Autodesk is taking a lead in GPU-enabled FX and 3D Stereo

As reported in the Siggraph 2008 blog by Pat Howk, Autodesk is making a big push to take a market lead in stereoscopic 3D for media & enertainment.

Their latest announcements at IBC further support this.  Lustre 2009 is their digital color grading system (color grading is a process for altering or enhancing the color of movie or TV images). Lustre’s two big updates:

1. The entire array of grading, previewing and rendering tools can be used for Stereoscopic 3D material
2. Real-time playback of primary and secondary color grading capabilities for multiple secondary layers are GPU-accelerated.  FX plug-ins (blur, noise, etc) are also GPU-accelerated

The Autodesk support for stereo 3D in their film and game development software moves them to the forefront of the market. Stereo 3D as part of the mainstream for CAD and visualization will most likely be next as display vendors begin to release their auto-stereoscopic displays. I am also guessing that there will be a lot more work on 3D stereo drivers from AMD and Nvidia as this market moves from infancy to adolescence.