Living Room of the Future

The following entertainment article was written exclusively for Spreety TV Online by professional journalist Carolyn Giardina.

USC Research Arm Helps Shape “Living Room of the Future”
By Carolyn Giardina

It’s a consumer electronics enthusiast’s fantasy.

The main room is lined with rows of the latest computer monitors, TVs, mobile devices, smart phones and video game consoles. A 3D room features “stereoscopic” movies playing on 3D computer monitors and 3D TVs.

The site is the recently opened Anytime/Anywhere Content Lab and adjoining 3D Experience Lab, both of which are run by the Entertainment Technology Center at the University of Southern California.

ETC@USC is the University’s nonprofit entertainment technology research arm, based near the downtown Los Angeles campus. Its lab offers a unique look at the potential “living room of the future.”

With an extensive selection of new and emerging technologies in a neutral setting, the lab has an important function: Playing host to work that will help to shape the future of the home entertainment experience.

ETC @USC works closely with competing manufacturers, stakeholders and standards setting bodies. For instance, ETC hosted the first meeting of a newly-formed task force at the Society of Motion Picture and TV Engineers, which is embarking on an effort to set global technical standards to bring 3D to the home, whether it be on a TV, computer monitor or mobile device.

Executives from Hollywood studios and consumer electronics manufacturers use the lab for research & development. With a meeting area, as well as living room environments, the lab is used for focus groups. The site is also open to USC students to assist them with research and their studies.

Explains ETC CEO and executive director David Wertheimer: “On any given day, you’ll see students looking at technology that they have only read or hear about, providing industry feedback on the user experience. You’ll see creative people—filmmakers—looking at new technology for displaying their work and exploring how the technology shapes the content experience. And you’ll see executives from movie studios sitting next to executives from consumer electronics companies, talking about what are the problems that need to be solved.”

For those in the Los Angeles area, ETC@USC is planning a series of open houses. Details will be posted at www.etcenter.org.