Sony "Digital Dream Studio"......................
Sony Brings "Digital Dream Studios" To Siggraph '97
Business Wire - August 04, 1997 08:32
LOS ANGELES, SIGGRAPH, Booth No. 1827--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 4, 1997--
Company-Wide Exhibit Showcase "Digital Pipeline" for Computer Graphics and Animation
Sony today introduced its Digital Dream Studios concept at SIGGRAPH '97, offering
computer graphics professionals a host of computer and digital imaging products and
technologies for the creation, production, distribution and consumption of computer graphics
and animation. This collaborative exhibit by Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics, Sony Pictures
Entertainment and Sony Pictures Imageworks, demonstrates Sony's global reach and broad
range of products designed for the creative application of digital technologies and entertainment
content. "We are committed to developing innovative, digital solutions that best meet the needs
of the computer graphics and interactive technologies markets," said Nobuyuki Idei, president
and chief operating officer of Sony Corporation. "Our Digital Dream Studios demonstrate to
the professional production community our strengths as a hardware manufacturer, systems
integrator and content provider - as well as Sony's unmatched research and development
capability." The Digital Dream Studios showcase Sony's latest offerings for the digital
production industry, including computer graphics animation systems, authoring tools, non-linear
editing, advanced storage devices and distribution media - all part of the company's "digital
pipeline," which Idei said is designed to give professionals the power, flexibility and creativity to
excel in a rapidly changing digital environment. Visitors to the Sony booth will experience a
variety of audio/visual and interactive demo areas. Upon entering the exhibit, they will be
greeted by a 6-foot by 11-foot video wall featuring a high definition video - produced by Sony
Pictures Entertainment's High Definition Center, Sony Pictures Imageworks and Sony
Electronics - that introduces the booth's themes and spotlights an array of Sony content,
equipment and technology. Geared toward the digitally savvy SIGGRAPH audience, the video
conveys the spirit of Sony's vision of the digital future and includes a montage of
Columbia/TriStar films, special effects scenes and interviews.
Digital Content Creation
Sony's Digital Dream Studios feature a host of digital creation tools designed to give creative
professionals a high degree of flexibility, while operating in the digital domain. Included in this
section is a polygon reduction tool that reduces the number of polygons needed to render 3D
images without altering the shape of the image. Sony Pictures Imageworks is demonstrating a
3D animation system, which they configured specifically to meet their production needs. The
system offers a variety of capabilities including authoring, character animation, compositing and
non-linear editing. Sony is also showcasing the company's 2D animation system for cartoon
applications. This technology allows users to complete the cell animation process, from
capturing the line drawing image and paint processing to composition and editing, entirely on a
PC. Additional hardware product highlights include the GDM-W900, Sony's 24-inch wide
(22.5-inch maximum viewable image size) display with 16:10 aspect ratio, and a diverse line of
advanced image capture devices (DKC-ST5, DXC-9000, CCM-DS250) and digital printers
(UP-D8800A) for animation and computer graphics applications.
Digital Post Production
Sony is exhibiting a wide array of digital tools for content manipulation and storage, allowing for
complete post-production from the desktop. Included in this area are software systems that
allow users to conduct "wire and scratch" removal in a non-linear environment and to automate
tracking of matte images within a larger picture. The EditStation(TM) system, part of Sony's
successful DVCAM(TM) format, will represent the company's capability to provide a hybrid,
non-linear/linear editing system with a highly configurable architecture. Also being demonstrated
is Sony's new FARAD(TM) (FAst Random Access Disk) multichannel digital disc recorder,
which enhances non-linear editing by providing multi-user access to five channels of
uncompressed digital video. Recognizing the need for increased storage capacity, Sony is also
demonstrating its PetaSite(TM) system, a tape-based storage system that allows users to store
2.3 petabytes of information, which is the equivalent of 1.5 billion floppy disks.
Digital Electronic Distribution
Sony's Digital Dream Studios also offer professionals a host of options to distribute content in a
digital environment, including Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG), transmission over the
World Wide Web, DVD and advanced CD-ROM duplication. The distribution section is
designed to offer the flexibility and features needed to expand in an industry that is constantly
redefining standards. Consumption Sony's booth also features a Digital Home Environment that
showcases the various ways in which the public views today's digital content. Included in this
section are Sony's Web-TV internet terminal, DVD video system, VAIO(TM) notebook PC,
a CD library and the TriniCom(R) 500 videoconferencing system. Also highlighted will be
"Community Place," featuring VRML software that creates a multi-user, 3D environment over
the Internet. "We will continue to develop and integrate additional elements of the 'digital
pipeline' as we move toward leading the digital animation and computer graphics industry into
the next millennium," Idei noted.
Electric Garden
Examples of Sony's leadership in product development extend beyond the main exhibit area to
SIGGRAPH's Electric Garden, where the company will preview a variety of new technologies
including:
--The Ultra Magic Paper Interface, which is highly intuitive and operates like a touch screen,
but uses printed paper. It integrates audio, visual, computer and communications technologies;
--3D imaging and sensing technology, which is shown in two implementations: the first is a
stereo based camera system which composites motion video and other real or virtual segments
with full-depth information and interaction between the elements/actors; the second is a laser
range finder which uses a single camera, dual lasers and new VLSI technology to provide
real-time precision imaging in three dimensions at short range;
--The Optical Gesture Recognition System (OGRS), which recognizes a pre-determined range
of human gestures and movements. Gestures are captured by a CCD camera connected to the
OGRS, which uses a holographic optical processor to recognize the gestures; and
--IEEE 1394 bus technology, which is not only explained in a multi-corporate exhibit organized
by Sony Corporation, but presented in terms of possible applications for a digital studio
environment.
Sony's presence at SIGGRAPH is further supported by the loan of more than a million dollars
in equipment, as well as installation and technical services, for various conference venues.
Additionally, Sony's position in the marketplace was augmented today with the announcement
of an agreement with Intergraph Computer Systems for the development of Sony-branded,
Windows NT(R)-based workstations, which will serve as platforms for future professional and
business systems. These will include contents-creation systems for non-linear editing, visual
effects and computer graphics creation, and other audio/visual applications. "As a global leader
in the convergence of audio, video, computing, communications and content, Sony is ideally
positioned to serve the diverse needs of the digital computer graphics and animation market,"
Idei concluded. "SIGGRAPH '97 is just the beginning of our global commitment to developing
and implementing these technologies."
Editor's Note: More information about Sony products can be found on the World Wide Web
at sony.com. Additional press information is available at
sony.com.
CONTACT: Sony Electronics Inc.
Brian Levine, 408/955-5121
brian_levine@mail.sel.sony.com
or
Technology Solutions, Inc.
Wendy Simmons, 212/320-2268
wsimmons@tsipr.com |
