comments on Zenith sets (1 Viewer)

[Brent_H]

I am just starting to research a HD RPTV and I know that alot of you prefer the Mitsubishi and Toshiba models. But I was wondering what any of you thought about a particular R56W28 Zenith.......I read a review on it on the first issue of DVD ETC and I was impressed. No one on this forum seems to ever discuss any Zenith sets so I have no idea what to think. Any comments are certainly welcome!!!

brent

 

[Brent_H]

no responses? exactly my point....

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Brent,
Zenith went through a bad patch a few years ago, mainly related to overheating of some of their cheaper 27 inch sets.

Zenith was once a very well respected American mfr of tv and other consumer electronics in the 50s to 70s or so, but then fell on hard times and sold out to a Korean company, the parent of Gold Star, I think. For a while they were known mainly for producing WalMart grade stuff, and their reliability became suspect. Just prior to the Korean buyout they were major contributors to the development of the American HD system and digital broadcasting standards in general. It would appear that their R&D was a lot better than their consumer products were for a while.

A lot of their recent products look quite promising, and they have in the past made some popular front projectors.

Thier recent HD stb was thought of as a very good performer but had a couple of minor glitches and has been or will soon be replaced with a new model.

A lot of retailers virtually dropped the brand when they were having the reliability problems, and so they aren't seen in very many stores.

It would be nice if they sold enough stuff to re-aquire a track record, a lot of their higher end stuff of late has been highly regarded as far as performance goes.

 

[Brent_H]

Steve--

Finally, a reply! Thanks for the info....stuff I had no idea about......I will keep my eyes and ears alert for any Zenith developments!!

thanks,
Brent

 

[Jack Briggs]

Brent, if anything, Zenith has made a major comeback in terms of reliability and respect. In fact, the A/V crowd pays very close attention to the company's releases.

The current Zenith is taken seriously.

And the new 34-inch widescreen direct-view Zenith is "road tested" in the Sept. 2002 issue of Sound & Vision. Though generally a positive review, it noted what, for me, would be reason enough to pass on the set: no progressive-scan component-video inputs. Yeewps. Next!

But ask about the inputs on that RPTV. If the "jack pack" is good, then give the set a serious looksee.

 

[Aaron Gould]

From what I understand, LG Electronics is the company that took over Zenith. They now have both Zenith and Gold Star under their umbrella. LG (so I'm told) makes their own electronics - including CRTs and LCDs - and does a great job at it.

Of course, this might not be 100% accurate -- but I'm certain this is what a salesperson at a local high-end AV store told me a few weeks back.

 

[Aaron Gould]

Just a follow up.
Turns out this information is mostly true...
Here's a page from Zenith's site regarding their corporate history, including information on LG's involvement:
http://www.zenith.com/sub_about/about_corp_history.html

 

[Brent_H]

well the only reason i would seriously NOT consider a Zenith set is because no one sells them around here. I live in a city of 80,000+ and not one Zenith dealer unless I go to Minneapolis........as far as delivery and repairs go, this would be a nightmare I would think. So, hopefully there would be no problems

 

[Don Beverly]

I have had two of the higher end Zenith "Inteq" analog sets which was for a time just a few years ago a couple of professional testers "benchmark" sets.
Best blacks I have ever seen, even today after a few years of living with these sets, they deliver a great image.
At the CES show in vegas this year their HD awards were displayed along with some earlier ones. I think, like Chrysler, they always had an excellent R & D but poor marketing and mismanagement apparently took the out of mainstream.
Current owners in So. Korea are into a lot of electronics and not always advertised in our "hyped" society.
If you see one of their sets and you like it, I don't think chance of problems is any greater than any other, these products are primarily board and come from all over the planet.
Service, according to a lot of forum users, can be bad with any brand
I also have a Toshiba and two RCA's with many years of happy tv watching. Buy what looks good to you, it's your money.
PS: remember garbage in and garbage out is still viable regardless of what you pay for your set. C-band, DVD and properly tuned roof antennas still deliver the best images.