NAB
Rather than a singular, encompassing metaverse, we may see
many “verses” in the future, according to ETC@USC, the Entertainment Technology
Center at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts.
article here
ETC has rounded up key trends from the CES show in Vegas at
the start of the year into a new CES 2022 Report. It suggests that AR is
poised for wider consumer adoption, and that NFTs could potentially become “a
backbone of CRM and understanding for commercial, marketing, and experiences.”
Perhaps the most intriguing trend, which ETC is not alone in
spotting, is that of “social audio.”
Its feedback matters since the ETC is supported by the major
studios — Universal, Disney, Paramount and Warner Bros. — and other
entertainment industry stakeholders including Epic Games, Google, Microsoft and
Technicolor.
Social Audio
ETC suggests that the human voice could be described as the
original mass media and, as social audio, it is now the latest trend.
United Talent Agency executive director of audio Kristin
Myers moderated a CES 2022 panel discussion on the topic with Clubhouse head of
community and creators Stephanie Simon and Audio Collective co-founder Toni
Thai Sterrett, who offered up the definition of social media as “live group
audio,” adding, “the key is the sense of participation and interactivity.”
At the show, German R&D powerhouse Fraunhofer demonstrated
a capability that consumers have craved for years, the ability to adjust the
volume of dialog separately from music and background audio. The MPEG-H Audio
technology will allow consumers to choose from presets or create their own
settings for both broadcast and streaming audio. It is now possible, for
example, to switch between different languages, adjust the volume of a sports
commentator, enhance the dialogue, and choose from several audio description
option.
The ABCs of NFTs
CES held its first-ever panel discussion on NFTs —
non-fungible tokens, for the uninitiated — with two experts who have grown up
with the nascent industry sector. United Talent Agency head of digital assets
Lesley Silverman noted that her company established the new division in March
2021. Her guest was Art Blocks founder and CEO Erick Calderon, who first got
involved with NFTs in 2017 by following a thread on Reddit.
Both had advice for newbies: Don’t let the jargon intimidate
you and store your seed phrase in a cold storage device.
“The moment you register that seed phrase, you enter a new
phase of your life, and you have to treat it like the valuable asset you have,”
warned Calderon. “And be careful with your private keys. This is still the Wild
West.”
Calderon noted that, because a smart contract is operated by
computer, “it’s also the most ruthless contract in the world.” He pointed out
that it’s the secondary market for NFTs that allow artists to participate in
their own success. “OpenSea is the largest market for the secondary market,
with creator royalties built into their contracts,” he said. “We hope that as
other marketplaces pop up, they also respect that.”
5G, the Metaverse and AI
Going into 2022, 5G will be the connective tissue, said
Steve Koenig, VP of research at the Consumer Technology Association. He noted
that standards group 3GPP will publish protocols and requirements for
industrial IoT applications, which will open the floodgates to new case
studies.
5G emerges as the “Edge of Everything” solution for smart
device delivery, writes ETC correspondent Paula Parisi. She quotes Qualcomm CMO
Don McGuire, who did tours at Intel, NBC Universal and Dell, as saying that 5G
is “pervasive… this unifying connectivity fabric.”
Koenig pointed to the metaverse as another trend that is
“closer than you think.”
“All the building blocks are already present and in play —
cloud, 5G, haptics, volumetric video,” he said. “Now it’s about assembling them
into an experience. The metaverse is the next generation Internet that will
provide immersive digital experiences which will become inextricably linked
with our physical reality. For now, it’s an evolving story.”
The framework for what ETC calls the Multiverse has been
growing steadily for decades. While there is no single definition for the
Multiverse, it encompasses the confluence of many formerly disconnected aspects
of media and entertainment combined with advancing technologies and a cultural
shift from passive consumption of entertainment to active participation and
immersion.
VR and AR markets are expected to grow to nearly $600
billion by 2025, according to industry research quoted by ETC, and
announcements of new products from big-name companies like Sony, Lenovo, HTC,
Panasonic and others at CES suggest robust consumer demand for
“reality-altering” products.
“Commercial applications have gained acceptance, eyewear is
vastly improved, and several products suggested that eyeglass and contact
lenses are around the corner,” ETC says.
Another “key ingredient technology” for 2022, said Koenig,
will be AI. This will impact all sectors.
Among consumer applications for AI is that of computational
photography. The Cinematic mode on the new iPhone 13 series, for example,
points to what might be possible if we rethink these ideas as automated camera
mount systems did just a decade ago.
“For a creator or one-man band, these tools are getting
close to a prosumer level solution that features a range of near professional
capabilities of capture, cinematic art, instant production and delivery,”
observes ETC.
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