THIRD ANNUAL SCREENS ISSUE - MediaPost

THE FUTURE
OF SCREENS
lenses and earpieces of a pair of shades that aren’t much more
bulky than your Oakleys. Chill out with a private movie on your
flight, play a game while you’re “looking” at the spreadsheet
on your desktop screen, or, with Vuzix’s Industrial Augmented
Reality technology, have access to a virtual world of information
overlaid on the real world around you. Perhaps most amazing
about the Vuzix glasses: They’re available now, can display movies
stored on your iPad or iPhone and list for retail price points as
low as $169.99.
Eyeglass screens and augmented-reality applications promise
a new world of mobile media — including the potential to
pinpoint audiences of one, and reach them wherever they are,
whether at home, at work or on the go. Bring augmented reality
into the mix and yet more possibilities arise: Media, entertainment
and marketing messages will be integrated into the world
around the viewer in a seamless fashion, so that consuming
media becomes as much a part of walking down the street as
reading street signs or billboards.
Moving the mobile screen from a handset to the valuable real
estate right in front of your eyes means purveyors of local information
will need to step up their game. The GPS unit in your smartphone
means video eyewear will be aware of its location. While it
won’t quite be Minority Report, expect to see ads and information
targeted on a more localized basis as the technology evolves.
Street signs and billboards will be changing as well. Small
screens in public spaces are set to proliferate. Rather than static
advertisements, however, expect these displays to interact with
Some LG TVs
already come
with Skype
pre-installed
56 MEDIA MAGAZINE Spring 2012
those who stop to consult them, delivering
information about their surroundings and potentially
acting as hubs of social interaction. As this
happens, expect public screens to act more like
private ones — with the added advantage of delivering localized
information, advertising and the incentives that will be key to get
passersby to stop and take a second look.
The Second Screen Takes on More Weight
All the talk of augmented reality is well and good, but the fact
remains that AR technology still requires us to look at one screen
in order to enhance our main view of the world. Until the experience
is smoother, it’s unlikely we’ll see widespread adoption.
In some cases, however, enhancing a first screen with a second
one is just the ticket. Television is a case in point. The future of TV
is social, but it won’t all happen on the same screen your program
appears on. Social TV apps already let viewers connect to people
watching the same program, and provide chat, games and other
functions in a parallel, interactive stream. Rather than getting in
the way of your viewing or requiring a bulky desktop screen, these
interactions will very likely live on your iPad or other tablet, and be
THE FUTURE OF SCREENS
FIVE THINGS THAT WON’T CHANGE
REMOTES WILL ALWAYS SUCK
Despite the fact that both
voice- and gesture-controlled
TV sets were on display at this
year’s CES, our relationship
with remote control of our
screens just isn’t going to
change. When you can change
the channel with a wag of your
finger, what happens when
your dog walks by and wags
its tail? Thought control (see
“Five Things We Can’t Wait to
See” sidebar) could change
that, but don’t count on it.
While the days of digging in
the couch cushions for the
remote will soon be behind us,
look for a whole new range of
problems to arise as we shift to
new control schemes and new
devices (or virtual ones).
THERE WILL ALWAYS BE COUCH
POTATOES
Despite bad remotes.
charlotte motor city speedway photo: harold hinson