3-D animation and vfx software maker Side Effects Software will release Houdini 9.5 on July 15, 2008.
Houdini 9.5 brings the 3-D industry's first node-based workflow to the Mac ensuring that 3-D artists can collaborate seamlessly in a multi-platform environment. Houdini 9.5 public beta release is available today for download on all platforms.
SplutterFish, a high-end 3-D rendering software solutions provider, has released the highly-respected Brazil Rendering System V2 Rio Edition, a free version of its award-winning Brazil r/s V2 renderer for 3ds Max. Brazil V2 Rio is a fully-functional rendering suite which allows artists to learn and explore the depth and capabilities of Brazil r/s. Artists can download Brazil V2 Rio at splutterfish.com.
3Dconnexion, a Logitech company, announced that its complete line of 3D mice are now supported by the entire Nemetschek North America VectorWorks 2008 line of award-winning, precision-design software: Designer, Architect, Landmark, Spotlight, Machine Design, Fundamentals, and RenderWorks.
With 3Dconnexion's 3D mice, the VectorWorks community can easily control and maneuver 3D objects, 3D designs and 2D drafts, for a streamlined design process that optimizes workflow and increases productivity.
The release of Emergent's Gamebryo 2.5 provides developers the framework they need to quickly bring high-quality titles to market no matter how complex the development environment. The highly-anticipated release introduces a redesigned core with the Emergent Terrain System, a new Geometry System and enhanced support for the Floodgate stream processing engine.
HP today introduced its new color-critical computer professional display, available for less than a quarter of the cost of competing offerings.
The HP DreamColor Display features a new liquid crystal display (LCD) that provides a range of more than 1 billion colors in a 30-bit, LED-backlit display. The display is now shipping worldwide for a U.S. list price of $3,499.
Apple today introduced the new iPhone 3G, combining all the features of iPhone with 3G networking that is twice as fast as the first generation iPhone, built-in GPS for expanded location based mobile services, and iPhone 2.0 software, which includes support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and runs the hundreds of third party applications already built with the recently released iPhone SDK.
Emmy award-winning Toon Boom Animation have launched Toon Boom Pencil Check Pro, the most flexible line testing software available in the industry. Pencil Check Pro completes the animation pipeline by offering a wide array of capture options, an efficient line testing process and an advanced feature set.
Pencil Check Pro supports a full range of devices from scanners to DV/HDV cameras, webcams and digital cameras. Pencil Check Pro performs all capture operations from a unique interface and has a real-time preview for devices equipped with live video stream.
Digital Anarchy, a leading provider of visual effects software for Adobe, Avid, and Apple products, has released the version 1.1 update for ToonIt! Film/Video and ToonIt! Avid. Version 1.1 speeds up the rendering of ToonIt! by taking advantage of multi-processors.
This allows users to quickly render cartoon-like images from film and video footage. The filters use advanced algorithms from Toonamation to create flat shades of color with full control over details like outlines, shading styles and halftone effects.
VICON, developer of Academy Award-winning motion capture systems, has released VICON MX T-Series.
The MX-T Series includes an all-new camera design and new Giganet device with cameras available in a variety of resolution options, including the T160 (16 Megapixel), T40 (4 Megapixel) and T20 (2 Megapixel). The T160 16-megapixel camera represents a four-times resolution increase over existing professional optical motion capture solutions.
NVIDIA Gelato Pro 2.2 rendering software, NVIDIA's advanced GPU-accelerated rendering software for professionals, is available as a no-cost download at www.nvidia.com/gelatozone.
Well suited for rendering of 3D digital content and design, Gelato Pro software now replaces the basic version of Gelato software, which was previously available directly from NVIDIA.
Sunrise Productions, makers of Africa's first feature length animated film THE LEGEND OF THE SKY KINGDOM and the award-winning JUNGLE BEAT series, is using PipelineFX's Qube! to manage their rendering work and speed up the render pipeline for current and upcoming projects.
Sunrise is a multi award-winning animation production studio that produces animated features, short films for TV, commercials and conceptual designs. Sunrise is currently working on the second season of JUNGLE BEAT, with plans for an additional 52 episodes and a movie version of the series.
Red Giant Software, publisher of a line of professional digital video tools, including Magic Bullet, Knoll Light Factory, and all Trapcode products, today released Trapcode Horizon.
This new Adobe After Effects plug-in is a unique mapping tool that ties the After Effects camera to a 3D world. After Effects users can use Trapcode Horizon to create photorealistic backgrounds and QuickTime VR-like experiences.
RE:Vision Effects is now shipping Twixtor 4.5 for Apple Final Cut Pro in an FxPlug version, which is Final Cut Pro's native effects plugin architecture.
Twixtor enables users to speed up, slow down image sequences with visually stunning results. In order to achieve its unparalleled image quality, Twixtor synthesizes unique new frames by warping and interpolating frames of the original sequence, employing RE:Vision Effects' Academy Award-winning technology that calculates motion for each individual pixel.
In this month's edition of "The Digital Eye," Peter Plantec chats with Paul Debevec about his latest research projects involving realtime 3-D display and capturing and rendering human faces, including a new skin rendering technique.
AMD today announced the first commercial implementation of Graphics Double Data Rate, version 5 (GDDR5) memory in its forthcoming next generation of ATI Radeon graphics card products. The high-speed, high-bandwidth GDDR5 technology is expected to become the new memory standard in the industry, and that same performance and bandwidth is a key enabler of The Ultimate Visual Experience, unlocking new GPU capabilities.
AMD is working with a number of leading memory providers, including Samsung, Hynix and Qimonda, to bring GDDR5 to market.
When it comes to televisions, black is everything. Black is the canvas. Black is the foundation. Additional shades, more depth and sharp details are all a direct result of deeper black levels. A true black breathes life into color and forever changes the way one experiences television. Black is at the very heart of what the KURO Loft is all about.
Looking to add another dimension to your next Adobe Photoshop project? DAZ 3D, a leading developer of professional-quality 3-D software and models, today announced the immediate availability of the DAZ Studio 3D Bridge plug-in for Photoshop.
The 3D Bridge plug-in for Photoshop allows DAZ Studio users to automatically apply 3-D imagery and artwork to any Photoshop project. To help artists master the seamless transfer application, DAZ 3D is offering a free 30-day evaluation license of the 3D Bridge plug-in for Photoshop prior to purchase.
THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO recently began using AJA's XENA 2Ke video card as a key component of its vfx editing pipeline. AJA XENA 2Ke is AJA Video Systems' top-of-the-line card for Windows Vista and XP, delivering uncompressed SD, HD and Dual Link HD video, enabling customers to work with 2K frames in a flexible and future-safe architecture.
nPower Software, a division of IntegrityWare, has released the 5.0 version of its Power NURBS, Power Solids, and Power Translators products (with support for 3ds Max 2009 and 3ds Design 2009, including 64 bit support).
nPower Software's popular Power NURBS, Power Translators, and Power Solids products received a turbo charged performance boost with the version 5.0 release. This 5.0 version dramatically improves productivity and design throughput by significantly optimizing the most common operations used in virtually all of the commands.
Click for a wink. Click again for a smile. Facial animation has never been simpler as DAZ 3D, a leading developer of professional quality 3-D models and software, today announced the immediate availability of Mimic Pro for Carrara, a plug-in enabling seamless lip-synching, sound analysis and speech animation simulations directly within Carrara 6.2.
Vince Pace, one of the leaders in 3-D entertainment joined legendary filmmaker and partner, James Cameron yesterday to participate in The American Pavilion's "3-D Day" during this year's Cannes Film Festival.
The two innovators of the PACE/Cameron Fusion system and world renowned leaders in 3-D production, participated in the panel discussion via a Skype video call from Los Angeles where Cameron continues production on the highly anticipated 3-D feature film AVATAR with Pace serving as Director of Photography.
NewTek, manufacturer of industry-leading 3-D animation and video products, has released the award-winning LightWave 9.3.1. It is now available as a free 30-day trial for Mac OS X and both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows immediately from www.newtek.com/lightwave/lwtrial.
Motion capture company Animazoo has launched the IGS-190H (Hybrid), the new optical quality hybrid motion capture system. This advanced mocap technology delivers highly accurate, lifelike data and a range of new features.
The IGS-190H combines the powerful features of the existing IGS-190M (Mobile) with a new Ultrasonic system, ExacTrax, and Animazoo Jump Injector, the patent pending editing and auto-cleaning tools. The new editing tools do 80 percent of post-processing in a point and click, intuitive cleaning mechanism.
Toon Boom Animation is partnering with Automatic Duck to bring the editing process to the next level.
Toon Boom Storyboard Pro exports animatics in the AAF file format and Pro Import FCP takes them straight into Final Cut Pro, with automated relink of video files and unlimited audio tracks.
The combination of these professional tools enables users to speed up the finishing of their video projects, thanks to a more efficient and advanced use of the animatics during editing.
Available immediately is a major new release of the industry leading rotoscoping and paint system, Silhouette. v3 breaks new ground and greatly raises the bar in the post-production tools industry. Leading a list of major improvements and innovations is an entirely stereoscopic workflow.
