06-19-2004, 10:30 PM
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Swami
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,303
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Pocket PC Peps up Classical Concerts
"The Concert Companion (CoCo) is an exciting new interpretive aid or �experience enhancement� for classical music audiences. Using state of the art wireless technology, CoCo delivers explanatory text, program notes and video images to hand-held devices � in real time with the music."
The above quote is the opening statement at the The Concert Companion website. There's a BBC story about this device, which calls the CoCo (great abbreviation btw :wink: ) the 21st Century's version of programme notes. It's a Pocket PC which displays live video and commentary on the music being performed:
"The device itself is a top of the range HP iPaq - a hand-held PC with a colour screen that communicates via wireless connection to a base computer. An operator who follows the music score then feeds live text information to the hand-held computers as the music is played. It is only recently that advances in hand-held development have created the technology that can produce live, video and text commentary delivered by wireless connection. "So much of this is serendipitous," said Mr Valliere. Live video footage of the conductor and lead soloists is also broadcast to the devices. "Now you can see the conductor's expressions and gestures for the first time," said Mr Valliere."
It's interesting to see how Pocket PCs are increasingly being used to enhance events. So, is this a useful tool that makes classical music more accessible to people, or is it a gimmick of little note which will soon fade away?
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06-19-2004, 10:48 PM
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Mystic
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,725
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Sounds pretty neat, but I doubt many people would use it. If more cellphones were able to use this type of technology, it might catch on, but for now it's just a geek fad.  :lol:
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06-19-2004, 10:57 PM
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Swami
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,303
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Are you assuming that folks would use this on their own PPCs? I understood that the concert goers were being offered the use of PPCs with the software pre-loaded. If the interface is full screen and is well designed then I don't think it would be too intimidating. Folks these days are used to a certain degree of computer interaction and would surely find this usable/useful?
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06-19-2004, 11:00 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 1,055
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I think that if it's utilized correctly, it could be a very useful enhancement to a performance. Right now, Pocket PCs and PDAs are used in lots of museums to provide audio and visual elements to an exhibit. There tons of possibilities for its use at concerts and performances.
Of course, my question is, how long will these devices last for? If the iPaqs are being provided unprotected without a case, I think the cost of providing this service will be very expensive. People are bound to drop and scratch the devices. The devices that are provided need to absolutely be well protected.
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06-19-2004, 11:01 PM
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Mystic
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,725
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Jonathon Watkins
Are you assuming that folks would use this on their own PPCs? I understood that the concert goers were being offered the use of PPCs with the software pre-loaded. If the interface is full screen and is well designed then I don't think it would be too intimidating. Folks these days are used to a certain degree of computer interaction and would surely find this usable/useful?
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Ah, I see...yeah, I was thinking this would be offered over WiFi or something. Yeah, I guess if the PDA was provided more people would find it useful.
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06-19-2004, 11:15 PM
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Swami
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,303
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Zack Mahdavi
Of course, my question is, how long will these devices last for? If the iPaqs are being provided unprotected without a case, I think the cost of providing this service will be very expensive. People are bound to drop and scratch the devices. The devices that are provided need to absolutely be well protected.
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True. They need something like this. :lol: Tough crowd these classical concert goers! :wink:
Seriously though, I wonder how you could adequately protect your PPCs? Use the cheapest possible WiFi PPCs with sealed rubber cases?
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06-20-2004, 03:23 AM
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Oracle
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 952
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With the Pops and all the museums in Boston, MA you'd think we'd have this already... But NOOOO! only in the UK. We did have a gps/iPaq walking tour of art galleries though.
I want to see WiFi treated like a public service in the USA. We have Public Television and Community Access Cable shows. Why not WiFi?
Don't Panic!
Bobby
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06-20-2004, 04:17 AM
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06-20-2004, 06:29 AM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 159
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This is too funny. I went to a MET concert in the park Wednesday for Madam Butterfly. Great night. Great music. Great sound system. Great lyrics in Italian. As I was trying to figure out where I was in the opera, it occured to me how easy it would be to broadcast a line by line translation for the 100,000 young and well-heeled people in the park listening, many of whom probably had a WiFi PPC in their pockets...and here it is...at $10 a pop!
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06-20-2004, 06:49 AM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 15,171
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by jkendrick
This was done in New York back at the end of May and was a success. Details here:
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And I missed it? 8O :cry:
Oh well, hopefully they'll continue it next time.
--janak
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