Demonstrates LightWave [6]'s Optimization for Mac Technologies, Including
QuickTime, QuickTime VR and Apple's Hot Dual-Processor Power Mac G4 With
VelocityEngine
NEW ORLEANS, SIGGRAPH 2000, July 26 /PRNewswire/ -- NewTek, Incorporated,
manufacturer of industry-leading 3D animation and video products, today
announced that it will demonstrate the power and groundbreaking graphics
capabilities of LightWave 6 running on a render farm featuring thirteen Apple
Power Mac G4 systems at its SIGGRAPH 2000 booth (#2117). NewTek will also
showcase LightWave running on Mac OS X, Apple's next generation operating
system, and on a dual-processor Power Mac G4, unveiled by Apple at last week's
Macworld Expo conference. The network rendering capability will showcase
NewTek's StealthNET(TM) render controller, the first on the market to allow
Internet-based rendering. SIGGRAPH 2000 will be held July 25 through July 27
in New Orleans.
"We are very excited about the incredible technical achievements on the
Mac platform. We will be showcasing LightWave on Apple's single- and
dual-processor Power Mac G4s and Apple's forthcoming Mac OS X operating
system," said Brad Peebler, vice president of 3D graphics of NewTek.
"LightWave is optimized to take advantage of the Power Mac's PowerPC G4
processor with VelocityEngine, Apple's QuickTime technology and Apple's OpenGL
implementation. We have been working very closely with Apple and the
collaboration means tremendous things for NewTek's Mac users."
"Apple is committed to making the Mac the premiere platform for 2D and 3D
graphics with new products like dual-processor Power Mac G4s and soon to be
released Mac OS X," said Clent Richardson, Apple's vice president of Worldwide
Developer Relations. "We are excited to see LightWave, with their great
solutions, take advantage of the incredible business opportunities on the Mac
and bring innovative solutions to Mac users worldwide."
The thirteen Macintosh computers in NewTek's render farm at SIGGRAPH all
will be running the Mac version of LightWave [6], which was designed to
integrate closely with the Mac OS. The render farm configuration will also
enable NewTek to demonstrate its new StealthNET render controller, which is
based on TCP/IP and so enables Internet-based rendering. StealthNET can link
to systems around the world for cooperative rendering projects, which is
increasingly important for large-scale projects such as movies, TV shows and
commercials that may require multiple teams of animators working at vastly
disparate locations worldwide.
NewTek Booth Will Highlight Exciting 3D Animation Advances
Visitors to NewTek's SIGGRAPH booth will be treated to ongoing
demonstrations of the following:
-- Lightwave 6 running on Power Mac G4s featuring the PowerPC G4 with
VelocityEngine, which processes multimedia at blazingly fast speeds.
-- LightWave [6] running on Apple's soon to be released Mac OS X.
-- NewTek's StealthNET render controller.
-- LightWave optimized for Apple's OpenGL implementation, delivering up to
ten times greater performance than software-only rendering.
-- QuickTime, which is used in many areas in LightWave 6. For example,
LightWave's animation preview system uses Apple's QuickTime technology to
generate real-time playback of animation. The artist can also save a QuickTime
file for viewing directly in LightWave or through the QuickTime Player.
LightWave 6 also leverages QuickTime in its audio implementation, allowing
users to import audio for animation, timing and lip synching. In addition,
animators can use QuickTime movies as background, as texture, or as volumetric
light. These capabilities can lead to dramatic digital video effects (DVEs),
animated texture maps, composited background movies and other dazzling
effects. The QuickTime format is saved in the final rendered animation in
LightWave 6. As a result, users can take advantage of QuickTime compression to
generate movie files that are ready to be streamed on the Internet.
-- QuickTime VR lets users create full panoramas of a scene file or
360 degree views of a 3D object that can be used as real-time media on the
Internet.
"LightWave [6] and the Mac platform have always worked well together, but
the recent technological advancements at Apple are likely to bring new waves
of LightWave users flocking to Mac," said NewTek's Peebler. "The G4 chip is
incredibly fast, and technologies such as QuickTime, QuickTime VR, OpenGL and
the VelocityEngine integrated into LightWave [6] make the Mac platform a great
solution for any LightWave user."
About LightWave [6]
LightWave, the recognized leader in special effects production in the film
and television industry, provides the most complete feature set of any 3D
animation tool available. LightWave [6] offers breakthrough rendering
technologies, advanced animation tools and a new modeling paradigm as well as
improved workflow, better control over texturing, customizable user interface
and extensive improvements to real-time views. LightWave [6] is the only 3D
software system that runs on Macintosh, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows 98,
Alpha and Silicon Graphics systems.
About NewTek
With headquarters in San Antonio, NewTek is a leading provider of
full-featured video editing, animation and special effects tools. The
company's products are used worldwide on projects ranging from home video to
feature film. Recent film and television projects include X-Men The Movie,
Pitch Black, Shakespeare in Love, the latest James Bond film The World is Not
Enough, Roughnecks: Starship Troopers, Star Trek: Voyager, The X-Files,
Ally McBeal and Family Law. Recent game titles include Daikatana, Deus EX,
Torment, HALO, and Kiss Psycho Circus. Contact NewTek at 8200 IH-10 West,
Suite 900, San Antonio, TX, 78230. Phone: 210-370-8000, fax: 210-370-8001,
website: http://www.newtek.com .
SOURCE NewTek, Incorporated
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.newtek.com
CONTACT:
Hollie Wendt of Wendt Communications,
831-688-1193, or Hollie@earthlink.net, for NewTek, Inc.
|
