Can you watch a film in a moving vehicle?
For the BMW i7, this manifested in what is a rarity in cars in India—a full-scale theatre with a 31.3-inch 'Oled' (organic light-emitting diode) display, paired to an 18-speaker, 655-watt surround sound system built by British audio brand Bowers & Wilkins. To go with this, the company's infotainment modes come with a dedicated 'Theatre mode'—which rolls up the window and rear windscreen shades, closes the glass roof's shades too, and flips the display down for the rear passengers to savour.
The experience, interestingly, is heightened by the company's inclusion of a port that allows users to use any streaming device with it. Through this, passengers in the rear seat can plug in an Amazon Fire Stick, connect it with their mobile phone's data plan, and have a functioning smart Oled television to view while on the highway for a long drive.
The in-car theatre experience is definitely a unique one. The fold-out 'television' comes with a very wide aspect ratio; as a result, the content streamed on it actually uses a significantly smaller amount of the display area—at times, less than 70% of it. But, the display stands out for producing deep blacks and a sublime surround sound unit that would not be out of place even in a living room.
This experience is further heightened by the use of a voice AI assistant, which responds to commands such as 'make the cabin cooler" and 'open the sunroof". The company uses an unspecified voice AI model underpinning the features, giving users access to voice commands to ensure that the theatre screen does not need to be folded away in order for other features to be accessed from the rear seat.
Streaming quality is consistent with any smart television experience. However, patchy data networks across highways could play spoilsport—in which case, making content available offline prior to travel could be a better way to go. Other features that also aid volume adjustments and other elements include gesture control of playback as well.
The only hiccup? The inside rear-view mirror is a traditional mirror and not a screen feeding visibility from the back of the car through a camera. This means that when the TV is deployed for the passengers in the back seat, there is no way for the chauffeur to see what's behind.The car, of course, allows drivers to voluntarily switch on the rear camera view on the main display, which can make up for this shortcoming.
For a more seamless experience, buyers would likely have liked a more conventional aspect ratio screen for a more immersive television experience. Even without it, the unit delivers a show that can keep passengers on the rear seat relaxed and engaged for hours—all within the traditional comforts that luxury cars have offered over time.
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Time of India
9 hours ago
- Time of India
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Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Data Science Data Analytics Design Thinking MBA Healthcare healthcare Management Finance Project Management Technology Cybersecurity Digital Marketing Product Management CXO Operations Management Data Science Artificial Intelligence Leadership PGDM others Public Policy Degree MCA Others Skills you'll gain: Data Analysis & Interpretation Programming Proficiency Problem-Solving Skills Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence Duration: 24 Months Vellore Institute of Technology VIT MSc in Data Science Starts on Aug 14, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Strategic Data-Analysis, including Data Mining & Preparation Predictive Modeling & Advanced Clustering Techniques Machine Learning Concepts & Regression Analysis Cutting-edge applications of AI, like NLP & Generative AI Duration: 8 Months IIM Kozhikode Professional Certificate in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Starts on Jun 26, 2024 Get Details Donald Trump 's getaway is taking him considerably farther from the nation's capital, to the coast of Scotland. 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"Every president is forced to weigh politics versus fun on vacation," said Jeffrey Engel, David Gergen Director of the Centre for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, who added that Trump is "demonstrating his priorities." "When he thinks about how he wants to spend his free time, A. playing golf, B. visiting places where he has investments and C. enhancing those investments, that was not the priority for previous presidents, but it is his vacation time," Engel said. It's even a departure from Trump's first term, when he found ways to squeeze in visits to his properties while on trips more focused on work. Trump stopped at his resort in Hawaii to thank staff members after visiting the memorial site at Pearl Harbour and before embarking on an Asia trip in November 2017. He played golf at Turnberry in 2018 before meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Finland. Trump once decried the idea of taking vacations as president. "Don't take vacations. What's the point? If you're not enjoying your work, you're in the wrong job," Trump wrote in his 2004 book, "Think Like a Billionaire." During his presidential campaign in 2015, he pledged to "rarely leave the White House." Even as recently as a speech at a summit on artificial intelligence in Washington on Wednesday, Trump derided his predecessor for flying long distances for golf - something he's now doing. "They talked about the carbon footprint and then Obama hops onto a 747, Air Force One , and flies to Hawaii to play a round of golf and comes back," he said. Presidential vacations and any overseas trips were once taboo Trump isn't the first president not wanting to publicise taking time off. George Washington was criticised for embarking on a New England tour to promote the presidency. Some took issue with his successor, John Adams, for leaving the then-capital of Philadelphia in 1797 for a long visit to his family's farm in Quincy, Massachusetts. 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Time of India
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