Which is the first problem - customers taking whatever processor the dealer suggests to them, or a friend/colleague recommended, never questioning the competence of said friend/dealer, the difference in subjective taste in processing and the rest of the equipment in chain nor personal interests (in case of dealers, who make direct money selling products). Of course the customers are happy. Most of them don't know better, don't have time or don't care. And if the dealer is a good sales guy, the uncritical buyer is easily convinced he's got the best box. At least for a while...
The corollary of this is that the brand that is perceived to be good is the one that has the most dealers who are good at selling. It happens all too often that the better box is not sold over the other one, because the other dealer is stronger, has better connections in given market with major stations, is more active or is simply a better sales guy. And if that dealer has sold processor A to the station X and station Y and station Z and station Y as well, then processor A must be a good, right? No. But that's what happens. In not too short, the market is flooded with processor A, everybody talks about processor A and processor A is perceived to be the best. In other market, the situation could be totally opposite.
The same thing happens on various boards and mailing lists... Depending on how many users who use certain brand and how many of them report to the forum, that brand is perceived to be better. If one poster says brand A is good, but six or seven other posters says brand B is good, that single poster will not be heard. And it has nothing to do how good the processors are. On the other forum, the odds may be in favour of the other brand. Very rarely the number of users of different processors are balanced in a way to actually represent the real-life market situation. Any conclusion drawn from such discussions would not hold water in any serious statistical analysis. The sample size is way too small, the way of gathering data inappropriate and the results unreliable and invalid. However, people seem to accept them as facts. Why?
Additionaly, some posters may be louder, more argumentative and have more time on their hands to post on the forum than the others who give up. Of posters who post, a number of them could be the actual manufacturers and designers openly or subtly endorsing their own products. There could be anonymous people with who knows what interests, agendas and morals. There could be some "expert" or at least experienced people, however with their own subjective preferences and experience from their specific markets. There could be conformists. There could be people who just want to get some attention, etc. Very few readers put competence question when they read something somebody writes. Very few are sceptic of whatever is written and a lot seem to just accept what someone writes without any validation what so ever.
Regards,
Goran Tomas
