'It's Microsoft's World'

See Also: 'Admissions' Episode Guide

Tonight's episode of CSI: New York goes high-tech--again.

"My business is to be two years ahead of the viewer," CSI creator Anthony Zuiker told USA Today. "I am looking for things that raise the hairs on the back of my neck and my shoulders. If it's cool to me, I think my viewers will love it." Previous examples of Zuiker's desire to use new technology on New York include this season's "Down the Rabbit Hole", which delved into the online world of Second Life. Other examples are items that the show uses every week: Tablet PCs and Ultra-Mobile PCs, which are moving the franchise toward a "paperless" format as the characters no longer need to carry around folders or pages with DNA results.

This week's episode, "Admissions", utilizes upcoming technology from Microsoft known as Photosynth. The program, which is due out later this year, stitches together a three-dimensional reconstruction using multiple images. In "Admissions", this will be used to reconstruct a school gym using a bunch of photos taken with cell phones. "Without even having a script in our heads, we can begin to build crime scenes and venues," Zuiker explained. "This is an example where technology is the core and the kernel of the idea of the show rather than doing the show first and trying to plug in the science and technology at a later date."

Zuiker first saw Photosynth at Microsoft's research labs in Redmond, Washington. The CSI creator visits the labs on a regular basis in order to keep up with the technology for use on CSI. "The partnership for us is very important," Zuiker explained. "For us to be able to launch things that haven't quite been in the marketplace or are new, in terms of visual story-telling with technology — to our fans, those bells and whistle are priceless."

Microsoft also benefits from having their products featured on New York. "This is truly an example where branded integration can be as powerful, and potentially more powerful, than a 30-second ad," said Alan Gould, co-CEO of IAG Research, a group which measures the effectiveness of TV advertising. And if product placement isn't enough, there's always dialogue. As Detective Flack (Eddie Cahill) says in "Admissions": "It's a Microsoft world. I'm just living in it."

The original article is from USA Today.

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