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Project Starline: Feel like you're there, together

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Re: Project Starline: Feel like you're there, together

#131

Post by Pxtl »

abhv wrote: post #2

A good friend of mine at Google is the technical lead of this project (he has a Phd Princeton, and was a professor before joining Google). I've tried it in person and it was truly amazing. They used some very fancy tech when I saw the demo, so I'm thrilled it is finally being announced and possibly shared with a larger audience. Explanation of why it is amazing: It totally fools your perception. No glasses or goggles…

I'm still not understanding how the 3D works... is it like the 3DS? Because that required you position your head in a very specific place.

Re: Project Starline: Feel like you're there, together

#132

Post by julienb_sea »

Pxtl wrote: post #128

This is cool as hell, but I have to say I feel like we're solving top-level problems when most consumers don't even seem to be getting solutions to the most basic pain-points. For me, the problem with video-calling isn't the image-quality. It's all the much more mundane technological problems - high latency, lag-spikes caused by bad ISPs, failed noise-cancellation for people who don't use headsets for audio, bad wifi…

Both problems are worth effort and energy. It is worthwhile to push the envelope at the top because that technology, if it really works and can be developed in a more consumer friendly way, will eventually become vastly more accessible.

Solving gigantic scale problems requires a completely different kind of innovation than what you can achieve by pushing the pinnacle of what's possible.

Re: Project Starline: Feel like you're there, together

#133

Post by cogman10 »

throwaway3699 wrote: post #88
ipsum2 wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How much would you pay? I expect the lower end to be around $20,000 from hardware alone, plus at least gigabit down/up connectivity.

I doubt you need gigabit for an 8K stream. The real issue is the abysmal common network infrastructure. Latency will be a bottleneck if most ISPs don't care about treating your packets properly.

Agreed, 10Mbps is likely where it'll be, probably less. If I were to guess, they are going to apply a lot of smarts to texture mapping to avoid needing a lot of bandwidth.

Re: Project Starline: Feel like you're there, together

#134

Post by Pxtl »

sneak wrote: post #80
allenu wrote: post #30

Really cool execution. I wonder what the lag is like. I can imagine that's one thing that would break the illusion. I know with something like Zoom I've gotten used to managing the lag over time by taking turns with the other person. However, with the "live" feel of this, there could be an uncanny valley effect if the lag is subtle, but perceptible. Another thought: this is being presented as ongoing research. I wond…

Zoom lag is an issue with Zoom, not the network generally. If you actually do wired, p2p on the same side of the same continent you can get rid of most of the lag. Current lag comes from services that aren't p2p and bad networks (e.g. wifi).

Yeah, I honestly hate how much Zoom has won because I've found it's the worst for latency. I have a mumble server running on a pi that blows the doors off Zoom for audio-quality and latency but it's unusable for casual groups because nobody wants to wear a headset and feedback destroys it.

Re: Project Starline: Feel like you're there, together

#135

Post by chis »

mrfusion wrote: post #23

I’m confused what the 3d display screen is? I thought we didn’t have technology like that without glasses?

I think it's something like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI__qNx8Gdk

Track both eyes, and then project an image to each eye based on its image in the room. The part I don't really understand is how it's possible to target the image to each eye. Maybe we have displays now which are like the 3DS screen, but with variable focal locations?

Re: Project Starline: Feel like you're there, together

#136

Post by acdha »

crooked-v wrote: post #42

This is a really interesting project, and I wonder how long until Google unceremoniously cancels it and drops support for anyone who's bought into it.

This is getting downvoted but it really is a valid concern. Google’s been losing users on each discontinuation and only the most pro-Google techies I know are still jumping in to something new, especially given the trend towards one cool feature and a bunch of “QA is boring” stuff which will take a year to get fixed. Given their past reputation, it’s really cautionary as a shareholder to hear C-level questions about services like GCP questioning the risks of not going with AWS/Azure and getting stranded.

That’s a big deal for anything which requires hardware you wouldn’t otherwise own. Once you hear “custom-built hardware and highly specialized equipment” that sounds like something you really want a commitment to not just begrudgingly patch but to continue to seriously invest in the product.

Re: Project Starline: Feel like you're there, together

#137

Post by unethical_ban »

weird-eye-issue wrote: post #57
abhv wrote: post #2

A good friend of mine at Google is the technical lead of this project (he has a Phd Princeton, and was a professor before joining Google). I've tried it in person and it was truly amazing. They used some very fancy tech when I saw the demo, so I'm thrilled it is finally being announced and possibly shared with a larger audience. Explanation of why it is amazing: It totally fools your perception. No glasses or goggles…

Do you think it's possible 90% of this is due to the studio quality lighting, large high quality screen, good mic/speakers, and low latency network? It seems like those factors alone would get most of the way there and the 3D aspect is just a bonus. Obviously I haven't used it in person but this was just a thought since most people are used to video calls on their small phone/laptop with poor lighting, mics, etc

What I think you're trying to describe already exists as a product from Cisco called "telepresence". It is/was insanely expensive, was a permanent installation that only Cisco contracted techs could install, and did what you describe: It is a series of large, curved HD displays with desks at an appropriate distance from the screens/cameras, and copious amounts of indirect lighting from behind the setup to make each party look good.

It seems like the imaging/rendering technology that Google is using is much more advanced.

Re: Project Starline: Feel like you're there, together

#138

Post by ProAm »

Id just be really uncomfortable with google monitoring, recording and analyzing my personal communications to sell me ads or worse later. Everything google does now feels.... invasive for lack of a better word. This is something Id like to see from Apple, and Im not an Apple fan at all.

Re: Project Starline: Feel like you're there, together

#139

Post by alwayshumans »

airstrike wrote: post #108

This , my friends, is how business travel becomes nearly irrelevant. This is a beautifully executed idea and if the demos live up to expectation the hype may even be warranted. But on a much more fundamental level (i.e. fancy 3D imaging and spatial audio aside), this also possibly suggests people would benefit from dedicated videoconferencing hardware. TVs and telephones do one thing really well (or at least historic…

From my experience business travel is as much about sharing an experience as it is the discussion or dissemination of information. That's a hard thing to replicate

Re: Project Starline: Feel like you're there, together

#140

Post by silentsea90 »

leokennis wrote: post #117

My first thought: in 2030 when I’m calling grandma with this, I will first need to accept cookies, then accept the new Google privacy policy, then sign in to my Google account, then watch 2 20-second long pre roll ads.

We're witnessing magical tech and innovation, and here we are back to making fun of signing in, ads and cynicism about Google shutting down projects.
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