Washington, D.C. (April 18, 2007) -- While addressing the 2004 PBS Technology Conference in Las Vegas, I predicted that one day a new TV technology would emerge that might make High-Definition look quaint.
That technology?
Hologram TV.
"In the next 15 years, Hologram TV will permit images to float from your TV screen directly into your living room," I told the attendees. "Coupled with other new technologies, Hologram TV will make television itself even more powerful. Viewers will have more difficulty separating fact from fiction. When you see a character shoot someone in your living room, you will ask, “Did it really happen? Or, did I watch it on TV.”
After I uttered those remarks, the reaction from the room was mixed. Many conference goers expressed skepticism that we would ever see Hologram TV become a reality in our lifetime, much less in 15 years.
However, I may have been wrong about Hologram TV being available in 15 years.
It may be much sooner than that.
That technology?
Hologram TV.
"In the next 15 years, Hologram TV will permit images to float from your TV screen directly into your living room," I told the attendees. "Coupled with other new technologies, Hologram TV will make television itself even more powerful. Viewers will have more difficulty separating fact from fiction. When you see a character shoot someone in your living room, you will ask, “Did it really happen? Or, did I watch it on TV.”
After I uttered those remarks, the reaction from the room was mixed. Many conference goers expressed skepticism that we would ever see Hologram TV become a reality in our lifetime, much less in 15 years.
However, I may have been wrong about Hologram TV being available in 15 years.
It may be much sooner than that.
Several companies are rapidly developing Hologram technologies that could enable home sets to project images outside of the screen in the next several years.
For instance, Peter Simonsen, a Danish inventor, has created a technology called Cheoptics360 that uses four 3D projectors to project a video outside of the set.
Click below to see an actual video of Cheoptics360:
The image appears to float on its own in front of the viewer, as a still holographic image does. Even more amazing, the image can be seen from any angle, not just directly in front.
“Cheoptics360 makes it possible to blend fiction and reality in hitherto unprecedented ways. It opens up a world of possibilities for using the medium in films, commercials, and various other types of presentations,” says Simonsen, who heads viZoo, an advertising film company in Copenhagen.
Simonsen's company is currently working to use Cheoptics360 in advertising presentations, saying it will revolutionize product displays at retail.
"With revolving video images, that can be seen 360° in all ambient light conditions, Cheoptics360 brings new life to product launches, demos, and branding in general," the company says at its web site.
The potential for television is mind blowing. Imagine watching a football game when suddenly a linebacker jumps off the screen to tackle a runner passing by. Or how about gazing at a documentary on the Pacific Ocean when a seagull circles in mid-air in the middle of your room.
Of course, getting the technology into a television that wouldn't cost a small fortune is still a tricky proposition. But Cheoptics360 proves that Hologram TV could be a reality sooner than we think.
Popular Science magazine recently chronicled the work of Harold Garner, a biochemist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, who has set up a Hologram video display in his lab. Garner says holographic TV images can be produced by filming an event from all sides and then incorporated them into one image that is projected off the screen.
The project has caught the attention of the U.S. Air Force which is interested in using Holographic television to better analyze weapon systems.
But it's just a matter of time before the TV industry takes note.
Philips, in fact, has said it will introduce a 3D TV next year. The set, which has already been exhibited at conferences, can make an object appear to be coming in your direction without having to wear the usual oversized goggles.
The 3-D TV does not require the technical complexity of a Hologram TV. But it will serve up more evidence that a video image does not have to be static.
So, get ready folks. Hologram TV is coming -- sooner than you think.
For instance, Peter Simonsen, a Danish inventor, has created a technology called Cheoptics360 that uses four 3D projectors to project a video outside of the set.
Click below to see an actual video of Cheoptics360:
The image appears to float on its own in front of the viewer, as a still holographic image does. Even more amazing, the image can be seen from any angle, not just directly in front.
“Cheoptics360 makes it possible to blend fiction and reality in hitherto unprecedented ways. It opens up a world of possibilities for using the medium in films, commercials, and various other types of presentations,” says Simonsen, who heads viZoo, an advertising film company in Copenhagen.
Simonsen's company is currently working to use Cheoptics360 in advertising presentations, saying it will revolutionize product displays at retail.
"With revolving video images, that can be seen 360° in all ambient light conditions, Cheoptics360 brings new life to product launches, demos, and branding in general," the company says at its web site.
The potential for television is mind blowing. Imagine watching a football game when suddenly a linebacker jumps off the screen to tackle a runner passing by. Or how about gazing at a documentary on the Pacific Ocean when a seagull circles in mid-air in the middle of your room.
Of course, getting the technology into a television that wouldn't cost a small fortune is still a tricky proposition. But Cheoptics360 proves that Hologram TV could be a reality sooner than we think.
Popular Science magazine recently chronicled the work of Harold Garner, a biochemist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, who has set up a Hologram video display in his lab. Garner says holographic TV images can be produced by filming an event from all sides and then incorporated them into one image that is projected off the screen.
The project has caught the attention of the U.S. Air Force which is interested in using Holographic television to better analyze weapon systems.
But it's just a matter of time before the TV industry takes note.
Philips, in fact, has said it will introduce a 3D TV next year. The set, which has already been exhibited at conferences, can make an object appear to be coming in your direction without having to wear the usual oversized goggles.
The 3-D TV does not require the technical complexity of a Hologram TV. But it will serve up more evidence that a video image does not have to be static.
So, get ready folks. Hologram TV is coming -- sooner than you think.
