3Dlabs GLINT Chip Accelerates 3D Studio MAX on Windows NT; 3D Studio MAX exploits GLINT 3D acceleration for workstation class performance on PCs; Significant speed and quality boost for 3D Studio MAX end-users; New GLINT Heidi drivers to be included with first 3D Studio MAX shipment.SAN JOSE San Jose, city, United States San Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 8, 1995--3Dlabs Inc. announced GLINT(R)-based 3D acceleration for Autodesk's Windows NT (Windows New Technology) A 32-bit operating system from Microsoft for Intel x86 CPUs. NT is the core technology in Windows 2000 and Windows XP (see Windows). Available in separate client and server versions, it includes built-in networking and preemptive multitasking. (TM) version of 3D Studio -- 3D Studio MAX(TM) -- providing 3D Studio MAX users with 3D interactivity rivaling expensive graphics workstations. 3D Studio MAX uses the new Heidi low level 3D API developed by Autodesk. 3Dlabs has been working in close cooperation with Autodesk to develop highly optimized Heidi drivers that directly drive its GLINT 3D processor chip -- the industry's leading 3D accelerator. GLINT-based boards significantly accelerate 3D Studio MAX's 3D viewing and interaction speeds -- by a factor of two to four times depending on scene complexity -- compared to 8 bit software rendering Performing the computations necessary to construct output for the printer or screen by following instructions in a program routine. Contrast with hardware rendering. See render. . At this speed, GLINT also provides enhanced image quality through 16 or 24 bit color depth Same as bit depth. , deep 24 bit Z buffers, and by using 3Dlabs' patented, high-precision rendering pipeline. The optimized Heidi drivers directly control the GLINT silicon, and have been highly optimized to take maximum advantage of GLINT's extensive rasterization power. This direct port results in a speed advantage of two times or more compared to running Heidi layered over accelerated OpenGL. 3Dlabs and Autodesk are making the optimized Heidi drivers available free of charge to all GLINT board level customers, and the GLINT Heidi drivers will be included with the first release of 3D Studio MAX. This will enable 3D Studio MAX users to immediately upgrade to any GLINT-based board to increase their productivity. Omnicomp Graphics' GLINT-based 3DEMON(TM) board has been used throughout the Heidi driver development. A growing number of board vendors are shipping GLINT boards in volume -- with Omnicomp shipping the first available GLINT board in January 95. Omnicomp will include the Heidi drivers with the 3DEMON board, enabling 3D Studio MAX users on a PC to typically enjoy a four times price/performance advantage over Silicon Graphics workstations. Quotes "We selected 3Dlabs as a key partner for Autodesk while developing the Heidi 3D driver architecture, and we have been impressed by their commitment and expertise," said John Ison, director of product management at Autodesk, Inc. "By working with 3Dlabs to optimize the GLINT drivers for 3D Studio MAX, we have been able to refine our software architecture, and enable a broad range of board vendors that are using the GLINT chip to accelerate our application. We will be shipping the optimized GLINT drivers with the first shipments of 3D Studio MAX, ensuring that end-users immediately have a wide choice of accelerator options." "We have found that GLINT can accelerate 3D interactivity within 3D Studio MAX by up to four times, while simultaneously increasing the visual display quality," said Bob M. Bennett, 3D Studio MAX product manager at Autodesk. "3D Studio MAX is fast and very usable without hardware acceleration In computing, hardware acceleration is the use of hardware to perform some function faster than is possible in software running on the normal (general purpose) CPU. Examples of hardware acceleration include blitting acceleration functionality in graphics processing units (GPUs) and , but we think the speed and quality advantages of using GLINT-based boards will make them an attractive and worthwhile upgrade for a significant number of 3D Studio MAX users. This is exciting for us, as 3D Studio MAX users can thus enjoy workstation level performance and productivity on their PCs." "3D Studio MAX is poised to become one of the most significant 3D applications on the PC, and Autodesk's success will further drive demand for PC-based 3D accelerator hardware," said Osman Kent, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of 3Dlabs. "The optimized drivers we have developed will ensure that GLINT end-users will enjoy excellent interactivity whilst using 3D Studio MAX. The Heidi driver architecture developed by Autodesk is first class, and we look forward to a continuing close partnership with Autodesk to bring 3D acceleration to other Autodesk applications." "Thanks to Autodesk's Heidi driver strategy, our 3DEMON family of GLINT accelerators can add real value to 3D Studio MAX users," said Huling Parker, President of Omnicomp Graphics Corporation. "We have valued this opportunity to work closely with Autodesk and 3Dlabs to push back the boundaries of 3D on the PC. We are focused on adding value at the graphics board level -- for example our new 8Mbyte version of 3DEMON will allow 3D Studio MAX users to run at high screen resolutions, with 24 bit color depth -- all at blazing GLINT speeds." GLINT Information To support advanced multimedia authoring, modeling, animation, CAD and visualization applications, the GLINT 300SX implements 100% of the OpenGL rendering operations in silicon -- including 32-bit color support, Gouraud shading In 3D graphics, a technique developed by Henri Gouraud in the early 1970s that computes a shaded surface based on the color and illumination at the corners of every triangle. Gouraud shading is the simplest rendering method and is computed faster than Phong shading. and depth buffering. GLINT also implements advanced functionality such as texture-mapping, anti-aliasing and alpha blending In computer graphics, the combining of the alpha channel with other layers in an image in order to show translucency. The alpha channel is an additional eight bits used with each pixel in a 32-bit graphics system that can represent 256 levels of translucency. at rendering speeds of up to 300,000 polygons per second. Due to its broad functionality, GLINT provides complete 3D pixel processing for Heidi, ensuring that GLINT boards provide consistent, high-value, 3D Studio MAX acceleration. 3Dlabs Information 3Dlabs is a worldwide OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) The rebranding of equipment and selling it. The term initially referred to the company that made the products (the "original" manufacturer), but eventually became widely used to refer to the organization that buys the products and supplier of chips, enabling software and technology for 3D graphics. The company's products enable board and system manufacturers to integrate 3D capabilities into their products for such applications as CAD, multimedia authoring, simulation, virtual reality, interactive TV and video games See video game console. . Currently, over 40 companies have incorporated GLINT into their 3D products and GLINT is recognized as the industry-standard accelerator architecture for high-performance 3D graphics on the PC. 3Dlabs provides GLINT-optimized drivers for many industry-leading graphics APIs, allowing a growing number of applications to achieve 3D interactivity on low cost platforms. 3Dlabs Inc., headquartered in San Jose, CA., was founded in April 1994, and is privately owned. Omnicomp Information Omnicomp designs and manufactures high performance 2D and 3D graphics and multimedia products for a variety of platforms from personal computers to advanced engineering workstations. For over a decade, Omnicomp has distinguished itself by providing state of the art computer graphics and multimedia solutions and the most responsive technical support in the industry. Omnicomp's PC and VME (Virtual Machine Environment) An operating system from Fujitsu Services (formerly ICL) that runs on its Series 39 mainframes. Introduced in 1975, VME is a comprehensive product that provides a variety of utilities for datacenter operations. products have been integrated into a variety of scientific, engineering and military applications including CAD/CAM CAD/CAM in full computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing. Integration of design and manufacturing into a system under direct control of digital computers. , flight simulation, visualization and image processing image processing Set of computational techniques for analyzing, enhancing, compressing, and reconstructing images. Its main components are importing, in which an image is captured through scanning or digital photography; analysis and manipulation of the image, accomplished . -0- Note to Editors: 3Dlabs is a trademark and GLINT is a registered trademark of 3Dlabs Inc. Ltd. 3D Studio MAX is a trademark of Autodesk Inc. OpenGL is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics Inc. Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation (company) Microsoft Corporation - The biggest supplier of operating systems and other software for IBM PC compatibles. Software products include MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows, Windows NT, Microsoft Access, LAN Manager, MS Client, SQL Server, Open Data Base Connectivity (ODBC), MS Mail, in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and/or other countries. 3Demon is a trademark of Omnicomp Graphics Corp. All other trademarks are acknowledged. CONTACT: 3Dlabs Inc. Neil Trevett Neil Trevett is currently Vice President of Embedded Content at NVIDIA. He is responsible for enabling and encouraging compelling applications on non-PC platforms, including cell phones and automobiles. Prior to joining NVIDIA, Mr. , 408/436-3456 Email: neil.trevett@3dlabs.com or Omnicomp Graphics Corp. Kelly Stuart, 713/464-2990 Email: omnicmp@phoenix.net or Horizon Public Relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most (for 3D Labs) Jonathan Hirshon, 408/982-2555 Email: jh@horizonpr.com |
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