old beast is beginning to show its age. That picture tube is dying an ugly death. It's still fully functional though. I see no reason why, with a new tube it wouldn't work another 20+ years.