MS Research: IllumiRoom *spin*

[ERP]

I had a 480p laser projector that was about the size of an ipod touch (including the battery) that could pretty much replicate what I see in that video. Note that the room is pretty much unlit except for the projector and TV. It's not meant to be used in a well-lit area.

That advantages of the laser projector I has was that it needed no focusing, it was always in focus, no matter how far away you held it from the wall. With the recent LED and laser diode advances, I could easily imagine an addon device in the $200-$300 range. the trick is to get an image of our room, it needs a camera as well as a projector, and you can't use the kinect, since it would have to be behind you.

I don't know I have one of the tiny laser projectors here I was using for HMD experiments and at one point I tried projecting on my 106inch screen in my light controlled media room. IME anything over about 60 inches was pretty dim even with a white screen, it might have been acceptable for what's in the video at maybe 80in diagonal, but I'm just guessing.

If everything needed to be in focus though it would have to be a laser projector.

The other side of this, is any peripheral has to work well in imperfect conditions, i.e. poor light control, dark colored projection surfaces.

It can certainly be done, but at what cost to an end user?

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Just tried my projector. It's a 2500 lumen projector which I tried in Eco mode (can't find the lumens on that) and it was very visible with the TV on, stretched as far as I could get it which was the corner of the room. So I reckon lower lumens is definitely possible.

 

[MrFox]

Surround video, 2009 ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvzHFh1874k&feature=player_embedded
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/researchanddevelopment/2010/02/surround-video-yes-surround-vi.shtml

 

[orangpelupa]

btw its also looks limilar with sony

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrgWH1KUDt4

they way they warp video to looks "right" even when hitting many objects

 

[Qroach]

a few interesting MS research papers for you guys to read:

Interactive environment handheld projectors
http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/people/xiangc/pervasive2012_projectorpervasive.pdf

Visual echo cancellation in full duplex projectors
http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/zhang/vec/procampami.pdf

Using a Handheld Projector for Direct Control of Physical Devices through Visible Light
http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/people/xiangc/uist2012_picontrol.pdf

 

[Qroach]

Check this video at 8:15
http://www.picopros.com/content/microsoft-talks-interactive-projection-verge


I'm wondering if the illumiroom is one or more pico handheld projectors (in a controller or head set) where it scans the room and adjusts for color or surfaces its projecting on.

 

[expletive]

Not sure if this should go in the non tech Durango thread or its own but i'll try this one first. Updated video on MS Illumiroom. Seems like they are moving forward with the tech and concept. Not specifically tied to Durango yet, but i don't see anywhere else it will go. Very interesting.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/4/29/4281228/microsoft-illumiroom-table-projector-for-next-xbox

 

[french toast]

Not sure if this should go in the non tech Durango thread or its own but i'll try this one first. Updated video on MS Illumiroom. Seems like they are moving forward with the tech and concept. Not specifically tied to Durango yet, but i don't see anywhere else it will go. Very interesting.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/4/29/4281228/microsoft-illumiroom-table-projector-for-next-xbox

You beat me to it actually I think there is a thread for it but im sure he mods will lets us off just this once

Yea looks fecking amazing to my eyes, there has got to be more to this than just a concept...I wouldn't go as far as to say this = xbox 720 nailed on, but I would be prepared to say this will be making an appearance within 18 months for sure.
This could equalise things against its competitors.

 

[XpiderMX]

New video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGGMv9RnJIA

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Altoids controller expansion system support confirmed!!!

 

[Shifty Geezer]

You beat me to it actually I think there is a thread for it but im sure he mods will lets us off just this once

nope.

It's not a Durango system hardware feature, and a I remain convinced it has nothing to do with Durango except maybe as a peripheral. The vid shows a standard, expensive projector (not on the coffee table) with a Kinect strapped to it. The final system would need to have a coffee-table projector with Kinect placed next door, which is hardly user friendly for a lot of users. Not everyone has their TV by a large wall either. I know one in a corner and one under a window. As a platform-feature, it'd be a significant waaste for enough buyers that I think the cost would outweigh the gains.

The shown vids are also PC games (though mostly cross-platform, the kart racer is PC).

It looks cool, but I don't think it's a patch on a decent large game projection. I'd rather have a 1080p (or 4k) projector filling the wall with the game than a 40" TV and the projector just filling in the background. This tech seems most ideal for arcades IMO, although the idea seems principally derived from building projection art.

 

[french toast]

Ah we ended up here..

I disagree, this looks amazing and although I dont know quite how easy/hard it would be to set up, it is another thing entirely to a large scale projector screen, its 3d for a start and would be a hellbof alot cheaper and space efficient than a massive projector.

Not to mention asking for 4k viewing is day dream talk with next gen .

Question do you think next gen will be able to upscale to 4k ?

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I disagree, this looks amazing and although I dont know quite how easy/hard it would be to set up, it is another thing entirely to a large scale projector screen, its 3d for a start and would be a hellbof alot cheaper and space efficient than a massive projector.

The projector is the same size. You can project onto a wall without a projector screen. You could stick a small screen in the middle to the similar visual quality to TV+projection.

Not to mention asking for 4k viewing is day dream talk with next gen .

For consoles, yes, but upscaled would be good enough, and any 4k projector will handle that. Having experience big screen gaming, I definitely prefer it to small screens for 'living room' gaming.

Question do you think next gen will be able to upscale to 4k ?

The projector/display will handle that.

 

[eastmen]

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects...ient-backlight-for-your-displays?ref=category

reminds me of this. Its to expensive at $80 but if it was $40 I would certainly pick one up. I remember there were tvs with this built in and they were pretty nice

 

[expletive]

nope.

It's not a Durango system hardware feature, and a I remain convinced it has nothing to do with Durango except maybe as a peripheral. The vid shows a standard, expensive projector (not on the coffee table) with a Kinect strapped to it.

You're probably right because if this was a key/imminent feature of the Durango vision they would have likely saved for the 21st instead of a more obscure tech show like the one this week.

 

[rockaman]

I have very strong doubts to this whole thing.

If I'm being completely honest about what I think the appeal is of this feature, I put it far below 3DTV, and we know how well that went... Lol.

It's just so superfluous. What is the point, and how does is make anything better? Colour my room with blurry lights? Not at all my idea of next generation, but that's just me.

 

[Kaotik]

I have very strong doubts to this whole thing.

If I'm being completely honest about what I think the appeal is of this feature, I put it far below 3DTV, and we know how well that went... Lol.

It's just so superfluous. What is the point, and how does is make anything better? Colour my room with blurry lights? Not at all my idea of next generation, but that's just me.

Have you ever played with Eyefinity? If you had, you'd know how big effect things happening in your peripheral vision can have. Your eye isn't focused on those so they don't need to be that detailed or even fluid to have dramatic effect on the immersion of the game

 

[rockaman]

That's what I mean though. That's a high resolution screen. Its not my wall. Its not offset of the TV.

That's already besides the point though. Only major enthusiasts use Eyefinity. Most of us peasants still use one monitor.

How does Illumiroom fit into the HiFi setup? Other than a fan of the tech or someone with passing interest, who is going g out of their way to trick out their home theatre with this rather than a better audio setup or just better TV?

It doesn't seem to be a hot commodity and I can make a few guesses as to why it hasn't been tried before. My first guess is consumers and home theatre buffs aren't asking for it.

I wouldn't describe the change as dramatic. Peripheral vision might have lower acuity, but its not severely lower. Peripheral vision has higher light sensitivity though. I would replace the word dramatic with distraction. I can't imagine how ugly the blurry and stretched peripheral FOV would look either to accommodate this device either.

 

[Kaotik]

Your eyes are focused on the TV, the rest of the room gets illuminated and since you're not focused there, the blurriness or even jerkiness won't matter that much - it just adds to immersion.

Even if only enthusiasts use eyefinity, everyone who has tried it that I know of have been completely sold on it, enthusiast or not.

 

[rockaman]

Completely sold meaning... Whatever you want it to mean.

I'm sure it adds something. Every product adds something. But I'm not here to argue what concrete and measurable contribution its making. I'm not stopping anyone from saying they like the idea/want to buy this thing.

If you want to say "Eyefinity and Illumiroom are THIS good", I'm not trying to argue with you. So please save that part for someone else...

I am however simply saying I doubt that most people will attribute value to this device or are seeking this device to supplement their home theatre or gaming experience. We'll see what the market says when it arrives anyway.