So what contribution do you think these mistakes by RCA made?
Technical achievements have nothing to do with strategical errors. While RCA introduced nuvistors to compete with transistors in 1959, Sony had acquired a licence to produce transistors in 1953 and introduced a transistorized TV in 1959. Sony improved on the patents they acquired from RCA and introduced the Trinitron color CRT in 1968. In 1964, RCA had 42% of market share of color TVs in the US. They also provided tubes and components for the other American manufacturers of color TVs. Together they had 94% of market share. By 1986, RCA was no more. The Japanese had 42% of market share and the American companies combined had 17%.
It was equivalent to trying to develop a more efficient incandescent light to compete with LEDs.
1. Competing with IBM with the Spectra series of computers (transistors by the way)
A complete disaster. The Spectra series was never profitable. By 1970, IBM could afford to spend $400M in R&D, almost twice RCA's income on computers. In 1971, RCA's computer division was sold to Sperry Rand for $250M.
2. Trying to get into the home video world with the CED video disk system (also transistors)
$500M in losses. Shelved in 1984.
5. Frozen foods (no transistors here, but no tubes either.)
Diversification spelled doom for RCA. All their competitors were focused.
And I still don't think RCA commitment to tubes was their death knell.
Never said that. I said it was their biggest mistake. What really killed them was their attempt to compete with IBM and their lack of focus. This affected the development of the video disc which was their last, although too late, attempt to get back to their forte (apart from entertainment): consumer electronics.
They weren't that commited. I cut my teeth on transistors using RCAs excellent transistor application manuals from the early 60s. And used RCA transistors in both small signal and power applications.
I still have their Transistor Thyristor and Diode Manual in Spanish, which I bought in the 70s, and two power transistors that I bought in the 80s and were already hard to find (because of that I never used them in any project). I kept them as souvenirs from a bygone era.