The Latest And Greatest In Video And Imaging Technologies

By Author: Matt Williams
Total Articles: 4762
Comment this article

It looks like the future of imaging will be in more dimensions and more places, and just when you want it, while the future of video will be affected by a few powerful trends from major players and a raft of developments from smaller ones. In fact, several of the prime movers in both fields-Apple, Sony, the many "Asian Tiger" firms of Korea and China, and, interestingly, Google, which announced in August its planned purchase of On2 Technologies-are set to expand in multiple directions.

This appears to be the consensus now that many of the important video/imaging conferences of 2009, including DisplayWeek and the upcoming 6Sight event, have published their post-conference reports and pre-conference press releases. There are four particularly hot areas right now on the imaging side of the equation. The development of 3D imaging, on-demand printing, new synergies between camera phones and social networks, and the increasing importance of amateur photographers in print and electronic publishing will all have industry-defining repercussions.

3D is on the way

Fujifilm has already demonstrated its new consumer ...
... 3D camera and viewer products and other firms are working on the next wave of introductions. The reach of this technology, from Hollywood to Silicon Valley, can be seen from the fact that an author and filmmaker, Lenny Lipton, founded StereoGraphics Corp., a first-wave pioneer of the "electronic stereoscopic display" industry. Through such groups as the 3D@Home Consortium the early adopters and "geek community" has been expanded to the viewing public at large, and everyone seems very excited about the imminent development of commercial 3D content. Such progress will inexorably lead to 3D-capable home televisions.

In addition to pushing the boundaries of on-demand digital printing-which includes finally discovering the Holy Grail of the elusive "non-standard standard" that will let all hardware work with all software to drive all printing types-new angles on old Cracker Jack prizes are getting headlines, too. The small, plastic-covered, matchbook-sized pictures that changed and moved when rotated into different angles are examples of lenticular printing. This aging technique is experiencing a modest updating, a revival even, thanks to the new digital-imaging technologies. Where this will lead-especially when combined with electronic ink, digital paper, the advent of flexible displays and other new developments-remains to be seen, but it is another exciting, open-ended development waiting to be fleshed out, defined and refined.

Video everywhere, all the time?

YouTube, camera phones, Web cams and computers with built-in cameras better than the first few generations of pricey "digicams" have all contributed to a "video everywhere" phenomenon. Interestingly, there has always been a consumer-level image editing software category, all the way back to the 1980s with Digital Darkroom (in grayscale, yet). It was not for lack of software know-how or programmer expertise that PC- and Macintosh-based video editing didn't explode right away. The waiting time was due to the lag in development of low-cost image- and video-capture devices-digital still cameras and camcorders. The first camcorders used analog (Beta, VHS and VHS-C) tapes, and even the first digital models in the 1990s used digital tape technology. This meant a whole lot of fussing to get the goods into the computer, where restrictive hard disk sizes and pokey CPUs limited the ability of even the best software.

Fast-forward a few years, through a few generations of microprocessors and into the realm of cheap, multi-gigabyte storage options, and cameras have closed the gap with the capable software applications. Meanwhile, video capture capabilities have come to cellphones, media players, low-cost wireless minicameras and-on Wednesday, September 9, 2009-to the latest generation of the iPod Nano. With more flash memory, an FM radio and the ability to record video (with synced audio) in the high-quality, compressed h.264 format, more people are going to be making more movies than ever. With the continuing development of the Flip HD cameras and other amazing devices at ever-lower price points, the title of "videographer" will be within the reach of many grade-school kids and just about every adult in the Western world.

Software companies are ready

Providers of video editing software for PCs, Macs and even open-source computers should see a dramatic increase in demand for their products. This demand will not concentrate in the high-rent areas of $1000 professional software editing suites, although these products will also benefit. The major winners will be in the easy-to-use products that deliver professional results, the kinds of applications that are in the price range of the average Mom and Dad with 2.3 kids, and often the sorts of apps whose "lite" versions end up bundled into new computers headed for Best Buy, the mall and online retailers.

Trends will be easier to read, of course, after they happen, although this hasn't stopped pundits from prognosticating. One thing to watch will be the upgrade paths from "lite" to full versions of the popular, well-distributed applications. It remains to be seen what will happen worldwide, but clearly Japan, America and much of Europe are already imaging- and video-crazy. With new 3D displays and television shows, dimensional printing and art, flexible displays, low-cost and high-quality video cameras, and capable software at every price point and expertise level, there is bound to be plenty of news to report before the video and imaging conferences of 2010 are even scheduled.
About Author:
ArcSoft, Inc. is an industry-leading software developer of multimedia technologies and applications for both desktop and embedded platforms. ArcSoft's technologies can be found inside many of the world's most popular mobile phones, digital cameras, printers, optical drives, personal computers, and consumer electronic devices. Visit online for your HD software and HD HVD software needs.