September 21, 2004 —
 |
Miró Quartet |
Researchers from the Integrated Media Systems Center (IMSC) at the University
of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering will demonstrate the first-ever
live Internet immersive environment at the annual meeting of the Internet 2 organization
at the University of Texas (UT), Austin, on September 28. The demonstration will
feature a performance by the Miró Quartet, a nationally-known chamber music group,
that will be streamed over the Internet using multichannel immersive audio and
high definition video imagery.
“We are tremendously excited to work with the Internet 2 organization and the
Miró Quartet to demonstrate some of IMSC’s latest technologies,” said IMSC director
Ulrich Neumann, a USC professor of electrical engineering who noted that IMSC
has pioneered award-winning applications in pre-recorded and streamed immersive
environments.
While the quartet performs for one audience, researchers will transmit their
performance in real time to a second audience in another auditorium, using advanced
video and audio technologies to create an unprecedented sense of immersion.
The images of the performers will be projected on four high definition screens
(one for each performer), and the audio will be captured and rendered using IMSC’s
10.2-channel immersive audio technology, which is a generation beyond today’s
5.1-channel surround sound.
During the intermission, the two audiences will switch places, and at the end
of the show, they will participate in a survey, developed by IMSC and the UT Institute
for Social Research, to measure the efficacy of immersive environments.
IMSC researchers include Chris Kyriakakis, USC associate professor of electrical
engineering and director of the IMSC Immersive Audio Laboratory; Tomlinson Holman,
key investigator at the Immersive Audio Lab and professor of film sound at the
USC School of Cinema-Television, and principal with TMH Corp.; Roger Zimmermann,
IMSC streaming media technology specialist and USC research assistant professor;
Christos Papadopoulos, assistant professor of computer science; Alexander A. Sawchuk,
IMSC Deputy Director and USC professor of electrical engineering; Elaine Chew,
USC assistant professor in the Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering;
James Donahue, consultant to IMSC and principal recording engineer, WGBH, Boston;
Beomjoo Seo, IMSC graduate research assistant; and Moses Pawar, IMSC graduate
research assistant.
More information on the IMSC&UT/Miró Quartet event can be found at:
More information on the conference, scheduled for September 27 to 30 can be found
at:
Internet 2 is a consortium includes 207 universities working in a partnership
with industry and government to develop and deploy advanced network applications
and technologies, accelerating the creation of tomorrow’s Internet.
The Miró Quartet is increasingly recognized as one of America’s brightest and
most exciting young chamber groups. For more information on the Miró Quartet,
visit:
http://www.miroquartet.com
IMSC is the National Science Foundation’s exclusive engineering research center
for multimedia and Internet research. IMSC’s vision is to pioneer immersive technology
so that people anywhere in the world can experience a concert, sporting event,
lecture or other event with a fidelity that approaches reality. For more information
on IMSC, visit
http://imsc.usc.edu
