Will Vertical be the Future for TV?

gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
Two former Google and Instagram engineers have started a new company that reformats TV content to be watched on smartphones in portrait mode. The founders of “Dreams” believe that mobile devices are the future of television, and that video content must be changed to better fit the physical realities presented by small, handheld screens. If people prefer holding their phones vertically, then it’s the content — not the viewers and their devices — that must conform.

vertical.jpg


With more and more people watching content on their mobile devices, will mobile surpass widescreen viewing in the home and dictate the future of how content is formatted for consumers?

Read: Smartphone Company Believes the Future of TV is Vertical
 
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j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
IMO, there's different types of watching. I agree it maybe should be an option for the types of content that tend to be consumed mobile, but I don't think it is going to be the norm.

LETTER BOX! ;)
 
Verdinut

Verdinut

Audioholic Spartan
Ah yeah! And theaters are going to try to change their screens for the vertical format, but it won't fit as the ceiling will be too low!

As humans, we have two eyes, one horizontally beside the other. That allows us to have a better peripheral vision for both our protection and an overall panoramic vision.

I think that a vertical screen is far from being a bright solution for either TV or cinema.
 
Y

yepimonfire

Audioholic Samurai
This sounds stupid. I don't watch TV on my phone, but even if I did, I'd turn it sideways, since a majority of smartphones are 16:9 horizontally. I'd assume everyone else does the same.



Sent from my LGMP260 using Tapatalk
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
How is LESS visible area going to be a benefit? Sounds like some poor assumptions are being made here. YES people consume content on their phones, but that's really more of a time passer than the "future" of consuming content. I predict wasted money.
 
S

Scott Y.

Enthusiast
Yes, I can see it. Narrow theater with four balconies of stadium seating and a 10 story screen!
 
S

sterling shoote

Audioholic Field Marshall
I like Panavision and Superscope. For sure, 16 X 9 is what TV viewers want, not portrait view. The company thinking vertical is thinking wrong. The correct thinking would be to put the power and function of a home theatre pre/pro into the smart phone. Then home theatre could consist of a monitor getting video info from the phone and active/wireless speakers getting audio info from the phone. No need for pre/pros, power amps, passive wired speakers, or source components. And, folks we have the technology to deliver that scenario today. We are already getting the stereo version; and, it sounds great.
 
audioray

audioray

Audiophyte
Hi audiophiles ! I'm new here so I thread comment lightly ...
I think the key elements in this vertical video discussion are the duo Dreams team - former Google and Instagram engineers - and the IGTV vertical video push. I see how the user generated videos are taking over the mobile landscape and turning it on it's head - hmm ... sideways.

But from there to reframing Spartacus in vertical video ... I don't see it.

What I do see is facebook / instagram vs YouTube - like the Betamax / VHS format wars of yesteryear ... but now it's the landscape vs vertical video frame. Unfortunately I can see how the Me Me Me facebook generation will take to vertical video like bears to honey ... It's a far cry from reformatting 4x3 to 16x9 by zooming in and cutting head room. and it's been done with slow pans in a CinemaScope frame. I guess here we machine gun cut back and forth desperately trying to keep the speaking character in a vertical frame. It's a far cry from the director's vision, but let's not forget that colorizing B&W oldies won out and gained acceptance by the masses... IMHO the two formats will co-exist on smart phones for a long time.
 
RichB

RichB

Audioholic Field Marshall
A company founded on the notion that millennials cannot turn their phones sideways. :rolleyes:

AT&T is considering shortening Westworld episodes to 10 to 15 minutes to accommodate the current attention span. :p

This is a remarkably low assessment of the capabilities of the next generation.

- Rich
 
RichB

RichB

Audioholic Field Marshall
vertical.jpg


What the heck? Who took this old-style horizontal picture?
These guys should walk the talk :)

- Rich
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
If they want to start something real, how about no more vertical apps? Make all apps default to landscape.
 

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