Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
HDTV Videophone From LG And Panasonic
HDTV videophones have resulted from a collaboration between display-makers LG and Panasonic and Skype. Although the first generation model shown below uses an external webcam with microphone, next year's models will have these devices built-in.
(LG HDTV running Skype videophone)
When a video call (or, presumably, any Skype call) comes in, you'll be asked if you want to accept or decline. Upon acceptance, the phone call will replace whatever you're watching (hopefully you'll be DVR'ing whatever you were watching). As you can see in the photos, you can blow up your caller full screen and keep yourself in a PIP, or dual a side-by-side view (yeah, that's me with a camera up to my face shooting the photo you're looking at).In the demo, the resolution wasn't great, but in the real world with a coax cable connection we're told you'll get 720p at a full 30 fps. We were also told with echo cancellation you'll have full duplex audio -- you'll be able to talk over your caller and still hear each other -- but the hall was too noisy to test this.
An early reference to the videophone idea comes from E.M. Forster's 1909 short story The Machine Stops. Vashti lives alone in her tiny cubicle, never leaving. When her son calls, she agrees to "see" him.
But it was fully fifteen seconds before the round plate that she held in her hands began to glow. A faint blue light shot across it, darkening to purple, and presently she could see the image of her son, who lived on the other side of the earth, and he could see her."Kuno, how slow you are."
He smiled gravely.
(Read more about E.M. Forster's video communicator)
An even earlier use of this idea can be found in the Telephonoscope, an idea mentioned in Le Vingtième siècle. La vie électrique (The Twentieth Century: The Electrical Life) and other works written by Albert Robida. The same idea is used in a satiric gibe at Thomas Edison published in Punch in 1878.
(Telephonoscope)
Fans of the great Hugo Gernsback will recall the similar (and more polished) telephot from his 1911 masterpiece Ralph 124c 41 +.
From dvice.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 1/14/2010)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Communication ")
Polish Turns Your Nail Into A Stylus
'He wrote on it, using the pointed fingernail of his right forefinger...' - Cordwainer Smith, 1950.
Huawei Pura X Folding Phattie Phone
Why can't we get more innovative phone configurations?
Positioned Cybertrucks With Free Starlinks WiFi In LA
'Several thousand of them formed the positioning grid on the rubble pile.' Vernor Vinge, 1999.
Will Whales Be Our First Contact?
'He had piloted the Adastra to its first contact with the civilization of another solar system.' - Murray Leinster, 1935.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Robot Bees 3D Printed By Festo
'At first I was struck by the large size of these bees..'
DIY Robot Scorpion Crushes It
'...it raised its front end off the ground and waved its antennae at them, then raised one armoured claw as if to snip them out of the sky.'
How To Settle An Argument Between Two Robots
'Henry... assumed the curious absent look of a robot talking on the TBR circuits.'
The Wind Phone Calls Those Who Have Passed On
'Only I heard that!'
Don't Want To Wear A TIght Shiny Bodysuit?
'He looked a good bit like an elderly, fat beetle.'
Light Society: Simulates Earth-Scale Society With A Billion AI Agents
'The king, an old hand in the running of tyrannies, instantly grasped the directions...'
Satyress Centaur Robot Horror Reminds Everyone Of Something
'Fess was very dutiful'
When Colds Threaten You Can't Do This - Or Can You?
'...a hemispherical force field enclosing his head.'
Beautiful Visualization of Dawn Spacecraft
'Then he became aware of a gentle pressure pushing him away from the ship.'
Biological War: A Scenario
'And now they wre busily transforming all their companions, and so on, and so on...'
Pole-Dancing Stripperbot Robot
'Why, a clockwork dancer, or, better still, one that would go by electricity and never run down...'
Collective Superintelligence Is At Hand!
'Maybe the individual intelligence of each Cubic pools into a group intelligence...'
Instant Journalists: Ordinary People With Cell Phones
'We'll show them whose planet this is!'
Health Kiosk Has No Human Doctor
'The electronic body analyzer had been developed...'
Meta's Horizon Studio's Unique Avatars From Text Prompts
'Looks like she has bought the Avatar Construction Set and put together her own...'
VaMEx Biomimetic Mars Robot Inspired By Skink
'Across the ground something small and metallic came, flashing in the dull sunlight of midday.'
