P3D Re: Realist to VM

[EightxTen@xxxxxxx]

The heat has gotten to me, and i'm lying here dreaming.......

Does anyone really want to view tiny film chips through cheap bakelite or 
very expensive steel viewers?  Especially given the sad fact that the 
personal reels are almost out of production, and the ones still being 
produced are extremely flawed.  The convenience and entertainment value of 
the viewmaster is hard to beat, but why should high-quality 35mm 
transparencies have to be reduced in size and degraded through 
generation-loss, to achieve that goal?

Why not try to agree on some consensus for a viewer/reel format which could 
stand the test of time until "film" is no longer available.  If other 
organizations can get together and establish standards for tv, magnetic 
media, new film formats, etc....why couldn't a group such as ours?  Wouldnt 
an enlarged viewmaster reel be the ideal?  One which could accomodate full 
frame (and smaller) stereo pairs.  Perhaps it could be called a HuMaster (as 
in Hu-go).  While the initial costs of developing the new reel format and the 
equipment required to produce both reels and viewers would be significant, if 
enough interest was generated, it might seem to be a worthwhile endeavor for 
someone to undertake.  And as production levels increase, costs would 
inevitably come down.  With some type of standard as this, there would be 
many advantages.  The quality of the images is retained via the larger 
format.  Full-frame pairs are easy to duplicate.  Images are easier to 
maintain.  Individuals would find it easy to reproduce their own reels for 
sale, etc - even in small quantities.

I know, standardization would meet resistance.  If there weren't a thousand 
different types of viewers, a thousand different formats, etc.....it would 
make for a pretty boring convention!  And Dr. T's publishing business could 
take a dive, as well!  But perhaps, the quality and ease of sharing one's 
images might be an advantage worth considering.

Okay, I',m waking up now.....but if anyone has that million bucks lying 
around for the R & D, please step forward.

Gary Dineen


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