Computer Graphics World articles from February 2008

Computer Graphics World archives from February 2008

And the winner is ...(editor's note)
February 1, 2008... One of Hollywood's biggest events is Oscar night, and for those contributing digitally to films, another highly anticipated event is the Visual Effects Society's annual awards. And the prelude to it all is the Golden Globes. As I write this...

NEC goes large with a 65-inch LCD display.(PRODUCTS: DISPLAYS)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... NEC Display Solutions of America announced its largest LCD yet, the 65-inch NEC MultiSync LCD6520. The commercial-grade display is embedded with NEC's Digital Signage Technology Suite (DSTS), which includes more than 20 features and functions...

Nvidia unveils the Quadro FX 3700.(PRODUCTS: GRAPHICS BOARDS)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... With an eye to further improving productivity for CAD and digital content creators, Nvidia is offering the Quadro FX 3700, a high-end graphics board capable of delivering a performance increase of up to 2X compared to the previous generation of...

AMD rolls out HD 3000 series.(PRODUCTS: PROCESSORS)(Advanced Micro Devices Inc's ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3000 series)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... AMD announced the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3000 series, a new family of discrete graphics for high-def gaming and video in notebook PCs. The initial offerings consist of the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3400 series and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3600...

Allegorithmic ships ProFX 2.6 procedural texturing middleware.(PRODUCTS: TEXTURING)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... Allegorithmic rolled out ProFX 2.6, the newest version of its patented procedural texturing middleware. With a core that runs faster and on a wider range of machines, ProFX 2.6 allows game studios to produce texture assets up to two times...

AMD lets users Control the Clock.(PRODUCTS: PROCESSORS)(Advanced Micro Devices Inc's Phenom 9600 Black Edition )(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... AMD has released a new AMD Phenom 9600 Black Edition quad-core processor with Clock Multiplier Control and tunable performance. Priced the same as the recently launched AMD Phenom 9600 quad-core processor, the new Black Edition quad-core...

Alienbrain gets smarter.(PRODUCTS: ASSET MANAGEMENT)(Softimage's Alienbrain 8.1)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... Softimage released Alienbrain 8.1, a free upgrade to its digital asset management system. Alienbrain 8.1 boasts expanded support for the Vista and Leopard operating systems as well as deep integration with popular DCC applications,...

Market swings for graphics add-in boards.(PRODUCTS: GRAPHICS BOARDS)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... What a difference a couple of quarters can make in the market for graphics add-in boards. The first quarter of 2007 was downright ugly, not so much with respect to units, but very much so in the context of revenue and ASPs. Volume was down just...

GPU market up, desktop displaces mobile.(PRODUCTS: GRAPHICS PROCESSORS)
February 1, 2008... Jon Peddie Research (JPR) announced estimated graphics shipments and supplier market share for the third calendar quarter of 2007, with Intel still number one overall and in the mobile market, while Nvidia remains tops in the desktop arena. ...

Digital backlot economics: digital backlots could be used more effectively in gaming, saving time and money.(view point)
February 1, 2008... The term "digital backlot" loosely describes a production in which the shooting occurs entirely against a greenscreen or other blank backgrounds, with the "sets" added later through the use of computer graphics. It's difficult to say which...

Unleashing the unreal: epic unloads the full power of Unreal Engine 3 for the latest Unreal Tournament title.(Gaming)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With a massive fan base spread across the entire gaming spectrum--from professional PC garners, to the rood scene, to the casual and console gaming world--creating a next-generation update of the Unreal Tournament...

Vehicular violence.(Gaming)
February 1, 2008... The game's battlefields rumble under the heavy-metal tonnage of hundreds of Necris and Axon (human) assault vehicles; this time, many of them have more curved and animated surfaces to maximize the potential of the Unreal engine. The visual...

Natural forces: Industrial Light & Magic and Tippett Studio create delicate, monstrous, and cunning CG fairies for the live-action film Spiderwick Chronicles.(CG Characters)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The conceit in the film The Spiderwick Chronicles is that fairies inhabit the real world--they live in our backyards in Anytown USA. Some are friendly flower sprites: others are definitely not. And one. at least, is...

Unifying the design process: in today's global economy, competitive advantage is measured by how quickly and efficiently a company can implement a design concept.(CAD)
February 1, 2008... This Part 2 of a two-part series continues to look at the emerging tools that help design and manage data through a product's life cycle. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It is innovation and unique design attributes that separate one...

Moving the future: organic motion joins other high-tech companies to help Intel open our eyes to the future.(Trends & Technology)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] They're an unlikely couple--Paul S. Otellini, Intel CEO, and Steve Harwell, lead singer of the alt rock band Smash Mouth. But, with the help of VR, motioncapture, and other leading-edge technology companies, they...

Game design education extends beyond the classroom: up-to-date, comprehensive courses are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to a well-rounded game design education.(SPONSORED EDITORIAL)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] What if you could be a game designer in only one year's time? And not just any game designer--a professional who is well educated, an efficient and effective team player, and trained in and knowledgeable about all...

Always be prepared: Brooks Institute has programs in place to help you land a job.(Knowledge & Career)
February 1, 2008... For students, training and talent are a huge part of the equation, but without the ability to market themselves, finding an in-field job could be difficult. Brooks Institute, with six campuses throughout Southern California, knows that...

Firsthand account: preparing to be an artist and a professional.(Knowledge & Career)
February 1, 2008... What is on the mind of a college freshman studying for a career in digital content creation? To find out, we spoke recently with TJ Zafarana, who is currently enjoying his freshman year at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). ...

A new focus: PFL creates 3D VFX shots for the modern remake Tales of the Riverbank.(Visual Effects)(Prime Focus London)
February 1, 2008... Tales of the Riverbank is a feature film remake, directed by Spitting Image's John Henderson, of the much-loved 1960s British television series. This time, its animal characters undergo a 21st century makeover through a combination of...

Media on the go.(DATA STORAGE)(PNY Technologies' Mobile Media Kit)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] PNY Technologies has unveiled a 4-in-1 Mobile Media Kit, a memory device capable of working with virtually all digital cameras, mobile phones, PDAs, MP3 players, laptops, and smart phones. The 4-in-1 Mobile Media Kit...

MediaVault.(DATA STORAGE)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... Ciprico has debuted its PCI Express-based MediaVault MVS100 series. The rack-mountable MV5100 is the first in this series of scalable MediaVault direct-attached storage offerings tailored to content creation, CGI, 2D/3D animation,...

Toshiba tool.(DIGITAL PROJECTOR)(Toshiba America Information Systems' TDP-EX20U)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... The Digital Products Division of Toshiba America Information Systems has premiered the TDP-EX20U, a DLP BrilliantColor mobile projector with extreme shortprojection capabilities for viewing larger images with greater luminance from a shorter...

Moving works of art.(ART)(Acumen Entertainment Group and RabbitHoles Media's RabbitHoles 3D Motion Art)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... Acumen Entertainment Group and RabbitHoles Media have unveiled RabbitHoles 3D Motion Art--images, video, and animation that move as the viewer moves in front of it. 3D Motion Art takes advantage of patented digital image technology with RGB...