HP introduced groundbreaking new software at SIGGRAPH 2004 that allows customers in graphics-intensive fields such as engineering and graphic design to collaborate with teams across geographically dispersed regions in realtime.
HP Remote Graphics, an interactive 3D graphics software application, enables artists, engineers and designers to work closely with remote teams in a more productive manner and eliminates the need to upgrade to an expensive 3D graphics card on each user's machine. The software can be used with workstations, notebooks or commercial desktop PCs, and with visual image quality true to the original, it provides users with an easy-to-use, secure collaboration solution at an affordable price.
DreamWorks has used Remote Graphics since the production of SHREK 2 and The Savannah College of Art and Design is currently evaluating a beta version.
"In the world of business, time is money," said Jim Zafarana, vp and worldwide marketing manager, Workstation Global Business Unit, HP. "HP Remote Graphics software saves customers time and hassle by enabling real-time collaboration over existing networks, allowing geographically dispersed teams to work together in ways not previously possible. HP Remote Graphics software does for graphics-intensive industries what Instant Messenger does for communication."
HP Remote Graphics provides an alternative to high-bandwidth-consuming software for businesses with multiple national or international locations. It also removes the 2D collaboration limitation of other software alternatives by allowing customers to work with large 3D models, such as those in the digital content creation (DCC), mechanical computer-aided design and computer-aided engineering (MCAD/CAE) industries.
The software can reduce expensive travel costs associated with face-to-face meetings by enabling such information to be transferred securely across a standard network connection by hosting the intellectual property within a secured network boundary.
"HP's Remote Graphics software is a significant advancement in technology enabling remote collaboration for artists and film makers," said Ed Leonard, cto, DreamWorks SKG. "We began using HP's Remote Graphics software during the production of SHREK 2, where it proved to be extremely valuable in bringing together our creative teams across DreamWorks' Southern and Northern California campuses. The software enabled efficient multi-site collaboration without a disruption to our workflow."
HP Remote Graphics software uses the company's proprietary compression and decompression technology to enable cross-regional collaboration and sharing on graphics-intensive projects over a standard network connection with minimal lag time between the sender rendering and the receiver updates.
"Virtualization of both hardware and software offers many potential applications across a broad range of industries," said Anthony Kros, associate analyst of workstations, Gartner Inc. "The ability to securely host an application on your most powerful workstation and share that application in real time virtually across regions will help users achieve greater project efficiencies, cost savings and the ability to utilize key talent to cross-collaborate on projects regardless of their location."
HP Graphics software creates new business efficiencies and changes the way people collaborate and work together across geographically dispersed areas. Some examples include:
* Workplace collaboration: Engineers can cross collaborate on designs and projects regardless of their location;
* Classroom learning: Instructors can give tutorials and remotely oversee and provide input to students in realtime;
* Remote information technology (IT) support: IT support staff can better visualize and assist users on remote computing systems;
* Sales demonstrations: Early product designs can be delivered to a remote client location from the main sales office;
* Work/life balance: Entire industries can now realize the productivity and flexibility benefits of working from home while connecting to the office.
Customer implementations of HP Remove Graphics software include:
*A major automotive company headquartered in the U.S. that conducts early design review with branch offices in Germany, Australia and Mexico;
* The National University of Singapore - enables its students to access CAE applications running on high-performance HP Workstations running HP-UX from their desktop PCs for visualization;
* The Savannah College of Art and Design - sees the potential of this software to enable students in remote locations, including France, to collaborate with students and teachers at their Georgia campus.
HP Remote Graphics software is expected to be available in October from authorized resellers or direct from HP at www.software.hp.com at an estimated U.S. street price of $399 for HP systems, including licenses for a single sender and receiver. Additional receiver licenses are expected to be available for an estimated U.S. street price of $99 each.
HP Remote Graphics software will be sold as stand-alone software, compatible with most high-performance workstations and high-end commercial desktop PCs. The software is designed for HP-UX 11.0 or later, Microsoft Windows 2000 and XP and Red Hat Linux platforms.
HP (www.hp.com) is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services and imaging and printing.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
