Traditionally, measuring microscopes or Profile projectors were used to measure cable insulation and sheath thickness. For quite a long time , quality control personnel of cable manufacturing units had to rely on these systems to ensure that the finished product matched the minimum set standards for a particular voltage rated cable. However with the coming of Filed-of-view based systems which overcomes many disadvantages of the traditional systems, quality professionals can not only be assured of the accuracy of the results but also can perform their job more efficiently.

The traditional systems had the following disadvantages:

1. Selection of minimum thickness point:  In traditional systems the operator used to visually probe the sample to find the minimum thickness point. This practice was prone to errors because of its dependence on operator skill and alertness. However in a FOV systems, the minimum thickness is automatically calculated using image capture and computer algorithms.
2. Sixty degree thickness measurements: Once the minimum thickness is detected, the measuring standard requires to measure five different measurements at 60 degree each which is a time consuming procedure. With an FOV system, these measurements are done automatically in no time.
3. Diameter Measurements: Traditional measurement methods probed diameter at two points and then calculated the average value of diameter. On the other hand an FOV system, especially a Cable Quickie, probes 10,000 point on the cable cross-section to find out the average diameter and thus gives more accurate results.
4. Eccentricity Measurements: Cable eccentricity measurements with measuring microscopes and profile projectors used to time consuming and error prone but with FOV systems the calculation is automatic.