BUSINESS
---> Tseng Labs Assets Bought by ATI
Canadian graphics board and chip maker ATI (http://www.atitech.com) has purchased substantially all the graphics assets of former leading graphics chip manufacturer Tseng Labs (http://www.tseng.com)/. The deal was worth $33M, and is expected help ATI bolster its 3D chip capabilities with the infusion of 40 people from Tseng. The bolster comes because the Tseng employees will take over the 2D side of ATI’s business, leaving them time to concentrate on 3D.
---> POST Magazine Production Survey
Post Magazine released their 12 annual survey of video production facilities. They cited that 43% planned to upgrade their facility, but numbers for new facilities were way down. Dedicated graphics systems, such as CGs and DVEs were flat, while 3D graphics systems plummeted.
Desktop animation systems showed a 36%/23%/9%/10% for Mac, NT, SGI and Amiga-based systems. Desktop video favored the Mac over Windows by a 58%/27% split.
---> EIAJ Predicts Large Growth for DVD Players
The Electronic Industries Association of Japan reported that 800,000 DVD players, totaling $262M were produced in Japan. Next year, they predict production of over 2.5M units worth an estimated $767M.
Older-style optical video disk players, used primarily in video karaoke machines, fell 3.4% and are expected to fall even more steeply to a 38% drop next year. The entire report is available at (http://www.eiaj.or.jp).
---> Adobe Beats Estimates; Changes Mac/PC Product Mix
Leading graphic software maker Adobe Systems (http://www.adobe.com) reported better numbers this quarter than analysts expected, with $277M in revenue, compared to $208M last quarter. Income was $41M as compared to $36M last quarter.
Perhaps most interesting was the change in the platform mix (PC vs. Mac). Adobe has made a strong push to make their traditionally Mac-only products, such as After Effects, run on both platforms. Windows-based products made up 56%, creating a 19% decline in "platform-share" from last year
---> Tektronix Video Division Numbers Down
Veteran video and measurement equipment manufacturer Tektronix (http://www.tektronix.com) posted lower numbers for its video division, after axing beleaguered President Lucie Fjieldstadt last quarter. Sales were $95M, as compared to $116M last year. The company took a restructuring $60M charge this quarter.
DVD / MPEG
---> Dolby Chooses Zoran For AC-3 Reference Product
Dolby Systems (http://www.dolby.com) has chosen chip maker Zoran (http://www.zoran.com) as the supplier of decoder chips for their of their internal reference product. The DP562 decoder product will set the standard to which other encoders are to be measured against.
BROADCAST / POST PRODUCTION
---> Draco Releases Version 2.0 of Casablanca NLE
Nonlinear editor newcomer Draco (http://www.draco.com) has released an upgrade to their successful and interesting nonlinear editing appliance, looking like a consumer VCR. The picture and sound quality is excellent, especially for the price. The $3,950 Casablanca 2.0 has a number of upgraded editorial features and now allows for DV input and machine control.
---> Avid To Use Adaptec Fibre Channel cards
Nonlinear editor leader Avid Technology (http://www.avid.com) has chosen to use high-speed networking cards from Adaptec (http://www.adaptec.com) for use in its MediaShare product. MediaShare allows Avid-equipped facilities to share material between editors and RAID systems.
Adaptec’s Fibre Channel provides up to 1Gbit/sec throughput, scalability of up to 126 devices on a single port, and the ability to connect devices from 30 meters over copper to 10 kilometers over optical cables.
---> Quantel Systems to use TrueType Fonts
Black-box proponent Quantel (http://www.quantel.com) is now offering the ability for users to add ubiquitous, plentiful and cheap TrueType fonts to its graphics systems. This follows their recent inclusion of Java to open up their proprietary systems, and still maintain the benefits of specially designed hardware.
3D TECHNOLOGY
---> Microsoft and SGI Join Forces in 3D
Talk about strange bedfellows, but Microsoft (http://www.microsoft.com) and Silicon Graphics (http://www.sgi.com) have agreed to work together in defining the next generation of 3D API’s for Windows NT. The fruits of this union are expected to appear in early 1999.
This follows SGI’s earlier announcement that they are planning to embrace Windows NT and Intel chips for future versions of some of its workstations. Microsoft had dropped NT support for MIPS chips earlier this year.
---> Intel Announces New 3D Chip
Intel (http://www.intel.com) has finally produced some tangible results of its deal with Lockheed Martin’s Rea3D division with its Intel 740 3D-accelerator chip. The 740 is optimized for high throughput to the processor and memory via the AGP port.
---> National on the Prowl for a 3D Chip Company
National Semiconductor (http://www.national.com) is looking to acquire a 3D rendering chip company to complement their recent acquisition of Cyrix and help defend itself from Intel. Nvidia, Rendition, 3Dfx, and Number Nine were cited as possible contenders.
---> ID Gives Away Source Code to Doom
The makers of the popular 3D-Maze game Doom and Quake (http://www.idsoftware.com) has posted the source code to the Linux version of Doom on their website. An unusual move, to be sure, but code that involves the same technique used in Doom, called "Ray-Casting," has been available for years on the net and in game books.
Ray Casting is similar in concept to its more computationally taxing and photo-realistic cousin, "Ray Tracing", where imaginary lines are drawn between the viewer and the scene, but Ray Casting shoots fewer rays and relies on the rendering of bitmap blocks, rather than individual pixels. The result is a very fast, highly interactive low-resolution, but nonetheless believable 3D scene.
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CYA DISCLAIMER: The preceding NewsWire represents my best efforts to gather the facts and the offering of my opinions. Although I try to describe the world as it appears me, I make no representations as to the accuracy of the reports within.
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