What new tech does everyone know about?

[syzygy]

Okay, I thought it woud be a good idea to get a braindump of what everyone knows about new technologies that are in develoment that will be of interest to us.

Do you have the inside track on something that could change the way we work?

Have you heard industry rumours of something that will excite us all?

Do you have an idea what the next development in projectors is going to be? (we've been through CRT and LCD - what's next?)

Do you know of a university that is researching something that might make it's way into our hands eventually?

SyZyGy

[MoRpH]

Great idea for a thread!!!

With projectors I think DLP is the new thing.

Personally with my own experiments I'm working on the concepts of modding old gear (Fairlight CVI), re-utilizing old prokit with the modular TBC, getting a new VJ focussed mixer together and an FX unit (those 3 are with per-i), and using exiting HID controllers with existing software (IE commandpost and DM2)...... thats what I'm working on.

[elbows]

New screen technology based on a flexible thin plastic like material has been in development for the last few years, I imagine it will be several more till it becomes properly commercially available, but one day maybe it will mean entire walls of clubs and non flat surfaces (eg pillars) become a new canvas for our work.

Some new DVD technology that increases the density of the discs is coming too, blue something or other I think its called

Improvements in wireless tech and betteries etc.

Wearable computers. 3G multimedia phones may be used in someway by VJ's one day possibly Im not sure.

[eXhale]

Hmmm one thing I heard about not so long ago is a real-life Quake game, which lets you walk around buildings and see monsters in front of you through semi-transparent glasses. Quake was used because the engine is open-source. Check the pictures below, the background on the first 2 is not computer-generated, it's what is really in front of the player.

http://wearables.unisa.edu.au/images/projects/quake3.jpg http://wearables.unisa.edu.au/arquake/pictures/quake44-hf.jpg
http://wearables.unisa.edu.au/arquake/pictures/img_7872-hf.jpg

Having monsters next to you probably mess up with your mental health :) but it could be used on a less frightening way by VJs. For example it could be interesting if punters could see see 3D "stuff" moving around them during parties, without even having to look at a screen.

Personnaly I think it's one of the big problems with visuals, music is everywhere but what we do isn't (except on clubs where there is loads of projectors but it's pretty rare unfortunately...) so it's more difficult to have full sensory experiences. Semi-transparent glasses could solve this.

http://wearables.unisa.edu.au/arquake/

[elbows]

Yeah whatever happened to Virtual Reality? It must have been 10 years ago they started playing with it, with very primitive graphics, Im surprised it hasnt come further. I gotta lol at the pic of that bloke above :D

[2Bit]

Heard somewhere about ultra bright projectors using 'white laser' to project. Couldn't tell you where I've heard from but its in the back there somewhere .........

I'd like to see anti-grav units for putting projectors exactly where u want them..........

[eXhale]

Originally posted by elbows
I gotta lol at the pic of that bloke above :D
LOL yeah we're not about to see punters wearing such heavy equipment on clubs but oh well :)

The interesting thing here is the semi-transparent glasses which lets you mix "real" things with visuals, much better IMO than just seeing visuals in front of you and having to sit down because you can't see anything else.

[MoRpH]

Yeah he's almost as cool as this guy http://www.fatchicksinpartyhats.com/images/fathat41.jpg

[fluchtpunkt]

Originally posted by eXhale
and see monsters in front of you through semi-transparent glasses.

they have an installation like that at the swiss expo in bienne. very nice (though most video-installations @ the expo dissapointed me :( ), projectors, mirrors & semi-transparent glass is all you need (!).
...oh yes and those goggles on the pic are nice :) . i once used them while mixing instead of a preview monitor. very convenient, you have complete overview @ a glance - though it can give you a headache if you look in them too much...

[syzygy]

Does anyone knwo any more about DLP projectors?

Will projectors be getting cheaper or will they be getting brighter? (Hopefully both :) )

SyZyGy

[stevefromNewcastle]

Projectors are and will continue to come down in price, and increase in brightness which is great news for us.
DLP stands for digital light processing, and uses mirrors to reflect light to get Red, Green and Blue. The give a less pixely picture (great for home cinema) than LCD projectors but have a lower output brightness.
My 2000 lumen DLP projector is only as bright as some 1000 lumen LCD displays.

Find out more info at www.projector central.com

[KillingFrenzy]

The big jump with DLP is contrast ratio.


In a big, bright environment your pedestal doesn't matter as much, so you can have really bright projector that lays out a field of grey as a base and no-one will notice mixed in with lights and other distractions. But, in a dark club, you want your blacks to be as dark as possible to get the most out of the image. This is where DLP projectors excel over LCD.

I have a 1500 lumen LCD, and a 1100 lumen DLP. The DLP subjectively "looks brighter". Well, if the sun was coming up at an all night event, the 1500 would probably be able to stay visible longer, but the 1100 would have looked better at midnight with no moon.

On a scale from 0-100, I'd say subjectively I see.
LCD - 10-100
DLP - 5-100

Did I mention the fricken DLP was 1/3 the price of what I paid for the LCD. And DLP can generally be smaller.

There is a good description of the differences on www.Projectorcentral.com

This is just my experience, because I wasn't sold until I actually saw it in action.

[krokodril]

The thing about the dlp lcd is that one has to look at the contrast
a 1000 lumen light with an oldfashioned 1:200 contrastratio you will get a picture and a lot of rest light polluting your cosy dark dancefloor.
A 800 lumen dlp projector with 1:800 contrastratio will give a crispyer picture of the same size
My experience is that a top dlp of 1200 lumen will outperform a not even so bad 3000 lumen lcd.
and this without lighting up the room as if it was a mall.

besides this, a lcd will show the edges of the projection, as the black is not totaly dark, Whereas you can aim 2 dlp's on the same surface,use them in turns or over each other, and if one shows black it is as dark as the rest off the wall.

Truly new and exciting btw are the new experimental dlp's
instead of a single projection they should(i never heard of one of these outside a lab, i don't even know if it still is mere theory) project a dubbel image, one visible video image, and one IR grid.
recording the transmitted grid can automatically deliver the right focus, but because dlp uses independently steered single mirrors for each pixel each pixel can be focussed independently.
though this is more spy sattelite technique than consumer electronics, they already figured that it'd be possible to autofocus on for example a moving car, or even a crowd

[many2]

I have been watching technology development related to videogame development for the past 4 years and if there is one development relevant for VJs it's hardware shaders. Much like the RenderMan Shaders used by Pixar for its animation films, Vertex and Pixel Shaders are complex rendering recipes, and you can use them to create anything from special material properties to complete style changes applied to the whole scene. Some games are using some primitive shaders that some of you can already see in action with the latest generations of 3d chips. All the development environments for the latest consoles support some kind of hardware shaders. Still, developers have to program specific layers of code to address the capabilities of each platform, be it a console or a brand of 3d chip (one for ATI, one for NVidia, etc.), and this is a lot of work.

What is shaping is the emergence of a new standard built around DirectX9 and the appearance of high-level shader design environments such as Nvidia's Cg or ATI's RenderMonkey. With better tools and an increase in code compatibility, shaders are going to gain acceptance among game developpers. With the next generation of 3d hardware (like the GeForceFX), the 3d pipeline will be much more interesting from a VJing standpoint and shaders will open a new world of effects once only available to the prerendered world. Much like what happened a few years ago in the videogame world, I suppose all VJ applications will be 3d apps in a few years and I also think that most of them will come with Pixel and Vertex Shaders support.

[MoRpH]

Originally posted by many2
I suppose all VJ applications will be 3d apps in a few years and

Gawd I hope not, as that will prolly lead to a proliferation of shit looking 3d by hacks. I agree this stuff has potential, but I'd still rather see a nice RL shot sequence, than some plasticy looking (well shaded :p ) 3D.

[vjpixylight]

Not virtual reality but a realtime, video based holographic reality..
This is known as Computational Holography or just Holo-Video for short. This will eventual revolutionize the flat visual screens that we know today, and will give us real holodecks to VJ around in..

Another approach a bit different from Holo-Video, and up and coming, is the ever increasing flirtations in the field of Video Holography. The technology of Holographic Projection is designed to project video images into midair. The projected video images amazingly appear to be not only three-dimensional, but interactive, which greatly increases the peep's enjoyment. So with these new forms of holographic's, 360 degress of visual viewing, and 7.1 surround sound implementations, we are finally starting to live in those sci-fi worlds we only used to watch and dream about...

As with all the other incredable technologies coming to pass, I am sure The VJ world will delve fully into this as it becomes more commercially avialable...
:yep:

[many2]

Originally posted by MoRpH


Gawd I hope not, as that will prolly lead to a proliferation of shit looking 3d by hacks. I agree this stuff has potential, but I'd still rather see a nice RL shot sequence, than some plasticy looking (well shaded :p ) 3D.

I am not thinking that all VJ software will rely on 3d plasticy models as sources, I only suppose that most of the VJ softwares architectures in a few years will use the 3d pipeline since it will be the most powerful one. For a VJ it makes no difference if its loop is playing on a directdraw surface or as a texture on a group of polygons : what he is caring for is performance, image quality and visual effects potential. This is exactly what the 3d pipeline is going to offer to application developpers.

[spark]

ha ha ha ha HA!

come on peeps, its here already: laptops and software .

seriously, urban culture comes around through tech about every 15 years or so... and its the time of the laptop.

and just to add to many-2, yup hardware graphics APIs are definately the way forward: vdmx3 uses open-gl and low-level ATI functions (all powerbooks have ati gfx chips), and it has revolutionised the speed... it feels like a hardware mixer now.

[MoRpH]

Yeah cool many2, I understand what you mean and it sounds good..... also that sort of tech in the wrong hands can easily be used for EVIL (eg plastic looking 3d :p )

[vjpixylight]

Originally posted by MoRpH
also that sort of tech in the wrong hands can easily be used for EVIL (eg plastic looking 3d :p )

Or even worst...morphing videos...:D

[krokodril]

[QUOTE]Not virtual reality but a realtime, video based holographic reality..
This is known as Computational Holography or just Holo-Video for short. This will eventual revolutionize the flat visual screens that we know today, and will give us real holodecks to VJ around in..


Philips imaging lab was working on a completly working show model using dlp with single pixel focus, and a version with multiple dlp at angels or so ??? didn't get that one
might even be ready, was about a year ago
it also featured ir measuring wich would allow a projector to stay in focus even though the projection surface is a moving 3d object

[vjpixylight]

it also featured ir measuring wich would allow a projector to stay in focus even though the projection surface is a moving 3d object

I am especially awaiting this, and plan on getting some of these special beamers once the technology is rock solid...(of course I will prolly need to rob a bank to get the dough needed),

Another promising technology is the bio-lumenicent plastic displays, soon to be reality...

http://amo.net/NT/flex_lcd.jpg

[elbows]

Ive been dribbling over those plastic displays since I first heard of them a year or so ago - they cant get here quick enough if you ask me - but in reality I fear they will be sillymoney for a year or 2 after launch :(

[stefango]

By far the most interesting new tech developments to me at the moment are The Catalyst from HighEnd - a hybrid of projector & intellabeam & Transcreens - Totally transparent projection media...
Using these in combination allows VJs to create a whole new range of realistic illusions...
LVPs (check Laser-magik) are always in focus regardless of optical variables, whatever the depth...
Stefan

[Anyone]

stefGo, Pixy,
really cool tech you mentioned there,
any related links we should read up on ?

tx, Ne1

[Kriel]

Which means ... the exposure settings on your video camera don't change "as a whole", but sensor by sensor, in real-time, in response to EVERY area of your scene, area-by-area.

Which means ... no more exposure averaging. Your whites won't get blown out, and your dark areas won't fall into total shadow -- unless you want them to. The "Photosensor array-microprocessor" relationship will work like the "retina-cortex" relationship in the eye.

Patented by a coupla NASA scientists 2 years ago -- soon to come I hope.

About screens, they have a coupla small (like 14 inch) semi-transparent displays at the Media Centre in Huddersfield. They're much brighter than I expected. v. impressive.

http://www.kriel.tv

[Speng]

I just posted a link on the backstage page for the catalyst. Have a look at highends web site (http://www.highend.com).

[stefango]

There is a bunch of new tech coming over the horizon that could totally transform VJ presentation, techniques & our role in event design...
I am currently exprimentinging with combinations of several new technologies to create show designs that are revolutionary...

Without going into too much detail (some of these combo applications are proprietary) you should all check out:

the new generation of DMX based Projector/intellabeam hybrids that allow you to move your images around the room, do ariel beam FX by projecting into smoke & much more...

Transscreens are also very interesting... The `Black' areas remain totally transparent - Allowing a whole new generation of `Illusion' FX...

Also worth checking out are the new gen of LVPs that have constant focus all along the beamspread

And also the EJ system is a great ergo A/V interface for all of us combo VJ/DJs who love working with turntables... (it has a lot more creative potential beyond that too)

Combine all these elements (with a few more tricks & tech items) & we have the tools to totally transform the VJ show as we know it now...
Onward & Upward,
Stefan

[vjpixylight]

Originally posted by Anyone
stefGo, Pixy,
really cool tech you mentioned there,
any related links we should read up on ?

tx, Ne1

No problem..

http://www.sarnoff.com/news/flexdisplay.asp
http://www.sarnoff.com/news/ne01030801.jpg

http://www.avvideo.com/2001/06_jun/news/plastic_video.htm

[stefango]

'Scuse the slightly redundant post... I sent it before I had my coffee!
You can check up the Lasermagic site for LVP & transscreen info

[phunkyguy]

Thing i've heard about, read about, but haven't seen any progress since they've been mentioned:

Bluetooth capable video mixer... talk about something specialized for us...

WIRELESSSSSS!

I want to say goodbye to the heap of wires in my rig that could eat a small child. They're advancements in this tech all the time, but none of it is really hardcore enough for live gigs. it gets botched way too randomly.

Next thing, and i've been working on my own prototype for this...

Fog curtains...
to project onto... there are some guys that made it work... see http://www.cs.tut.fi/~ira/wave.html but they're bein dicks about sharing the info... it makes sense cause they're tryin to patent it... but it'd be one helluva gimmick to use at a gig. So nice.
I dunno, other than that... until i get a small computer (like small enough to fit in my arse...) i just think it's time to wait until everything comes down in price so much that we can FINALLY afford it all.