‘discover / review / share’, Ovei Media’s debut pilot for a radical new cultural network, has attracted enthusiastic support from both visitors and curators.

For two days, Ovei multimedia pods were installed as part of Clerkenwell Design Week exhibitions and within the Design Museum. Visitors were invited to step inside a pod and shown, via a simple interface, how to browse, select, nominate, review and comment on their favourite exhibits. The interface, produced by Framestore, allows feedback to be uploaded to be shared with others across social networking platforms.

Explains founder Lee McCormack, “Our Ovei Media concept lets visitors personally engage with and shape exhibitions by sharing their views. As well as offering exhibition owners and commercial sponsors a compelling digital platform to reach new audiences, participating venues can also link to and promote each other – increasing potential footfall.”

Clerkenwell Design Week executive Samantha Watson-Wood sees the potential: “The idea that cultural institutions can be linked globally is an exciting concept. The Ovei pod is a beautiful design and attracts a lot of attention. Our audience is interested in change, process, technology and advances in communication so in this way the Ovei Pod was a very relevant showcase in our festival. The vision of this product is exciting and we look forward to the next instalment”

Anna Hill, Founder & CEO of Space Synapse Ltd, agrees: “I think the Ovei is a fantastic way to share a museum, exhibition, space centre or planetarium user experience directly with online communities.

Ovei Media continues the trend for venues to embrace innovative technology to engage wider audiences – for example the Tate Modern’s use of the ‘Tate trumps’ iPhone application.

The Ovei at the Park Lane Hotel for the Classic Rock Awards 2009.

Rolling Stones’ guitarist Ronnie Wood was given the outstanding contribution honour for his ‘ageless presence’ on the scene.

Classic Rock magazine was reported as saying that the prize was also in recognition of ‘his musical achievements with The Jeff Beck Group, The Faces and now The Rolling Stones.’

The Ovei allowed attendees to experience their rock masters’ best performances. Located at the lobby area of the awards, the Ovei had a collection of 10 minute clips with all the bands’ live video concerts uploaded into its Blue4 media server. Visitors could comfortably sit inside the media pod and choose their favourite artists.
Lee McCormack, creator of the Ovei, said: “It was a great atmosphere and the rockers responded really well to the Ovei. It was seen as a great space to reflect and experience the music they love and create.”

‘Brian May and Ronnie Wood tried it and loved it, not sure if they watched themselves or another group, but it was a fantastic way to show what they are best at in all their glory.” added McCormack.

Lee McCormack was invited to demonstrate  how the Ovei provides an all immersive space where products can be presented and experienced in a unique fashion. The Ovei was one of 12 products selected to be at this event.

The forum, held at the Altman Building, in New York City, attracted 200 attendees and had top speakers from companies such as Google, IBM and Sony Music Entertainment.

The aim of the event was to understand media convergence by getting acquainted with the possibilities available today. The forum had a mixture of thought leaders, marketing psychologists, technology experts, futurists, media and marketing professionals who looked into the future to consider the ideas, technologies and tactics that tomorrow’s best organisations will adopt.

The Ovei presented its ability to converge technologies by delivering a range of experiences powered by Alienware PC gaming, a PS3 and the Blue4 media player.

Other products that McCormack found interesting included Poken and WooMe. He said: ‘ Poken is a fun product that will appeal to a wide range of people; it’s a way of creating a profile for yourself- like a business card but you can add photos, videos and music. You carry a Poken character around with you with your profile stored on it. When you meet another Poken user, the characters are pressed together and automatically swap your profile which you upload to your site when you’re ready. Simple and fun but relies on the people you meet having a Poken too.

“Woo Me is a video conferencing website where you basically speed meet 3 people in quick succession who are responding to a topic that you or someone else has posted. It’s based on speed dating but the emphasis is shifted towards everyday interests. This way of connecting with people across the globe seems to be pretty good. If you consider the adage ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’, then this video could be priceless.”

The Ovei had a very good reception and was tried out by most of the attendees. McCormack added: “The Ovei is already being used to for marketing purposes to showcase film Premiers and video games releases. The Economist forum demonstrated how important it is to understand the way people interact with products and brands. One size doesn’t fit all and advertisers and marketeers need to weigh up their options and choose the vehicle in which they will reach their clients most efficiently.”

Ovei, the personalised media pod experience from Oculas, is one of the 12 finalists shortlisted by The Economist in an international technology competition.

On October 20th, The Economist’s third Annual Media Convergence Conference in New York will be looking at how the changing media landscape is affecting the way people behave.

The surge of new technologies and social media innovations in today’s environment is significantly altering the future media landscape for marketers, The Economist claims.

The Ovei is British designer Lee McCormack’s brain child. He developed this state of the art digital media experience capsule together with McLaren Applied Technologies.

McCormack says that the Ovei unites the excitement of ubiquitous media, the power of experiential and sensory technology and the potency of media convergence.

The immersive integrated environment, designed to allow a user to access, experience, interact with and enjoy any media source, provides enveloping 5.1 surround sound, ambient lighting, climate control and an HD flat screen display. The system is easily managed by the user via a Blue4 control panel.

The private space provided by Ovei can be used for computer gaming, web browsing, watching films, listening to music, videoconferencing, learning or writing and composing. Specialist enhancement options include Dell Alienware gaming hardware and Healthcare Therapy functions.

The Ovei has been adopted by a range from global brands like Dell, Alienware, Disney, Diageo (Johnny Walker), Saatchi & Saatchi, McLaren and Ascari. It has also been purchased by private individuals including sports personalities, rap stars, business leaders and Heads of State.

“We have high hopes at Oculas to win The Economist competition in New York this month,” said McCormack and added “The Ovei is the embodiment of media convergence. This competition will help bring its unique benefits to the attention of global leaders in emerging technologies and marketing.”

Other Ovei applications outside of the leisure industry include healthcare and spa treatment.

Each finalist’s seven minutes presentation will be filmed and broadcast at http://mediaconvergence.economist.com.

Sherakhan, a breathtaking 70m luxury motor yacht chartered by Camper & Nicholsons International, will be showcasing the Wellbeing and Entertainment capabilities of Ovei, the personal digital experience capsule at the Monaco Yacht Show on September 23^rd 2009.

Designed by Lee McCormack and engineered by McLaren Applied Technologies, the Ovei concept offers a luxurious, distraction-free environment capable of delivering a wide range of rich, totally immersive multimedia experiences.

Prince Albert was among the VIP guests at the show:

Currently three Ovei variants are available, each optimised to support wellbeing, entertainment/leisure and performance improvement programmes respectively.

Focusing on the wellbeing market, the 8 Elements Ovei is designed to capture patient diagnostic data for Acutherapy – a holistic healing and energy balance regime pioneered by French Revitalisation specialist Dr. Nadia Volf. Charter clients will be able to enjoy comprehensive 8 Elements consultations, assessments and therapies whilst cruising.

Increasingly, clients on vacation are looking for more than beauty treatments from on-board Spas. The Ovei Performance is optimised to deliver self-improvement, relaxation and cognitive therapy programmes. Applications range from treatments for insomnia, anxiety and phobias to performance improvement coaching for sport and business.

Ovei Original is dedicated to client entertainment and leisure use: reference class 5.1 surround sound, ambient lighting, climate control and a flat screen display provide the ultimate environment for computer gaming, web browsing, watching films, listening to music, videoconferencing, learning or writing and composing. Options such as aromatherapy offer further flexibility.

Explains Ovei designer and CEO Lee McCormack, “Private clients chartering yachts at this level are looking for a unique, luxury cruising experience. We’re delighted Camper & Nicholsons International has seen the value that Ovei capsules can add for its discerning clientele.”

The Ovei Original and Ovei 8 Elements capsules will complement the Sharakhan’s on-board health and fitness facilities including Sauna & Spa room, Beauty saloon and exercise equipment. Both pods feature sumptuous hand-stitched leather interiors by UK automotive and aircraft interior trimmers Protrim. Hide also encapsulates the entire exterior on the Ovei Original. See the photo album on Flickr >>

An Ovei equipped with Alpha Matrix Technologies demonstrated how technology can be used to teach relaxation techniques, relief from anxiety and achieve better, more restful sleep.

See the photos on Flickr.

Alienware Ovei ESP invades Retail.

Ovei launched a new competition to win the Alienware Ovei ESP gaming pod; take a look here.

Invasion Kicks-off New Alienware Store-Within-a-Store Experience.

Located in Micro Center Just Outside New York City, Alienware Experience Brings its World-Class Gaming In-store

Alienware is invading the New York area with an all-day launch party to celebrate the opening of the first Alienware Experience . This new store-within-a-store is located just outside New York at the Micro Center North Jersey location in Paterson. Known for excellent customer service, Micro Center is focused on the needs of dedicated computer users. The Alienware Invasion begins at 11:30 a.m. EDT on Saturday, July 25.

As Dell’s premier gaming brand, Alienware is bringing a new level of excitement to the retail marketplace with The Alienware Experience. Hardcore gamers and tech-savvy computer enthusiasts now have the opportunity to experience Alienware first hand.

Celebrating the union of two extreme machines!

The Ovei Original can be seen here with the powerful Alienware Area-51 desktop.

The Dell Suites Paris ’09 event took place from the 15th to the 17th of June in Versailles, France. The Dell Lounge presented the work of all the artists that created art for the Dell Design Studio.

This Ovei “powered by Alienware” delivered a heart pounding jet fighter gaming experience.

“This combination just raised the quality of gaming experience to a new level. It was completely exhilerating, managing to capture the imagination of the people who’vebeen in the gaming industry for years”. Lee McCormack.

Ovei 8 elements.

An immersive client diagnosis and consultation environment for therapists and healthcare professionals developed with McLaren, today began a year-long showcase as part of The Science Museum’s Fast Forward F1 exhibition.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7934857.stm