How to fix the holographic displays in Picard

EC Henry has a great video on what is wrong with the holographic displays in Picard and how to fix them.



He makes a good point that we've seen back in TNG and Voyager that holograms can be solid. So why not use holograms that look like solid consoles?

I love his idea of essentially making the bridge a holodeck and being able to materialize chairs and solid consoles in any configuration you want or need. For example, he mentions that instead of Picard complaining about the unfamiliar holographic displays, he should have been able to materialize TNG style consoles that he would have been more familiar with. It makes sense and it would have been really nostalgic to see.

 

It's certainly not a deal breaker. But I agree with EC Henry that 3D holographic displays are becoming very cliche in scifi.

 

Holographic displays in PIC are canonically correct per DS9’s “The Visitor” (although one could make the case that the future scenes took place in a timeline that no longer exists.) The real problem is that DSC uses holographic displays too.

 

Eh, we see holographic video games in TOS films. Some version of the tech has been there.

 

Yes, the tech exists. But if you watch the video, he does not have a problem with holographic tech in general but specifically with using the tactile 3D holographic displays. In fact, he gives examples of 3D holograms that were used in TNG during briefings as good examples. He says that 3D holograms are great when you need to present information like a planet that is best represented visually in 3D. The problem is specifically with characters touching virtual floating holographic displays. It's a problem because they are actually not practical to use and are overused in scifi.

 

I disagree with him. But, I'm biased as I have researching and exploring holographic tech as a hobby for 20 years now.

I don't see the issue as he does. I don't think they need fixing.

 

I agree. According to some on here, they're a sign of creativity and imagination though

And yes, a point that's being missed by many is that the issue isn't the holograms themselves, but their implementation.

EC Henry does excellent work tbf, he's not just another negative clickbait YouTuber, he's usually very positive about things, though these modern Trek shows a little less so.

 

EC Henry is an excellent content creator. I just don't agree with him here, or his solution.

 

To me it just comes down to personel preference in the character, Rios is really only crew on the ship, and he decided to do it all from his command chair instead of at the consoles.
Would have been funny if Picard started in the chair, and said.. uh, i'll use the console..

 

I would have liked that.

 

The thing with these holograms is it just looks like there typing in air, with no tactile response of actually Hitting a key.

 

Yeah, I get that. I've worked with that concept in fiction before. All you need is some sort of haptic feedback and it works.

 

Seems really uncomfortable to me, there's a reason we don't work on monitors by touching the screen for long periods. Seems a flashy inclusion in the show without much thought put into it.

 

I recall a computer science teacher saying the same thing about touch screens, 20 years ago.

Tech changes.

 

No one uses iPads or tablets stood up in the air where you have to lift your arms to use them for long periods at a time.

Why is it so difficult to understand that point, and how much strain that would put on your arms?

 

Because that's how I use some tech?

Sorry that I don't see this as the issue that people keep insisting that it must be.

 

He makes some pretty good points

 

You hold your tablet upright in front of your eyes and raise your hand to use? Fair enough.