5/24/99
BILL FERSTER’S VIDEOGRAPHICS NEWSWIRE
ISSUE 99-17
ABOUT THIS NEWSWIRE
Bill Ferster’s VideoGraphics NewsWire is published weekly and summarizes the important events in the convergent worlds of multimedia, video, animation, chips, mass storage and computers.
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Business
---> MGI Might Acquire Live Picture
Software maker MGI (http://www.mgi.com) is trying to buy John Scully's ex-company Live Picture (http://www.livepicture.com), a maker of software used to create immersive environments over the web. Live Picture just entered bankruptcy following his recent departure. No dollar amount or deal details have been mentioned.
---> NVIDIA Doing Good
Leading 3D chipmaker of the popular Riva TNT chips, NVIDIA (http://www.nvidia.com) earned $6M on sales of $71M, which was 151% better than last years sales of $28M, on which they lost $1M.
---> Orad's Web Address
Virtual set maker Orad's correct web address is http://www.orad.co.il.
---> Satellite HD Film Distribution at Cannes
The first satellite broadcast distribution of a HD digital feature was done at the Cannes Film Festival last week. CyberStar, Wavelength Releasing and QuVIS broadcasted 'Protest' and the Oscar-Winning "Bunny" for the festival audience.
3D TECHNOLOGY
---> Mitsubishi Releases Volumetric Rendering PCI Card
Mitsubishi has considerably lowered the ante to perform computation and memory-intensive volumetric rendering on the PC platform. Their new "VolumePro 500" PCI cards, which sell for $3K-5K, will let non-surface modeled data, such as from MRIs, CT scans and geophysical data, be viewed in real time. Volumetric Rendering models 3D objects by assigning a 3D pixel (voxel) for each point in 3D space, rather than simply defining the polygons for its visible surface.
---> Package Makes 3D Head models from Photos
Software maker Ulead (http://www.ulead.com/ff/runme.htm) has announced an interesting new package that will create a 3D model of a head from as few as 2 photographs. Their new $39 "Face Factory" takes a front and a side view of someone's head and then creates a meshed 3D form that supports textures gleaned from the photos.
MASS STORAGE / MP3
---> Maxtor has new 27GB Drive
Leading mass storage device maker Maxtor has added a new disk top their already impressive storage arsenal. Their 27.2GB "DiamondMax 6800 Desktop Drive" has two internal controllers, increased reliability features, 9ms seek times, a 2MB buffer, runs at 5400 rpm, and supports UDMA-66 transfer. All for $399 retail.
---> MP3 Player for Windows CE
Software maker Utopiasoft (http://www.utopiasoft.com) today announced the release of their "HUM MP3 Digital Music Player" for Windows CE devices. The $39 package will allow these devices to play back downloaded MP3 audio files. The software was provided by Xaudio (http://www.xaudio.com), who license MPEG decoding software for a number of platforms.
Not to be out done, Platinum Entertainment (http://www.PlatinumCD.com) also released a player expressly designed for Casio's new Cassiopeia E-100 color palm-size PC.
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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, which are gleaned from press releases, print and online magazines and the Inquisit Information Service.
