introducing FutureLeap.com – a news / database site tracking transformational technologies

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Michael

Over the past months I’ve been working on another website project!

The site – futureleap.com – tracks the latest news regarding the game-changing projects, technologies and scientific research we read about every day on the internet by maintaining a database of these projects. It went live about a week ago. I really hope you find it interesting, informative, and useful.

Here’s a short excerpt from Future Leap’s mission statement:

“Future Leap follows projects that have the potential to change the world in a significant way.

The projects tracked by Future Leap aren’t incremental upgrades: they represent entirely new product categories, major new efforts, and bleeding-edge science. The fulfillment of one of these projects would represent a leap forward in the technological development of humanity. They will be the next major breakthroughs and first-in-class products in the fields of AI, Interfaces, Energy, Biology, Entertainment/Gaming/Movies, Space, Computing and Nanotechnology.”

There are currently about 36 projects in the Project Database, and I’m aiming for hundreds. The site’s still in a very early form. Please let me know if you have any comments/suggestions!

There’s a bit of an overlap in what I cover here at HFR Movies vs Future Leap, since Future Leap also covers significant technological developments in gaming, movies, interfaces and associated technologies. But I am for now planning on keeping both sites going as best I can…HFR Movies will remain as it is. If there’s a relevant Future Leap article pertaining to high frame rates, 8k technology, etc, then I’ll post about it here too. And vice versa.

I’ll also likely be looking for writers soon for both this site and www.futureleap.com. If you or anyone you know is passionate about this stuff, can write well, and may have an interest, please send me a message.

Thanks for reading – I really appreciate the intelligent interaction I have with readers here and the passion you all have for pushing cinema technology forward.

I hope you like Future Leap!

Major Transformers 4 sequences will shoot with new 8K+ 3D IMAX cameras

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Michael

Collider has a video interview with Michael Bay (at CinemaCon) where he reveals that Transformers 4 will be the first movie to make use of IMAX’s new 3D digital cameras. Major sequences will be shot with these cameras, which Bay says have a resolution topping 8K:

Collider: What kind of resolution can the IMAX 3D cameras achieve? Is it 4K, 8K?

Bay: It’s like…I think it’s higher than that. It’s actually going to break the….you know, my finishing company said it takes, it’s some zigabyte, whatever the hell it is- it’s some name that I don’t even know what that name is. They just go, “we are screwed with the amount of computing power we’re going to need here.”

Collider: Are you going to use that camera for the whole shoot, or for specific scenes?

Bay: We’re going to do several big showcase scenes. [The screen aspect ratio] is going to open up. Because it’s too expensive to finish IMAX quality FX.

Bay also tells Collider that one of these new IMAX cameras costs more than the entire budget of his most recent film, Pain and Gain.

Here’s all that IMAX’s site currently has to say about their new digital cameras:

Even better for filmmakers, IMAX is expanding its repertoire of capturing tools by perfecting a next-generation 2D and 3D Digital camera. It will be small and nimble enough to go anywhere. It will also be hand-held, take longer shots. Directors will be able to work without interruptions, because there’s no film to change, yet still deliver quality that’s a match for the beauty of film. And as the technology develops, we expect it will ultimately go far beyond what film can do.

16K+ resolution would be amazing. I suspect that their statement that they expect their digital tech to “ultimately go far beyond what film can do” is a hint regarding the potential of ultra-high resolutions and/or computational photography. Hopefully we’ll get some more details from IMAX soon.

320 gigapixel image of London shows potential of ultra high resolutions

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Michael

This 320 gigapixel “photo” of London is billed as the world’s largest panorama:

http://btlondon2012.co.uk/pano.html

from http://btlondon2012.co.uk:

The 320 gigapixel image – taken by expert photography firm 360Cities – comprises 48,640 individual frames which have been collated into a single panorama by a supercomputer.

If printed at normal photographic resolution, it would be almost as tall and as wide as Buckingham Palace.

Playing with the zoom makes me feel like I have Superman’s telescopic vision. Although it’s not a perfect image (there are some seams in the stitching and people/objects are sometimes duplicated) it nonetheless give an idea of the power and versatility that super high resolutions offer. Future filmmakers will be able to capture 16K+ video of an entire set or scene without worrying about framing since they would be able to view the footage in post production, zoom in, and extract whatever particular piece of the scene they want.

If you then combine this ultra high resolution with computational photography technology such as that found in the Lytro camera, all sorts of possibilities open up, including the ability to adjust focus after the fact and mimick camera moves without actually moving the camera.

Although it is far below the gigapixel resolution level and doesn’t incorporate computational photography, RED has been working on a 28K camera. Hopefully we’ll get an update on this camera soon, as RED hasn’t said much about it since announcing it in 2008.

PS4 will offer Sony 4K movie service via 100 GB+ digital movie files

Posted on March 2, 2013 by Michael

The Verge reports that Sony’s 4K content delivery service will be available via the PS4, citing Sony Electronics President and COO Phil Molyneux, who said “I promise you will not be disappointed” when asked if the 4K service would support his company’s new console.

Sony is apparently aiming for a summer launch for the service, which would offer 4K movies as files of “100 gigabytes and plus” depending on length. Molyneux admits that the large file sizes as well as limited broadband speeds are a hindrance but asserts that Sony has ideas that will mitigate these issues. While not discounting a 4K compatible blu-ray drive (there have been reports that Sony has been working with Panasonic to explore the possiblity of higher capacity blu-ray discs ad players), Sony has indicated that digital distribution of 4K content is the most likely outcome even if downloads initially take many hours or even days to complete.

The primary conclusion I draw from the forthcoming arrival of 4K content (and 8K soon after) is that internet bandwidth (in the United States at least) needs to increase drastically. Google Fiber, which offers a 1 gigabit per second connection (about 100 times faster than the connection most Americans have) would enable 4K delivery in a timely fashion, but the current cable company monopolies are willfully holding back technological progress. I hope Google’s rollout of Fiber continues to be successful and that the cable companies change their anti-consumer outlook. For evidence of the cable companies’ complete lack of respect for their customers, see Time Warner Cable’s recent statement that they “don’t see the need of delivering [gigabit internet] to consumers.”

By the beginning of the 2020′s 8K content delivered at frame rates of 60 fps or higher (and in 3D) will be the norm. I can’t wait to walk right up to a huge 8K TV or “life wall” and feel as if I’m gazing into an another reality. But to get to this point some major changes to the status quo need to happen…the cable companies must adapt, or deservedly perish.

Japan plans 8K broadcasts in 2016 – 2 years ahead of schedule

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Michael

Both frame rate and resolution are in need of improvement, and this week we’ve got some good news on the resolution side of things: NHK and Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications will be bringing us 8K broadcasts by 2016, 2 years ahead of schedule. Their first 4K broadcast be in July 2014, the date of the final match of the 2014 World Cup.

Despite the large presence of 4K TVs and monitors at this year’s CES there are many who consider 4K to be a stopgap on the way to 8k (7680 × 4320, or 33.2 megapixels), which is comparable to 70mm IMAX (some say 8k is better). 8K is also the point where pixel density truly approaches “retina” levels of detail at all but the very closest distances for normal consumer display sizes.

For many years already there have been signs that 8K is the target for consumer flat panel TV screens (some say 16K is the endpoint for applications such as virtual reality headsets). Most films scanned for archival purposes are scanned in 8K, as are some digital intermediates. And NHK has been working on its 8K Super-Hi Vision standard for years. Check out this video below (from 2011) of an 8K LCD display from Sharp and NHK:

Watch it on YouTube and choose the 1080P version to get the full effect.

Although I do think we’ll see the first 8K screens by 2016, whether as many manufacturers get on board with 8K at that time as are supporting 4K this year remains to be seen. 1080P has been commonplace for about 6 years now, and available for even longer. A 3 year or so gap between the introduction of 4K screens and the arrival of the first 8K displays seems a bit short (which is another argument for why 4K should’ve been skipped). And then there’s the issue of branding: when 8K sets arrive, will the CEA stick with the “Ultra HD” moniker, or go for something new?

NHK’s three-chip 120hz experimental color camera

The development of an 8K ecosystem is progressing: last year in a collaboration with Shizuoka University, NHK showed off an 8K sensor capable of shooting at 120 fps. So things are progressing steadily on the capture side.

But for now, however, the necessary pieces for even a 4K ecosystem are still not in place: we need 4K blu-ray players, 4K game consoles, and, perhaps most importantly, internet bandwidth capable of quick downloads of reasonably compressed 4K content.

I’m very interested to see where all of this is heading.

4K dubbed ‘Ultra HD’ by the CEA, but Sony sticks with 4K

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Michael

The Consumer Electronics Association has decided on a name for the successor to 1080P: Ultra High Definition, or Ultra HD. This refers to an image that is 3840 by 2160, or 4 times the pixel count of 1080P. This resolution has been commonly referred to as 4K by imaging professionals and enthusiasts , although technically the 4K found in digital cinemas is a bit longer at 4096 by 2160.

Sony, however, is having none if it: they’ve decided to continue referring to 3840 by 2160 as well as 4096 by 2160 content as 4K. Here’s what a Sony spokesperson had to say:

Sony lauds the CEA’s efforts to come up with a common language to describe the next generation high-definition technology. However, to ensure clarity for consumers and delineate between today’s and tomorrow’s technology, Sony will continue to use the 4K moniker for its products and will market its future products as 4K ultra high-definition (4K UHD).

I think this approach makes sense for Sony, which has put a lot of capital into the 4K designation through the marketing of its 4K projectors and, more recently, 4K cameras. It would be regressive to do away with the 4K moniker for the vagueness of “Ultra HD.” After all, what will 8K be called? Super Ultra HD? You can see the potential for an infinite accumulation of superlatives. Therefore I think it’s likely that other companies will follow Sony’s lead and keep the “4K” alongside the “Ultra HD.”

Sony has a 4K TV (the $25,000 XBR-84X900) coming out in about a month. Expect many more 4K, or “Ultra High Definition” TVs to be shown at CES 2013. Likewise, stay tuned for what I foresee to be a minor format war between 4K and 8K, as many enthusiasts and certain companies (NHK, for example) see 8K as the endgame, and 4K as a stopgap. Given the existence of 8K TV screens and the inevitability of 8K cameras, I predict we’ll be seeing a push for 8K within the next 4 years.

Sony planning on selling 84 inch 4K TV this fall

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Michael

This fall Sony will release the 4K (3840 x 2160 resolution), 84-inch XBR-84X900 TV. This set may be the first 4K TV to be sold in the United States: Toshiba and LG are also likely to offer 4K TVs in the US this fall. Toshiba were the first to sell a 55-inch 4K set this past December in Japan for 77,000 yen, or around $8939 US dollars.

Sony’s set will feature passive 3D, enabling 3D viewing with cheap polarized glasses as opposed to the far more expensive shutter-based specs. It will be priced at around 25,000 Euros, or about $31,000 dollars.

Although 4K content is virtually nonexistent in a format consumable in the home, 4K-enabled blu-ray drives are on their way and Sony’s set will upscale regular content to 4K. This isn’t as good as native 4K, but I’m sure it’ll look amazing nonetheless.

Digital projectors in movie theaters don’t yet have the bandwidth to deliver 3D movies in 4K resolution at 48 frames per second, but I predict that they’ll become available within the next few years. And 4K 3D at 48/60 fps isn’t even the endgame: NHK has been developing 8K (4 times the pixels of 4K) “Super Hi-Vision” TVs and cameras since 2002. This is retina-display level resolution at any distance but extremely close (just a few inches from the screen) for average sized (40 – 80 inch) sets. NHK demonstrated a Sharp-built 8K prototype at CES this year: the video below made my jaw drop the first time I saw it:

For a detailed look at NHK’s 8K efforts, check out their informational PDF.

We’re barrelling towards a “retina-everything” and “high frame rate everything” world in regards to display devices. I predict that within the next 8 years 8K TVs and projectors that can display images in 3D at 60+ frames per second will begin filtering into movie theaters and our homes. At that point, where is there to go but full-on virtual reality, or perhaps “entertainment spheres” that you sit inside, watching the world of the movie unfold around you?

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