Welcome to the age of the virtual balcony.   I’m Fred Fishkin with technology BootCamp, a report on gadgets and gear.   When you take a cruise ship vacation, should you spring for one of the luxurious staterooms with a balcony view?   There are only so many to go around and they aren’t cheap.  But  now…there’s another choice.   A virtual balcony, developed by Control Group …initially available on Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas.   Control Group Associate Partner Charlie Miller says the task was …

“To mount some cameras on the outside of the ship and build an infrastructure that delivers real time views and sounds from outside the ship to 80 inch HD displays that are mounted at points throughout the inside of the ship.”

Creating virtual balconies in rooms that otherwise wouldn’t have a view.  Miller says while it may sound tacky..the experience is surprisingly good.  And he adds, with 4K technology, the screens will only get better with time.   You can find us at BootCamp.com.   I’m Fred Fishkin.