AMD will give a first-look at it's latest high end graphics card (all we know is it "will expand on the FirePro V8800") at IBC (Hall 7, J30). In addition they will show the FirePro RG220 Remote Workstation Graphics card (think low-power and energy efficiency for cloud computing graphics).
FirePro technology will be shown in partner demos including with VizRT, StudioGPU, Ventuz, MainConcept, Dell, HP, Barco, The Foundry, and Planar. Highlights include:
HP and Dell - workstations will be available to view on the stand, including AMD support for 30-bit colour in Adobe Photoshop with the HP Dream Color monitor
VizRT showcasing its broadcast graphics solutions with a 12-screen video wall demo
StudioGPU showcasing its MachStudio Pro (version 2?) real-time 3D graphics solution
I just received a StudioGPU newsletter announcing a very cool time-limited offer on MachStudio Pro. Pre-order MachStudio Pro 2 by August 31st, and get a discount of 25% on the price. You will immediately receive the current version of MachStudio Pro bundled with the ATI FirePro V8800. You will receive MachStudio Pro 2 later this quarter when it ships.
MachStudio Pro 2 will offer native integration with Pixar RenderMan, MetaSL and mental ray support, a unified pass renderer, volumetric and global illumination and it will also fully implement DirectX 11 support for even faster GPU acceleration, tessellation and multi-threading. This means significant performance boots on the ATI FirePro V8000.
MachStudio Pro has increasingly been migrating to an open hub for 3D workflows. The newly announced MachStudio Pro 2 (Q3 2010) will offer native integration with Pixar RenderMan and the ability to create and use MetaSL-based custom procedural shaders and render out with mental ray.
The new release (will be free to all current customers) will also fully implement DirectX 11 support for even faster GPU acceleration, tessellation and multi-threading. This means significant performance boots on the ATI FirePro V8000.
The announced list of features includes:
Pixar RenderMan Integration: Provides the flexibility to switch between or combine fast high-fidelity MachStudio Pro GPU-based rendering and industry-standard Academy Award-winning Pixar RenderMan CPU-based ray tracing rendering software on-the-fly to create beauty shots and/or specific render passes.
MetaSL and mental ray Support: Allows 3D artists to quickly and easily build MetaSL-based custom procedural shaders using an intuitive mental mill node graph user interface for rendering out to both the mental ray and MachStudio Pro renderer
Improved Pipeline Rendering Functionality: Offers a new Unified Pass Renderer (UPR), which breaks out all passes for the final render, and an EXR Sandwich Tool that combines all EXR files into one layered file for compositing.
DirectX 11-Based Workflow: Offers more efficient rendering, tessellation, and multi-threading capabilities for improved performance throughout the pipeline.
Volumetric and Screen Space Global Illumination (GI): Takes into account the bouncing of light from surfaces, allowing for more realistic renderings.
Spot and Directional Lights: Allows for greater freedom towards achieving perfect lighting conditions.
FBX Output: Exports models and baked textures in the FBX file format for compatibility with all leading 3D modeling and animation software programs.
Increased Python Support: Allows for the creation of custom properties, parenting objects, and spot and directional lights.
Workflow Improvements: Eases organization and viewing of everything in a scene, including groups, hierarchies, context menus, light sets, influencers and render pass isolation.
MachStudio Pro software is available in North America for $3,999 (USD) or bundled with the ATI FirePro V8800 3D workstation graphics accelerator card for $4,999 (USD).
Another SIGGRAPH press release, but this one from one of my favorites, StudioGPU, announcing the ability to do final renders from MachStudio Pro direct to Pixar Renderman. MachStudio Pro if you don’t recall, is real-time non-linear 3D shot finaling and compositing software that runs completely on the ATI FirePro V8880 GPU. From the press release:
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.
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.
MachStudio Pro v1.4 is now available in North America for $3,999 (USD) or bundled with the ATI FirePro V8800 3D workstation graphics card for $4,999 (USD). Previously the bundle included the ATI FirePro V8750, so moving to the FirePro V8800 is a significant upgrade in performance with no upgrade in price.
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. When paired with MachStudio Pro software, artists can take advantage of real-time performance and features exclusive to ATI graphics such as real-time displacement mapping using hardware tessellation.
If you already own an ATI FirePro card, particularly the DX11-optimized new FirePro line (V4800, V5800, V7800 or V8800) or even a high-performance Radeon HD 5870, you can download a free 30-day trial, full-featured copy of MachStudio Pro and test it out .
“See how MachStudio Pro can help you explore and refine your creative options in real-time in full cinematic quality within a true non-linear 3D environment. This 30 day trial is a full featured version of MachStudio Pro and has absolutely no financial obligation or commitment.”
If you have an ATI FirePro card, particularly the DX11-optimized new FirePro line (V4800, V5800, V7800 or V8800) or even a high-performance Radeon HD 5870, this is a great opportunity to check out how MachStudio Pro performs for your CG animation, design or architectural visualization workflow.
I have written many times about MachStudio Pro running on the ATI FirePro V8750. Moving lighting, materials, texturing and rendering to the GPU revolutionizes the design visualization and CG animation workflow. The traditional linear, setup-preview-render workflow becomes a non-linear workflow with real-time control and feedback.
In any case, the “Cringley 2010 Not in Silicon Valley Startup Tour” is seeking nominations to identify the most interesting start-up companies outside of Silicon Valley. I nominated StudioGPU for their work on MachStudio Pro.
If you agree with me that StudioGPU is indeed innovative and exciting in how it changes the way 3D visualization and artist work with lighting and rendering, then go to the Cringley’s List site and vote/comment as follows:
Log-in to the site using your Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Yahoo or similar accounts.
Search for StudioGPU. You should find an entry from 3/29/2010 submitted by Tony DeYoung.
Then click on the stars in the upper right hand corner of the StudioGPU nomination to rate it (hopefully 5 stars!).
Add comments, testimonials, insider knowledge, etc. that you think will encourage other users, investors, Bob Cringley and the Kauffman Foundation to take note. Comments are important - they say more then I could fit into the short overview blurb.
After you vote, share the URL with your colleagues who also use MachStudio Pro.
Note: Do not re-nominate StudioGPU. Just star and comment on the existing StudioGPU nomination from 3/29/2010 submitted by Tony DeYoung
This month’s episode of the AMD Developer Inside Track brings AMD demo’s from the Game Developers Conference 2010.
Saif Ali, Software Engineer in the Advanced Technology Group, walks us through three examples of how OpenCL can now offer even more realistic physics experiences (cloth effects, blowing things up and fluid simulation) using Pixelux Entertainment and Bullet Physics adding significant support to the Open Physics ecosystem. The switch from rendered to wireframe and back in the cloth demo is very cool.
Christopher Jess from StudioGPU, demontrates MachStudio Pro running on a FirePro V8750 graphics card. MachStudio Pro empowers artists and designers working in film, broadcast, game development, computer-assisted design (CAD), and pre- and post-production to create and manipulate fully rendered film-quality 3D design and animation in real-time. Chris gives a walk through on what MachStudio Pro is and an example of how to use tessellation, currently an exclusive feature of ATI cards, to change the texture of a character in real time.
SIGGRAPH's Computer Graphics Quarterly Newsletter features an article titled "Ending the Tradeoff of Time vs. Quality when Creating 3D Computer Graphics Content - Stepping Up the Production Workflow with Real-Time Rendering Software".
The article is about MachStudio Pro specifically, but more generally about how today's fully programmable hardware GPUs (e.g. FirePro V8750) can be optimally tapped by writing software that structures advanced rendering effects as separate independent processing passes.
"MachStudio Pro exploits a confluence of enablers emerging on the 3D graphics scene to address a glaring and unfilled need. Real-time rendering coupled with a comprehensive 3D workspace streamlines workflow, ending the compromise between time and quality."
I've been a champion of MachStudio Pro since I first saw it a year ago. But the software is now making real headway into the mainstream and getting some great reviews along the way. Renderosity just released a comprehensive review and it is worth pointing out some of the highlights:
"This is a jaw-dropping software application. It's hard to describe the impact of seeing complex lighting and shaders being applied in real-time. Every aspect of the program has been carefully considered and designed to be discreet and out of the way until you need it. And although the program doesn't render every single scene in absolute real-time, the rendering is so much faster that it seems almost real-time to anyone who has had to take a coffee break while waiting for a lighting pass to render on their render farm."
Now for all of us who live for the "what's coming next" news: Check out these two bullets:
Raytracing using DX11 Compute Shaders - "I had a first-hand demonstration of what looks to be the first DirectX 11 “compute shade” raytracing prototype, which looked fantastic. I believe Yoni told me that this will be the first time raytracing will be applied using the GPU only."
Hair - “anything you can do in 'Shave and a Haircut' you can do in MachStudio Pro's hair mode.
MachStudio Pro ships with the ATI FirePro v8750 card which carries a full 2GB DDR5 graphics memory and 800 unified shader engines. "It is quite simply the best video card you can get, hands down."
FireUser.com is a community resource for visualization, 3D, video and engineering professionals to learn about the latest acceleration and display technologies, discuss support issues, as well as influence the features and direction of the FireGL and FirePro accelerator line.
I've been a champion of 
