Microsoft Intros Project Natal, Instant 1080p Video on Demand

Microsoft has announced so many cool innovations lately that you'd think it was Apple.

At the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) on June 1, Microsoft said it would offer TV shows and movies for instant streaming in 1080p with 5.1 surround sound.

"Today, our video store is the largest destination for on-demand, high-definition movies and TV shows in the world," said Microsoft corporate VP John Schappert at the E3 event. "And as popular as it is, you've challenged us to do more. We've heard you say, 'I can get a better picture on a disk,' and 'I have to wait for ages for my movies to download …."

Microsoft's "new standard in home entertainment," he added, will be relaunched as Zune Video this fall.

In addition, Microsoft is adding a social element to its video-on-demand service. With LIVE Party, users can invite their friends to watch videos together and respond to the action.

For example, during a football game, the avatars take their places in the stadium, and they can be made to cheer, boo or make other animated moves.

'Project Natal'

Those features are nothing, however, compared to Microsoft's new Project Natal.

That innovation features the ultimate in interactivity. Imagine a Wii without the need for props, a teleconference system with nothing to install, and an entire entertainment ecosystem with no remote control required.

Project Natal, which works with an Xbox console, incorporates the following components to enable voice recognition, facial recognition and gesture-based navigation:

• RGB camera: facial recognition, teleconferencing, more
• Depth Sensor: Allows Project Natal to see the room in 3D under any lighting conditions
• Multi-array microphone: Able to locate voices by sound and extract ambient noise
• Custom processor: the "magic layer" of proprietary software

From the Project Natal press release:

Compatible with any Xbox 360 system, the "Project Natal" sensor is the world's first to combine an RGB camera, depth sensor, multi-array microphone and custom processor running proprietary software all in one device. Unlike 2-D cameras and controllers, "Project Natal" tracks your full body movement in 3-D, while responding to commands, directions and even a shift of emotion in your voice.

In addition, unlike other devices, the "Project Natal" sensor is not light-dependent. It can recognize you just by looking at your face, and it doesn't just react to key words but understands what you're saying. Call a play in a football game, and players will actually respond. Want to log onto Xbox LIVE? Simply step in front of the sensor.

"The next step in interactive entertainment is to make the controller disappear," said Steven Spielberg, visionary director and producer. "With 'Project Natal,' we'll see games that bring everyone together through technology that actually recognizes us."

The gesture-based commands are reminiscent of the Hitachi gesture TV at CES 2009.

Opportunities for Home Automation?

Project Natal has plenty of implications for home control. In fact, in one demo, a user navigates through a movie library and pics a video using only gestures. At the end, she utters, "Good Night" and the TV shuts down.

No doubt, Microsoft will create software developer kits that enable third-party vendors to incorporate gestures, voice and facial recognition into their control systems.



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