A group of Spanish universities (UPM, UPV) and companies (Indra, Agile Content, Eumovil, Ericsson and Inmonatica) present the first results of Immersive TV, an R&D collaboration in audience immersion and participation in broadcasts.
With a €2.7 million budget co-founded by the Spanish Ministroy of Industry, the Immersive TV project consists of 2 pilots on display at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid's (UPM) CeDInt facility -- the CAVE and Living Room scenarios.
The CAVE is an immersive panoramic view of Barcelona. Using the I-Space system, it allows audiences to interact with content projected on 3 screens using objects such as 3D images and models.
Meanwhile the Living Room scenario presents a demo of the "immersive" home TV of the future where broadcasts carry not only 3D video and audio but also 2nd screen features (on tablet) and home automation signals involving sensors, mood lighting, smoke and scent diffusers and even moving furniture.
As well as regular viewing (in the demo's case a football match), the system allows users to check match statistics, replay important moments, view player statistics, access interactive advertising, and make online purchases.
According to Indra both technologies are "highly flexible" and should allow for the addition of further functionality, chiefly social TV and online content.
The companies taking part in the project predict the first Immersive TV-ready displays will hit the market in 3 years' time, with the required software running on STBs, middleware, content delivery networks or TVs.
Go Immersive TV
