Originally Posted by
Seat 2A
This could come down to a battle of semantics...
First:
Inflight Entertainment
Does a movie shown in flight constitute "
Inflight Entertainment"? To me at least, the answer is
yes. albeit artificial entertainment as opposed to conversing with seatmate or enjoying the view from on high.
Second: What constitutes a "
system" with regard to providing or showing a movie inflight?
Let's start with a definition of "System". The link below takes us to the Merriam Webster online dictionary definition
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/system
I am drawn to
definition "D" as being the most relevant to a "
film projection system" as would have been installed aboard an airliner in the 1960s. To wit:
A group of devices or artificial objects or an organization forming a network especially for distributing something or serving a common purpose
a telephone system
a heating system
a highway system
a computer system
Also, I cheated and did a bit of online research. It seems - as per Wikipedia - that the first in-flight movie was screened by Aeromarine Airways in 1921, showing a film called Howdy Chicago to passengers on a Felixstowe F.5 flying boat as it flew around Chicago. This was referenced via a book titled "A History of Inflight Entertainment" authored by a John Norman White in 2013.
The link below supports that assertion, along with TWA having been the first to air full length Hollywood feature films via a 75lb 16mm projector. Also noted is that the first in-flight movie
that was actually a Hollywood film, was "The Lost World", which aired in 1925 on an Imperial Airlines flight.
https://tedium.co/2020/06/19/in-flig...mpact-history/
After further enhancing the search with "1971", the only mention I could find - also via Wikipedia - was this:
"In 1971, TRANSCOM developed the 8mm film cassette. Flight attendants could now change movies in-flight and add short subject programming."
Well, to me at least, that's just a modification to - or improvement - to an already existing system.
Anyway, consider this just a bit more food for thought toward the ultimate answer...
Additionally, I would disagree with your colleague's assertion that this information - in particular the development of the 8mm cassette for inflight movies - is "common knowledge". I doubt even the most well read Jeopardy champion would be aware of such off the beaten path esoterica
I think I might have misrepresented my colleague's assertion a bit, so let me try to provide some context. He is a Chinese guy who lives alone outside of a small city and is passionate about software engineering and hasn't been exposed to many environments in which supporting arguments (outside of math/science) with evidence, and the Chinese education system doesn't really excel in that area anyway (i.e. analytical thinking takes a back seat to rote learning...pros and cons to this, I suppose). Knowing this, I didn't try to beat him up about too hard about "common knowledge" (doing so would have been frustrating for me and likely triggered his temper). Rather, I simply explained to him that the "quizmaster agent" I created in his system was unable to provide a convincing answer to its own question, leaving the door open for him to blame me. His explanation was a bit too technical for me (made more challenging by the fact that I'm not a native Chinese speaker), but the gist of it was that, due to necessary down sampling, it wasn't going to give me anything close to the level of granularity that I deem acceptable, "common knowledge" simply means that it has picked up on enough trends to give it an arbitrary level of confidence, I'm welcome to retrain it on any data sets I please. While I wasn't happy with that, it is what it is. Furthermore, it is kind of my fault for trying to adapt his work for this niche project that is far outside of its wheelhouse.
Alas, I'm going to continue to think of other ways to learn more about this specific mystery. In case I haven't implied it yet, I'm not especially knowledgeable about IFE, so I'm still struggling with how to simply structure the inquiry, much like you've done above.
Before, I get any further into the weeds, I want to reveal the
intended answer (Varig, 1971):
Definition of IFE Systems that I pried out of it (don't read too much into this because I got to this point AFTER the question was answered based on whatever pre-conceived definition it had been employing at the outset):
In-flight entertainment (IFE) systems refer to the early integrated entertainment platforms and services available to passengers during commercial air travel. These systems were introduced prior to modern concepts like on-demand entertainment and typically provided limited entertainment options, such as movies or music, through overhead projectors or individual screens located in the cabin. Passengers could access a predetermined selection of content provided by the airline, often in a scheduled format rather than on-demand. The introduction of IFE systems represented a significant advancement in passenger experience, offering a new form of entertainment and diversion during flights.
How Varig supposedly conforms with this
Varig's introduction of the first-ever in-flight entertainment (IFE) system in 1971 aligns with the provided definition of IFE systems. Here's how Varig's IFE system adhered to the definition:
Integrated Entertainment Platform: Varig's IFE system was an early integrated entertainment platform installed on its aircraft, providing passengers with access to entertainment options during their flights.
Limited Entertainment Options: The system offered limited entertainment options, such as movies or music, to passengers. These options were likely provided through overhead projectors or individual screens located in the cabin.
Predetermined Selection of Content: Passengers could access a predetermined selection of content provided by Varig. The airline likely curated a selection of movies or music for passengers to enjoy during their flights.
Scheduled Format: The content provided by Varig's IFE system was likely presented in a scheduled format, meaning that it was available to passengers at specific times during the flight rather than on-demand.
Advancement in Passenger Experience: The introduction of Varig's IFE system represented a significant advancement in the passenger experience, offering a new form of entertainment and diversion during flights.
I'm a little ashamed to show you that stuff because I haven't been able to find any support it whatsoever, but I've included mainly to demonstrate what I've been battling.
I need to head out now, so I'm closing out this installment here. Happy Easter, all!