What on earth has happened to Zenith and RCA over the last few
years?

Zenith got bought out by LG recently, although they were actually worse off
before that.

RCA went bust as a corporation in 1986.

These companies used to be known for quality in their TVs and
other home-entertainment equipment

Until the Japanese came over and showed us REAL quality...

Zenith and RCA, in my opinion (please, no flames), seem to have
forgotten the meaning of the word "quality." When these companies were
bought out by foreign interests, quality went out the window, for the
most part.

Actually, their quality had already been lost before their acquisition by
foreign interests.

I think today's RCAs and Zeniths
are made this way on purpose--so that retail stores and outlets such
as Best Buy and Circuit City can sell more of them, like everything
else these days.

Or just be made cheaper so that they can be sold at a lower price to satisfy
the ever-increasing public demand for less expensive electronics.

We may not like it, but the fact of the matter is
that planned obsolescence is a fact of life in the 21st century; it is
what keeps the stores in business.

It's what also kept the American auto industry alive for years ... until the
Japanese came and changed that. - Reinhart