Brad Beitel This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. www.zenda.com

   www.zenda.com/hibeitel.htm - [Cached]

   Published on: 8/17/1999   Last Visited: 8/24/2002

   Brad Beitel - Director of the Philips Multimedia Center
   ...
   A Conversation with Brad Beitel
   
   Brad is Director of Philips Multimedia Lab. He has worked at Electronic Arts, at Kaleida developing "Interactive TV," and for many years at IBM's multimedia division. Brad says, "The purpose of the two-way window is to provide the Valley's big businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurs alike, with access to Philips, a talented, resourceful and internationally respected company; and similarly, to assist Philips in building relationships with companies and individuals that are typically at the forefront of technological innovation."
   
   Hosted by Zenda's Fabrice Florin (aka Coyote), this conversation was held on 2/19/97 at Minds Palace and has been edited for the purposes of this publication.
   
   Coyote
   
   Brad Beitel has been kind enough to join us here today. Welcome, Brad.
   
   Brad Beitel
   
   Great to be here. Thanks, Coyote.
   
   Coyote
   
   Before Philips, you were with IBM for a long time, then Kaleida.
   ...
   How did you get interested in all this interactive multimedia in the first place, Brad?
   
   Brad Beitel
   
   I stumbled on multimedia by accident. I was originally interested in slide shows with dissolve machines. My first attempt at multimedia was to try and create something similar on a PC, with all four colors: cyan, magenta and white, with a background of choice, and I might add, all those pixels, 320 x 200. I was doing PC Storyboard. Then a guy showed up named Alan Walasik (sp?) with a PC card capable of 256 colors. He also had a guy in tow with a 12" floppy disk player.
   ...
   Brad Beitel
   
   Storyboard was widely used in the early PC days to show off running demos on PCs - sort of the forerunner to Powerpoint.
   
   Coyote
   
   You drove IBM's multimedia strategy for many years. What was that like, pushing the envelope for Big Blue?
   ...
   Brad Beitel
   
   Well, there was a strong immune system.
   
   Coyote
   
   Immune to innovation?
   
   ...
   Brad Beitel
   
   I remember one executive saying "you have a solution looking for a problem."
   
   Coyote
   
   More interested in the problem box than the solution box, was he?
   
   ...
   Brad Beitel
   
   More interested in selling PCs. IBM was a box company in those days. People would say, how can you ever use more than 16 colors? Alan also had a video digitizing board. With it we began to develop color mapping algorithms that showed pretty good photos in 256 colors. Then people understood.
   
   ...
   Brad Beitel
   
   I went to Kaleida to work on "digital TV."
   
   Coyote
   
   What is the "digital TV" vision that attracted you there?
   
   ...
   Brad Beitel
   
   I thought the "desktop" was lost, but digital TV could be a new platform.
   
   Coyote
   
   Do you still believe that to be the case?
   
   ...
   Brad Beitel
   
   Yes, absolutely, but Microsoft is closing in quickly.
   
   spoon
   
   I'm unclear what digital TV means in this context.
   
   Brad Beitel
   
   Digital TV means an interactive experience in the "living room" with TV or synthesized TV.
   
   Coyote
   
   What is your vision of the "digital TV" experience - say, 10 years from now?
   
   ...
   Brad Beitel
   
   In ten years this thing could put you IN Jurassic Park. If you think about "entertainment technology" each step has further immersed the customer. And people want this suspension of reality. Why else are we here (in the Palace)?
   
   spoon
   
   ...
   Brad Beitel
   
   Certainly the LBE's are evolving this way - LBE: Location-Based Entertainment places, like Magic Edge.
   
   Coyote
   
   A lot of folks argue that interactive TV will never happen because people don't want to INTERACT, but would rather watch passively. Do you think that will slow down the evolution of digital TV?
   
   Brad Beitel
   
   Video games are proof that people want to interact. But sure, sometimes watching is more fun.
   
   Coyote
   
   Video games are used by a young audience, typically male.
   ...
   Brad Beitel
   
   Maybe both. But this is a video game that we are all participating in now. Everyone's not a "shooter." Some people are watching, some are interacting.
   
   Coyote
   
   ...
   Brad Beitel
   
   I think that the input device is one of the big problems. VR as we know it today is an early attempt at eliminating the keyboard/joystick model.
   
   Coyote
   
   Do you think that the helmet and glove is the next interface metaphor?
   ...
   Brad Beitel
   
   Perhaps the latter. People are experimenting with these things called caves. They are completely surrounded by projected 3D images. They have gloves, treadmills, or sit in some device resembling a real object like a car or plane.
   
   Coyote
   
   ...
   Brad Beitel
   
   Right. What everyone in VR is striving for is to eliminate the artificial things that cause one to fall out of the experience. I'm treading on thin ice here, as I am not actively pursuing VR.
   
   Coyote
   
   What elements of VR do you think will apply in the digital TV future?
   ...
   Brad Beitel
   
   In the long run, perhaps many, but in the short run, I think 3D and video synthesis.
   
   Coyote
   
   What do you mean by video synthesis?
   
   ...
   Brad Beitel
   
   Creating video or movies in real time from models, rather than image scans - the difference between Myst and Quake.
   
   Coyote
   
   Would that include texture-mapping a real photographic image of a face onto a 3D model (i.e: to bring actors back to life)?
   
   ...
   Brad Beitel
   
   Yes, and much more. IF you see what SGI can do today, our TV will do in less than 5 years, and they render VERY realistic scenes.
   
   Coyote
   
   So you think that it will look realistic enough for sophisticated users to suspend their disbelief?
   
   ...
   Brad Beitel
   
   I think so, especially if you get caught up in the story. I'm amazed at how bad the special effects of movies were just a few years ago, but we believed them then.
   
   Coyote
   
   So how would a viewer participate in a synthetic movie?
   ...
   Brad Beitel
   
   At the LBE's you do today. But I think it could range from just being an extra (watching) or taking a minor to major role. And that's where the social aspects come in.
   
   Coyote
   
   ...
   Brad Beitel
   
   Yes, and that's why I think the truly interactive movies will be multiplayer.
   
   Coyote
   
   How does an ordinary citizen learn to "feel" hatred or love for another character - which may be an innocent bystander just like him/her? In other words, how easy do you think it will be for regular folks to get into role-playing?
   ...
   Brad Beitel
   
   I have a friend who stages plays where people come to a hotel for the weekend. They are given identities and a little bit of a part. A few of the organizers create a plot, perhaps they "murder" someone. The rest is left up to the players.
   
   Guest 5151
   ...
   Brad Beitel
   
   Very little control is exercised. The people just have "personalities" to play. The social interaction makes for the fun.
   
   Coyote
   
   It's a lot easier to role-play when your part is to shoot as many people as you can, but more skill will be required to act out subtle plots.
   ...
   Brad Beitel
   
   That's what happens in Quake, but very different things happen at my friend's gatherings.
   
   Coyote
   
   I think you have your finger on something big here What we need to do is try out the concept with ordinary folks and see if it works.
   
   ...
   Brad Beitel
   
   I agree.
   
   Coyote
   
   At Electronic Arts, you spent some time looking at the future of online gaming: where do you think this industry is headed?
   
   ...
   Brad Beitel
   
   At EA we thought people would like to gather on-line, and then watch and compete in video games. We thought they might be willing to pay a couple of bucks an hour for the privilege.
   
   Coyote
   
   Do you think that EA assumption is still correct?
   ...
   Brad Beitel
   
   I think we might have had that part wrong.
   
   Coyote
   
   Well, Brad, thanks a lot for taking the time...
   
   Brad Beitel
   
   It's been a lot of fun. Thanks for having me.
   
   Coyote
   
   Next time we meet, we'll do it in Jurassic Park.
   
   Brad Beitel
   
   It's a deal.
   
   ©1999, Zenda Studio.