NVIDIA nTeresting News: 16 April 2010

In this Issue:

• Adobe Creative Suites 5 wows users with performance-work load is now on the GPU thanks to the Mercury Playback Engine.
• Internet Explorer 9 is changing thanks to GPU acceleration, and that may change the internet.
• EVGA shows us the benefits of DirectX 11 tessellation in a few short films.
• The Masters was the first sporting event streamed over the internet in 3D, and folks walked away impressed.
• Over 6,000 gamers rocked the house at the inaugural NVIDIA Game Festival in China.
• NAB 2010 - 3D Starts with NVIDIA.

Adobe CS5 is a Game Changer

This week Adobe launched Creative Suite 5, which includes the GPU-accelerated Mercury Playback Engine as the key feature of Premiere Pro.

"What produces this speed increase? Three components: the Mercury Playback Engine; graphics processing unit (GPU) acceleration; and a new, much higher-performance H.264 codec from third-party codec vendor and Adobe supplier MainConcept. Briefly, the Mercury Engine is a brand assigned to a collection of three software improvements: 64-bit native code, the greater memory addressing that this enables, and superior multiple-core CPU use. Yes, you can only run CS5 on a 64-bit system (as has been reported for awhile now) and you'll need gobs of RAM-I'd say at least 16GB, perhaps as much as 24GB-to really see the benefits."

MPE is a game changer - it's going to literally change the way people edit video.

"So CS5 won't overwhelm you with new features, but the performance boost for those editing in or producing to H.264-based formats could truly be startling (sorry, last time) and the program feels at least as stable as the version it replaces, if not more so. In a different time, I would throw a few more adjectives at you, but at this point, I'll just let these facts speak for themselves."

People love the new experience that GPU acceleration enables:

"The Mercury playback engine provides native 64-bit, GPU-accelerated support for Mac and Windows, with jaw dropping improvements in speed and stability. I was able to open projects faster and scrub through HD and higher resolution projects without a hiccup. The need for rendering has been drastically sliced and diced with this release. You can see results instantly when performing multiple color corrections and tasks such as keying - OMG, keying!"

You can check out the event here, and don't miss Karl Soule's video - Short and Suite. He does a great job highlighting the technology and talking about the importance of an NVIDIA GPU.

The CPU will remain an essential part of the PC, but the benefits of investing in a high-performance GPU far outweigh the benefits of adding a powerful CPU. Photos, video, 3D graphics are the most popular and important forms of data today and the graphics processor is the perfect processor for this content and an area of exciting innovation. Undoubtedly the GPU is destined to be the most essential processor of the 21st century.

The Internet is a Killer App for 3D

Microsoft has stated that Internet Explorer 9 will support GPU acceleration. We think this is great news for NVIDIA, because everyone uses the internet. Some folks think it is great news for the internet, too.

"In a way this is something new but it is also something old - it will make a change in the internet that could be both profound and wonderful. Get ready for the real Web 3.0 and the birth of the GPU Browser that will change the Web Forever."

I wonder if Al Gore is working on EI9?

More and more applications are becoming visual, and that puts NVIDIA in a fantastic place. NVIDIA's leadership in 3D graphics technology is undeniable and the industry's movement toward more visual computing applications plays to our strength.

EVGA Releases Tessellation Monster Movies

Our partners at EVGA got busy with their video editing system and released a series of cool videos for the GeForce GTX 480. This video shows DirectX 11 Tessellation in popular games to demonstrate how these technologies can dramatically improve the quality of the image, using the popular before and after style. They even cobbled together our demo footage with impressive results.

Learn more about the latest and fastest DirectX 11 hardware from eVGA.

The GeForce GTX 480 and 470 GPUs are based on NVIDIA's GF100 architecture. GeForce GTX 400 GPUs are designed from the ground up for tessellation, the most important feature of the new DirectX 11 API. With up to 8x the raw tessellation performance of the competition, the GTX 480 is a true tessellation monster. And of course, the new GTX 400 GPUs also support CUDA, PhysX, SLI, and 3D Vision Surround technologies, which combine to take PC gaming to new levels of immersiveness and interaction.

3D Masters - Not a Double Bogey

Last week NVIDIA worked with, IBM, Comcast and others to deliver the world's first live sporting event streamed over the internet in 3D from the Masters Golf Tournament.

"That drive for the best experience was a big factor in IBM's choice of technology for the 3-D streaming. The company only found out about the plans for the 3-D broadcast in January, and immediately set out to compare the different technologies available for 3-D video on computers, trying both passive and active systems, until it settled on the active-shutter system sold by NVIDIA."

Sounds like they nailed it.

"After watching the Masters for a couple of hours today in 3D, I have to say that I am impressed."

Though it is still early, it is clear that sports will be a killer app for 3D TV. CNET held a summit of sorts for 3D TV this week. NVIDIA stepped in, to show what can be been done with a PC option. You can see it here.

NVIDIA 3DTV Play is a software product that allows you to connect your NVIDIA equipped desktop or notebook PC to the new 3D TVs coming on the market in 2010, including models from Panasonic, Sony, LG, and Samsung.

6,000 gamers rock the house at NVIDIA LAN Party in China

NVIDIA held the inaugural NVIDIA Game Festival/GEFORCE LAN party in Shanghai. It was a fantastic event that more than 6000 gamers attended.

"As the undisputed coolest and most vibrant gaming event across the APAC region, NGF 2010 attracted a slew of professional gamers."

It also marked the first gaming LAN Party organized by a hardware company in China.

"Gamers have immersed themselves in a party that packs high-tech experience and unlimited joys. The two-day event has a full house for every activity."

Developers and game players got to see first hand NVIDIA's DirectX11 GPU, NVIDIA PhysX, NVIDIA CUDA and NVIDIA 3D Vision technologies.

"It seems that the NGF 2010 is quite impressive. Both the demos of GTX 480 GPU and the stunning 3D technologies indicate the leading position of NVIDIA. NGF 2010 is really a surprisingly great event."

Don't miss the pictures of the opening event.

"Every attendee was amazed with the brilliant opening of the event."

I hope Drew got to keep that outfit for casual Friday!

NAB 2010 - 3D Starts with NVIDIA

The National Association of Broadcasters annual show in Las Vegas, NAB 2010, just concluded this week at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Our theme was "3D Starts Here," and NVIDIA, along with over 40 partners, left no doubt that that was definitely the case, as we demonstrated how GPU technology is helping integrate 3D into the broadcast and film industries.

On the exhibit floor, we demonstrated new tech for 3D broadcasting, leveraging the Quadro Digital Video Pipeline that integrates live action 3D acquisition, real-time 3D graphics, 3D encoding, and 3D distribution for home theater or PC based viewing - all accelerated by GPUs. This is a complete production workflow, showing how broadcasts like the Masters golf tournament can be produced in real-time and streamed via the internet to mass audiences who have 3D Vision ready PCs.

Plus, we showed off the brand new Adobe Premiere Pro CS5, including the Mercury Playback Engine for real-time video effects processing and editing. It is poised to transform film and video production, from SD through RED 4K, and was developed on the NVIDIA CUDA architecture and is accelerated by NVIDIA GPUs.

The NVIDIA Quadro Digital Video Pipeline for a complete 3D production workflow, start to finish; the official launch of Adobe Creative Suite 5, with lightning fast acceleration utilizing NVIDIA GPUs, and NVIDIA CUDA-based solutions everywhere-that was NVIDIA at NAB 2010.