Tag Archives: digital technology

Samsung Gear VR

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Samsung VR

This is the Samsung Gear VR, a wireless virtual reality headset that marks the company’s first steps into the wearable future tech arena previously pioneered by Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus.

What makes this baby different? Well the headset houses the Galaxy Note 4 and uses that as the screen to create the 360 visuals. Samsung says with Gear VR people can ‘fully immerse themselves in a cinematic virtual reality environment’. Samsung says the Note 4’s quad HD screen provides ‘stunning and engaging visuals’. First testers likened the experience to sitting in the best seat of a theatre or being ‘on-stage at a performance with full 360 3D video’.

First impressions are that it looks state of the art and very cool, but what is it for? Playing virtual reality games and watching 360-degree videos of course. Questions also arise when you think of the technology, Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus have been years in the making and both products have individual screens; one for each eye. Project Morpheus uses the PlayStation Camera to maintain calibration. I don’t know about you but when using maps on my mobile phone it annoyingly repeatedly needs recalibrating so quite how it will work without this issue remains to be seen. However by turning the phone into a functioning VR kit one thing is clear and that is Samsung seems intent on making 360 experiences accessible as possible. It’s interesting too that given the Google Glass they have chosen to go in a completely different direction.

So how much does it cost? Well first views are that the headset may cost around the £250 – that is separate from the phone itself. However given the likelihood of different deals by various companies this may change.

Keep it tuned to Frost for more details.

 

HMV’s slow digital response to blame for demise – Musicmetric chief

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HMV’s slow digital response was its undoing, says leading digital music expert

HMV confirmed the end of its three-year nose-dive into administration last night with the appointment of accountancy giant Deloitte. But its fate was sealed long ago by its slow response to the digital revolution, according to a leading digital expert.

The firm, which employs more than 4,000 people, ceased trading shares and issued a statement which said: “The board regrets to announce that it has been unable to reach a position where it feels able to continue to trade outside of insolvency protection, and in the circumstances therefore intends to file notice to appoint administrators to the company and certain of its subsidiaries with immediate effect. The directors of the company understand that it is the intention of the administrators, once appointed, to continue to trade whilst they seek a purchaser for the business.”

Gregory Mead, CEO of Musicmetric, the global music analysts, said:

“It’s a sad but inevitable fate for a much-loved stalwart of the music industry. But where retailers like John Lewis have embraced the internet – building customers through its Click and Collect service – HMV simply failed to adapt to the changing tastes of music fans and the seismic shift we’ve seen as everything has gone digital.

“While figures from the 2012 Digital Music Index showed file-sharing to be rife right across the UK, the upshot of this is that there are millions of fans accessing music each day. The challenge for retailers like HMV has been to find ways to tap into this – but you’d be hard pressed to be able to walk into an HMV store and buy songs directly on to your iPod.

“The changing face of music, and that digital technology has overhauled the way we interact with records, means that artists can engage directly with fans, meaning physical retailers have needed to evolve as well. While previously it was all about CD releases and the Sunday chart show, now the most important thing is knowing where your fanbase is and what drives them so you can market to them directly and maximise revenues from a myriad of sources.”

FilmWorks development scheme for budding directors and producers calls for applications.

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FilmWorks development scheme for budding directors and producers calls for applications.

Emerging regional producers and directors can fast track their film careers with FilmWorks, a new networked professional development scheme managed by Watershed in Bristol and co-produced by Showroom Workstation in Sheffield and Broadway in Nottingham which will give the participants the skills, contacts and knowledge required to raise their profile to a national and international level.

FilmWorks, a Film Networks project supported by the National Lottery through the BFI and Creative England, is specifically targeted at filmmakers in the English regions: it will give 45 producers and directors in Bristol, Nottingham, Sheffield and their surrounding areas a priceless opportunity to expand their creative and commercial potential, with the benefit of working with world class producers, such as Julia Lockhart (Aardman’s The Pirates), Colin Pons (Hush, The Acid House), and Alastair Clark (London to Brighton, Better Things).

FilmWorks launches in September with a live simulcast from Bristol-based Encounters Short Film & Animation Festival and runs until early December 2012. Candidates have until Mon 20 Aug to submit their application at http://filmworks.org.uk

It is a timely development scheme that responds to the current issues being faced in the film industry today: how to survive and prosper in the digital age, new models of distribution, the effect of digital technology on cinema production, new routes to market and much more.

Mark Cosgrove, Watershed’s Head of Programme, said:

“FilmWorks is a unique opportunity for emerging local talent to develop their skills and learn about the film industry from leading UK producers. Based at three creative hubs in the English regions this 360 degree fast tracked networked development programme will create that all important bridge between production and cinema exhibition. I’m looking forward to working with partners to share regional expertise, work with industry leaders, and most of all, to introducing 45 great filmmakers to the world.”

Liz Harkman, Managing Director at Encounters Short Film & Animation Festival, said:

“We’re delighted to be launching the FilmWorks programme in September at the 18th edition of the Festival. Encounters has always provided international new and emerging talent with opportunities to grow and a direct access to industry which makes it the ideal platform for the next generation of regional producers and directors to develop their projects, practice and networks.”