"Augmented Reality" Featured at NAB 2010

A few words from Jacques Maltais, President of La Boîte numérique

The most recent NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) conference was held in Las Vegas from April 12th to 15th. La Boîte numérique's president, Jacques Maltais, attended. Here is what he brought back concerning the many surprises, revelations and innovations that were presented at the conference of the world's biggest trade association for broadcasters.

What is the big news from this year's NAB conference?

I'll start with the war between Adobe and Apple, which is now officially declared. Apple wants to limit the development of applications for the iPhone and iPad by other companies. To that end, Apple is imposing its own web application development package, the iPhone SDK. In response, Adobe has decided to halt all development for iPhone and iPad. They had begun to offer limited versions of Photoshop for those platforms. Since Mac and Adobe users are closely connected, I just hope this war will not take place at the expense of the user.

Additionally, Flash technology is completely incompatible with the iPhone and iPad. Apple wants to push HTML5 all the way and exclude Flash so that there would be no need for plug-ins. This remains a big worry for the user, who cannot watch video in Flash. Microsoft, however, has managed to get around this constraint thanks to its Silverlight software on Windows Server 2008. Version 4, due out in June, is certainly compatible with the iPhone and iPad and will enable videos to be played on Mac, PC, Linux, iPhone and iPad, always with the QuickTime player.

What is the most impressive new technology presented at NAB this year?

What impressed me the most is the introduction of truly "augmented reality". Available in Japan for two years, it is still unknown here. Much of it revolves around the world of gaming. For example, a 3D character can be generated on the screen simply by placing a playing card in front of a web cam. Once on the screen, the character can interact with movement and sound. Two cards placed face to face will generate characters that will interact with each other.

It's amazing. This is the first step towards the creation of holograms! They have even set up this process in amusement parks where the characters are projected in life size and can interact with the public.

Augmented reality also serves adults. Looking through the camera of a mobile phone, you can see output links with real time information about the location observed. Glasses with built-in cameras are also on the horizon. These innovations will serve marketing purposes but they will also provide valuable information. Imagine the amount of information that can be retrieved from our environment this way. It is a real tool for modern-day nomads. Information is no longer within reach, but directly in front of our eyes!

What is the coming revolution in the world of broadcasting?

The real revolution is emerging around cell phones, though not until 4G technology becomes available, because 3G is still limited by bandwidth restrictions (7 mb per second against 100 for the 4G). TV on cell phones should emerge massively in 2011, 2012. The three categories of users are "gadgeteers", those who want the latest technology; "cool kids" who are passionate about new technology but with little money to invest use the free applications offered over the Internet; and finally "passive users" who represent 95% of all users. They take on new technology once it is very simple and very effective to use.

But Mobile TV is more than just television on cell phones. It represents a change in how we produce and think about TV. For example, we can find the characters of a TV series on social networks. It is not the quantity that matters most, but the capacity to receive in-depth information. More and more, Internet and television will nourish each other. Everything is being reinvented as we speak.

Testing Augmented Reality:

http://www.opticiens-atol.com/pages/collections/adriana/?moduleTI=view # 0
http://www.vtele.motionindesign.com/
http://www.boffswana.com/news/?p=392
http://ge.ecomagination.com/smartgrid/#/augmented_reality
http://www.lesanimauxdufutur.com/
http://www.c3picasso.com/fr/

Special contribution by Alexandre Domingue, president of Post Moderne:

What are the innovations in post-production?

The great news is the democratization of Avid. In a new version released in June, Avid will align itself with Final Cut Pro, making it possible to play QuickTime movies directly without having to import them. This will significantly improve workflow. In addition, Mojo DX hardware with its $10,000 price tag is no longer the only one compatible. We can now use Matrox hardware developed by a Montreal based company; its MX02 mini costs only $449, more than a small price difference!

The other revolution involves colorization. BlackMagic bought Da Vinci, the color system most recognized in the industry. The entire system cost $200,000 to $800,000. The Mac version is available for $ 1,000! Previously there were only two Da Vinci systems in Montreal, so with these developments colorization becomes more accessible.