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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

#351

Post by thepasswordis »

goldenchrome wrote: post #327
thepasswordis wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah yes, the people whose first thought is not how they can use this to commodify women’s bodies are “prudes”. Yes of course. Women: become literal prostitutes for the only fans corporation. You could be RICH! It’s so fun! They have t-shirts! Remember how I said you could be RICH?!

How is this any different from me wasting my life working for FAANG? Why is commodifying my brain any better than commodifying my body?

I don’t know. You should ask some of the abuse victims coming out of the prostitution industry why they’re so upset, and remind them that their job is basically the same as working at google.

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

#354

Post by JonathanFly »

asenna wrote: post #159

On a related note, I wanted to share my amazing experience with a similar but lo-fi tech. My mom and dad for the past 2-3 years have mostly lived in two separate countries (due to work reasons) and I could tell they miss each other quite a bit. I got both of them an Echo Show 10" device each and set it up for them. I don't think I can explain how our lives have changed for the better, just based on this simple piece…

>The Echo Show is now pretty much constantly on video call for 14-16 hours a day in the living room of both houses and it has become an extension of the one another; a window into the other house. The audio and mics are good enough that at times you genuinely forget the other person is not in the same room. This has truly helped them, especially during Covid times.

>It's actually good enough that my parents have their morning tea together practically almost the same way they used to when they were physically together.

I don't understand why this sort of persistant 'portal' isn't more popular. But 10 inch screen is so small! A 55 inch TV is what, $300? Put it portrait mode and that's a life size portrait. The feeling of presence when the person's head is the correct size is so strong! I know Facebook sells something for the TV but can it be left on all day like that?

I want it feel like one half of living room is a shared space, at all times. Like the couch is split in half by a portal. Then it just cycles through a list of friends and family with the same setup to find someone else watching Netflix or whatever, and you can casually join them just like a real shared living space.

I don't need 8k or 3D tv. Just a 55 or 65 inch TV on the wall at the end of the couch!

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

#355

Post by JonathanFly »

speeder wrote: post #141
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 want to try this just to see what happens, if I will have again the feeling something is more real than reality. Because optometrists are illegal in my country (here only medics can decide what glasses you can use), currently I don't have stereoscopic vision, although my brain CAN do it, if I had the correct images sent to my eyes somehow. (one of my eyes muscles is slightly shorter than the other side thus the ima…

>currently I don't have stereoscopic vision

>my brain CAN do it, if I had the correct images sent to my eyes somehow.

>when I watched Avatar, an actually well made 3D movie, it literally felt more real than reality

Buy an Oculus Quest 2. (Or any VR headset, but that's the best value at the moment.) It sends seperate images to each eye. You should get that same 'more real than reality' feeling. It may even train your eye muscles to see in 3D, I know I've seen some research into that area. (https://www.seevividly.com/ comes up on a Google search, though it seems to be prescription only)

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

#356

Post by baby »

asenna wrote: post #159

On a related note, I wanted to share my amazing experience with a similar but lo-fi tech. My mom and dad for the past 2-3 years have mostly lived in two separate countries (due to work reasons) and I could tell they miss each other quite a bit. I got both of them an Echo Show 10" device each and set it up for them. I don't think I can explain how our lives have changed for the better, just based on this simple piece…

I used the small version of fb portal with my parents for a while and it was great, but I wish it would have been bigger. I’ve been thinking about buying a larger portal, but I might want to wait for this starline thing (although I have a feeling it’ll be very expensive).

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

#357

Post by baby »

nmfisher wrote: post #335
interestica wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hate to say it but my first impression of this was that it looked like a visiting area for a prison. (Something about the bleak colour palette and minimalist display). But, I think that presents a similar long-distance use-case as the 'phone booth.' I wouldn't be surprised to see this as a pay-per-use option for prisoners/families. It's probably only a matter of time before the 'Echo Shows' capitalize on it.

That’s exactly the thought I have. I have a feeling it would be truly bizarre to sit down and talk to my mum or dad through this.

Better than what we have now

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

#358

Post by Animats »

This is a lot like Winscape, from 2012.[1] That's a display hooked to a Kinect head tracking system, so, as you move, the display is adjusted for your point of view. Winscape just used it as a window to the outside world. Same concept as VR headgear, without the headgear.

The illusion only works for one viewer at a time, because the image is POV-dependent.

Google is apparently using this with a 3D TV. Can you still get those? The main problem with doing this now is getting all the retro technology you need - a 3D TV and the good Kinect. Any good current GPU should be enough engine for this.

[1] https://youtu.be/V2hxaijuZ6w

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

#359

Post by baby »

rexreed wrote: post #315

Side note - why does it feel like so many of Google's products, and especially their most core offerings are in a state of ongoing decay? Search is getting worse. Maps today is worse than maps 10 years ago. Even their Google home assistants, YouTube, Gmail, and other products just seem to be steadily creeping into more annoyances and less usability. There was a time I felt that Google's search was head and shoulders…

I thing things get bloated and bloated until there’s a rewrite. This is what happened for the facebook app, and google maps is very close to that point. I’ve started using apple maps more and more and I like it. I’m semi joking when I say that I upgraded to the latest iphone just to use gmaps.

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

#360

Post by JonathanFly »

sneak wrote: post #78
abhv wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

NO WAY. It is impossible for me to explain how/why it works so well.

I am sure that the immersion of the experience is higher. My question (and perhaps that of GP) is: is this greater immersion actually beneficial to communication? I think this is cool tech, and valuable. I'm just not sure that it offers a communication benefit over well-lit, well-miced, wired, low latency, 8K videoconferencing. Maybe there's some 3D emotional perception face processing stuff that we have deep in our…

>I think this is cool tech, and valuable. I'm just not sure that it offers a communication benefit over well-lit, well-miced, wired, low latency, 8K videoconferencing.

>Maybe there's some 3D emotional perception face processing stuff that we have deep in our brains that can immensely benefit from this, but I'm skeptical.

>I think simply doing 4k or 8k low latency high quality videoconferencing might be a 90 or 95% solution without needing special cameras/displays.

From my experience, 4k or 8k doesn't matter. Sound quality actually matters most, really clear low latency audio alone will give you a surprisingly strong sense of presence.

Video quality is important but 1080p is enough, beyond that the lighting and latency matter more.

Equally important from my personal POV is video size - physical size. Take a cheap 65 inch TV, turn it vertically, and talk to someone on that. When your talking to someone that is actually life size the sense of presence is vastly improved, even at the exact same video quality. And TVs are so cheap this doesn't seem like much of a techical barrier.

If you just screen share from your cell phone to your 65 inch TV and video chat -- holding everything else equal for audio and video quality -- it's SO MUCH BETTER.

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