NEWS OUT
ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 21, 1998
Launches Revolutionary 3D Graphics Technology;
Emerges as NT Workstation Vendor of Choice for Digital Video,
Animation, Visual Simulation Markets
BOOTH NO. 665--Intergraph Computer Systems at SIGGRAPH '98 today announced its new Wildcat 3D Graphics Technology that accelerates the Moore's Law innovation curve for the computer graphics industry by four years, delivering year 2003 performance today. Wildcat 3D Graphics is built upon the Intergraph-developed ParaScale(tm) architecture that provides a dramatic performance roadmap of five to ten times over that of any current 3D graphics technology. Wildcat creates a radical shift in price/performance -- with the highest SGI IRIX-class performance at less than one-tenth the price -- that sets the new standard for Windows 3D graphics computing going well into the next century, and finally closes the gap between UNIX and NT for the last UNIX holdouts. (See separate product release "Intergraph Computer Systems Unleashes New Wildcat 3D Graphics Technology," July 21).
While Moore's Law has accurately predicted the progress of electronic technologies, it does not account for effects of radical innovations like Wildcat, the industry's first truly scalable 3D graphics architecture on Windows NT. Previously, graphics performance has doubled every eighteen months, whereas Wildcat delivers its dramatic performance leap in a similar time frame. Creative and technical professionals require this level of performance to achieve the real-time interactivity and photorealism required by next-generation 3D applications.
"Innovation is about more than pure technology. It's about pushing the limits of technology beyond evolution to revolution; enabling radical price/performance differentials that are passed on to every level of professional desktop user; and extending reach through industry adoption and distribution," said Wade Patterson, president and CEO of Intergraph Computer Systems. "The industry has been waiting for a workstation breakthrough, and this innovation delivers it for 3D graphics computing."
The new Wildcat 3D Graphics Technology will be delivered in a product series of Intense 3D Wildcat(tm) graphics accelerators that scale from professional entry-level to extreme high-end at a variety of price points and will be made available in Intergraph's TDZ(tm) ViZual Workstations, as well as systems from other leading Intel/Windows NT-based workstation vendors. Currently, Intergraph's Intense 3D(tm) Pro graphics products are widely used by Dell Computer Systems, Digital, IBM, Intergraph Computer Systems, and Fujitsu.
Intergraph "Inside" Intel's Pentium II Xeon Demonstrations
Intergraph Computer Systems, who recently announced its commitment to Intel's Pentium(R) II Xeon(tm) processor and its plans to incorporate the new processors into its Windows NT-based TDZ 2000 ViZual Workstations, will be demonstrating Xeon-based workstations in the Intel booth at SIGGRAPH '98.
In addition, Xeon-based Intergraph TDZ 2000 ViZual Workstations were used by R. Greenberg and Associates (RGA) to create 3D content for the Intel Theater at SIGGRAPH '98, which features a giant video wall displaying 3D animations. The content features a 3D character of a fashion model on a runway that interacts with a live actor on the stage. The demonstration showcases the realistic cloth dynamics of R. Greenberg's Cloth software. RGA chose Intergraph's TDZ 2000 because of its industry-leading 3D graphics and multiple Pentium II processors.
Intel also is promoting a drawing to give away a Pentium(R) II Xeon-based Intergraph TDZ 2000 ViZual Workstation, to be awarded on the last day of the show.
The Windows NT Workstation Vendor of Choice for Digital Video Production
At SIGGRAPH '98, Intergraph Computer Systems has emerged as the leading provider of 3D graphics workstations for high-end digital video production on Windows NT, powering solutions for the three major vendors in the digital video field: Avid, Softimage and Sony. Through close relationships with all three vendors, Intergraph has provided enabling technology optimized for each vendor's solution, resulting in several powerful options for professionals in the exploding field of Windows NT-based digital video production. The systems include:
-- Avid Symphony for Windows NT: Avid's new Windows-NT-based nonlinear finishing solution for video finishing, effects and broadcast news solutions.
-- SOFTIMAGE/DS: Softimage's new comprehensive nonlinear video production system for creating, editing and finishing videos.
-- Sony DWS-700: Sony's new Digital Media Workstation for Windows NT-based broadcast postproduction and content creation.
3D Animation and Visual Simulation Promotions
Intergraph Computer Systems is teaming with leading vendors of 3D software at SIGGRAPH '98, including Alias/Wavefront, Kinetix and Softimage for animation applications, and CG2 and NDimension for visual simulation applications, to offer special promotional hardware/software configurations based on Intergraph's TDZ 2000 ViZual Workstations. The specially priced configurations vary according to vendor, but include such promotional incentives as:
-- Free Intense 3D Wildcat Graphics upgrade
-- Free RealiZm(tm) II 3D Graphics upgrade
-- Free monitors
-- Free software license
-- Free ZIP drive
-- Free software maintenance
-- Discounts on software
-- Discounts on plug-ins
(See separate release "Intergraph and Partners Team for Special Promotional Workstation Configurations," July 21).
Exhibitor's Choice for Windows NT-based 3D Graphics Computing
SIGGRAPH '98 is dominated by Intergraph Computer Systems as the exhibitors' choice for Windows NT-based 3D graphics computing. With more than 400 Intergraph TDZ and StudioZ(tm) ViZual Workstations located in over 74 booths on the show floor, Intergraph's ViZual Workstations are used by industry leaders such as Intel; digital media leaders, such as Alias, Avid, Discreet Logic, Kinetix and Softimage; leaders in visual simulation, such as Multigen and Nichimen; and the SIGGRAPH Creative Application Lab (CAL).
About Intergraph Computer Systems
Intergraph Computer Systems (Huntsville, AL) is the world leader in 3D graphics technology, products, and services for Windows NT. Intergraph develops, manufactures, sells, and supports computer systems and advanced graphics accelerators for the creative and technical desktop in markets such as traditional CAD, MCAD, animation, content creation, publishing and prepress, and digital media. Intergraph's server and networking and interoperability products for the IT environment deliver workgroup to enterprise performance for internet, intranet, and extranet, as well as thin client applications. Hardware products include Pentium/Pentium Pro/Pentium II processors/Windows/Windows NT-based graphics workstations, graphics accelerators, and servers.
Intergraph Computer Systems is a wholly owned subsidiary of Intergraph Corporation (NASDAQ: INGR). For more information about Intergraph Computer Systems, call 800-763-0242, or visit the company's Web site at www.intergraph.com/ics/.
Industry Reaction to Intergraph's Wildcat 3D Graphics Technology
Tom Copeland, IDC: "Intergraph's Wildcat 3D graphics is a major advance in 3D graphics for Windows NT workstations. Intergraph's Intense 3D 3400 was already the performance leader for open 3D graphics solutions and Wildcat takes that performance to a whole new level. Wildcat opens up great new opportunities for the most demanding 3D graphics users."
Peter ffoulkes, Dataquest: "Wildcat's massive texture memory capacity, SuperScene anti-aliasing, programmable geometry acceleration, multi-display support, and countless other features further establish the Intel/Windows NT platform as a powerful option for visual simulation, 3D animation, mechanical CAD, and any other 3D-intensive or real-time application. Continuing innovations in this market will drive the price curve down while the performance curve continues to increase."
Kozo Kaminaga, Senior Vice President, Broadcasting and Professionals Systems Company, Sony Corporation: "Intergraph's Wildcat 3D Graphics Technology with its ParaScale architecture promises amazing possibilities for Windows NT-based video postproduction, 3D animation, and special effects. The modular nature of Wildcat allows these future graphics innovations to be easily implemented in the Windows NT environment in a variety of workstation configurations and Sony is very excited about many business opportunities that lie ahead."
Satish Gupta, Vice President and General Manager, Professional Workstations, IBM: "Intergraph's leading-edge graphics technology has contributed to the success of our award-winning IntelliStation workstations, and we look forward to incorporating Intergraph's Wildcat 3D Graphics Technology in future generations of our IntelliStation products. Innovations such as Intergraph's Wildcat graphics help IBM to continue our focus on applications, while offering our customers unsurpassed price/performance, manageability, and the industry's best graphics."
John McQueen, Director of Marketing, SOFTIMAGE: "Intergraph's new Wildcat graphics technology will provide the high-performance hardware platform required by software engineers to bring next-generation tools to the desktop. With Wildcat graphics, Softimage customers will be able to take maximum advantage of the powerful new features in SOFTIMAGE/3D v3.8 and our next-generation 3-D system, codenamed 'Sumatra.' Additionally, Wildcat graphics will provide SOFTIMAGE/DS users with the graphics capacity required for fast and powerful 3-D DVEs, as well as other polygon rendering-based effects."
Jim Melvin, Director of Product Marketing, Avid Technology: "The television post-production industry is undergoing an exciting transformation from analog, tape-based systems to digital nonlinear systems for finishing television programming. Intergraph delivers a robust, high-performance platform that we believe will meet the demanding needs of this type of post-production, and we're pleased to work with Intergraph as we qualify the initial platforms which will run our new Avid Symphony television finishing system. We're also looking forward to continued collaboration with Intergraph to further redefine the digital media production and set a new standard for price/performance in this burgeoning market."
Glenn Sinclair, Hardware Partner Manager, Parametric Technology Corporation: "Customers using Pro/Engineer will be able to enhance their productivity with Intergraph's Wildcat graphics, which will offer accelerated performance for every stage of design, from conceptualizing to highly detailed virtual prototypes. Professionals who demand top performance for our industry-leading 3D application tools should definitely take a look at Intergraph's Wildcat graphics."
Robert McGill, SolidWorks Partner Manager, SolidWorks: "Intergraph is bringing a whole new level of graphics performance to the Windows NT desktop with their new Wildcat 3D Graphics Technology. The ability for SolidWorks customers to design, view and manipulate high-resolution, true-color assemblies in real time reduces design iterations, improves productivity, and accelerates time-to-market in an increasingly competitive world market. This kind of graphics power maximizes the benefits of mainstream solid modeling with SolidWorks."
Note to Editors: For more information about Wildcat 3D Graphics Technology or to obtain digital files of SIGGRAPH '98 press kit news and images, please visit intergraph.com. To obtain product slides, contact Intergraph Computer Systems, Dana Staples 256/730-1167.
If you wish to provide a telephone number for reader inquiries, please use 800-763-0242. Intergraph's World Wide Web URL is www.intergraph.com/ics
Intergraph is a registered trademark and TDZ, StudioZ, RealiZm, ParaScale, Intense 3D Wildcat, and Intense 3D are trademarks of Intergraph Corporation. Microsoft, Windows, and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners. |
