Re: [Leica] Leica Users digest V18 #31

[LRZeitlin@aol.com]

In a message dated 9/22/00 7:05:10 AM, 
owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us writes:

<< > What the proponents of 'better' consistently fail to realize is that the
> 'better' they think is so obvious, is *one* of many, many possible frames of
> reference, and that their frame of reference is not necessarily any more
> valid than any other one.  >>

So true! Years ago I worked for the old RCA company when commercial 
manufacture of TV receivers was just getting started. The engineers designed 
what they thought was the "best" possible B&W TV, the old model 630. The 
receiver had 31 tubes (remember them) and adjustments for every possible 
aspect of the picture, vertical and horizontal size, contrast, brightness, 
vertical and horizontal linearity, sharpness, etc - and the consumers hated 
it. All the controls were interactive. Merely adjusting the  picture for 
decent quality took half an hour if you had a degree from MIT and forever if 
you were an average user. The most frequent repair call was a control readjust
ment.

We finally ran surveys to see what consumers thought was the "best" picture 
and discovered that brightness and contrast were the ONLY image criteria. 
Ease of use and convenience were more important than squeezing the most 
information out of the broadcast signal. The result was that the tube count 
was cut in half, settings were fixed at a central value, and the image was 
overscanned so that only 2/3 of the picture would appear on the screen. 
Normal deterioration and aging would shrink the picture during the life of 
the set. The sets sold like crazy and only Elvis Presley records made more 
money for the company.

The analogy to photography is obvious. LUGGERS are like our old engineers. 
Our "best" is the most that can be squeezed out of a 35mm negative. The 
public, on the other hand, couldn't care less. P&S quality in a 4x6 print, 
delivered cheaply and promptly, is "best" for most purposes. Sad to say, I am 
beginning to agree.

LarryZ