philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

How Spatial and augmented reality could change work

Spatial is a collaborative prototype environment where people can appear to be in the same room even if they are thousands of miles apart.

When combined with an augmented reality headset like Microsoft’s HoloLens, it allows people to share the same images, videos and even 3D models which appear to float in the space around them.

See the full story here: https://www.bbc.com/news/av/technology-47090955/how-spatial-and-augmented-reality-could-change-work

Loess Hills first-graders create a ‘virtual reality’ zoo

Virtual Reality Show Tours Saudi Arabia With Kickstart From Jeddah

“Marvel Experience KSA” will be the first time iconic superheroes like Captain America and the Hulk have appeared in virtual reality in the Middle East, when the show debuts at the Jeddah Waterfront on Sunday.

Rick Licht, CEO of Hero Ventures, said: “Having Marvel break new ground in Saudi Arabia is absolutely fantastic! Fans in this region will be overwhelmed by our show, as they will be able to witness and experience technological advances in entertainment that are practically beyond imagination.”

See the full story here: https://www.albawaba.com/editorchoice/virtual-reality-show-tours-saudi-arabia-kickstart-jeddah-1247182

‘Groundhog Day’ Sequel in Works — But It’s a VR Game, Not a Movie

“Groundhog Day: Like Father, Like Son,” drops players into a reoccurring day in the life of Phil Connors Jr., the son of the eventually affable Phil Connors and Rita Hanson from the 1993 film. As with the movie, the game has the player stuck in a single day, trapped in Connors’ home in Punxsutawney until the son, like the father did before him, learns the value of friends and family.

The game is Sony Pictures Virtual Reality’s first foray into branching narratives and interactive storytelling in a VR game. What it isn’t is some sort of preamble or marketing ploy for a film sequel.

“We are not developing a new ‘Groundhog Day’ movie,” Jake Zim, senior vice president of the Sony Pictures VR group, told Variety. “This is us expanding the storyline into a new format. We’ve taken ‘Groundhog Day’ and put it into a musical, now we’re putting it into an immersive experience.”

The conceit behind Sony Pictures VR is to build out a profitable business around immersive entertainment, Zim said.

“When we launched this business three years ago, we thought we would build small bite-sized games with movie IPs and see what price point we could get up to,” Zim said. “But we learned that wasn’t what the audience wanted.

“‘Groundhog Day’ is a real attempt to make a real game.”

Tequila Works, based in Madrid, Spain, is an indie studio with a solid reputation that had already worked on a virtual reality game with a complex intertwined narrative.

Zim said the full playthrough will likely be about eight hours.

See the full story here: https://variety.com/2019/film/news/groundhog-day-sequel-game-1203126479/

Super Bowl 2019 high-tech broadcast will razzle-dazzle your retinas (AR and 8K)

...the brand-new Mercedes-Benz stadium in Atlanta, which is hosting the championship, is embedded with over 4,000 miles of fiber to support a network that includes plenty of internet-of-things sensors throughout the building. The dome also has 90 miles of audio cabling and nearly 2,000 Wi-Fi access points.

On top of all that digital infrastructure, CBS Sports, which will broadcast the biggest event in American television, will also be using 2,000 strands of additional fiber and 330 recording channels. It's required to support the 115 total cameras and five sets around the stadium that'll be used to catch all the angles of each play, as well as the halftime show featuring Maroon 5, not to mention the pre- and postgame festivities. (Disclosure: CBS is CNET's parent company.)

This year, six of the network's cameras will also be outfitted with augmented-reality sensors from ncam that let them track AR graphics.

Integrating AR into a broadcast isn't new. Watch enough NFL games and you're bound to notice the graphics, animations, lines and other various markers on the field that aren't really there. But this year, Cohen says, CBS is experimenting with pushing the technology to new levels.

Traditional cameras, the skycam, a Techno-jib and an AVS wireless handheld Steadicam on the field will hopefully all be able to combine to project imagery into the stadium that's just for the enjoyment of the massive worldwide audience at home.

"You're really going to experience AR in a more theatrical manner," Cohen said.

Pulling it off will require the flawless coordination of the data from the ncam sensors, transmission of wireless signals and video from the field and then running it all through a graphics engine developed by the Future Group to generate what's seen on screens at home.

Look out for the enhanced visual effects during the pregame show, before kickoff and coming out of halftime, as well as during the game, when AR will be used to show statistics and other info in slick new ways.

Another big first for the broadcast will be the use of multiple 8K cameras. CBS will have three around the stadium to help an enthusiastic minority justify the purchase of some seriously high-resolution home screenage. That's in addition to 16 cameras with 4K capabilities, including nine that are zoom-capable with slow motion.

See the full story here: https://www.cnet.com/news/super-bowl-2019-high-tech-broadcast-will-razzle-dazzle-your-retinas/

Virtual Reality Takes Center Stage At Super Bowl Experience

“You’re at my favorite of the stadium right now, we’re at level 8 Champions Plaza,” Demoff said. “And if you look off to your right and walk around, you could do it, you can see the ocean, turn around and look to your right, you’ll be able to see Palos Verdes, Manhattan Beach, the South Bay.”

The tour of the future stadium isn’t the only virtual reality experience available to football fans. CBS Sports’ Virtual Skydiving Experience gives fans a chance to skydive into the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The exhibit drew long lines of fans at the Super Bowl Experience.

Before donning the VR headset, people strap in to a simulator. The experience starts in a plane over Atlanta, and the viewer jumps into the stadium as the Super Bowl crowd cheers before handing a football to the virtual referee.

See the full story here: https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2019/01/31/virtual-reality-super-bowl-experience/

NHL Inks Exclusive Virtual Reality Partnership with NextVR

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 26: Thomas Chabot #72 takes part in the 2019 NHL All-Star Game at the SAP Center on January 26, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

The National Hockey League has announced a deal with NextVR to exclusively use its services for virtual reality highlights at 2019 marquee events.

The partnership kicked off with NextVR producing a virtual reality experience captured at the 2019 NHL All-Star Game last weekend, where the league also separately tested its new puck and player tracking system. Available for free on a new NHL channel within the NextVR app, digital highlights were produced by NextVR in a 3D stereoscopic VR format.

Content provided by NextVR will include post-game highlights provided in an immersive 360-degree experience from the NHL’s biggest events. The feed will be peppered with visualizations that show the excitement and energy of fans, speed of NHL players and teams, big hits, key matchups, and goals. The aim is to provide fans watching at home the experience of being in the arena.

NextVR has been providing VR sports highlights for a few years and has a longstanding partnership with the NBA. The basketball league recently expanded its partnership with NextVR to provide virtual reality content through its subscription streaming service, League Pass, every night this season.

See the full story here: https://www.sporttechie.com/nhl-inks-exclusive-virtual-reality-partnership-with-nextvr/

Reggie Watts’ virtual reality dance party and more TED news

A virtual reality dance party at Sundance. Musician and comedian Reggie Watts and artist Kiira Benzing debuted their new project “Runnin’” at the Sundance Film Festival’s New Frontier exhibit. “Runnin’” is an “immersive, interactive music video” backed with a hypnotic techno beat by Wajatta (the musical duo of Watts and composer John Tejada). The project welcomes players into a “retro-future world,” coupling VR technology and the magic of dance into an experience of pure creativity. In an interview with the Sundance Institute, Watts said, “I always wanted Wajatta to be able to create videos that really embody the music in a fun way.” Check out the artist feature for a sneak peek at the visuals for the project and listen to a live performance of “Runnin’.” At the New Frontier exhibit, Nonny de la Peña also premiered a virtual reality photo booth and data artists Chris Milk and Aaron Koblin contributed to a project called “Emergence”. (Watch Watts’ TED Talk, de la Peña’s TED Talk, Milk’s TED Talk and Kobin’s TED Talk.)

See the full story here: https://blog.ted.com/reggie-watts-virtual-reality-dance-party-and-more-ted-news/

Explainer: What is a quantum computer?

A quantum computer harnesses some of the almost-mystical phenomena of quantum mechanics to deliver huge leaps forward in processing power. Quantum machines promise to outstrip even the most capable of today’s—and tomorrow’s—supercomputers.

They won’t wipe out conventional computers, though. Using a classical machine will still be the easiest and most economical solution for tackling most problems. But quantum computers promise to power exciting advances in various fields, from materials science to pharmaceuticals research. Companies are already experimenting with them to develop things like lighter and more powerful batteries for electric cars, and to help create novel drugs.

What is superposition?

Qubits can represent numerous possible combinations of 1 and 0 at the same time. This ability to simultaneously be in multiple states is called superposition. To put qubits into superposition, researchers manipulate them using precision lasers or microwave beams.

Thanks to this counterintuitive phenomenon, a quantum computer with several qubits in superposition can crunch through a vast number of potential outcomes simultaneously. The final result of a calculation emerges only once the qubits are measured, which immediately causes their quantum state to “collapse” to either 1 or 0.

What is entanglement?

Researchers can generate pairs of qubits that are “entangled,” which means the two members of a pair exist in a single quantum state. Changing the state of one of the qubits will instantaneously change the state of the other one in a predictable way. This happens even if they are separated by very long distances.

Nobody really knows quite how or why entanglement works. It even baffled Einstein, who famously described it as “spooky action at a distance.” But it’s key to the power of quantum computers. In a conventional computer, doubling the number of bits doubles its processing power. But thanks to entanglement, adding extra qubits to a quantum machine produces an exponential increase in its number-crunching ability.

What is decoherence?

The interaction of qubits with their environment in ways that cause their quantum behavior to decay and ultimately disappear is called decoherence.

What is quantum supremacy?

It’s the point at which a quantum computer can complete a mathematical calculation that is demonstrably beyond the reach of even the most powerful supercomputer.

See the full story here: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612844/what-is-quantum-computing/?utm_campaign=the_download.unpaid.engagement&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=69512652&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8o4RnBQXf4FbvX9k3fBjUQ92VVlNvtYwLi3Ol0hGGuZG9Of3FmagSrKMLzwVprvxN6wVpDq7zW0CCcmrEJac4qciabzw&_hsmi=69512652

Criterion Collection’s Classic Movie Streaming Service Sets April Launch Date

Movie buffs left out in the cold by FilmStruck’s demise will soon get a new streaming service stocked with over 1,000 classic and contemporary art-house films this spring: The Criterion Collection announced that the Criterion Channel will launch April 8 in the U.S. and Canada.

The Criterion Channel will be regularly priced at $10.99 per month or $99.99 for an annual subscription. Customers who sign up now as charter subscribers will receive a special discounted rate of $9.99 per month or $89.99 per year — pricing the company says will be locked in “for as long as you stay active” — as well as a 30-day free trial.

The Criterion Channel (criterionchannel.com) will be available on computers, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, iOS, and Android devices.

Criterion didn’t reveal specific titles that will be available on Criterion Channel but said the subscription VOD service will include access to Criterion’s entire streaming library of more than 1,000 classic and contemporary films from around the world.

See the full story here: https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/criterion-channel-launch-date-1203124497/