Trek-like Hologram Makes TV Appearance

TrekToday · November 6 2008, 07:39 AM

It's no longer necessary to be interviewed in a certain location, instead one can be "beamed in" via hologram from distant places.

As reported by Dailypress.com, Capitol Hill correspondent Jessica Yellin, in Chicago for the Barack Obama rally, was able to speak to CNN's Wolf Blitzer as if she were in the CNN studio via a holographic projection.

Yellin was filmed in a specially constructed tent, so that there was no interference from other people around her. She explained the technology behind the hologram to Blizter, saying that it involved thirty-five HD cameras.

Another person joined CNN during coverage of the election returns. Performer and Obama supporter Will.I.Am appeared via hologram beamed to the CNN studio to speak with Anderson Cooper. ""Let's see if we can beam him in now," said Cooper, as the image of the performer appeared. Cooper went on to say that "It looks exactly like in 'Star Trek' when they would beam people down. That's what it looks like right here."

To read more, head to the article located here.

tomalak301 · November 6 2008, 09:37 AM

It looked more like Star Wars than Star Trek. Trek never had any of the blue outline, did it?

Dale · November 6 2008, 10:53 AM

I think CNN's ugly little secret is that the "hologram" is virtual and the anchor does not see it. It's a composite image that can be viewed from multiple angles because the camera movements in the studio are telemetry-linked to the computer receiving the shots from the 35 HD cams and generating the image, which is composited into what we see on TV. No 3D image is projected onto the red dot on the CNN studio floor. Blitzer and Cooper were acting (which is in and of itself troubling). Calling it a "hologram" is just a bit of marketing sophistry.

Admiral Bear · November 6 2008, 12:40 PM

Dale wrote:

I think CNN's ugly little secret is that the "hologram" is virtual and the anchor does not see it. It's a composite image that can be viewed from multiple angles because the camera movements in the studio are telemetry-linked to the computer receiving the shots from the 35 HD cams and generating the image, which is composited into what we see on TV. No 3D image is projected onto the red dot on the CNN studio floor. Blitzer and Cooper were acting (which is in and of itself troubling). Calling it a "hologram" is just a bit of marketing sophistry.

Agreed, but it did look good.

Dale · November 6 2008, 12:59 PM

Not saying it wasn't clever... just saying it wasn't a hologram.

jongredic · November 6 2008, 02:02 PM

Yeah, I'm not convinced it's a true hologram either... there's a couple of moments in the first couple of minutes the camera jiggles, but the hologram doesn't move in relation to the background. Also... how exactly is he being 'projected'?

On the other hand, it's a pretty snazzy gimmick, and I'd like to see more of it. Just not on the news. Remember when news used to be about the facts, and not who had the best graphics and LOUDEST REPORTERS?!

I honestly thought Cooper was the hologram at first... Does anyone else think he's got a Max Headroom quality to him?

Lindley · November 6 2008, 02:30 PM

jongredic wrote:

Yeah, I'm not convinced it's a true hologram either... there's a couple of moments in the first couple of minutes the camera jiggles, but the hologram doesn't move in relation to the background.

That's just image stabilization. Combine it with a good initial approximation of the camera's true location, and you can generate a novel view without much trouble if you're got the source material.

Blip · November 6 2008, 04:18 PM

Admiral Bear wrote:

Dale wrote:

I think CNN's ugly little secret is that the "hologram" is virtual and the anchor does not see it. It's a composite image that can be viewed from multiple angles because the camera movements in the studio are telemetry-linked to the computer receiving the shots from the 35 HD cams and generating the image, which is composited into what we see on TV. No 3D image is projected onto the red dot on the CNN studio floor. Blitzer and Cooper were acting (which is in and of itself troubling). Calling it a "hologram" is just a bit of marketing sophistry.

Agreed, but it did look good.

Also agreed, but: It did not look good.

Agent Richard07 · November 6 2008, 05:18 PM

Here's another clip where the Capitol Building along with some election stats are being "projected" onto a table. When I saw them live, I thought they were somewhat cool, but I also found them really distracting because I was trying to figure out how they did it and I couldn't pay attention to the actual coverage. And yeah, it is a bit odd to have news anchors acting in a news piece. If they do keep using this gimmick though, I think we'll get used to it.

22 Stars · November 6 2008, 07:04 PM

The tech was fine but CNN, a news organization calling it a hologram isn't right. If they report science as innacurately I worry for the future of our society.

Admiral Bear · November 6 2008, 07:10 PM

Blip wrote:

Admiral Bear wrote:

Dale wrote:

I think CNN's ugly little secret is that the "hologram" is virtual and the anchor does not see it. It's a composite image that can be viewed from multiple angles because the camera movements in the studio are telemetry-linked to the computer receiving the shots from the 35 HD cams and generating the image, which is composited into what we see on TV. No 3D image is projected onto the red dot on the CNN studio floor. Blitzer and Cooper were acting (which is in and of itself troubling). Calling it a "hologram" is just a bit of marketing sophistry.

Agreed, but it did look good.

Also agreed, but: It did not look good.

I'm sure I've got Miles O'Brien's phone number somewhere. Maybe if you ask nicely enough, he'll rig you up a Defiant-esque holographic comm system that will look good.

M'Sharak · November 6 2008, 08:59 PM

jongredic wrote:

I honestly thought Cooper was the hologram at first... Does anyone else think he's got a Max Headroom quality to him?

I think he's had that all along, to some extent. I used to watch him years ago on ABC's World News Tonight (if I couldn't get back to sleep at 3 in the morning) and he had it then, too.

Basil · November 6 2008, 11:09 PM

tomalak301 wrote:

It looked more like Star Wars than Star Trek. Trek never had any of the blue outline, did it?

Yeah, much more like Star Wars. But holographic projections like these are a wave of the future -- I doubt 25 years from now we'll be looking at flat screens anymore.

rmkwebdesign · November 7 2008, 12:22 AM

tomalak301 wrote:

It looked more like Star Wars than Star Trek. Trek never had any of the blue outline, did it?

A different article I read on CNN.com today said that the Blue Outline was actually unneccessary, and that they INSERTED the blue outline so that people would really believe it was digital (implying that without the blue outline, the projected image would be nearly impossible to determine).

Lindley · November 7 2008, 03:23 AM

It's fairly easy to do these kinds of effects on TV. When I see one of these in person I'll be impressed.

November 6 2008, 07:39 AM	#1
TrekToday Rear Admiral	Trek-like Hologram Makes TV Appearance It's no longer necessary to be interviewed in a certain location, instead one can be "beamed in" via hologram from distant places. As reported by Dailypress.com, Capitol Hill correspondent Jessica Yellin, in Chicago for the Barack Obama rally, was able to speak to CNN's Wolf Blitzer as if she were in the CNN studio via a holographic projection. Yellin was filmed in a specially constructed tent, so that there was no interference from other people around her. She explained the technology behind the hologram to Blizter, saying that it involved thirty-five HD cameras. Another person joined CNN during coverage of the election returns. Performer and Obama supporter Will.I.Am appeared via hologram beamed to the CNN studio to speak with Anderson Cooper. ""Let's see if we can beam him in now," said Cooper, as the image of the performer appeared. Cooper went on to say that "It looks exactly like in 'Star Trek' when they would beam people down. That's what it looks like right here." To read more, head to the article located here.

November 6 2008, 09:37 AM	#2
tomalak301 Admiral Location: Bay Area, CA	Re: Trek-like Hologram Makes TV Appearance It looked more like Star Wars than Star Trek. Trek never had any of the blue outline, did it?

November 6 2008, 10:53 AM	#3
Dale Vice Admiral Location: Mt. Baldy, CA	Re: Trek-like Hologram Makes TV Appearance I think CNN's ugly little secret is that the "hologram" is virtual and the anchor does not see it. It's a composite image that can be viewed from multiple angles because the camera movements in the studio are telemetry-linked to the computer receiving the shots from the 35 HD cams and generating the image, which is composited into what we see on TV. No 3D image is projected onto the red dot on the CNN studio floor. Blitzer and Cooper were acting (which is in and of itself troubling). Calling it a "hologram" is just a bit of marketing sophistry. __________________ For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. - 2 Timothy 4:3

November 6 2008, 12:59 PM	#5
Dale Vice Admiral Location: Mt. Baldy, CA	Re: Trek-like Hologram Makes TV Appearance Not saying it wasn't clever... just saying it wasn't a hologram. __________________ For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. - 2 Timothy 4:3

November 6 2008, 02:02 PM	#6
jongredic Fleet Captain Location: England	Re: Trek-like Hologram Makes TV Appearance Yeah, I'm not convinced it's a true hologram either... there's a couple of moments in the first couple of minutes the camera jiggles, but the hologram doesn't move in relation to the background. Also... how exactly is he being 'projected'? On the other hand, it's a pretty snazzy gimmick, and I'd like to see more of it. Just not on the news. Remember when news used to be about the facts, and not who had the best graphics and LOUDEST REPORTERS?! I honestly thought Cooper was the hologram at first... Does anyone else think he's got a Max Headroom quality to him? __________________ Let's bluesify it by, like, twenty percent...

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November 6 2008, 05:18 PM	#9
Agent Richard07 The Tim Burton Version Location: Defying Logic	Re: Trek-like Hologram Makes TV Appearance Here's another clip where the Capitol Building along with some election stats are being "projected" onto a table. When I saw them live, I thought they were somewhat cool, but I also found them really distracting because I was trying to figure out how they did it and I couldn't pay attention to the actual coverage. And yeah, it is a bit odd to have news anchors acting in a news piece. If they do keep using this gimmick though, I think we'll get used to it.

November 6 2008, 07:04 PM	#10
22 Stars Commodore	Re: Trek-like Hologram Makes TV Appearance The tech was fine but CNN, a news organization calling it a hologram isn't right. If they report science as innacurately I worry for the future of our society.

November 7 2008, 03:23 AM	#15
Lindley Moderator with a Soul Location: Fairfax, VA	Re: Trek-like Hologram Makes TV Appearance It's fairly easy to do these kinds of effects on TV. When I see one of these in person I'll be impressed. __________________ Lead Organizer for EVN: Firefly. "So apparently the really smart zombies have automatic weapons!" -Torg, Sluggy Freelance