Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

"Virtual Bridge" Between London, Vienna Et Al.

Posted by Hemos on from the build-it-and-they-will...conference dept.

dr.matrix writes "Read in Heise (German) how Tholos Systems wants to create a huge outdoor 360 degree video conference between all european capitals, starting with London and Vienna." Pretty impressive technology, but the purpose is still a bit unclear.

4 of 141 comments (clear)

  1. That's clear! by quigonn · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Pretty impressive technology, but the purpose is still a bit unclear.

    That's art! It doesn't have to serve a purpose, but still may be useful for somebody.

    --
    A monkey is doing the real work for me.
  2. Since when did technology need a purpose? by iapetus · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Pretty impressive technology, but the purpose is still a bit unclear.

    I thought we were meant to be nerds - since when did cool technology need a purpose? Build the huge outdoor 360 degree video conferencing system and we'll find a use for it.

    Anyone for the biggest game of UT ever? (And don't even try to tell me nobody's going to try to use it for that...)

    --
    ++ Say to Elrond "Hello.".
    Elrond says "No.". Elrond gives you some lunch.
  3. Cool idea., but by Bunji+X · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What bothers me is that there is no sign of any technical specifications at all.

    20 mega pixels - five times HDTV resolution

    Sure, very nice if they were to show it on a screen as large as a 28" TV, but on a screen with an area of 66 m^2? 560 pixels/m? That doesn't sound very highres to me.

    Lets calculate bandwidth. 20 Mpix = 20971520*24*3 = 1440 MB/s, uncompressed. That's a lot. Let's say they manage to compress the video 20 times, which could be difficult or expensive with real time compression. That leaves us with 72 MB/s video only over far distances, excluding sound. How are they going to get that through the 100 MBit network they mention in the article?

    Also, I can find no references from google regarding "Hypersound(C), a revolutionary directional sound technology". If it was that revolutionary, someone would have written something about it, you might think.

    I really don't know. It's a cool idea, but it sounds fishy. Is there a working prototype at all, or are they still in the attract-investor-money phase?

    --
    ---
    The combined human population is enough to feed every living tiger for app. 28000 years.
  4. Abuse by big_gibbon · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Knowing my countrymen as well as I sadly do, I can't help but feel that while this is a very cool idea, it would soon be hijacked by the wrong elements.

    Look, for example, at the reaction David Blaine got here for his "living in a box" stunt - heckled, taunted, and attacked by a man with golf balls. Personally I was massively entertained by this as Mr Blaine chose to put himself at the mercy of the English public - however, once a few BNP party members are out drunk and want the opportunity to abuse and insult some foreigners, they're going to make their way to the cylinder, where it'll be innocent Viennese passers-by who get the heckling.

    Cool idea, but I can't help but feel it'll engender more international hostility than co-operation. Cynical, aren't I?