Digit 2005-04 - Clevernotions.com

Discreet Combustion 4
adds keying, motion FX
Discreet has announced Combustion 4, the latest version of the visual effects software that
includes vector paint, particles, effects, animation and 3D compositing tools. The new version,
for Mac and Windows, adds new creative tools, interface improvements, new paint tools and
enhanced support for 3D animation products and encoding software.
New Discreet’s Diamond Keyer, a set of keying algorithms derived from Discreet’s Flame.
Time-Warp is a key-frameable, time-remapping operator used to generate slow motion and
speed-up effects. B-spline vector shapes and new point-grouping has been added to help
improve roto-scoping. An optimized Fast Gaussian Blur has been added.
A Gbuffer builder lets you create custom Rich Pixel Format (RPF) data structures from
bitmap files. A newly optimized Merge Operator speeds up merging two layers of the same
size using transfer nodes. Operator, navigation, filtering and compare tools have been
reworked with improved user interfaces. New file format import and export options support
ASCII Scene Export (ASE) camera targets from 3DS Max, and Windows Media can be
imported. HDRI support has been added through Open EXR-compatible output.
Combustion 4 will be released on Windows in March 2005 with a Mac release expected
in May 2005. The new release costs £850 plus VAT, with upgrades priced at £200 plus VAT.
Discreet, www.discreet.com
ATI shows FireGL V5000 3D card
ATI has introduced the FireGL V5000 workstation graphics accelerator for PCI Express systems,
which offers dual-DVI connectors and 128MB of GDDR3 memory for around £400. ATI claims that
the FireGL V5000 will bring top-end functionality to a wider-range of design professionals, thanks
to its lower price. Advanced features includes dual-DVI connectors
for multiple displays, dual link support for 9mp displays,
stereo 3D capabilities with quad-buffered support,
eight pixel pipelines, six geometry engines, increased
sub-pixel precision and 128MB of GDDR3 memory.
ATI claims that the new card features a lower power
consumption design. The FireGL V5000 cards are certified
with Discreet 3DS Max, Alias Maya, Softimage|XSI, and SolidWorks.
ATI, www.ati.com
HP Designjet 90 series to launch
HP will introduce the Designjet 90 series this summer, which can accommodate paper up
to 18-x-24 inches, with optional roll-feed capability for printing images up to 18-inches-wide
and 100-feet-long. Its six-colour ink system can produce images up to 2,400dpi in resolution.
Connectivity options include a USB port and a Centronics standard Open EIO for adding the
printer to a network. Wireless capability can be added with an HP
Jetdirect module.
The standard Designjet 90 will sell
for £750 plus VAT while the 90r, which
includes the roll-feed capability, will sell
for £830 plus VAT. The Designjet 90gp
is also available, which adds an HP
colourimeter with profiling and
calibration software.
HP, www.hp.com/uk
Firefox ready
for combat
The Mozilla
Foundation has
released Firefox
1.0.1 which is
available for
download from the
Mozilla Web site.
The updated release
has improved
stability and
“several fixes to
guard against
spoofing and
arbitrary code
execution”.
www.mozilla.org
Xara3D gets
GUI revamp
Xara has announced
the sixth release
of Xara3D. The
update to the tool
for creating static
or animated 3D
graphics makes
significant changes
to the interface
and adds new bevel
types and a system
of boards and
borders. Xara3D 6
runs under Windows
and costs £23.
www.xara.com
Olympus 1GB
USB reader
Olympus is now
offering a 1GB
xD-Picture Card
for digital cameras.
The company also
introduced the
MAUSB-300, a new
portable USB reader
and writer for xD-
Picture media. XD-
Picture card is a
flash media format
used by Olympus
and other digital
camera makers.
www.olympus.co.uk
Xerox adds to
EFI proofing
Xerox has launched the Phaser EX7750
in collaboration with EFI. The Phaser
EX7750 combines Xerox’s Phaser 7750
A3+ colour laser printer with an EFI Fiery
Color Server, which provides job and
colour management and faster printing,
according to Xerox. The Phaser 7750
offers printing at up to 1,200dpi or
35ppm, with a first page out time of 11
seconds, according to Xerox. Pricing for
the bundle begins at £13,049 plus VAT.
Xerox, www.xerox.com
Compact Nikon
Nikon has introduced five new
compact digital cameras, ranging
in price from £128 plus VAT to £272
plus VAT. The Coolpix 5900 and the
Coolpix 7900 feature 5.1mp and 7.1mp
resolution, respectively, and feature
all-metal bodies, 3x optical zoom
lenses, two-inch LCD screens and a
new Face-Priority auto-focus feature.
The Coolpix 5900 costs £213 plus VAT,
and the Coolpix 7900 is £272 plus VAT.
The new 4mp Coolpix 4600 (£128
plus VAT), the 5.1mp Coolpix 5600
(£170 plus VAT) and the 7.1mp
Coolpix 7600 (£255 plus VAT) all
share automated functions such
as In-Camera Red Eye Fix technology.
All will ship in the Spring.
Nikon, www.nikon.co.uk
d 23