By Jeff Bertolucci
December 21, 2009

There’s little doubt that James Cameron’s much-hyped Avatar will be a hit during its theater run, but what impact will the sci-fi epic have on 3D entertainment in the home?

“Avatar,” which cost north of $300 million to make, uses state-of-the-art 3D filmmaking techniques to create a visually stunning alien world. The spectacle, rather than the story, is the selling point here, and you can bet that Hollywood will churn out similar fare to capitalize on the 3D craze.

3D at Home?
But will the 3D trend extend to home entertainment, too? In recent months, the consumer electronics industry has been working behind the scenes to build the framework for 3D in the home. The Blu-Ray Disc Association this week announced specifications for creating full 1080p 3D Blu-Ray content. The first 3D-enabled Blu-ray players will likely debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

Meanwhile, major TV manufacturers are hoping 3D TV becomes the next big thing. Sony, for instance, predicts that 3D sets will compose 30-50% of all the TVs it sells in its 2012 fiscal year.

Avatar’s Impact on 3D Blu-ray
Blu-ray’s movers and shakers are optimistic that “Avatar” will whet consumers’ appetites for home 3D.

“While I have not seen the movie yet myself, I have read enough rave reviews to believe that it could transform a lot of skeptics into 3D believers,” writes Pioneer executive Andy Parsons, chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association, in an e-mail interview with PC World US.

“We have always said that Blu-ray, as was DVD before it, is a content-driven business. With many of the studios now putting enormous resources and creative energy into 3D for the theater, it’s only a matter of time before consumers will be striving to achieve a similar experience in their own homes,” Parsons adds.

Avatar’s 3D: Gimmick or Godsend?
Granted, “Avatar” packs a visual wallop. But 3D movies are hardly new. “House of Wax,” a 1953 horror flick with Vincent Price, had a 3D version, as have other movies over the past few decades. So what’s different this time? And how will the new 3D revolutionize home entertainment?

“3D is not some sort of gimmick in this new generation of films — it’s being used to completely change the storytelling experience. I read one Avatar review yesterday where the reporter said that after the film ended, he felt as if he had actually visited the location of the film instead of having just watched it from a distance,” writes Parsons, who says he’s heard similar reactions from viewers of recent 3D films like Disney/Pixar‘s “Up.”

The hope is that 3D Blu-ray can create the same immersive experience, and that new, high-quality 3D movies like “Avatar” and “Up” will create consumer demand.

Early Adopters (Guinea Pigs)
But are 3D flicks enough to drive home adoption of 3D entertainment systems, which would require a significant consumer investment, including a new HDTV set, a 3D Blu-ray player, a few pairs of 3D glasses, and (for a truly immersive experience) surround-sound speakers?

“If the published content is engaging enough, and the experience is fun enough, I think the next time consumers are ready to buy a TV, they will seriously consider one that can reproduce 3D on Blu-ray,” write Parsons, who stressed there’s no guarantee that recent 3D flicks will appear on 3D Blu-ray anytime soon. (But it’s a safe bet they will at some point.)

Blu-ray with 3D would certainly appeal to early adopters first, the same risk-takers who invested in HDTV a few years back. If it succeeds there, 3D Blu-ray would then migrate to the mass market.

“A good number of the early adopters may be ready to move their first HDTV into another part of their homes, and upgrade to a newer, better set with 3D. Most U.S. households have more than one SDTV in them, so I think HDTV can follow a similar path,” Parsons adds.

OK, but what about those clunky 3D glasses?   We’d have to wear those at home, right?

Yes, but that may change eventually. “There are a lot of technology hurdles to get over first,” Parsons writes. “Glasses will probably be part of the equation for quite a while. Perhaps making them less clunky could be a market opportunity for some companies.”

By Dave Johnson
November 3, 2009

Halloween is behind us, and you know what that means: The holiday season has descended. This time of year is a photographer’s dream come true: between now and January, it seems that every few weeks we have a new reason to put lighted decorations outside the house. In the past I’ve given you some general advice for taking holiday photos, but this year I thought it would be fun to take an in-depth look at the best ways to take photos of those holiday lights. You can use these tips over and over again this fall, whether you’re shooting Halloween, Chanukah, Christmas, or New Year’s events.

Preparing Your Camera
When you head out to shoot some holiday lights, be sure to make sure your camera is ready. You can get good results with almost any sort of camera–you don’t need a digital SLR–but I do recommend using a tripod. Nighttime exposures are always somewhat slow, and it’s just not possible to freeze the action when the shutter is open for a whole second.

If you don’t have a tripod, you can consider propping the camera on top of a bean bag (or a bean bag-like gadget, such as The Pod. Bean bags are handy because they conform to the shape of the camera as well as to the shape of whatever you’re placing the camera on.

When to Shoot
This is the most important part of the stew–and the ingredient that most people omit when they try taking holiday lighting photos.

The typical shots of holiday lights–the ones you see all the time–are taken at night, long after the sun is gone and the background is in total darkness. In these photos, the lights are bursting at the seams, and the background is abject darkness. There’s little context, and no drama. These photos aren’t bad, but they lack a certain vitality.

The remedy? Shoot shortly after sunset, when there’s still some light in the sky.

Set up in front of the lighting display when there’s still plenty of light in the sky, at least half an hour before the sky goes totally dark. You should be able to see the display lights, but they should still be fighting the natural light in the sky.

Setting Your Exposure
One last thing to consider before you start shooting: the exposure settings. If your camera lets you adjust the white balance, you should set it to “tungsten” or “incandescent.” These settings will give you a richer, bluer sky as well as better lights.

You can leave the camera on its automatic setting, but if you can dial in manual and adjust aperture and shutter separately, you can try starting with f/8 and a half second. To change the overall exposure, open the shutter longer (for a brighter scene) or shorter (for less exposure). To make the strings of holiday lights brighter and more dramatic, open the aperture (a smaller number–like f/4).

If the lights are already too bright and overexposed, you can throttle the aperture down to f/11.

The bottom line? Experiment.

Frame the Scene
Getting to the scene early enough is more than half the battle. Start taking some photos and check the results you’re getting. As the sky gets darker, you’ll start to hit a sweet spot in which the background sets a dramatic tone for your photos, but the lighting takes over the foreground and becomes the “protagonist” in your scene.

Be sure to take a lot of photos and try a number of different angles, but you’re guaranteed to get some great photos if you “go wide” and include a lot of sky.

This approach means you won’t be able to shoot a lot of different locations in a single night, but the holidays last for months–you’ve got plenty of time.

At the Seoul C40 Large Cities Climate Summit 2009, Autodesk, Inc., a provider of 2D and 3D design and engineering software, announced that it is partnering with the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI), a project of the William J. Clinton Foundation, to provide visualization technology for Project Two Degrees. Project Two Degrees is an Internet-based application that provides cities with a set of tools to measure, compare, and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at a local level. 

Autodesk is joining CCI and Microsoft Corporation to help sponsor the Project Two Degreesinitiative. The sponsors, working with Project Two Degrees stakeholders–including ICLEI, Ascentium Corporation, and the Center for Neighborhood Technology – are developing the Project Two Degrees emissions tracking software. The project’s Web-based software enables cities to calculate the carbon footprint of both municipal operations and the communities they service in a uniform way. Additionally, Project Two Degrees enables cities to plan meaningful actions that save energy and money and that make a profound impact in the fight against climate change. In the initial pilot phase, participants in the C40, a group of the world’s largest cities committed to tackling climate change, will be the first to be invited to use the Project Two Degrees emissions tracking software.

“One of the most significant contributions Autodesk can make to address global sustainability issues is to provide the citizens of the world-through collaboration with our customers–with  state-of-the-art design, visualization, and simulation tools for sustainable design,” said Jay Bhatt, Autodesk senior VP for AEC Solutions. “By helping customers better understand the environmental impact of their designs early in the design process, they can make smarter, more sustainable decisions and reduce their carbon footprints. We are pleased to partner with the Clinton Climate Initiative on Project Two Degrees and to support its mission of making a difference in the global fight against climate change in measurable and significant ways.”

“We welcome the important contribution Autodesk is making to help build more sustainable cities by providing the digital mapping tools for Project Two Degrees,” said Ira C. Magaziner, chairman of the Clinton Climate Initiative. “Many of the world’s cities have made public pledges to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Project Two Degrees provides them with a common platform for measurement of emissions reductions and exchange of best practices.”

“Autodesk is a world leader in design innovation technologies and we are looking forward to working with them to help CCI build more sustainable cities,” said Rob Bernard, Microsoft chief environmental strategist. “Through our collaboration in Project Two Degrees, we are dedicated to providing cities around the world with the software tools and support they need to measure and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

Autodesk will provide the technology-initially based on Autodesk MapGuide Enterprise–that will act as the model-based visualization environment used to view, evaluate and compare the results of analysis and monitoring in the C40 city. Autodesk MapGuide Enterprise software is a powerful mapping solution for delivering information more quickly, easily, and cost-effectively via the Web.

To complement Project Two Degrees tools, Autodesk also provides building performance analysis tools to help cities take meaningful actions in curbing local and regional impacts from climate change, and can help save money, conserve energy, and track tangible progress.

For more information about the Autodesk partnership with the Clinton Climate Initiative, please visit: www.autodesk.com/green

MSI today announced their latest 40 nanometer AMD Radeon HD 4770 GPU-based graphics card, the MSI R4770 series. Using only the very best components and high-end GDDR5 high speed memory, the MSI R4770 stands out among other GPUs in its class by virtue of its great performance and exceptional energy-efficiency.

The first 40 nanometer graphics processor

In contrast to the traditional 55 or 65 nanometer graphics processors, the MSI R4770 is using the brand new 40 nanometer graphics processor allowing the overall design to dramatically reduce the space being occupied by the power circuitry and pipelines. This effectively results in improved power efficiency and also brings about a better signal quality.

By taking the lead in implementing the 40 nanometer graphics processor, which means it is possible to increase more transistors with the extra space. Another advantage over the conventional 55 and 65 nanometer cores is the 40 nanometer’s GPU reduced power consumption, which in turn also minimizes heat emission, and therefore allowing for a bigger overclocking potential.

Taking the lead by using high-speed GDDR5 on a budget graphics card

In the past only high-end graphics cards such as the R4870 and the R4890 series had been equipped with high-speed GDDR5 memory, MSI is taking the lead in adding GDDR5 memory to their budget cards, providing for higher clock speed. Furthermore, compared to equally clocked GDDR3, MSI R4770 series’ GDDR5 memory offers twice the data throughput bandwidth which is essential for modern games with their huge demand for complex rendering operations.

Surpassing similar products on the market by 15% more performance

The brand new 40 nanometer process graphics processor combined with high-speed GDDR5 memory truly make the MSI R4770 an astoundingly powerful graphics card. Benchmark test results of 3DMark Vantage clearly show a 15% performance lead over third party graphics cards of the same class.

Ultra power efficient with less than 90 Watts power consumption

Not only is the MSI R4770 providing superior high-end graphics performance, but also uses the ATI PowerPlay technology to implement a dynamic power management function. This means that even under full load and power consumption is at its peak, the MSI R4770 graphics card won’t consume more than 90 Watts, putting it far upfront the competition.

The MSI R4770 also supports latest UVD 2.0 hardware decoding technology, which fully replaces CPU utilization during Blu-ray disc playback. In turn this also means that this highly power efficient graphics cards even helps reducing overall system power consumption.

The G-Pen M712 from Genius is a graphic tablet with creative functions which are more advanced and ideal for professionals. The 4000 LPI high resolution provides the best graphic performance for professional design. The unique dual mode function can switch the active area from wide to standard and back. The 12×7.25in  (wide) / 9.5 x 7.25in (standard) working area and one cordless pen is great for Windows and MAC users to write, draw, sketch and sign e-mails.

Using the pen tablet gives you better convenience and control compared to your mouse. The cursor moves precisely where you position the pen.

The two rolling pads at the top of the tablet are convenient for either hand. As you press the hot keys (Scroll, Zoom, Volume), the blue LED will blink and you can use the rolling pad to easily operate the 4D scrolling, zoom in /out and volume up/down functions. The sleek elegant-black design with dual mode active area is a perfect fit for wide and standard screens. There are thirty four fast shortcut keys you can select with the pen for instant access to Office, Internet and Vista functions. The cordless pen features two buttons and 1024 level pressure sensitivity for drawing or writing. While you draw or write with the digital pen, you can control the shapes and thickness easily.

Just plug it in and you can use built-in Vista functions like personal note taking, email signing, handwriting recognition, handwritten emails and pen flick navigation. Bundled with a full version of  PhotoShop Elements 5.0, you have a professional tablet and is the best choice for artists and designers.

Specifications

NVIDIA has released version 2.2 of the CUDA Toolkit and SDK for GPU Computing. This latest release supports several significant new features that deliver a major leap forward in getting the most performance out of NVIDIA’s massively parallel CUDA-enabled GPUs. In addition, version 2.2 of the CUDA Toolkit includes support for Windows 7, the upcoming OS from Microsoft that embraces GPU Computing.

Additional new features in CUDA Toolkit 2.2 include:

- Visual Profiler for the GPU

The most common step in tuning application performance is profiling the application and then modifying the code. The CUDA Visual Profiler is a graphical tool that enables the profiling of C applications running on the GPU. This latest release of the CUDA Visual Profiler includes metrics for memory transactions, giving developers visibility into one of the most important areas they can tune to get better performance.

- Improved OpenGL Interop

Delivers improved performance for Medical Imaging and other OpenGL applications running on Quadro GPUs when computing with CUDA and rendering OpenGL graphics functions are performed on different GPUs.

- Texture from Pitch Linear Memory

Delivers up to 2x bandwidth savings for video processing applications.

- Zero-copy

Enables streaming media, video transcoding, image processing and signal processing applications to realise significant performance improvements by allowing CUDA functions to read and write directly from pinned system memory. This reduces the frequency and amount of data copied back and forth between GPU and CPU memory. Supported on MCP7x and GT200 and later GPUs.

- Pinned Shared Sysmem

Enables applications that use multiple GPUs to achieve better performance and use less total system memory by allowing multiple GPUs to access the same data in system memory. Typical multi-GPU systems include Tesla servers, Tesla Personal Supercomputers, workstations using QuadroPlex deskside units and consumer systems with multiple GPUs.

- Asynchronous memcopy on Vista

Allows applications to realise significant performance improvements by copying memory asynchronously. This feature was already available on other supported platforms but is now available on Vista.

- Hardware Debugger for the GPU

Developers can now use a hardware level debugger on CUDA-enabled GPUs that offers the simplicity of the popular open-source GDB debugger yet enables a developer to easily debug a program that is running 1000s of threads on the GPU. This CUDA GDB debugger for Linux has all the features required to debug directly on the GPU, including the ability to set breakpoints, watch variables, inspect state, etc.

- Exclusive Device Mode

This system configuration option allows an application to get exclusive use of a GPU, guaranteeing that 100% of the processing power and memory of the GPU will be dedicated to that application. Multiple applications can still be run concurrently on the system, but only one application can make use of each GPU at a time. This configuration is particularly useful on Tesla cluster systems where large applications may require dedicated use of one or more GPUs on each node of a Linux cluster.

Developers can download the latest CUDA Toolkit, SDK, and drivers now at www.nvidia.com/cuda.

Sapphire Technology has just announced its ATOMIC Edition of the HD 4890 – delivering the fastest single GPU graphics card available based on ATI/AMD technology. Building on its success with Special Editions based on its Vapor-X Vapor Chamber Cooling technology introduced over a year ago, the SAPPHIRE HD 4890 ATOMIC Edition will be a limited edition product aimed at the enthusiast looking for the maximum performance straight out of the box.

The Sapphire HD 4890 ATOMIC achieves the fastest speeds available on current technology. It is the first card on the market with a core clock speed of 1GHz as well as 1GB of GDDR5 memory with clocks of 1050MHz, making it the fastest ATI-based single core graphics card on the market. Its distinctive silver box features an enhanced accessory bundle including HDMI cable for connection to a suitable display.  A launch promotion on www.sapphireatomic.com gives users a chance to win one of these exciting cards as well as related prizes.

The Sapphire HD 4890 series is based on a new GPU core from the ATI division of AMD. This features the same graphics architecture as the successful HD 4870 series, with 800 stream processor units, 256-bit GDDR5 memory interface and integral hardware video decoder. It also features improved memory management architecture, and technical innovations that allow higher clock speeds and reduce standby power levels.

This series uses the PCI-Express Gen2 interface, and features dual connectors for CrossFireX cables, allowing two or more cards to be used together on a CrossFireX compatible mainboard for even higher graphics performance.

About Vapor-X

Sapphire was the first company to introduce Vapor Chamber Technology to its cooling solutions for graphics. The Vapor-X cooler was first seen on the Sapphire HD 3870 ATOMIC and TOXIC Editions over a year ago and is now in production on the HD 4870 512MB and 1GB TOXIC Editions and Vapor-X series cards.

Vapor-X is a Vapor Chamber Technology based on the same principles as heatpipe technology.  A liquid coolant is vaporised at a hot surface, the resulting vapor is condensed at a cold surface then the liquid is returned to the hot surface. The recirculation process takes place inside an evacuated chamber and is controlled by a complex wick system. In Sapphire Vapor-X systems, the whole chamber is very slim and is mounted in contact with the surface of the graphics chip. More details are available at www.sapphiretech.com

The ATOMIC and TOXIC series of high performance overclocked products incorporate a hybrid cooling system combining Vapor-X at the core to remove heat efficiently from the graphics processor together with heatpipes and heatsinks. These are cooled by a fan to carry away the heat from the vapor chamber, memories and other components and give more headroom for higher levels of performance. Sapphire Vapor-X and hybrid cooling systems are very efficient, so they can use low air flow rates – and therefore low speed, low noise fans

Smooth Video and Streaming

All Sapphire graphics cards in the HD 4800 series incorporate the latest ATI Avivo HD Technology for enhanced Video display and feature a new generation built in hardware UVD (Unified Video decoder) considerably reducing CPU load and delivering smooth decoding of Blu-ray and HD DVD content for both VC-1 and H.264 codecs, as well as Mpeg files. In addition to two, dual-link DVI outputs, and TV-Out, a dedicated HDMI adaptor delivers both audio and video output on a single cable for direct connection to an HDMI ready display.

Sapphire HD 4800 series graphics cards are Microsoft Windows Vista Premium certified and supported by the ATI Catalyst suite of software, ensuring customers have ongoing access to software updates for performance, stability and added features. Like the previous generation, these cards support DirectX10.1 for enhanced rendering performance and lighting effects. With the latest drivers, the Sapphire HD 4800 series also offers ATI Stream processing for the acceleration of video transcoding and other supported applications.

Sapphire will be announcing further models in its HD 4890 series in the coming weeks.More details are available at www.sapphiretech.com.

Underlining the company’s leadership in developing hardware and drivers to support the Windows 7 operating system, AMD announced that its Windows 7 driver has received Windows Hardware Quality Lab (WHQL) certification on the first day of the certifying program. WHQL certification sets a high bar for quality and reliability, and is considered essential by many home and business users.

·         WHQL certification sets a high bar for quality and reliability, and is considered essential by many home and business users.

·         WHQL certification demonstrates AMD’s ability to deliver the stability, incredible 3D game performance and smooth multimedia playback needed in order to help bring th

e new features of Windows 7 to life.

·         As a testament to its ongoing commitment to reliability and stability, AMD is the only graphics hardware company in the world delivering monthly WHQL-certified graphics driver updates.

For users of ATI Radeon HD 2000, HD 3000, and HD 4000 series products, the ATI Catalyst software suite delivers:

·         Industry-leading driver stability and reliability.

·         Full WDDM 1.1 WHQL certified support under Windows 7. 

·         Scheduled performance and new feature innovation every month.

·         Enablement of ATI Stream technology for general purpose GPU (GPGPU) computing on supported graphics cards.

“By delivering a WHQL certified driver for the Windows 7 operating system at the earliest possible opportunity, AMD has once again demonstrated its driver leadership,” said Ben Bar-Haim, corporate VP, Software Engineering, AMD. “AMD is working closely with Microsoft to ensure superior performance and a reliable Windows 7 experience throughout our line of graphics processors.” 

Microsoft WHQL certified graphics drivers for Windows 7 are scheduled for release on the AMD site on May 5, 2009, and a fully unified WHQL-certified driver supporting Windows Vista and Windows 7 is planned for the release of ATI Catalyst 9.5 later in May. 

To learn more about the first AMD WHQL certified graphics driver for Windows 7, please visit www.amd.com.

SINGAPORE — MAY 5, 2009 — NVIDIA and its partners today announced the immediate availability of the Tesla GPU Preconfigured Cluster, a ready-to-power-up, off-the-shelf solution that enables researchers and IT managers to easily add GPU computing capabilities to their existing datacenter systems.

Tesla GPU Preconfigured Clusters provide up to 30 times the performance of CPU-only solutions,enabling IT managers to deploy smaller, more computationally dense systems. These consume

substantially less power – which creates substantially lower costs – while still meeting the increasing demands of such applications as computational fluid dynamics, molecular dynamics, seismic processing, and financial computing.

French banking giant BNP Paribas’ Corporate and Investment Banking division recently replaced 500 traditional CPU cores, consuming 25 kW, with a smaller cluster consisting of CPU servers and two Tesla S1070 1U systems, which consume only 2kW. Taking into account the dramatic acceleration achieved using Tesla GPUs, the lower power cluster enabled BNP Paribas to consume 190-times less electricity than before.

The increasing momentum being experienced by GPUs in the high performance computing segment today demonstrates a clear industry need for accessible computing solutions.

“There are 15 to 20 million engineers, scientists and researchers around the world struggling for time on supercomputers, which has led to a huge pent-up demand for computation,” said Andy Keane, general manager of the Tesla business at NVIDIA. “With the launch of the Tesla Preconfigured Cluster, every one of them can easily deploy a GPU-powered supercomputing cluster that dramatically reduces their power consumption while still advancing the pace of their work.”

”Time on a supercomputer can be extremely difficult to get, especially since some of our computations run for weeks to months. Also, buying a supercomputer is expensive for every university research group,” said Axel Kohlmeyer, associate director at the Center for Molecular Modeling at the University of Pennsylvania. “Since we got access to a Tesla GPU enabled cluster, we can run our molecular dynamics algorithms up to 100X faster and more importantly run bigger and more complex simulations and do research that was impossible to do before – this is game changing for us.”

Tesla Preconfigured Clusters consist of x86 CPU servers coupled with Tesla S1070 1U GPU systems. Configurations start at 16 Teraflops of performance, delivered by four Tesla S1070s, each containing four Tesla 10-series GPUs. All systems include host servers, infiniband switches, cabling, and are fully customisable to suit individual customer needs.

Tesla GPU Preferred Partners around the world including AMAX, Appro, CADNetwork, Colfax, Cray, Dep, FluiDyna, HPC Technologies, Inspur, JRTI, Megware, Microway, NetWeb, PCPC, Penguin, Silicon Mechanics, Sprinx, T-Platforms, Viglen, and Xenon are offering Tesla Preconfigured Clusters today. For more information on their products and services, please visit: www.nvidia.com/object/tesla_wtb.

About NVIDIA

NVIDIA (Nasdaq: NVDA) is the world leader in visual computing technologies and the inventor of the GPU, a high-performance processor which generates breathtaking, interactive graphics on workstations, personal computers, game consoles, and mobile devices. NVIDIA serves the entertainment and consumer market with its GeForce® graphics products, the professional design and visualisation market with its Quadro® graphics products, and the high-performance computing market with its Tesla™ computing solutions products. NVIDIA is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif. and has offices throughout Asia, Europe, and the Americas. For more information, visit www.nvidia.com.