studioGPU

StudioGPU MachStudio Pro Adding Support for Pixar RenderMan Software

Open Architecture in Advanced Real-Time Non-Linear 3D Workflow and Rendering Software to Offer Seamless Path to Ray Tracing and More with Industry-Standard Rendering Solution

SIGGRAPH 2010 — Los Angeles, CA — July 26, 2010 — StudioGPU announced today its MachStudio™ Pro non-linear real-time 3D workflow and rendering software will soon offer support for Pixar RenderMan®—the Academy Award®-winning industry standard rendering software in use by studios of all sizes worldwide to meet the most demanding 3D and animation visual effects rendering challenges. StudioGPU is working closely with Pixar to build a completely open path from MachStudio Pro to RenderMan, offering real-time high-quality render previews in MachStudio Pro that can be offlined wholly or in part to RenderMan for final rendering at the highest quality possible.

Visit StudioGPU in the AMD Booth (# 301) during SIGGRAPH 2010 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, July 27-29 to see the real-time non-linear workflow benefits of MachStudio Pro working with Pixar RenderMan on the latest ATI FireProTM 3D workstation graphics accelerators.

With a direct path to RenderMan, MachStudio Pro artists can easily choose between the software’s fast high-quality built-in GPU renderer to produce previews or view final results, or utilize the unsurpassed quality of the CPU-driven RenderMan renderer to create beauty shots and/or specific render passes.  Artists also have the flexibility to use the MachStudio Pro and the RenderMan render engines simultaneously, combining the different passes from the two robust render engines to create almost any desired look.

“We are pleased that StudioGPU has closely integrated RenderMan inside of MachStudio Pro,” said Chris Ford, RenderMan business director at Pixar Animation Studios. “The ability to preview renderings before the export of final shots to RenderMan helps streamline the creative process in a way that benefits everyone.”

All shaders shipped with MachStudio Pro will have RenderMan Shader Language (RSL) equivalents.  MachStudio Pro will also offer artists the ability to import, edit and create custom complied RSL shaders, parameters and attributes from directly within the application. By creating and importing custom RSL shaders, artists have the benefit of not only using their existing RSL shader libraries but also unlimited options for creating new shaders.

In the pipelines of the most creative visual effects studios around the world, including Weta Workshop, Zoic Studios and The Third Floor, MachStudio Pro is democratizing 3D workflow with award-winning non-linear real-time 3D workflow and advanced rendering technology. By offering support for RenderMan, MachStudio Pro continues to improve productivity options within the 3D pipeline, offering artists the tools and creative flexibility they desire at every step of the process.

MachStudio Pro is real-time non-linear 3D shot finaling and compositing software that harnesses the power of today’s massively parallel processing units in off-the-shelf professional graphics accelerators, changing the equation of time versus quality in the production pipeline. Frames that typically take hours to render can now be rendered in seconds and sub-seconds.

StudioGPU MachStudio Pro Opens Up Creative Options for Students

Powerful Non-Linear Real-Time 3D Workflow and Rendering Software Now Available with Attractive Student Pricing

SIGGRAPH 2010 — Los Angeles, CA — July 26, 2010 — StudioGPU announced today the full-feature version of its award-winning MachStudio™ Pro non-linear real-time 3D workflow and rendering software is now available at educational pricing to qualified students. MachStudio Pro bundled with the high-performance ATI FirePro™ V7800 workstation graphics card from AMD is available at the student price of $999 (USD), while the software only version is available for $499 (USD).

Visit StudioGPU in the AMD Booth (# 301) during SIGGRAPH 2010 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, July 27-29 to see the real-time non-linear workflow benefits of MachStudio Pro on the latest ATI FirePro 3D workstation graphics accelerators.

Many leading studios around the world, including Weta Workshop, Zoic Studios, and The Third Floor are using MachStudio Pro; leveraging the horsepower of off-the-shelf professional graphics processing units (GPUs) to achieve real-time and near real-time 3D workflow and rendering performance on the desktop.

MachStudio Pro allows artists, designers, engineers, directors, and technical directors (TDs) to work with 3D lighting, camera views and multi-point perspectives in an interactive non-linear fashion with real-time high-fidelity views as they will appear in the final rendered format. Coupled with the ATI FirePro V7800 workstation graphics card from AMD, artists get the benefits of a high-end workstation solution featuring ATI Eyefinity technology, 2 GB ultra high-speed GDDR5 memory and more than quadruple the computational power of previous generation products. The ATI FirePro V7800 offers 1440 stream processors and a parallel processing architecture that helps maximize throughput by automatically directing horsepower where it is needed. With ATI FirePro graphics accelerators, customers can take advantage of MachStudio Pro features that are exclusive to ATI accelerators such as real-time hardware tessellation and displacement mapping.

“Students should be encouraged to explore creativity however possible,” says Rob O’Neill, director of the Digital Arts Research Lab at Pratt Institute and partner at Kickstand in New York City. “By offering MachStudio Pro at educational pricing for students, StudioGPU is helping to remove the production barriers that can easily stifle a student’s access to cutting-edge tools. Now with MachStudio Pro, students can focus on the art of animation instead of the workflow limitations of long renders.”

“Melody Street” Creates Broadcast Magic for Kids with StudioGPU MachStudio Pro

Magical World Creators Rely on Real-time Non-linear 3D Workflow and Rendering to Successfully Mix Live Action with Animation

Los Angeles, CA – July 14, 2010 — StudioGPU announced today the creators of “Melody Street,” an innovative new broadcast show for children, are using StudioGPU MachStudio™ Pro software to streamline productivity and overcome the prohibitive creative costs and lengthy rendering times often associated with producing mixed-media broadcasts. The real-time non-linear 3D workflow and interactive rendering features in MachStudio Pro offer the “Melody Street” artists the speed and flexibility they need to deliver an impressive mix of animation and live-action footage on a regular basis.

Visit StudioGPU in the AMD Booth (# 301) during SIGGRAPH 2010 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, July 27-29 to see the real-time non-linear workflow benefits of MachStudio Pro on the latest ATI FirePro 3D workstation graphics accelerators.

StudioGPU MachStudio Pro Now Offered with Industry-Leading AMD ATI FirePro V8800 Professional Graphics Card

No-Cost Trial Version of MachStudio Pro Real-Time Non-Linear 3D Workflow and Rendering Software Now Available

StudioGPU Offers Technology Preview of MachStudio Core for Rhino Software

New Non-linear 3D Workflow and Rendering Software Seamlessly Integrates with McNeel Rhino to Streamline Architectural Design

AIA EXPO 2010 – MIAMI, FL – June 10, 2010 — StudioGPU announced today that attendees of the AIA Expo in Miami will be able to preview the new MachStudio™ Core for Rhino non-linear 3D workflow and rendering software for architects and designers.  MachStudio Core for Rhino offers a seamless way for professionals using Rhino to create and interact with cinematic-quality 3D objects, materials, lights, cameras and environments in real time and near real time on a desktop workstation.

See StudioGPU MachStudio Core for Rhino at the AIA Expo 2010, McNeel Rhino Booth #2485, June 10-12, Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami, Florida
A real-time 3D workflow and rendering software that leverages the horsepower of off-the-shelf professional graphics processing units (GPUs), MachStudio Core for Rhino allows designers, architects and engineers to work with 3D lighting, camera views and multi-point perspectives in an interactive non-linear fashion. The result is real-time high-fidelity views as they will appear in the final rendered format. With MachStudio Core for Rhino, users can easily manage and interact with complex lighting, caustics, cameras, shaders, materials, ambient occlusion, and color grading for real-time shot finaling and compositing.
MachStudio Core for Rhino offers features designed exclusively for Rhino software such as FastExport for Rhino and automated source update functionality. FastExport for Rhino simplifies the Rhino exporting process by allowing users to easily select groups, layers, and other export options, and export the entire scene with the press of a button. The automated source update feature continuously looks for the most current version of 3D models from Rhino. Additional features in MachStudio Core for Rhino include:

• Optimized shader and material pipeline with full materials library and interactive ambient occlusion (AO) with depth peeling for better accuracy and quality of AO passes.
• Support for point, projected, environment, spot, and directional lights.
• Properties can be animated and keyframed for all lights and cameras.
• Physically-based cameras provide settings and controls that mimic real-world cameras.
• Real-time depth-map shadows and depth-of-field, support for the creation of unlimited lights and gels, and simulated global illumination, reflection and refraction.
• Procedural ramp texture generation for projected lights allows for the creation of stylized lights from within MachStudio Core for Rhino without the need for imported textures.
• Export rendered images directly into Adobe Photoshop while maintaining all render passes as independent, editable Photoshop layers.
• Transparency depth peeling boosts the accuracy of transparency sorting and the quality of opacity attributes.
• Completely customizable interface with assignable hotkeys, drag-and-drop tabs, and fully functional scene manager.
• Resolution independent with support for many file formats and codecs including: MOV, AVI, BMP, JPG, PNG, TGA, DDS.

StudioGPU Ships MachStudio Pro 1.4 Real-Time Non-linear 3D Workflow and Rendering Software

New Features Include Photoshop Integration, Physically-Based Cameras, Seamless Softimage Support and More

GDC 2010 – San Francisco, CA – March 11, 2010 — StudioGPU continues to streamline 3D workflow with MachStudio™ Pro 1.4 software, offering new features and functionality for unparalleled real-time 3D workflow and rendering performance. Available today, MachStudio Pro version 1.4 software further liberates creative workflow with dozens of new features and enhancements such as physically-based cameras, the ability to export directly into layered Adobe Photoshop files, a materials ID renderer, procedural ramp texture generation on projected lights, added Python programming functionality and more. The company also announced the immediate availability of a Softimage exporter for MachStudio Pro, a software only version of MachStudio Pro and support for most leading workstation graphics accelerators.

See StudioGPU MachStudio Pro 1.4 in action at the AMD Booth (#BS400) at GDC 2010, March 11-13 at the Moscone Center, San Francisco.

Customers now have the option to either integrate MachStudio Pro software into existing production pipelines with installed workstation graphics accelerators, or cost-effectively upgrade graphics performance with a value-added bundle featuring the industry-leading AMD ATI FirePro™ V8750 workstation graphics accelerator. With ATI graphics, customers can take advantage of MachStudio Pro features that are exclusive to ATI accelerators such as real-time hardware tessellation and displacement mapping.

Zoic Studios, winners in three categories at the 2010 Visual Effects Society’s VES Awards for work on
ABC’s “V” and CBS’s “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” has integrated MachStudio Pro 1.4 into its pipeline to improve productivity. “The impetus for adopting MachStudio Pro in our pipeline was ‘V,’” says Mike Romey, pipeline supervisor at Zoic Studios. “It has so many virtual set shots, and the ‘V’ sets are quite robust. We needed a new way to get a beauty render as quickly as possible. Given the volume of work and type of shots we are creating, MachStudio Pro is the ideal candidate—in many instances it yields a 1500 percent speed improvement,” explains Romey. “The bottom line: a MachStudio Pro pipeline can yield more versions with a comparable quality in a shorter period of time, giving us the added ability to provide a better product to our clients and be more competitive.”

About MachStudio Pro 1.4

A real-time 3D workflow and rendering software that leverages the horsepower of off-the-shelf professional graphics processing units (GPUs), award-winning MachStudio Pro provides real-time and near real-time 3D workflow and rendering performance on the desktop.

MachStudio Pro allows artists, designers, engineers, directors, and technical directors (TDs) to work with 3D lighting, camera views and multi-point perspectives in an interactive non-linear fashion for real-time high fidelity views as they will appear in the final rendered format. With MachStudio Pro users can easily manage and interact with complex lighting, caustics, cameras, shaders, materials, ambient occlusion, and color grading for real-time shot finaling and compositing.

From computer-aided design (CAD) visualization and 3D animation to top-quality film and broadcast projects, MachStudio Pro offers seamless interoperability with leading professional 3D modeling, animation, and 3D CAD software packages. Some of the many new features and enhancements in MachStudio Pro 1.4 include:

• Physically-based cameras provide settings and controls that mimic real-world cameras.
• Export rendered images directly into Adobe Photoshop while maintaining all render passes as independent, editable Photoshop layers.
• Materials ID render pass for effortless identification of materials in third-party compositing applications.
• Added Python programming functionality provides endless options for tailoring the UI, workspace and production pipeline.
• Vertex animation compression greatly reduces the size and overhead of animation files that are being exported from 3D modeling packages into MachStudio Pro.
• Multi-threading improves speed and responsiveness of MachStudio Pro by separating the user interface (UI) and rendering into separate threads.
• Procedural ramp texture generation for projected lights allows for the creation of stylized lights from within MachStudio Pro without the need for imported textures.
• Ambient Occlusion (AO) depth peeling increases the accuracy and quality of AO passes.
• Transparency depth peeling boosts the accuracy of transparency sorting and the quality of opacity attributes.
• Support for 32-bit floating point TIFFs provide higher bit depth and consequently, superior-quality
  displacement maps.

The new Softimage exporter for MachStudio Pro enhances the company’s growing list of exporters for major modeling and animation packages such as 3ds Max, Maya, Revit, SketchUp Pro and Rhino and more.

ACM SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics Quarterly Spotlights Industry White Paper Focusing on Real-Time 3D Production Workflow and Rendering

Industry Analyst Alex Herrera Details How StudioGPU MachStudio Pro Successfully Closes the Gap Between Time and Quality in 3D Production Environments

Los Angeles, CA — February 9, 2010 — StudioGPU announced today the ACM SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics Quarterly, the official publication of the ACM SIGGRAPH organization, has published an industry white paper in the February 2010 issue focusing on StudioGPU MachStudio™ Pro software. The white paper, "Ending the Tradeoff of Time vs. Quality when Creating 3D Computer Graphics Content - Stepping Up the Production Workflow with Real-Time Rendering Software," by Alex Herrera, senior analyst at Jon Peddie Research, focuses on streamlining 3D workflow and rendering pipelines with non-linear real-time technology.

The white paper highlights the advantages of using the GPU for real-time workflow and rendering in studio-quality production as compared to traditional turn-based 3D modeling and rendering pipelines. It also addresses the many benefits of using innovative real-time 3D workflow and rendering technology to eliminate productivity bottlenecks and liberate artists across a variety of industries, including architectural design, game development, visual effects, advertising and feature film creation. Some of the many highlights of MachStudio Pro covered in the white paper include:

• The benefits of specialized and programmable GPU shaders as a high-speed path to real-time and near real-time rendering performance
• Refining 3D workflow using independent layers in a non-linear workspace to easily manipulate design elements and create at the "speed of thought"
• The advantages of interacting with complex 3D CG elements such as ambient occlusion, subsurface scattering, complex reflections and refractions, high-dynamic range, advanced depth-of-field manipulation and global illumination
• The efficiency of leveraging an existing IT investment while lowering the financial barriers to film-quality 3D production

Weta Workshop Adopts StudioGPU MachStudio Pro for Television Production Pipeline

Academy Award® Winning Studio Integrates Real-Time 3D Workflow and Rendering to Streamline Productivity

Los Angeles, CA — January 26, 2009 — StudioGPU has entered into an agreement with Weta Workshop, a multiple Oscar® winning one-stop studio servicing the world's creative industries, to integrate and further develop StudioGPU MachStudio™ Pro for its television production pipeline.

MachStudio Pro real-time 3D workflow and rendering software allows artists, designers, engineers, directors, and technical directors (TDs) to work with 3D lighting, camera views and multi-point perspectives in an interactive non-linear fashion with real-time high fidelity views as they will appear in the final rendered format.

"Improving 3D workflow throughout our facility is an ongoing priority at Weta Workshop," says Andrew Smith, Business Advisor for Weta Workshop Ltd. "MachStudio Pro will fit nicely into our television pipeline, giving our team more tools to keep pushing the limits of creativity. The ability to work together with StudioGPU to continue developing MachStudio Pro with respect to our specific pipeline needs will allow us to continue improving efficiency and content delivery for future Weta Workshop television projects."

The Third Floor Turns to StudioGPU MachStudio Pro to Streamline Digital Previsualization

Leading Hollywood Film and Games Studio Integrates Real-Time 3D Workflow and Rendering to Meet 3D and Stereoscopic 3D Production Challenges

CES 2010 — Las Vegas — January 7, 2010 — As more movies, television shows and games move toward the total Stereoscopic 3D (S3D) experience, S3D is generating unprecedented excitement and interest at the 2010 International CES in Las Vegas this week. StudioGPU is proud to announce The Third Floor, a leading Hollywood previsualization studio at the forefront of S3D development whose credits include Beowulf, A Christmas Carol, Avatar, and Alice in Wonderland, has integrated StudioGPU MachStudio™ Pro for real-time interactive workflow in its 3D and S3D film and games previsualization pipeline.

MachStudio Pro real-time 3D workflow and rendering software allows artists, designers, engineers, directors, and technical directors (TDs) to work with 3D lighting, camera views and multi-point perspectives in an interactive non-linear fashion for real-time high fidelity views as they will appear in the final rendered format.

"Finding MachStudio Pro was like finding the Holy Grail," says Chris Edwards, founder and CEO of The Third Floor. "You can literally convert previs assets or final assets and port them to MachStudio Pro to create a real-time light sculpting experience. As the previsualization pipeline evolves people are trying to figure out how to compete in a global marketplace," continues Edwards. "We see MachStudio Pro playing a key role in the future of virtual cinema."

"We are pleased to see companies such as The Third Floor embracing MachStudio Pro to improve 3D and S3D previsualization content development," says David Koenig, CEO, StudioGPU. "With MachStudio Pro, the artists at The Third Floor have the advanced real-time tools for 3D previsualization at their fingertips, which allows them to deliver the vision to their clients long before the cameras start to roll."

The Third Floor has delivered previs for a number of high-profile S3D films, including James Cameron's Avatar, Beowulf and Journey to the Center of the Earth. With support for real-time stereoscopic 3D lighting and rendering on the desktop, MachStudio Pro plays an important role in the previs strategy at The Third Floor.

"Shooting S3D requires an entirely new filmmaking language that is still being developed. Filmmakers need to plan stereo shoots even more carefully than 2D shoots, to insure that their depth choices will work in continuity. We use real-time tools like MachStudio Pro to help directors, cinematographers and editors preview their S3D decisions in advance of the shoot, explains Edwards.

"With MachStudio Pro, we can effectively deliver previs to inspired directors, cinematographers and creators. We are moving into a golden age of filmmaking," continues Edwards. "One that will enable filmmakers to leverage visual effects to enhance their stories, not upstage them."

StudioGPU Ships MachStudio Pro 1.2 - Continues to Advance Real-Time Workflow and Rendering Capabilities for 3D Production Everywhere

Powerful Displacement Mapping with Hardware Tessellation and Stereoscopic Camera Support Among Many New Features to Streamline Productivity

IBC 2009 (Hall 7, Booth H32)  — Amsterdam — StudioGPU continues to democratize the 3D production space for broadcast, cinema and design with the release of MachStudio™ Pro 1.2, a real-time 3D workflow and rendering package that leverages the horsepower of off-the-shelf professional graphics processing units (GPUs) to deliver real-time and near real-time workflow performance on a desktop workstation. Now available worldwide, MachStudio Pro 1.2 includes many dynamic new features powered by the new industry-leading AMD ATI FirePro™ V8750 professional 3D workstation graphics accelerator, which is included with the program. This powerful combination of hardware and software gives 3D artists a seamless way to create and interact with cinematic-quality 3D objects and environments in a non-linear desktop workspace.

The MachStudio Pro workflow is similar to a virtual real-time 3D studio environment, allowing artists, designers, engineers, directors, and technical directors (TDs) to work with lighting, camera views and multi-point perspectives for a real-time view of frames as they will appear in the final rendered format. Users can easily manage and interact with complex lighting, caustics, cameras, shaders, materials, ambient occlusion, and color grading for real-time shot finaling and compositing.

Visit StudioGPU in the AMD booth (Hall 7, booth H32) at IBC 2009 in Amsterdam, September 11-15 to see all of the new features of MachStudio Pro 1.2, including:

• Displacement Mapping Using Hardware Tessellation: Generate amazing 3D details from two-dimensional displacement maps with real-time hardware-based geometry tessellation. Exclusive to qualified ATI graphics workstation accelerators, MachStudio Pro can create sub-pixel geometry tessellation for greater efficiency and better control over surface geometry. And, by leveraging the tessellation library and power of the ATI graphics accelerators, MachStudio Pro can increase the polygon count exponentially, in some instances to more than one billion polygons, without any material drop in the render speed. 
• Stereoscopic Camera Support: Quickly create anaglyphic effects with customizable eyeglass color schemes for true 3D stereoscopic effects. 
• Cartoon Shader: Custom shader allows for cartoon-style color fills and outline rendering. 
• Custom Configurable Anti-Aliasing: Choose from a variety of anti-aliasing algorithms to achieve the highest quality results for the desired look and feel. 
• Unlimited Independent Render Passes and Render Layers: Create an unlimited number of independent render passes such as ambient occlusion, shadows, diffuse, specular, velocity maps, depth maps, and glows for use in compositing and third-party software. Generate custom defined render layers with the exact elements and render passes desired. 
• Open EXR File Format Support: Write image files in the OpenEXR format, an HDR image file format developed by Industrial Light & Magic that includes features such as increased HDR (32-bit) and color precision, which is designed to maintain the highest quality while simplifying the compositing process. 
• Floating-Point Velocity Maps: Use vector-based velocity passes to generate velocity maps and create motion blur in postproduction. 
• Support for 64-bit Operating Systems: Allows MachStudio Pro to run in a native 64-bit environment and utilize more system RAM over the standard 3 GB limit of 32-bit operating systems for substantial speed and performance improvements.

Powered by the new ATI FirePro V8750 3D workstation graphics accelerator, render times in MachStudio Pro can be dramatically reduced from hours to minutes and minutes to seconds or sub-seconds. Performance tests supplied by AMD reveal that MachStudio Pro can render projects 196% faster on the new ATI FirePro V8750 3D workstation graphics accelerator than with the previous generation ATI 3D workstation graphics accelerator. MachStudio Pro now performs at rates of more than 900 times faster than traditional rendering packages.

Supporting a diverse range of industries—from computer-aided design (CAD) visualization and 3D animation to top-quality film and broadcast projects—MachStudio Pro offers seamless interoperability with leading professional 3D modeling, animation, and 3D CAD software packages. For a complete list of MachStudio Pro 1.2 features, new product overview videos, instructional tutorials and related software and hardware requirements, please visit www.studiogpu.com.

Pricing and Purchasing Information

StudioGPU Reveals Next-Generation MachStudio Pro Real-Time 3D Workflow and Rendering Features

Previews New Features and Performance Improvements of MachStudio Pro 1.2 and Announces Bundle of New AMD ATI FirePro V8750 3D Workstation Graphics Accelerator

SIGGRAPH 2009 (Booth #2417) — New Orleans, LA — August 3, 2009 — StudioGPU is showcasing at SIGGRAPH 2009 the powerful next-generation features and performance benefits of MachStudio™ Pro on the all new, industry-leading AMD ATI FirePro™ V8750 3D workstation graphics accelerator. MachStudio Pro provides a seamless way to create and interact with cinematic 3D objects and environments in a non-linear workspace, leveraging the horsepower of off-the-shelf professional graphics processing units (GPUs) to deliver real-time and near real-time workflow performance on a desktop workstation.

The MachStudio Pro workflow is akin to a virtual 3D real-time studio environment, allowing artists, designers, engineers, directors, and technical directors (TDs) to work with lighting, camera views and multi-point perspectives for a real-time view of frames as they will appear in the final rendered format. Users can easily manage and interact with complex lighting, caustics, cameras, shaders, materials, ambient occlusion, and color grading for real-time shot finaling and compositing.

Visit StudioGPU in the AMD booth (#2417), at SIGGRAPH 2009 in New Orleans, August 4-6 to see the next-generation MachStudio Pro features, including:

• Displacement Mapping Using Hardware Tessellation, exclusively on qualified ATI graphics workstation accelerators: Offers real-time hardware-based geometry tessellation in conjunction with displacement maps, allowing for unbelievable surface detail in 3D models while also reducing render times. By utilizing the tessellation library included with ATI 3D workstation graphics accelerators, MachStudio Pro can even create sub-pixel geometry tessellation, allowing for greater efficiency and better control over surface geometry. Leveraging the immense power of the ATI graphics accelerators, MachStudio Pro can actually increase the polygon count exponentially, in some cases to more than one billion polygons, without any material drop in the render speed.
• Stereoscopic Camera Support: Create anaglyphic effects with customizable eyeglass color schemes for 3D stereoscopic effects in less time.
• Cartoon Shader: Custom shader allows for cartoon-style color fills and outline rendering.
• Custom Configurable Anti-Aliasing: Choose from a variety of anti-aliasing algorithms to achieve the highest quality results for the desired look and feel.
• Unlimited Independent Render Passes and Render Layers: Create an unlimited number of independent render passes such as ambient occlusion, shadows, diffuse, specular, velocity maps, depth maps, and glows for use in compositing and third-party software. Furthermore, generate custom defined render layers with exactly the elements and render passes desired.
• Open EXR File Format Support: Write image files in the OpenEXR format, an HDR image file format developed by Industrial Light & Magic that includes features such as increased HDR (32-bit) and color precision, which is designed to simplify the compositing process.
• Floating-Point Velocity Maps: Use vector-based velocity passes to generate velocity maps and create motion blur in post-production.
• Support for 64-bit Operating Systems: Allows MachStudio Pro to run in a native 64-bit environment and utilize more system RAM over the standard 3 GB limit of 32-bit operating systems for substantial speed and performance improvements.

With MachStudio Pro powered by the new ATI FirePro V8750 3D workstation graphics accelerator, render times can be dramatically reduced from hours to minutes and minutes to seconds or sub-seconds. Performance tests supplied by AMD reveal that MachStudio Pro can render projects 196% faster on the new ATI FirePro V8750 3D workstation graphics accelerator than with the previous generation ATI 3D workstation graphics accelerator. MachStudio Pro now performs at rates of more than 900 times faster than traditional rendering packages.

"The powerful new features of MachStudio Pro 1.2 take full advantage of the recently announced ultra high-end AMD ATI FirePro V8750 3D workstation graphics accelerator, allowing users to streamline 3D creation workflow in ways that, until now, were seemingly impossible," said David Koenig, president and CEO, StudioGPU. "By tapping into the ATI hardware-based geometry tessellation library, we can deliver unbelievable quality with lightning-fast rendering performance. This is only one example of many features, once exclusive to only the biggest budget productions that we have opened up to creative 3D professionals everywhere."

"The compelling new features of MachStudio Pro 1.2 are well suited for the unparalleled performance of the new ATI FirePro V8750 3D workstation graphics accelerator," said Janet Matsuda, senior director, AMD Professional Graphics. "The groundbreaking technology advances that the StudioGPU team consistently delivers continue to turn the industry upside down in ways that greatly benefit 3D artists and consumers everywhere."

A complete out-of-box high-performance solution, MachStudio Pro now ships with the all-new AMD ATI FireProV8750 3D workstation graphics accelerator card, the industry's most powerful and highest memory bandwidth workstation graphics offering.¹ The AMD ATI FireProV8750 3D workstation graphics accelerator card features 2 GB GDDR5 memory, 800 shader units and 115 GB/s memory bandwidth.

StudioGPU MachStudio Pro Adds Support for Google SketchUp Pro and Rhino Software

New Exporters Offer Artists, Designers and Engineers Immediate Access to Real-Time 3D Workflow and Rendering

Los Angeles, CA, July 23, 2009 - StudioGPU announced today that MachStudio Pro™, a professional 3D-workflow and rendering package created by artists for artists, now offers free exporters for Google SketchUp Pro and McNeel Rhino 3D modeling and animation software. With these new exporters, 3D assets from SketchUp Pro 7 and Rhino 4 can easily be transferred into MachStudio Pro, where users can create and manipulate lights, materials and HDR cameras in a real-time non-linear environment to achieve cinematic-quality results.

MachStudio Pro is real-time 3D shot finaling and compositing package that harnesses the power of today's massively parallel processing units in off-the-shelf professional graphics accelerators, changing the equation of time versus quality in the production pipeline. Frames that typically take hours to render can now be rendered in seconds and sub-seconds, eliminating the need for expensive render farms.

Visit StudioGPU and AMD (booth # 2417) at SIGGRAPH 2009 in New Orleans, August 4-6 to see the advanced workflow benefits of MachStudio Pro on the latest AMD ATI 3D workstation graphics accelerators.

MachStudio Pro allows artists to easily create, manage and interact with complex lighting, caustics, cameras, shaders, materials, ambient occlusion, and color grading. Powered by a real-time rendering engine, MachStudio Pro software fits into the creative pipeline after all 3D models are produced to streamline lighting, cameras, materials, compositing and finishing capabilities.

MachStudio Pro ships with an AMD ATI FireGL™ V8650 3D-workstation graphics accelerator card featuring 2 GB onboard graphics memory and a parallel processing Unified Shader architecture. Supporting a wide range of industries—from computer-aided design (CAD) visualization and 3D animation to top-quality film and broadcast projects— MachStudio Pro offers seamless interoperability with leading professional 3D modeling, animation, and CAD software packages.

StudioGPU Ships MachStudio Pro - Supercharges 3D Workflow with Real-Time Finishing and Compositing

Renders Scenes Up to 900 Times Faster than Traditional Solutions - Reducing Times from Hours to Seconds

Los Angeles, CA, June 30, 2009 - StudioGPU announced today the immediate availability of MachStudio Pro™, a professional 3D workflow and rendering package created by artists for artists. MachStudio Pro offers a seamless way to create and interact with cinematic quality 3D objects and environments in a non-linear workspace by leveraging the horsepower of off-the-shelf professional graphics processing units (GPUs) to deliver real-time and near real-time workflow performance on a desktop workstation.

MachStudio Pro streamlines real-time 3D workflow, allowing artists to easily manage and interact with complex lighting, caustics, cameras, shaders, materials, ambient occlusion, and color grading. With MachStudio Pro, render times can be dramatically reduced from hours to minutes and minutes to seconds or sub-seconds. Comparable final scenes are consistently rendered with MachStudio Pro at rates of 500 to 900 times faster than traditional rendering packages. A complex 1.98 million polygon high-definition image, for example, renders in 14 seconds using MachStudio Pro while the same scene rendered with a traditional rendering package can take more than three hours to complete.

"Attempts at real-time workflow on workstations for the past 30 years have been futile—until now," said Dr. Jon Peddie, founder and CEO, Jon Peddie Research. "Designed by real studio pros at StudioGPU, the MachStudio Pro product provides a design environment that professional artists and technical directors should recognize immediately. This software is fast, and it can run even faster using GPUs for real-time or near real-time 3D workflow," Peddie emphasized. "MachStudio Pro could very well change the way things are done for real-time productivity and rendering on the desktop."

"MachStudio Pro is a core part of our previsualization pipeline," said Jericca Cleland, director and CEO of Twenty One Inc., a cross-media film development and preproduction studio in Vancouver, British Columbia. "It removes the stranglehold traditional CG lighting and rendering has placed on production and provides a way for directors, supervisors, and artists to creatively explore and render lighting on the fly, enabling significant increases in efficiency throughout the process," Cleland explained. "With the fluidity of lighting in MachStudio Pro, we remain visually focused instead of technically focused during lighting, which greatly enhances our ability to host interactive sessions and deliver quality results to our clients without losing control of the budget."

Powered by a real-time rendering engine, MachStudio Pro software fits into the creative pipeline after all 3D models are produced and provides lighting, cameras, materials, compositing and finishing capabilities. The MachStudio Pro workflow is akin to a virtual 3D real-time studio environment, allowing artists, designers, directors, and TDs to work with lighting, camera views and multi-point perspectives for a real-time view of frames as they will appear in the final rendered format.

MachStudio Pro Features and Benefits

Developed and continuously proven in a true high-end production environment, MachStudio Pro empowers creativity with real-time 3D workflow and rendering features that eliminate the need for expensive render farms. Key features include:

• Optimized shader and material pipeline
• Ability to adjust and view all render passes independently
• Full materials library
• Interactive ambient occlusion (AO)
• Fully configurable lighting and animation constraint system
• Animatable and keyframeable properties for all objects, lights, cameras and materials
• Real-time High Dynamic Range (HDR) cameras and lighting
• Real-time depth-map shadows and depth-of-field
• Exporters to support a wide range of file formats, including Autodesk 3ds Max, Maya and .fbx formats
• Completely customizable interface with assignable hot keys, drag-and-drop tabs and fully functional scene manager
• Support for the creation of unlimited lights and gels
• Simulated global illumination, reflections, refractions and subsurface scattering
• Resolution independent with support for all popular final file formats and codecs
• Full Python scripting support

StudioGPU and AMD Enter Into Strategic Relationship

AMD Bolsters its Commitment to the Professional Graphics Workstation Market with Investment in Real-time 3D Workflow Innovation

Los Angeles, Calif., April 14, 2009 - StudioGPU, a pioneer in real-time 3D CG workflow solutions today announced it has entered into a strategic relationship with AMD (NYSE: AMD). Terms of the relationship between StudioGPU and AMD were not released.

The two companies plan to work in a collaborative effort to design an optimized hardware and software solution to deliver real-time 3D workflow advantages enabling customers to enjoy greatly reduced render times—from hours-to-minutes, and even minutes-to-seconds. AMD and StudioGPU are specifically dedicated to time and cost savings for digital content creation (DCC) artists and technical directors (TDs) working in the 3D games, visual effects, computer assisted design (CAD), pre-and-post design visualization, and the film and broadcast industries.