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Camera and lens maker Sigma has bought Foveon, the sensor technology company that develops the sensors it uses. Foveon’s technology uses three photosensitive layers to detect red, green and blue light at each pixel. Sigma says owning the company will allow the development of new types of sensors and improved integration between the sensors and its lenses
Ready for the tease? RED just announced an announcement. According to RED Prez, Jim Jannard, “no one has any idea how incredible this announcement will be.” A stream of words, specs, and renderings, we presume, all cobbled together on November 13th with a promise to put the “RED ONE announcement to shame by comparison… the biggest, most exciting and incredible thing.” So mark your calendar for November 13th—that’s the day RED DIGITAL comes clean with its Scarlet and Epic programs. We’re sure Nikon and Canon will be watching to see if RED launches its DSMC (Digital Still & Motion Camera) aimed squarley at the DSLR market, or not. Even if we have to er, settle, for a 3K Scarlet or 5K Epic video cameras, those aren’t bad consolation prizes, eh?
-Engadget
SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Oct. 23, 2008
— Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) and Avid Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:
AVID), announced that they have signed a definitive agreement for
Autodesk to acquire substantially all of the assets of Avid’s Softimage
business unit for approximately $35 million.
Softimage was
founded in 1986 by Daniel Langlois and is headquartered in Montreal,
Canada. Softimage develops 3D technology for the film, television and
games markets. Its flagship product is SOFTIMAGE|XSI, an extensible 3D
animation software solution used by leading media and entertainment
companies, including Digital Domain, Ubisoft, SEGA Corporation, CAPCOM,
Animal Logic and The Mill. Autodesk Media & Entertainment provides
animation, visual effects, editing/finishing and color grading
solutions for the 3D market, including entertainment and design
industries.
“Softimage has been developing state-of-the-art 3D
technology for more than 20 years, and its products are recognized as
best-of-breed in the entertainment industry,” said Marc Petit, senior
vice president, Autodesk Media & Entertainment. “Upon the
completion of this acquisition we will be adding Softimage technology
and products to our portfolio, and welcoming one of the most talented
teams in the industry to Autodesk Media & Entertainment. Both will
help us accelerate the work of our Games Technology Group, as we build
the next-generation of real-time, interactive 3D authoring tools for
games, film and television.”
Gary Greenfield, CEO and chairman of
Avid Technology, added: “We are excited about what this transaction
means for customers of Softimage. The Softimage 3D product line has
performed well in the video games market, a sector where Autodesk has a
track record of success. Autodesk will provide a great home for the
business.”
Upon
completion of the acquisition, Autodesk intends to continue developing
and selling Softimage’s core product line, while integrating certain
Softimage technology into future versions of Autodesk solutions and
products. Autodesk plans to acquire and continue developing the
following Softimage products:
Petit
commented: “As we have demonstrated since the acquisition of Alias in
2006, we’re committed to giving our customers choice when it comes to
their 3D tools. We plan to maintain and grow the Softimage product
line, and through Autodesk FBX provide better interoperability between
Softimage products, 3ds Max and Autodesk Maya
. FBX also provides
interoperability between Softimage products and our specialized
applications such as Autodesk Mudbox, Autodesk MotionBuilder, Autodesk
ImageModeler and Autodesk Stitcher, as well as numerous third-party
applications.”
Petit concluded: “At Autodesk, we care deeply
about 3D technology; we know users invest a lot of time and energy into
mastering their favorite 3D product. To all 3D artists out there, I
want to tell you that we understand your passion for the creative tools
you use daily, and that with Autodesk, you can choose your passion.”
This
press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks
and uncertainties, including statements regarding product offerings and
the performance of its business. Factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially include the following: difficulties
encountered in closing and integrating Softimage’s business; whether
certain market segments grow as anticipated; the competitive
environment in the software industry and competitive responses to the
acquisition; and whether the companies can successfully develop new
products or modify existing products and the degree to which these gain
market acceptance.
Further information on potential factors that
could affect the financial results of Autodesk are included in the
company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 31,
2008, and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July 31, 2008, which are on
file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Softimage
is a part of Avid Technology, Inc., and develops leading-edge 3D
technology used in customer-centric solutions that enable professionals
in the games, film and television industry to realize their creative
vision. Award-winning feature films, television productions and
top-selling video games are made using Softimage software. Its flagship
product, SOFTIMAGE|XSI, is an extensible 3D animation software solution
built on the most modern architecture in the industry and is used by
leading media and entertainment companies such as Digital Domain,
Ubisoft, SEGA Corporation, CAPCOM, Animal Logic, and The Mill. Other
solutions from Softimage include: SOFTIMAGE|FACE ROBOT, lifelike facial
animation software; SOFTIMAGE|CAT, a complete character animation
plug-in; and SOFTIMAGE Alienbrain, a digital asset management solution
for artists. www.softimage.com.
Avid
is a worldwide leader in tools for film, video, audio, 3D animation,
gaming and broadcast professionals – as well as for home audio and
video enthusiasts. Avid professional and consumer brands include Avid,
Digidesign, M-Audio, Pinnacle Systems, Sibelius, Softimage and Sundance
Digital. The vast majority of primetime television shows, feature
films, commercials and chart-topping music hits are made using one or
more Avid products. Whether used by seasoned professionals or beginning
students, Avid’s products and services enable customers to work more
efficiently, productively and creatively. Avid received an Oscar
statuette representing the 1998 Scientific and Technical Award for the
concept, design, and engineering of the Avid Film Composer system for
motion picture editing.
Autodesk,
Inc. is the world leader in 2D and 3D design software for the
manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment
markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk
has developed the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art digital
prototyping solutions to help customers experience their ideas before
they are real. Fortune 1000 companies rely on Autodesk for the tools
to visualize, simulate and analyze real-world performance early in the
design process to save time and money, enhance quality and foster
innovation.
SANTA CLARA, CA—OCTOBER 16, 2008—NVIDIA today introduced its new
accelerator for Adobe® Creative Suite® 4 software, the NVIDIA® Quadro®
CX. This new GPU provides creative professionals with a faster, better,
more reliable way to maximize their creativity. Quadro CX was
architected to deliver the best performance for the new GPU-optimized
features of Adobe Creative Suite 4.
“Adobe is at the forefront of the Visual Computing Revolution,” said
Dan Vivoli, executive vice president of marketing at NVDIA. “CS4’s GPU
features are sending shockwaves through the creative industry.”
“Photoshop users are always looking for maximum performance, and we
recognized that tapping into the power of the GPU is one way to give it
to them,” said Kevin Connor, vice president of product management for
Professional Digital Imaging at Adobe. “Thanks to NVIDIA’s efforts to
optimize the Quadro CX product for CS4, users can be assured of a
dramatically fast and fluid experience on tasks such as panning,
zooming, and rotating large images as well as manipulating 3D content.”
NVIDIA specifically designed and optimized the Quadro CX to enhance
the performance of Adobe Creative Suite 4 product line and meet the
unique needs of the Creative Suite 4 professional. Adding NVIDIA Quadro
CX to the pipeline gives creative professionals a faster, better, and
more reliable experience. With NVIDIA Quadro CX users can encode H.264
videos at lightning-fast speeds with the NVIDIA CUDA™-enabled plug-in
for Adobe Premiere® Pro CS4, RapiHD™ from Elemental Technologies;
accelerate rendering time for advanced effects; and accurately preview
what deliverables will look like with 30-bit color or uncompressed
10-bit/12-bit SDI before final outputi.
Adobe Creative Suite 4 software now has added optimization to take
advantage of GPU technology, including the parallel processing
capability in the Quadro CX GPU. These enhancements accelerate a number
of visually intensive operations, including:
Adobe® Photoshop® CS4 uses the NVIDIA Quadro CX GPU to bring
unprecedented fluidity to image navigation. The GPU enables real-time
image rotation, zooming, and panning, and makes changes to the view
instantaneous and smooth. Adobe Photoshop CS4 also taps the GPU for
on-screen compositing of both 2D and 3D content, ensuring smoothly
anti-aliased results regardless of zoom level. Brush resizing and
brushstroke preview, 3D movement, high-dynamic-range tone mapping, and
color conversion are also accelerated by the GPU.
Adobe After Effects® CS4 now has added optimization features to
accelerate a variety of creative effects, making it easier than ever to
add graphics and visual effects to video, which allows the artist to
quickly move from concept to final product and speeds up the workflow.
Effects accelerated include depth of field, bilateral blur effects,
turbulent noise such as flowing water or waving flags, and cartoon
effects. NVIDIA Quadro CX takes advantages of these workflow
enhancements.
Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 can take advantage of Quadro CX to accelerate
high-quality video effects such as motion, opacity, color, and image
distortion. Quadro CX also enables faster editing of multiple
high-definition video streams and graphic overlays and provides a
variety of video output choices for high-quality preview, including
DisplayPort, component TV, or uncompressed 10-bit or 12-bit SDI.
NVIDIA Quadro CX is available starting today, from leading resellers,
e-tailers, and retailers, for $1,999 USD. For more information on
NVIDIA Quadro and the new Quadro CX, please visit:
www.nvidia.com/quadrocx.
After years in planning, SIGGRAPH Asia will be staged at the Suntec
Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre in the
middle of the thriving city.
Bringing SIGGRAPH to Asia was
always going to be a big job and those involved behind the scenes are
confident of a very special offering due in Singapore for 2008.
It
is no secret that Asian influence in digital arts is rising in quality
and technology. Some of the most sensational games and digital
characters have come from artists in Japan, Korea, China as well as
Singapore. Governments all over Asia are bringing billions of dollars
to the table for research and development into digital media. For
instance, the Singapore government is actively promoting research and
development in interactive digital media and has set aside S$500m for
this purpose over the next five years.
While the USA-based
SIGGRAPH showed that the number of conference papers from Asia has more
than doubled since 2000, deeper studies have shown that people from
Asia have generally stayed away because they could not afford the
journey across the Pacific or were prevented due to visa restrictions.
The landscape is all about to change.
At Boston’s SIGGRAPH in
2006, Scott Owen and Alyn Rockwood, the President and Vice President of
ACM SIGGRAPH had a meeting with an Asian delegation, and set upon the
task of making SIGGRAPH Asia a reality. YT Lee, the Vice Chair of the
Singapore Chapter, and Masa Inakage, a founding member of the Tokyo
Chapter, presented their bids at the ACM SIGGRAPH Executive Committee
meeting. The first event was awarded to Singapore, and YT Lee was also
confirmed as the Conference Chair.
If you are venturing in from
Europe, the USA, Middle East, Scandinavia, Australia or further north
in Asia, Singapore is full of the most amazing sights and activities.
First thing to remember is that Singapore is a thriving city, an
independent country and an island all in one. Come in early and have a
look around. Singapore is one of four remaining true city-states in the
world. It is the smallest nation in South East Asia. Singapore has been
an independent nation since 1965 and English is the main language
spoken. There’s a world famous zoo, amazing cultural exhibits and some
of the best food in the world.
Sitting 75 miles north of the
equator, Singapore in December will probably be a little warm and in
that part of the year also is known to have pretty high humidity. Most
larger city buildings have air-conditioning but once you are
acclimatised, take a stretch out in the jungle of Pulau Ubin, check out
the Botanic Gardens, the Singapore Zoo or watch some cricket at the
oval. Expect rain most afternoons. Not a quiet drizzle but real
drenching rain. If indoors is more your style, visit Raffles Hotel for
a ‘Singapore Sling’, check out the shopping opportunities or gaze
around in the Asian History Museum.
Right now, SIGGRAPH Asia
2008 is almost ready, with the conference due to begin December 10 and
trade show floor to open on the December 11, running for three days. As
it approaches, CGSociety will give an idea of what to expect, what to
watch for, who to spot and where to go. During the show, CGSociety will
be there to document the sessions and proceedings, to give readers a
guided snapshot of the inaugural show.
Diary (27)
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