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Overview
Personalised ambient media
Access to home media content is ever easier as the
number of sources for digital TV, packaged media and broadband
content explodes everyday. The capability to control, access and
present this content is a challenge for every family. However, those
that can exploit the media will be able to use the knowledge and
experience to enrich their lives.
Some have suggested that web service providers,
such as Google, will dominate this market. However, finding content
is only part of the process. Content must be selected, filtered,
scaled, and scheduled for presentation. Moreover, the home itself is
changing as multiple in-home display devices, coupled to ambient
control replace the single TV. The PASSEPARTOUT project is focused
on bringing the use of scalable HD content into the lives of a
family that is able to exploit the advantages of MPEG4 object
oriented TV with metadata, in the context of a deep source of
background content available for education via the web.
Maxima Scenario
Key to the project is the Maxima scenario. This
defines the role of a media-aware parent with the skills and
aptitudes to use traditional and emerging media sources to maximum
effect, in order to enrich the lives of their family. This includes
solving challenges to the family members, such as disabilities or
language learning; and maintaining and developing both family
heritage and cultural awareness in a cosmopolitan community. They
might also help the family to make a contribution to community
media, such as Wikipedia, as a video repository. In the Maxima
scenario we see the future of family infotainment as a participation
in society and not just passive consumption.
Who prepares the Content?
The film, ‘Minority Report’, was shown at the ITEA
Symposium in Amsterdam in October 2002. A scene where the lead
character sorts and studies data files on a large screen impresses
many of those who see this science-fiction film. With this visible
approach to the handling of visual media and related metadata, the
full value of the data is clear and it’s possible to create a
presentation. The project will exploit this concept as a way of
enabling parents and older children to manage content for the whole
family to access. It will be demonstrated using ambient experience
concepts for home usage, based on exploitation of the artistic
potential of the media in the living space and the need to be
entertained.
Strong European Synergies
The PASSEPARTOUT consortium plans to achieve its
goals by encouraging close co-operation
between key European players in the industry. Other
projects being run within the ITEA and IST programmes have important
pieces for our puzzle.
Specifically, open source and P2P networks have
enabled users to have a much greater say in the way media is created
and used in the home. We believe that most users will grasp this
chance to improve their family’s life style and education.
This influence on the
technology is an explicit part of the Maxima scenario, i.e. the
desire of European people to own their culture and language and to
create it, is shared by all in the group. A focus on localization
issues and language translation standards in multimedia content is a
strong driver in the modelling of Object Oriented content forms that
will open the path to more reactive design in the media.
A unique link to Korea
Korea is the consumer electronics powerhouse of
the 21st century. In the project, ETRI, the Korean Broadcast
Research Center has a unique role in the exploitation of the concept
of packaging of content and the TV-Any-time forum.
Expected Results
1. Exploitation of MPEG4 and MPEG7 technology
in broadband and optical storage media for scalable media
2. Links to the development of the TV-Anytime
standard for PVR and the use of packaged media for broadcast,
optical storage and broadband.
3. Coupling of new access technologies for
broadband to the home media environment, and to access the
issues of content aggregations and service at application level.
4. Coupling of WiMAX access networks to
application issues for home networks
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