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News Microsoft unveils SurroundWeb tech

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Gareth Halfacree, 3 Mar 2014.

  1. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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  2. Guinevere

    Guinevere Mega Mom

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    Wow, and all it needs is for me to install 25 720p projectors in each room? Where do I sign up?

    (Yeah I know a room wouldn't need all 25, I'm making a funny)

    So they got acceptable performance using 25 720p screens. On what platform? Something with 25 720p outputs of course which means something powerful. This wasn't running on a low energy ARM chip was it now MS? Shall we guess at a six core i7 with 4 x16 PCIe GPUs?

    Automatic 3D scanning tied into software based keystone correction and image manipulation is very clever but nothing terribly complicated for this day and age.

    But we just don't have the display tech to go with it. Using projectors is a rubbish approach as if you're sitting facing one you get blinded. 720p res is also WAY to low as well as image interpolation and correction is going to need loads of tiny pixels to correct for projection against surfaces at oblique angles.

    Anyone watching 'Almost Human'? The apartment walls in that show are were we need to be heading, and we won't get there until someone invents spray on OLEDs (That are also transparent when off)

    And remember peeps, this isn't a project that will ever see the light of day. It's MS doing their 'blue sky' thinking bit, that in honesty is little more than a marketing ploy to say 'Look at us, we're cutting edge' with a side order of 'Kinect is cool, don't buy a PS4!'
     
  3. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    No, it doesn't. You'd need a projector for each wall - so a maximum of three, assuming you don't want anything appearing behind you. The 720p+ virtual displays will then be tiled across available flat surfaces within the room. Actual resolution will, of course, vary: if you're using a 1080p projector to power two displays, you might get close to native resolution; if you're using a 640x480 pico-projector to power 20, you can expect to be cranking your font size up a bit. Well, a lot.

    You did read the white-paper, right?
     
  4. RichCreedy

    RichCreedy Hey What Who

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    working towards a 'Star Trek â„¢' Holosuite
     
  5. XXAOSICXX

    XXAOSICXX Minimodder

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    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/50787/no-pleasing-some-people.jpg
     
  6. Corky42

    Corky42 Where's walle?

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  7. Snips

    Snips I can do dat, giz a job

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    Wow, and to think those idiots in the other cave who are waving that fire thingy on a stick, it will never heat the entire cave while cooking a woolly mammoth in 3hours. It'll never catch on!!

    (That isn't me holding this Microsoft idea as of importance as the creation of fire but for some people not getting off their arse and moving things forward)
     
  8. Guinevere

    Guinevere Mega Mom

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    You did read my post, right?

     
  9. SMIFFYDUDE

    SMIFFYDUDE Supermodders on my D

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    It wouldn't work in my front room.
     
  10. wolfticket

    wolfticket Downwind from the bloodhounds

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    Another excuse to not actually have to focus on a single thing for more than 10 seconds at a time :)

    I quite like the TV surrounded by additional content projected on the wall though. It would be nice for sport and other content that might benefit from at a glance information. I always find the second screen approach (laptop/tablet/phone on a table) too distracting.

    Maybe if you had a projector for movies as well as a TV for general use (we all have dreams :) ) you could actually do something similar in a DIY manner, with a computer connected to the projector.
     
    Last edited: 3 Mar 2014

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