A Report from Stephen Porter, executive editor, Video Systems

One of my favorite things to do at SIGGRAPH is to search the showfloor for the strange and unusual. Since this is a show that's as muchabout developments in man-machine interfaces as it is about computeranimation, there's almost always something to see here that you'venever seen before. Sometimes it'll take me a day or two to find thecool stuff, but this year I lucked out. The very first booth I stumbledacross this year had what I'm sure will prove to be the coolest thingon the show floor.

The company, which is based in New Zealand, is called Deep VideoImaging and what they're showing is a new type of computer monitor thatgives an absolutely stunning display with a true sense ofdepth—or ActualDepth, as they call it. Now, it’s not astereoscopic 3D monitor that requires you to wear awkward,funny-looking glasses, and it’s not a display that only looksgood if you view it from just the right angle. This offers a crisp,sharp image that's almost holographic in appearance, but without thefuzzy, twitchy holographic look we're all so familiar with.

It works because the monitor is basically constructed so that youcan put content on two layers, one behind the other. The first layer istransparent, allowing you to see through to the second layer. Foranimations, this means you can put foreground objects in the foregroundand background objects in the background, and the result is ananimation with a stunning sense of depth. In the booth, they wereshowing an animation created with 3DStudioMAX, and it truly stops youin your tracks when you see it.

Interestingly you can also use the two layers to run two differentapplications. So, for example, you could run a word processing programin the foreground, yet see through to the second layer where your emailapplication is running. It creates a dazzling, but completely readableeffect.

According to the company, the financial markets are very interestedin the display, since it’ll allow them to squeeze more screensonto their desktops without taking up desktop space. Other big marketsfor the display, besides the obvious animation market, areretail/kiosk, military, and visualization.

Of all the strange displays and interfaces I’ve seen atSIGGRAPH over the years, I have to say that I think this is one thatcould really take off in a big way. It’s just so intuitive,stunningly attractive, and practical. Best of all, the price is just$3700 per monitor. A bit high for mass market acceptance just yet, butnot a bad price for a new type of monitor that delivers a high-qualitylook never seen before.

Speaking of unique displays and interfaces, there were a few otherproducts of that genre on the show floor that I thought were notable.Actuality Systems of Boston showed a demo version of a full-color, 3Dvolumetric display that was one of the best of it’s kindI’ve ever seen, though it’ll be at least another yearbefore it’s ready for market; E-Lumens was back at the show withit’s VisionStation workstation, a kind of personal VR dome thingthat creates an individualized, immersive environment--useful forsimulation, visualization, and engineering work; and Jestertek showed anew kiosk interface that allows someone to manipulate onscreen imagesby moving their hands in space—I could easily see that spicing upthe retail environment at Niketown.

(For a more detailed report on SIGGRAPH, be sure to check out theSeptember issues of Video Systems and Millmeter magazines.)

Day Two (Wednesday, August 15, 2001)

Day Three (Thursday, August 16, 2001)