MIT wants to take your viewing experience outside of the box
Posted 04.09.2010 at 2:58 pm
8 Comments
Surround Vision
Say, what's that sound coming from over there?
MIT Media Lab
Surround sound at the movies allows audiences to get a 360-degree auditory experience, but MIT researchers want people to see the off-screen action as well. Their Surround Vision technology could let viewers turn toward the sound of copter blades and see the incoming helicopter before it appears on the TV screen.
A handheld Internet-connected device such as a smartphone could provide a personalized viewing screen, in addition to the main TV. Looking off toward the left or right would cue a new camera angle for the same scene to pop up on the handheld device.
The concept comes courtesy of Santiago Alfaro, who developed the thesis project under MIT Media Lab scientist Michael Bove. They envision the extra video perspectives streaming over the Internet to the handheld devices, so that there's no modification needed for the main TV broadcast or set-top boxes.
Such technology takes advantage of magnetometers built into handheld devices, such as the most recent iPhone. The magnetometers act as compasses that can detect the handheld device's orientation relative to the TV.
Alfaro and Bove already have user studies planned for the spring and summer, and have brought in content partners to experiment with sports, live action shows, cartoons and even studio-like talk shows. People who don't have the technology won't even know they're missing it, but the pilot program could lead to a new level of viewer interaction with their televisions.
[MIT]
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I'm sorry, but I already have one TV. Why on earth would I buy another, they should just point in direction the action is going on or go to holographic 3d projection style!
Holy crap -- how much is this going to up production costs?
More cameras, and keyed so that a user can direct specific feeds.
Not to mention another channel to transfer the additional info.
But, at least the article included the mandatory Apple reference -- even if it was just the iPhone and not the iPad.
Never gonna work...besides...who would want to look at the door when two people are in a heated discussion on screen?
It will be almost impossible to do because how are you going to hide the production staff hiding behind the view of the one camera already set to capture the scene?
What you see don't see on camera is the director, the grips, the soundguy, the monitors, the producer, etc sitting behind the camera working. What are you gonna do, move them? Who is gonna hold the boom mike? Who is gonna direct the action? Who is gonna hold the camera?
The only way I see this technology working is for video games, specifically a first person shooter, which exists in a virtual world where there aren't people in the background who shouldn't be in the picture.
Has anyone ever read Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451?
Has anyone considered this could probably be best used to watch sports?
Basketball, Football, Soccer, and so on. All the cameras are already in place, so instead of having the view constantly change, maybe one could keep it in a single orientation.
Sweet thats cool
i think this would suck for movies.... unless they shoot this in the real world or a wrap around set, your just going to see a guy picking his nose while he sits in a director chair. o wait its just mel gibson.
Usually (but not always ;) ) Filmmakers are trained to pick the best possible shot to see something, and the way it's timed. Although, this is a nice idea...I think from any perspective one may loose storyline, and without that training make something great, into something boring. Also, it's like already having widescreen, and given a full screen viewer..This might work better with video games.