Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/06/29

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Subject: Re: [Leica] The Rumour Mill
From: "Mxsmanic" <mxsmanic@hotmail.com>
Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2001 12:06:20 +0200
References: <200106290701.AAA02676@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us> <3B3C3D94.3367095@t-online.de>

Hans-Peter writes:

> And isn't panasonic/matsushita the maker of
> most video gear as well as most of point and
> shoot cameras, including those marketed with
> Nikon and Leica badge?

The acknowledged leader in video is Sony, but I believe Matsushita does more
volume, especially since it has a broader product line than Sony.  Still, for
broadcast, Sony is the standard, overall.

> BTW the best home video system was "Video
> 2000" by Phillips/Grundig and, consequently,
> was an even greater commercial failure than
> Beta.

That was a consequence of poor marketing, not technical excellence.  Sony made a
few mistakes in marketing and lost the business.  European companies in general
tend to be far worse at marketing, and so they lose even more business.  V2000
was never even a blip on the radar in most parts of the world, as I recall.

> Unlike Sony and Phillips/Grundig, Matsushita
> gave licences to other manufactures which helped
> to establish VHS as an industry standard.

That may be part of it.  I think Sony probably made multiple mistakes, but I
don't recall the details.  I know that Mr. Morita always regretted that
disaster, even though the Betamax format, in a modified form, became the
standard for broadcast video (at least in ENG).

In reply to: Message from Hans-Peter.Lammerich@t-online.de (RE: [Leica] The Rumour Mill)