"I can no longer recall the brands they were used in (Akai?), but NEC uPcs in VCRs were problematic. We stocked them. IIRC, the numbers on them had the prefix uPc."

Some Sonys IIRC as well. A few others but not every model. There were also TA (Toshiba), LA (Sanyo) and a couple others.

They were all power products and subject to failure. Sometimes the PC was discolored near them due to heat. Also STKs in the earlier non-switching power supplies, changed a bunch of those. I don't know if those are Sanken or Sanyo.

One bad micro I saw was in an RPTV, a Hitachi. A proprietary part. I ran it down to the shutdown input that came from the HV and current detectors. The whole chip was alright except for the pulldown resistor for that pin. A simple 10K resistor fixed that.

With jungle I+CS it was about 50/50. I avoided changing them until everything else was checked and it was usually a cap or high value resistor.

I was the one who fixed things the other techs couldn't and sometimes I got them with the jungle already changed. I could change them with zero damage usually, even the fine pin ones, as long as they were through hole. I got them half butcherd with ;lifted pads and they were jumpered in, so I had to check that before even beginning to actually troubleshoot.

Then one day it was mentioned that I used more solder wick than the other techs, I replied "Yeah, and I've seen their work". You are not normally supposed to be able to tell a repair has been done. Add to that the fact that they needlessly changed a bunch of ICs because they were not good troubleshooters. Usually when I called it the chip, it was the chip. The others seemed to guess. That's why I got the big bucks. Now I am practically unemployable. But I do what I can, it just takes longer.