Future directions in desktop video
Authors: Heidmnn T. , MacKay M. , MacNicol G. , Wray F. 
Published: November 2005

Good morning. My name is Tim Heidmann and I'd like to welcome
you all to this panel, which is entitled Future Directions in
Desktop Video, and I'd especially like to thank all you people who
stayed up a little late on Thursday night to come to this panel.
It's really good to see you all out there.
I've gotten word that this panel is being transcribed. They're
putting together a booklet, so they're taking the slides and the
stills from the videos and all the things that we're saying. So I'd
just like to take this opportunity to say hi to the person who's
transcribing this and sorry you couldn't be here today, and I
wanted to let you know that the word of the day is Neopraseodymium,
and I hope you've got your scientific dictionary close by.
When we first started putting this panel together, I talked to
my friends who were involved in a number of different areas in
video, and the question that came to the forefront very quickly is
what exactly desktop video is. There's been a lot of talk about it,
a lot of magazine articles. It's a good buzz word. But we all felt
it incorporated a whole bunch of different areas that weren't
easily put into one category.
We did agree that the name of desktop video came from the field
of desktop publishing. In desktop publishing, which has been a
rapidly growing field in the past few years, the whole point is
that we've got a computer bringing together elements from the
outside world, creating elements inside the computer, putting them
all together and coming up with a final product. The point is it's
all done inside the computer. Again, it does the things that
computers do really well -- like text editing and graphics design
and layout. And it was made possible by the fact that these high
quality printers -- laser printers -- had come out that you could
produce a very high quality output from it.
Well, on the video side, there is a similar development. That
is, it's possible now to make video animation completely within the
computer. There are software packages for modeling objects, for
creating animation, for rendering very high quality images and
outputting them directly to tape. And I guess you could call that
desktop video. You're doing the same thing as you're doing in
desktop publishing, but now you're producing videotape and
animation.
But really what's happening in video is a lot bigger than that.
I've kind of come up with this map. If you look at the entire video
process, you can split it into four parts. The first being creating
the elements, which I've called Source here. Now that would include
such applications as computer graphics, generated completely inside
the computer, but also things like pointing a camera at someone or
something, things like medical imaging. Basically the creation of
the images.
The second step would be assembling those images and probably
some audio into a master video production. Just about everything
you do in video involves some sort editing to it, even if it's just
putting a title on the beginning.
The third area is the distribution. How do these images get out
to the outside world? A lot of times it's just making lots of VHS
copies and mailing them to your friends.
And the final part is how do you look at this videotape? How do
you use video in your application?
What we're going to talk about today, when we talk about desktop
video, is actually all these areas. The speakers today have a
number of different backgrounds. We'll be addressing this in a
number of different ways.
Basically the reason we're doing this panel today and why it's
important now is because there are a lot of developments that are
bringing video into the reach of more application areas. People are
interested in what can be done with video, want to know what's
happening and what the developments are. Specifically the things
that we're seeing are the appearance of higher quality consumer
formats. That is, videotape recorders, players, that are available
at consumer affordable prices, but give you enough quality to let
you duplicate and edit a little better than VHS or just plain 8
millimeter.
Computer graphics hardware and software is becoming less
expensive and more accessible. The fact that you can buy editing
equipment for these new consumer formats and do a really good job
of putting together a final videotape without going to a
postproduction house. New distribution methods and integrated video
applications like DVI, which allow much broader use of video. So
there's more incentive to produce these things.
These are the areas we're going to be talking about today, and
just keep in mind this map, and I think if we can reference the
different things we'll be talking about to this map, maybe it will
all make sense.
I'd like to introduce the first speaker today who is Michael
MacKay, currently of the Sony Advanced Video Technology Center,
formerly of Diaquest; before that with Atari Research. Michael
brings a strong background in computer graphics, in video
production, interactive video applications, and without further
adieu, Michael.