At SIGGRAPH 2003, BOXX Technologies announced it has entered into a strategic partnership with Discreet to offer 3ds max with its XXtreme series of 3DBOXX workstations. In addition, the company announced the release of CineBOXX [review], the first component in the CineBOXX series of digital intermediate systems for real-time playback of 2K DPX and Cineon files at 24fps, as well as an upgrade to its HD editing and compositing system, HDBOXX.
As a part of the agreement with Discreet, authorized Discreet 3ds max resellers will be able to offer BOXX workstations bundled with 3ds max. 3DBOXX is available in single and dual AMD or Intel processor configurations-designed for Microsoft Windows or Linux operating systems. Enhanced with NVIDIA Quadro FX architecture, 3DBOXX workstations are optimized for modeling and rendering 3D content and animation with Discreet 3ds max software.
"Our relationship with Discreet continues to strengthen in a way that increasingly benefits our customers," said Ed Caracappa, director of sales and marketing at BOXX. "We are extremely pleased to offer Discreet's 3ds max software on our systems, and believe that our customers will respond favorably to the value that comes from purchasing this turnkey solution from BOXX."
"Game developers, visual effects artists and design visualization professionals rely on cutting-edge 3D animation software-functioning on powerful computing hardware," said Joe Klingler PhD, Discreet vp of software products. "Discreet and BOXX bring these elements together with today's announcement of the XXtreme series workstations with Discreet 3ds max software. This highly-tuned production combination will allow artists to focus on their creative vision."
"No other workstation provider is as focused on the digital content creation space as BOXX," said Rick Krause, president and ceo of BOXX. "By extending our relationships with major software companies such as Discreet, we reinforce our commitment to the DCC community while adding value for our customers. It's a situation where everyone wins."
With the release of CineBOXX [review], BOXX offers an advanced digital daily system designed to easily integrate into any post-production pipeline to streamline workflow and reduce the need for costly film outs. CineBOXX [review] includes:
* Unlimited freedom when viewing digital dailies by eliminating the need to render image sequences to proprietary framestores.* An entire timeline that is resolution and color-space independent. Drop TGA, DPX, Cineon, bitmap and YUV file sequences in resolutions ranging from SD to 2K onto the timeline for seamless playback.* Realtime uncompressed playback using standard image files from a local NTFS array.* The ability to render DPX, Cineon, TGA, bitmap and YUV files directly to the local array from render farms or graphic workstations on a network for immediate playback on a CRT or projector.* Playback is performed from a comprehensive timeline to immediately see effects shots in context, rather than individually.* An assortment of realtime, fully controllable LUT building tools to adjust gamma levels, perform log-to-linear and linear-to-log color conversions, invert images and fine-tune separate RGB channels.* Save entire projects-from clip information to LUTs-in easy-to-read XML files.
HDBOXX offers a full range of editing and compositing tools for the creation of narrative features, documentaries, commercials, special effects and animation. The HDBOXX update includes in-sync's Speed Razor HD 2.0 software, an uncompressed HD nonlinear editing and compositing software for professional postproduction that includes:
* Flexible tools for 32-bit alpha channel support, traveling mattes, garbage mattes, transparency levels and a chromakey features for straightforward compositing of video, CG and still images.* Support for a wide range of materials including video images, scanned photographs, graphics, CG text elements, animation, still images, image sequences and audio* 10-bit uncompressed recording, editing and compositing of materials in HD for playback or use in digital cinema.* Support for multiple frame rates such as 23:98/24 fps and Panasonic VFR.* Provides uncompressed SD and HD formats in 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios for universal compatibility.* Analog and digital HD outputs of your workspace from within Speed Razor for continuous video preview.* File compatibility with all applications supporting QuickTime.* Frame rate support of 24fps, 24VFR, 23.98fps, 25fps, 29.97 fps, 30fps, 59.94fps, 60fps.* Resolution support of 1080i, 1080p/1080sf, 720p, 486i, 576i.* Tape format compatibility of HDCAM, DVCPROHD, D5 and D6, and much more.
CineBOXX [review] and HDBOXX are now shipping and pricing varies with system configuration. Beginning July 29, 2003 through August 15, 2003, a special 15% instant rebate will be offered to customers purchasing HDBOXX. For more information, customers in North America should contact BOXX at (877) 877-BOXX, e-mail sales@boxxtech.com or visit www.boxxtech.com.
Austin, Texas-based BOXX Technologies is a leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance, high-bandwidth Microsoft Windows and Linux-based hardware and software solutions for the 3D, animation, digital film and HDTV broadcast industries. BOXX systems include 3DBOXX, RenderBOXX, SDBOXX, ServerBOXX, HDBOXX and CineBOXX. For more information visit www.boxxtech.com.
Montreal-based Discreet, a division of Autodesk, Inc., is an award-winning solutions company, whose software is designed for digital media creation, management and delivery, across all disciplines from film and television visual effects, color grading and editing to animation, game development, Web/interactive and design visualization. For more information visit www.discreet.com.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
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