Cars go Hollywood with immersive entertainment

As Hollywood prepares to roll out the red carpet Sunday, March 27, for the 94th Academy Awards — arguably the entertainment world's biggest night of the year — vehicles are becoming the new coveted stage for award-winning performances.

Automotive and mobility companies are seeking to create more immersive, connected in-vehicle entertainment experiences, with a major focus on passengers. No longer is the in-car entertainment experience relegated to commuters catching up on their favorite podcast or kids in the rear seat making new Minecraft discoveries on a road trip.

Rather than sticking with technology that consumers are accustomed to using, namely phones or vehicle consoles, the industry is making a strategic shift.

"There's a push to basically now tie it into the vehicle so that it can provide differentiated infotainment in a more deeply integrated way," said Ashok Divakaran, connected and autonomous vehicles leader for Deloitte. "Take, Amazon Fire [TV for Auto], for example. When you integrate Fire in a deep way into the functioning of the vehicle, you can then do things that ... a mobile phone or an iPad ... cannot."

From more immersive technology to a growing variety of content offerings, practically every automaker has either debuted or is developing technology that expands the boundaries of in-vehicle entertainment.

BMW's Theatre Screen and My Mode Theatre, unveiled at CES in January, has a cinematic theater screen that moves out of the headliner to give passengers an immersive in-vehicle viewing experience. When activated, the system, which features Amazon Fire TV for Auto integration, is accompanied by an acoustic experience created by film composer and Academy Award winner Hans Zimmer.

The cinematic viewing experience, which BMW said will be available in future models, features a 31-inch diagonal panorama screen display with 8K resolution, immersive audio and acoustics, and loungelike rear seats.

Nate Pinsley, manager of BMW's Digital Products and Services division, said engineers who worked on Theatre Screen and My Mode Theatre were challenged to create an in-car experience that exceeds a home theater.

"It reinforces BMW's commitment to bring customers access to the entertainment landscapes they already enjoy outside the car, and the belief that there are opportunities to create entertainment experiences far beyond what smartphones and tablets are capable of," Pinsley told Automotive News via email.

Stellantis, the first automaker to debut Amazon Fire TV for Auto, available in the new Jeep Grand Wagoneer, is looking to build on its in-vehicle entertainment offerings in a partnership with Amazon. Stellantis and the tech and entertainment giant will collaborate to deliver software for the automaker's new digital cabin platform, the STLA SmartCockpit, set to debut globally in 2024 with the capability to create personalized, intuitive experiences through artificial intelligence-enhanced applications for in-vehicle entertainment.

At SXSW last week, Audi said it will be the first automaker to deliver immersive virtual reality movie and gaming experiences by Holoride, a VR tech spinoff of the automaker. The Holoride in-vehicle VR experiences will be available this June in select Audi models through the automaker's MIB 3 infotainment systems.

Wider adoption of 5G technology will further enhance connected in-vehicle entertainment experiences, Divakaran said. "The potential is going to be most fully realized when you get 5G. It is really going to come into its own when you are able to enable these high-bandwidth experiences."

AT&T, one of a growing number of tech entertainment companies aiming to leverage the in-car connectivity capabilities of 5G, now offers an entertainment plan that bundles AT&T Unlimited In-car Wi-Fi with HBO Max. The offering enables subscribers to access series and movies from Warner Bros., HBO, DC, Cartoon Network and Max Originals in one place for the first time, including Warner Bros. movies 45 days after their theatrical release.

The new AT&T connected-car data plan, available across 20 automotive brands, also includes the WarnerMedia Ride app, the company's streaming video service for personal smartphones or tablets connected to in-car Wi-Fi hot spots.

Jon Alain Guzik, who has written about the intersection of the automotive and entertainment worlds for media outlets such as The Hollywood Reporter and Yahoo Autos, said growth and wider adoption of immersive in-vehicle entertainment experiences will depend on addressing safety concerns and the viability of the business model.

Reports of drivers using Tesla's entertainment features from behind the wheel have put the automaker at the forefront of safety concerns regarding in-vehicle entertainment. Tesla in December shut down its Passenger Play feature, which enabled occupants to play games on the touch screen while the vehicle was in motion.

Concerns have not deterred Tesla from continuing its endeavors in the area, with the company pledging to make the experiences safer. CEO Elon Musk said in a Twitter conversation with a gaming journalist that the electric vehicle maker was working to make Steam video game digital distribution software available in its vehicles.

"It seems to be the elusive golden ring," Guzik said. "It's like, 'How are we going to make it bigger and better?' I'm not quite sure, but if Hollywood figures out a monetization strategy and ... a way to deliver something compelling to the customer, then some things are going to work."

Deloitte's Divakaran said the true viability and future of in-vehicle entertainment lies in self-driving vehicles.

"Autonomous will be a game-changer for entertainment," he said. "When you get a truly autonomous vehicle where no driving is needed ... and you reconfigure the vehicle to basically be a room on wheels, you get the ability to provide much more immersive experiences."