Vidstone: the video-playing tombstone
By Barb Dybwad 
posted Aug 18th 2005 8:00AM
posted Aug 18th 2005 8:00AM
Oddly enough, there's actually already some precedent
for this idea to combine tombstones with… multimedia. Entrepreneur Joe Joachim, billing himself as the "Walt Disney of
the funeral business" (we guess that has a ring to it… maybe), is set to unveil his company's Vidstone video-playing
tombstone that will play a video of a person's life at the touch of a button. The unit will be solar-powered and in
lieu of speakers will have a headphone jack for plugging in to the, um, deceased's audio feed. Some cemeteries are
totally not down, though, saying the Vidstone could possibly offend people. We guess that depends on what's in the
video.
[Thanks, Felix]
Well as we asy over here, 'only in America'.
Mind you its not a bad idea, just that it is going to be hard to keep the videos within taste of the majority of cemetry users, though I don't see why I would go and check out the video of someone I don't know.
WTF?! That's just wrong
...and how well will that hold up in a hot Texas Summer or the extreme cold in Northern states?
Guess it will probably not be a problem for vandals(bat-wielding, drug-crazed teenagers) either?
I remember seeing on TV years ago some foreign country where they alreado do this... anyone know which?
That's the god damn ugliest baby I have ever seen. Jesus god.
I like that they have colour footage of a baby on a tombstone for someone born in 1923/5/9
Maybe they could have footage of the accident that sent him there?
The simpsons did this years ago, it was called "CadaverCam".
Sweet! The grave robbing industry has been in a slump for decades - this will provide the kickstart it sorely needs. Not to mention the high level of entertainment one would get from visiting the porn-star graveyard.
With that thought, it will only be a matter of time until......X-rated cemeteries!!!
I think this would just raise the crime rate in cemetaries, now that people will want to steal these LCD screens.
Besides, what happens when you want to make a video about the life story of a porn star? Come on now...
Along with dreampc's comment about extreme weather, what about the batteries? They will need to be easily replaced, therefore easily stolen (as dave touched on). If this thing solely relies on solar power, then it would suck for many parts of the US.
The writer William Gibson, in his 1984 novel Neuromancer, had a similar but cooler idea, though unfortunately undoable with today's technology. He envisioned an artificial intelligence program he called a "personality construct", along with some good animation, that would allow you to actually "talk" to a facsimile of the deceased. Creepy.
Morbid and scary. Looks like a prop from an Art Nouveau horror flick.
I think these will be solar powered. As for alternate ideas, holograms anyone?
Eh, solar resources are pretty highly available throughout the US, as long as you tilt the panels and point them south, you get about 75% as much sun in Maine as in Nevada - remember, if you can *see*, there's some sunlight there - they run on largely visible spectrum light, not heat.
anyone ever see "the final cut"?
I don't see what's wrong with this. Is it any less vain than having a huge statue built or an entire room? At least this way you can tell more about the person than just their name and age. I wish I could go see little videos of my great grandparents' lives.
Hmmm, what about hacking these things and inserting your own videos? That would be great for a kid to be visiting his mother's gravestone and instead of seeing her smiling face, he gets an eyeful of gay-porn.
--KurtRoedeger
Combine this with life caching (http://www.trendwatching.com/trends/LIFE_CACHING.htm) and you could already have all the footage ready before you die. The only problem I see is that the result could just remind people of how boring you were.
Your late. They showed this on the local news last night. I just hope the news wasn't local, otherwise I might have to move. And they did say the guy wanted to be the Walt Disney of the funeral business" and I'm still wondering just what the fuck that means.
Oops! You're...
"Combine this with life caching (http://www.trendwatching.com/trends/LIFE_CACHING.htm) and you could already have all the footage ready before you die. The only problem I see is that the result could just remind people of how boring you were."
You just described the plot to Final Cut starring Robin Williams (including the video gravestones).
--Matt
you people are stupid. it's a good idea.
i also think it would be cool to see videos of my loved ones' lives.
hmmm... can i get an rss feed for all the new commers
His idea isn't the first. I was quoted in a 1997 issue of USA Today as having the idea way back in 1979 - the only difference was that my original idea used a then-bigger-than-your-table VCR.