Quite so, but those solutions are very expensive either in terms of up-front costs or labor to apply. This has a 'just works automagically' aspect that's going to make it very popular, enough that it might well show in camera firmware within a few years if it can be sufficiently optimized.
Although this will be greatest interest to indie film and TV makers right now, selling to that market is a loss leader for most companies - the big bucks come from hobbyist consumers that want to shoot pictures or video but are happy to get an assist from the camera - hence the obsession with good autofocus on most camcorders, whereas pros are willing to pay a lot more for manual control of the focus plane. This is instant Win for whoever implements it first - it'll make consumers feel like pros, and it will save pros LOTS of money.
Although this will be greatest interest to indie film and TV makers right now, selling to that market is a loss leader for most companies - the big bucks come from hobbyist consumers that want to shoot pictures or video but are happy to get an assist from the camera - hence the obsession with good autofocus on most camcorders, whereas pros are willing to pay a lot more for manual control of the focus plane. This is instant Win for whoever implements it first - it'll make consumers feel like pros, and it will save pros LOTS of money.