There's a constant drive to make presentations as seamless, as flexible and as visually appealing as possible. Ironically enough, as technologies advance, a lot of the impetus is to make those technologies almost invisible, so that people can concentrate on the message being presented, which is of course the ultimate goal. The common perception of an audio visual presentation being a speaker with a laptop, a powerpoint show, a projector and a laser pointer may soon be a thing of the past.


But what does the future hold? How will our methods of audio visual presentation change, and how many current technologies will it render obsolete? How deep does the rabbit hole go?

One of the first new technologies out of the starting block may be laser based display screens, which some analysts believe may be ready for the consumer market in as little as three years. The benefits of Laser displays are threefold. Firstly, everything sounds cooler when you add the word 'laser' to it. Secondly, due to the inherent nature of laser light, the projected image is far brighter and sharper than current LCD and plasma screens. Thirdly, power usage is far lower. A 50 inch TV screen projecting at a light level of 1000 lumens could be achieved with only 8W of laser power. A 50 foot cinema screen could be lit up with only 50W. One of the leaders in this new field is startup company Prysm (www.prysm.com) which has recently announced their new Laser Phosphor Display screens (LPD). At the moment they are concentrating on promoting the technology for large scale audio visual installations such as stage shows, concerts and outdoor screens, so don't worry about having to sell that brand new LCD screen just yet. However, as LPD screens become smaller and cheaper (and you know they will) you may see them turning up at ProVision Technologies.


As mentioned at the beginning of this article, the real goal of presentation technology is to render the technology invisible. You don't want your audience marveling at all the cool bells and whistles of your seminar, while missing the actual message. One of the new ways of achieving this is a not so much one technology as a method of interaction that was made famous in the film 'Minority Report'. Simply put, this involves manipulating the computer interface directly, not by means of a mouse or light pen, but actually sliding things around on a projected display by using your hands and fingers. This is called a 'Spatial Operating Environment'

It was presented as science fiction, but the fact was that the interfaces in that film were created by actual interface designer John Underkoffler as an example of near future technology. And that near future is even nearer. At the 2010 TED conference Underkoffler unveiled his G-Speak operating system for the first time, moving hundreds of files around across multiple screens. The system is actually already in practical use by some branches of the US government and fortune 500 companies, and pretty soon 'gesture technology' as its also known will make the move into the wider consumer market. Will it catch on? Will we soon be doing all our computing wearing skintight gloves and unintentionally looking as though we're dancing the robot? The answer seems to be that noone knows yet, but its blend of intuitive interaction and visual appeal means that it may find a very welcoming home in the field of audio visual presentation.


Looking further into the future, things become a little more uncertain, but a lot more exciting, and one of the most exciting technologies in development is 3D hologram projection. Not the fake, post produced holograms created by CNN for their 2008 election campaign, but something closely resembling the holograms from 'Star Wars'. Imagine watching the football world cup in 2022, not on a flat screen TV, or a 3D TV or even a LPD display, but on a holographic screen which would look like a large table laid out on the floor. Instead of appearing flat on the screen, the players would appear to move around on your living room floor, allowing you to watch the game from any angle in real time. Japan has included a promise to make this dream a reality as part of their bid for the 2022 cup. One can only imagine the potential of this technology as part of a presentation. Future contracts for audio visual installation may include a holographic platform in the boardroom, so that a speaker can appear in the room no matter where in the world (or galaxy) he may actually be. Sounds like Science Fiction? Well maybe, but as we've seen, that can be the launch point for many other technologies that we may soon take for granted.

The technology that seems to be on everyone's lips these days is 3D. Retailers are pushing it, moviemakers are designing movies especially for it and, at the moment anyway, the public seems to be lapping it up. But is 3D here to stay, or is it just experiencing a resurgence in popularity, similar to previous 3D movie crazes in the 50's and 80's, and may eventually sink back into obscurity? Could that 3D TV you just purchased become an expensive white elephant in a few years? What does the technology mean for other industries, including video conferencing?

As an art form, 3D seems to have an equal share of supporters and detractors. One of the most famous early embracers of 3D movie making of course is James Cameron, with his blockbuster film 'Avatar'. He argues that 3D cinema is providing a resurgence in movie going, the viewing audience actually visiting the cinema for the experience of seeing a 3D film that is, for the moment anyway, largely unavailable at home.


He also speaks of other applications, beyond movie making, saying  that “Once you can use this installed base of 3D theaters to allow people to participate in world events that are happening thousands of miles away in 3D just like you were actually there, think of the immediacy. Think of the power of that"

Possibly the most high profile detractor of 3D cinema so far is film critic Roger Ebert, who see's it as nothing more than a gimmick, adding little and possibly even detracting from the immersive experience of movie going. In his article 'D minus for 3D' he ask's the question “Have you ever watched a 2-D movie and wished it were in 3-D? Remember that boulder rolling behind Indiana Jones in "Raiders of the Lost Ark?" Better in 3-D? No, it would have been worse. Would have been a tragedy. The 3-D process is like a zombie, a vampire, or a 17-year cicada: seemingly dead, but crawling out alive after a lapse of years. We need a wooden stake"

It's important to note at this point that there are two main methods for creating a 3D production. The first is by shooting the film with 3D cameras, designing the shots and constructing the film specifically with 3D in mind, as James Cameron did with 'Avatar'. The second is to take a film that has been shot in 2D and digitally 'Dimensionalise' it. The first way is superior, but far more expensive, but the second way, although cheaper, can lead to substandard 3D, as with the largely panned 'Clash of the Titans'. It is presumed that this movie was never designed to be in 3D, and a rush job was done on the back of the success of 'Avatar', so it's maybe a little unfair to judge. A better test of how good 'dimensionalising' a movie can be will be with the 3D re-release of the upcoming 'Star Wars' trilogy.

Many will say that the current 3D fad is little more than that: a fad. In the words of film historian Daniel Symmes 3D is 'The Circus coming to town. Does the circus stay around? No. If it does, attendance drops off, the novelty is gone and the circus goes away." However, there is one very large difference between the 3D of today and cardboard Green and Red lenses of yesteryear, and that is the digital revolution, which makes for faster, cheaper and more precise 3D and more importantly brings it into the home, converting movies and TV shows that weren't even shot in 3D. It's still too early to say, but early indicators are that the technology may be here for the long haul, especially with some industry people suggesting that 3D screens that eliminate the need for glasses may be as little as three years away.


What does this mean for other applications such as video conferencing? Well, replace the current generation of video conferencing cameras with a 3D camera and combine it with a large enough 3D screen, and the concept of the global boardroom becomes even more immersive and seamless. There is also a technology in development called HeadSPIN, that scans and projects a subjects face onto a 3D model in real time.

Combined with a special projection screen made from a concave spinning mirror, this allows the appearance of the face to change depending on the viewing angle of the audience. This, and similar technologies allow the participants in the conference to attain true eye contact during speech, something impossible with 2D video conferencing. The implications of this shouldn't be underestimated. For example, using traditional video conferencing media one speaker talking to a boardroom of people may be talking to one particular person in the room,  but to the members of the room he would appear to be looking directly at each and every one of them. This is because he is actually just looking into a camera and his image is being projected onto a 2D screen.  With HeadSPIN and other new methods of communication in development, this limitation is being removed, making for very natural interactions. The ultimate goal is to make the interface as transparent as possible, so much so that people communicating between boardrooms in New Zealand and London may even forget that there is an interface there at all.


Widespread adoption of this kind of video conferencing may be a few years away yet, but early prototypes of this kind of setup are already in advanced development by companies such as http://www.musion.co.uk , who's 3D projection technology has been used by Bill Gates and Prince Charles to 'Virtually' attend conferences and presentations.

In this sense it seems that even if 3D doesn't survive in the cinema (Until its next incarnation anyway) the new digital technologies that are being used to produce it may have it finding a new and long term home in video conferencing.

ProVision recently held their inaugural Technology Expo at the ASB Showgrounds in Greenlane. Here are some of the highlights from the show. 

ProVision prides itself on its ability to respond immediately and with a sense of urgency. We are one of the largest dedicated Audio/Visual Company in the North Island. That amount of staff means that at anytime of the day, any day of the week, we can respond to any problem with skilled staff to solve any issue. This will ensure the presentation will continue and the cost and time of organising the audience is well spent instead of wasted because of equipment failure.

ProVision Technologies Ltd covers the spectrum from renting, leasing and selling Plasma, LCD Screens, Projectors, Video Conferencing Equipment, Interactive Whiteboards, Sound Systems, Sound Domes, Hearing Loops, Projected Interactivity to commissioning completed Boardroom Installations using the latest Control Systems.