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KT-Tech Challenges Nancy and MPEG-4 for Wireless Video
Robert Gallagher writes: "Last week, at http://www.kttech.com/comp.html, KT-Tech released a demo of their video codec running at 32 Kbps. According to the web page and discussion on comp.compression, this codec is 'symmetric,' meaning encoding is just as fast as decoding, and that both can be done in software and in real-time. While Nancy is getting good press for its light decoding cost, KT-Tech is apparently trying to get into the two-way wireless communication market. One question to ponder: Would we really want cameras on our cell-phones?"
answering the cell phone while visiting the restroom...
Would we really want cameras on our cell-phones?
Kinda brings a new meaning to the term phone sex doesn't it?
Putting a camera on a cell phone would be another tool to aid in describing what a user is looking at. Having done my fair share of over the phone tech support it would be nice if the user could take a screen shot of what they are trying to describe and send it via cell phone. Yet another step closer to me not having to drive into work.
> "Symmetric" means that encoding the video is as fast as decoding.
:)
Well, it *could* also mean that decoding is as slow as encoding
Besides, do we really need yet another proprietary video codec ?
If it's effective, it won't take long for it to migrate to webcasting, movie previews, etc...
See how often QuickTime is used, and how compatible it is w/ Linux, won't we risk the same thing again ? and again ? and again ??
-- don't discount flying pigs until you have good air defense
As a digital camera owner, I carry the thing just about everywhere. The phrase "A picture tells a thousand words" is so true ! Short of photography, as a hobby, having a digital imaging device that's portable is really handy. Can't remember your bios settings ? Don't have a pencil+paper handy to copy them down ? Simply take a photo of the screen, and continue to boot into your OS of choice.. Taking pictures of whiteboards after meetings, remembering settings/manuals, photos of hard to reach server backs, etc. -- all useful.
Since digital cameras allow you to take and re-take pictures, film isn't necessary. I often mail friends pictures of things I've taken while walking into work. Having a camera that connects (or is on) a cell phone would be great. That said, a word of caution, if it can't produce at least 1024x800 pictures, it won't be worth a damn.
I want one, that way when some jerk rips off my phone, I can get a good image for the police without him realizing it.
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Let me give you the lowdown
Admittedly the Japanese are a very tech-gadgety type people, but here in Japan newer cellular phones have still cameras on them and people love them, they're pretty popular, so that kinda answer the poster's rhetorical question. I can only imagine that moving cameras will be even more popular. All modern cell phones here have beautiful color displays, and it's pretty sweet being able to take a picture of something with your cell phone and then send it to your friend's cell phone where it can be instantly viewed. Not necessarily super useful but pretty fun, especially among the younger set.
And NTT DoCoMo's quasi-3G service (FOMA) has full bidirectional motion video, so that addresses the original post more directly. Quality could be better, but they are those video phones you always see in sci-fi, and mobile to boot......main thing that's keeping adoption low is that at the moment their service is only available in the Tokyo region last time I checked. Maybe since then they've added a few more regions, but service is pretty limited still. But I recall reading an article about how DoCoMo was surprised by how large demand was still, with it surpassing their initial estimates, so I guess adoption on those is going just fine too. Right now it's mainly geared at businesses, with the hype surrounding applications like using the camera to show progress at the work site to be people back at the office and things like that, but as price comes down, obviously it will become more mainstream.
That's cool...we really needed another level of distraction for idiots that use cell phones in the car! Beep beep.
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Let me give you the lowdown
Okay, I guess I am just out of sync with technology but, despite having been in this business for 20 years and online since MILNET/ARPANET in the mid-80s, and despite having written and managed a web product for 5 years, I have absolutely no interest in being connected 24x7. The only use I have found for my cell phone is being able to run to the mall and still get a call if the church youth group needs to tell me that my son broke his leg. But I do not give that number to my coworkers or customers and have told more than one boss that I will under no circumstances wear a beeper.
What on earth do I need with portals that dump me stock reports faster than I can trade or palm pilots that link me to recipe web sites (or even SlashDot?). I go along with the Chicago economist and Nobel winner Milton Friedman that palm pilots are stupid technology--multi-hundred dollar items that take merely the place of a 49 pad of paper and a stubby pencil. This, I know, puts me out of step with almost all my coworkers but so be it.
So, what do I want in a cell phone? Not stock quotes; not web access; not images; not even (are you listening Nokia?) centipede! I just want to be able to be reach or be reached by my kids or wife from wherever I am and not have to worry about the g**d*** out of service area or all lines busy messages! Is that to much to ask?
"Love is a familiar; Love is a devil: there is no evil angel but Love." --William Shakespeare ('Love's Labors Lost')
fantastic! so depending where on the phone they put the camera, you can either look down my ear or my throat. enjoy!
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Whether or not this technology takes off, at least they have honest demo clips. The "IndianHead" clip shows a wide variety of dynamic video and has frame rates that drop down as low as 0.4 fps when the stream has trouble. Even the "Butch" clip has an assymetric background which causes the left side of the speaker's face to be less detailed than the right side.
What do you mean they cut the power? How can they cut the power, man? They're animals!
With a video camera/cell phone, they could also be recording evidence to be used at trial.
Violent public crime would become obsolete, and violent criminals would find it hard to remain free.
We must be alert to the danger that public policy could become captive to a scientific-technological elite. - Eisenhower
A look at k-tech's still image compression shows them touting the advantages of their image format over jpegs. With jpegs of what both formats look like. They aren't the best marketers.
Instead of the usual "person talking to themselves"(i.e. talking into the headset but not holding the phone), there will be legions of people walking around having animated conversations with their cell phone held at arms' length. Can you imagine someone trying desperately to get a signal? Or having a heated argument? Something similar to the following... "IF I'VE TOLD YOU ONCE, I'VE TOLD YOU A THOUSAND TIMES, DON'T PISS ME OFF!!!"
They're a little melty, but damn are they exquisite!
Each iteration in technology takes us closer to the real goal: Direct sensory transmission from person to person. If for no other reason, improved technology for transferring *any* data is important as a stepping stone.
For example, I take a trip to Seattle. Back home my girlfriend "calls" me, and I let her share my senses. The advanced technology allows her an immersive experience... she sees the skyscrapers, hears cars below, smells the funnel cakes, feels the wind blowing while I'm looking out from the observation deck of the Space Needle. And she doesn't have to be there.
Obviously it's all vaporware today. But each step takes us closer to the goal. Even if it is a commercial failure, we still need to take these steps.
Or are my expecations of the future too great?
-FF
SQUEAK, the Death of Rats explained.