3/29/99
BILL FERSTER’S VIDEOGRAPHICS NEWSWIRE
ISSUE 99-8
ABOUT THIS NEWSWIRE
Bill Ferster’s VideoGraphics NewsWire is published bi-weekly and summarizes the important events in the convergent worlds of multimedia, video, animation, chips, mass storage and computers.
Please feel free to forward this NewsWire to someone who might appreciate an item, or heaven forbid, might want to subscribe to it. Please refrain, however, from continually mailing it to others on a regular basis. You can visit my website for more information, as well as read and search past issues of this NewsWire, at http:/www.stagetools.com/bill.
BUSINESS
---> Mattel Buys Purple Moon
Mattel (http://www.mattel.com) has bought recently defunct games-for-girls software maker Purple Moon (http://www.purple-moon.com) for an undisclosed amount. Purple Moon, whose 1998 revenues are estimated at $5M, closed their doors last month after reportedly turning down an earlier offer from Mattel for $45M. Somehow, I think they paid less this time…
---> Sales and Earnings Rise at Adobe
Software maker Adobe Systems (http://www.adobe.com) posted earnings of $38M on sales of $227M this quarter, as compared to last year’s $27M on sales of $198M. The growth was attributed to stronger application sales.
---> Media 100’s Sales/Earnings Up
Although still running at a deficit, leading nonlinear editing system maker Media 100 (http://www.media100.com) lost only $689K this quarter, on sales of $12M, as compared with a $1.5M loss last year on $10.5M in sales.
---> NVIDIA Posts a Record Quarter
Leading consumer 3D-render chipmaker NVIDIA (http://www.nvidia.com) earned a record $8M on sales of $66M, as compared with last year’s $1M on $24M.
---> Evans & Sutherland Does Good Too
Premiere simulation system maker Evans & Sutherland (http://www.es.com) reported earning $3M on sales of $58M which is up from last year’s $2M loss on $49M in sales.
IMAGING
---> New Headset Display Technology
Virtual Vision (http://www.virtualvision.com) showed new wearable head display units that offer the equivalent experience of viewing a 20" VGA monitor viewed from 6 feet away. The "eGlass" units sell for $2-5K, eventually dropping to the $1-2K range.
---> Voxel Imaging Technology
Mitsubishi is concentrating on speeding up their ability to render volumetrically (using 3D pixels called "voxels"), useful in volume scans such as MRI’s. Mitsubishi is making a PCI card, called the "vp500" running in an NT workstation, that has a 4-stage rendering pipeline designed specifically for voxels.
---> Star Wars the Beta Site for Digital Electronic Cinema
LucasFilm will show their new feature, "Episode I: The Phantom Menace"
Using Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology from Texas Instruments (http://www.ti.com/dlp). It is a significant event for motion pictures that a stickler for quality such as George Lucas is championing this technology. I have personally seen plain old digital BetaCam (not HDTV!) projected using these DLP projectors and the images look as good or better than 35mm film.
---> Apple Offers QuickTime version for Java
Apple Computer (http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtjava) has released a beta-version of its popular QuickTime multimedia authoring and delivery API for the platform independent Java platform.
---> Canopus Offers MPEG2 Encoder Card
After ditching their 3D-render card line, Canopus (http://www.canopuscorp.com) will be showing an inexpensive real time MPEG2 encoder card at NAB. The $2,000 "Amber" uses the new MN85560 encoder chip from Panasonic.
3D TECHNOLOGY
---> NVIDIA Announces TNT2 3D Chip
Leading consumer 3D-render chipmaker NVIDIA (http://www.nvidia.com) announced their newest 2D/3D render-accelerator chip. The "TNT2" boasts a blistering fill rate of 350Mpixels/sec, 10M triangles/sec rendering, 32-bit buffers, 32-bit depth buffers, AGP 2X/4X and a 32MB frame buffer support. The chip is expected to ship this quarter.
---> 3Dfx Supports Linux
Voodoo chip-maker 3Dfx (http://www.3dfx.com) will soon support the emerging Linux OS system by providing drivers for their 3D accelerator cards, as well as Linux implementations of their popular Glide API.
---> Evans & Sutherland Offers Low-Cost 3D Card
After concentrating primarily on the upper tiers of the 3D market, leading simulation system maker Evans & Sutherland (http://www.es.com) is taking advantage of their acquisition of board maker AccelGraphics by offering a REALimage-based 3D render card for under $700. The "E&S Lightning 1200" offers high-triangle count users uses such as CAD. It boasts 70Mpixel/sec fill rates and renders up to 3M triangles/sec, and makes use of the new Pentium III Katmai instructions.
---> Matrox Has New 3D Chip
Leading graphics card marker Matrox (http://www.matrox.com) has announced a new 3D-render accelerator chip that boasts array processor technology for single-cycle multi-texturing. The "G400" uses .25m technology, and internal geometric setup for 5M triangles/sec.
BROADCAST / POST
---> Pinnacle Offers MPEG Editing Solution
Pinnacle Systems (http://www.pinnaclesys.com) announced a card and software bundle that makes editing MPEG2 video a reality. (IPPP encoded, not just I frames, like Fast’s 601 product) The $2,500 "DC1000" will handle real-time effects between two streams of MPEG2 video. Software includes Adobe Premiere 5.1RT editing, TitleDeko titling, and Pixélan Software's SpiceRack effects.
---> Accom Offers New DTV Server
Leading video system maker Accom (http://www.accom.com) is showing off some results from its recent acquisition of Abekas with a new DTV server for news-edit/playout, spot cache, program server, and time-delay. The "Abekas 6000" can store up to 35 hours of DVCPRO compressed video and can be controlled using Louth automation. Aside from the usual networking options, the unit has a VTR-style control panel (no mouse).
BOOKS
---> The Age of Spiritual Machines - Ray Kurzweil
I have to admit being disappointed by Ray Kurzweil's latest book, particularly in light of his excellent book which chronicled the emergence of the AI movement, "The Age of Intelligent Machines." He paints a portrait of what we might expect when computer-processing power exceeds that of our own brains that borders on science fiction. That said, many of his previous predictions have come true and the book is a fun read on what might be. (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0670882178/stagetoolscom)
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SUBSCRIPTIONS
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.
The cost is $49 per quarter billed to your MasterCard, Visa or American Express card. You may cancel anytime you like for a pro-rated refund. I regret that the administrative billing overhead prohibits me from accepting checks and purchase orders. Corporate site licenses can be negotiated. Students, Schools and other educational facilities may receive the NewsWire at no charge.
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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.
