http://www.smokypond.com/gallery/pictures/antique_electronics/rca_648pv/
Click here to watch a short YouTube video of this set in operation and judge for yourself.

I believe their downfall was their large size, their weight and their high initial setup costs. Eventually of course, direct view picture tubes caught up to them. But if you had deep pockets, you were watching a 25" TV several years ahead of most folks!

The reel-to-reel tape recorder seen in the video to the right of the screen is a 1947 Brush BK-401. It was the first consumer tape recorder. Unlike later tape which was based on acetate or Mylar, the BK-401's tape was made of paper, with an oxide coating glued to one side.

Together, the RCA and the Brush could be considered a 1947 "home entertainment center," albeit an expensive one. The price of these two together, when adjusted for inflation (per the Consumer Price Index), approaches $30,000 in 2008 dollars!]]> en-us Matt Kroll (smokypond) Gallery 2 RSS Module, version 1.1.0 Tue, 12 May 2026 23:24:50 +0000 0 http://www.smokypond.com/gallery/download/930-4/rca_648pv.jpg http://www.smokypond.com/gallery/pictures/antique_electronics/rca_648pv/