3D --- Media Creation --- Shared Space
Published by 4th WAVE, Inc. Issue
#718 8/01/97
CONTENTS
718.1 Quick News by Christina Person
Mitsubishi Electronics America, Inc.'s 3DPro/2mp Passes Compatibility Test with Pro/ENGINEER CAD Software [July 14]
The Mitsubishi 3DPro/2mp drivers and reference board passed the Parametric Technology test which certifies hardware compatibility with Pro/ENGINEER CAD software. For OEM's the Parametric Technology guarantees the graphics accelerator chipset is fully compliant with Pro/ENGINEER. This will give computer-aided designers more powerful hardware and software solutions. Features of the chipset include a 32-bit true color and double-buffered 3D graphics. The 3DPro/2mp chipset also supports 3D features, such as Gouraud shading, alpha blending, lighting and window clipping. The chipset supports Windows NT/95 operating systems, and Heidi, Direct3D and OpenGL application programming interfaces. The chipset is available through AccelGraphics Inc. in the AccelECLIPSE professional graphics accelerator and from Diamond Multimedia Systems Inc. in the Fire GL 4000 professional graphics accelerator.
Compaq Integrates S3's Acceleration Technology in Desktop PCs [July 14]
S3 has announced Compaq's integration of its accelerator technology in its new Deskpro PCs. Compaq's Deskpro 2000 Series will use S3's Trio64V2 controller that offers 2D graphics and video playback. The Compaq Deskpro 4000 series will use the S3 ViRGE/GX multimedia accelerator to offer 2D graphics acceleration and 3D rendering with video acceleration.
Discreet Logic Inc. Signs Agreement to Acquire D-Vision Systems [July 11]
Discreet Logic has announced a signed definitive stock purchase agreement, with D-Vision Systems, to acquire all the outstanding shares of capital stock. D-Vision Systems is a developer of Microsoft Windows NT-based non-linear editing solution. The estimated aggregate purchase price of the shares is $20 million U.S. The transaction is subject to conditions at closing and is expected to close at the end of July.
Packard Bell Selects S3 Accelerators for Platinum and Multimedia PCs [July 22]
S3 has announced that Packard Bell's new line of Platinum and Multimedia PCs will integrate the S3 ViRGE/DX and Trio 64V2 multimedia accelerators. The ViRGE/DX accelerator offers a 3X increase in performance over other 3D accelerators. The Trio64V2 graphics and multimedia accelerator offers a software and hardware compatible upgrade path for the S3 Trio64V+ accelerator.
Kinetix RadioRay Plug-In Provides LightWorks Rendering [July 21]
Kinetix has introduced its new rendering plug-in, RadioRay. RadioRay is based on the LightWorks Pro rendering engine that delivers enhanced realism to 3D Studio users. Kinetix's 3D Studio MAX and 3D Studio VIZ modeling and animation programs are fully integrated into RadioRay. In a single application, the RadioRay plug-in provides LightWorks-based radiosity and ray-trace rendering. RadioRay also offers a graphical user interface that is integrated with a 3D Studio environment. RadioRay is now available from Kinetix.
DRaW Computing's OpenWorlds C++ Library Available in Beta 2 Version
The OpenWorlds C++ and Java VRML toolkit is now available in its second Beta release for Irix 5.3 and Iris 6.2. New features to OpenWorlds B0.2 include Java and C++ Script Node support, Partial C++ External Application Interface support and complete Java support, including most of SF and MF nodes. Sample applications built using OpenWorlds are also included. This includes a performer-based browser that is faster than CosmoPlayer and an OpenGL-based browser that gives a platform for developing cross-platform VRML applications. A PC version of OpenWorlds is currently under development.
Intervista Launches Macintosh WorldView 2.0 Software [July 21]
Intervista Software has announced the MAC OS version of WorldView 2.0 software. WoldView 2.0 for the Mac will be available on Microsoft Internet Explorer and runs as a native Netscape plug-in. QuickDraw3D rendering is used so that consumers and developers can take advantage of hardware acceleration. A public beta version of WorldView 2.0 for Macintosh is now available to Internet users and software developers at the Intervista web site.
ATI Technologies Includes AGP-enabling VxD driver with 3D RAGE PRO [July 21]
ATI Technologies, Inc. has announced the inclusion of the Intel Accelerated Graphics Port(AGP) enabling VxD driver with systems that feature 3D RAGE PRO. ATI will be delivering full AGP functionality for 3D RAGE PRO chips and boards when the AGP systems begin shipping in the second half of 1997.
HP Selects ATI's 3D RAGE [July 24]
ATI Technologies, Inc. has announced that Hewlett-Packard Company will be using its 3D RAGE graphics and video acceleration chips in their HP Pavilion family of multimedia PCs. 3D RAGE will help HP provide 2D, 3D and video acceleration to their systems. In addition, the 3D RAGE PRO chip will be used in the HP Pavilion 8190, to enhance the home entertainment system for DVD replay, games and 3D rendering of graphics.
TriTech Pyramid3DO Graphics Accelerator Chip Pricing Announced [July 15]
The TriTech Microelectronics Inc. Pyramid3DO graphics accelerator chip pricing at $30, in OEM quantities, has been announced. The evaluation kit is now available for qualified OEMs and developers.
Imax Corporation Reports Second Quarter Results [July 24]
Imax Corporation has reported their second quarter earnings for Q2 ending June 30, 1997. Imax reports a 27% increase per share from $0.11 for Q2 1996 to $0.14 for Q2 1997. The dollars per share for the 6 months ending June 30,1997 increased 30% from the prior year's 6 month period. Revenues for the second quarter increased 24% from the previous year to $35.4 million.
Dynamic Pictures Oxygen 3D Graphics Accelerators Certified by SDRC [July 8]
Dynamic Pictures, Inc. has announced that it's Oxygen 3D graphics accelerator cards have been certified by Structural Dynamics Research Corporation. The certification of this power CAD/CAM/CAE software affirms that the product is compatible with the Windows NT version of its I-DEAS Master Series software. The Oxygen 3D chip provides 3D graphics rendering and texture mapping performance with double buffered displays with up to 1,536 x 1,200 pixels resolutions.
http://www.dynamicpictures.com
Live Picture Corporation Acquires OLiVR Corporation to Provide Superior Next-Generation Internet Imaging Solutions [July 14]
In a move toward global leadership in providing advanced client/server solutions for interactive, intelligent and practical imaging applications, Live Picture Corp. acquired OLiVR Corp. of Jerusalem, Israel. Live Picture Corp. hopes to use OLiVR's image streaming technology to accelerate the development of their FlashPix technology in an attempt to bring products to market more quickly. Their products will be used to bring visual images that enhance the Internet experience to the electronic commerce, education, and entertainment areas.
Microsoft Announces Content Channels for IE 4.0
According to Microsoft Corp., more than 250 content providers are developing Active Channel-based content for Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0. Over 130 of the Active Channel partners will be pre-configured in international versions of IE 4.0. The IE 4.0 customers will have access to entertainment, sports, financial information, news and travel content. Some of the channel providers include CNN Interactive, Excite, Forbes, MSNBC, The New York Times, Warner Bros. Online and ZDNet.
VWE's BattleTech Center Moves to Dave & Buster's [July 22]
Virtual World Entertainment has announced that their BattleTech Center North Pier location will be moving to Dave & Buster's in Chicago. Eight cockpits are scheduled to be installed and ready for use by Friday, August 22, 1997. VWE also has an agreement with D&B for the Tesla System to be installed in six locations including Atlanta, Chicago and Houston.
LSI Logic Acquires Mint Technology [July 24]
LSI Logic Corporation has announced the acquisition of Mint Technology, Inc. Mint Technology is an engineering services company specializing in system architecture and system level design verification that is used in developing complex chips. Mint Technology will keep their own sales, marketing and engineering organizations while being a wholly owned subsidiary of LSI Logic.
Xing Technology Launches StreamWorks 3.0 [July 22]
Xing Technology has released StreamWorks 3.0, a third-generation audio and video broadcast software. StreamWorks 3.0 broadcasts full-motion and full-screen video. The StreamWorks Server and Player are the center of a product line that includes MPEG Live Encoder1 and Xing MPEG Player. The StreamWorks Server supports all content based on MPEG, while the StreamWorks Player is an application compatible with all major Web browsers. The pricing of StreamWorks is according to seat, $60 per seat for a 50 seat solution or $40 per seat for 300 seats. Components for encoding and broadcasting MPEG files are included. StreamWorks 3.0 Server is now available for Windows NT 4.0, Linux and Alpha NT. UNIX platform availability is coming soon.
Dell Selects 3Dlabs' GLINT MX 3D Graphics Processor for Workstations [July 28]
3Dlabs has announced that Dell Computer Corporation will be using the ELSA Gloria-L/MX graphics accelerator, which is based on GLINT MX graphics processor and GLINT Delta geometry setup processor, on the Dell WorkStation 400 product line. The Dell WorkStation 400 uses the Microsoft Windows NT Workstation operating systems and the Intel Pentium II processors. The ELSA Gloria-L/MX offers graphics professional's 3D capabilities in modeling, design and digital content creation.
Interactive Games Development Courses Increases NYU School Enrollment [July]
The Center for Advanced Digital Applications is offering a new program in Interactive Game Technologies and Design. The program is a digital multimedia program at NYU's Midtown Center. The program encompasses two one-week session of instruction in game technologies and design. Skills courses included in the curriculum teach: 3D, Motion and Modeling, CAD/CAM and Multimedia. There are courses that cover technical and business management as well. Further information on the fall programs offered can be found at the School of Continuing Education's website.
3Dlabs Reports Second Quarter Results [July 22]
3Dlabs Inc. Ltd. has announced its second quarter revenues and earning for the period ending June 30, 1997. Revenues for Q2 1997 increased 417% from Q2 1996 to $17.34 million as well as 10% from Q1 1997. The net income for Q2 1997 was $6.04 million, a 12% increase from Q1 1997. Included in 3Dlabs second quarter highlights was the introduction of GLINT MX 3D graphics processor and the PERMEDIA 2 second generation graphics processor.
Skunk Technologies Launches Entao Visual Chat [July 30]
Skunk Technologies has announced that it will be launching its new Java visual chat application at the Los Angeles New Media Roundtable (LawNMoweR) "Chat Off" being held on August 6th at Paramount Studios. Entao Visual Chat is an all Java avatar based chat application that is cross-platform, operates in all major Web browsers and downloads in less than a minute at 28.8 speeds. Written in 100% JavaTM, Entao Visual Chat is an interactive chat environment where users explore virtual worlds online as an avatar. Some of the systems Entao currently supports are Sun Microsystems' Sparc and Ultra-Sparc based workstations and servers, Apple Macintosh and Macintosh Compatibles and Hewlett-Packard Workstations and Servers. Entao Visual Chat is scheduled to be available August 7th. Further information on Entao Visual Chat is available through their web site.
3Dfx Releases Second Quarter Financial Results [July 24]
3Dfx Interactive has released is financial results for the second quarter, ending June 30, 1997. The net revenues for Q2 were $6,507,000 of which $1,067,000 was development contract revenue. There are no comparison figures from Q2 last year since the company was still in the product development stage. The net loss for the second quarter '97 was $1,753,000 or $.17 per share as compared to $4,390,000 or $.43 per share from Q2 '96. Calculations of the earnings per share reflect the two-for- one stock split of May 1997.
Sega Enterprises Ltd. Terminates 3Dfx Contract for 3D Graphics Processor [July 22]
Major disappointment overcame 3Dfx as it announced that Sega Enterprises LTD. decided not to use the 3Dfx 3D graphic processing chipset in their upcoming home gaming console. Sega and 3Dfx have been working under an existing contract since March of 1997 to develop and license the chipset to be used in the Sega game console. Sega has an equity investment of almost $2 million in 3Dfx and has been funding the development of the chipset so far. Greg Ballard, President and CEO of 3Dfx Interactive, pointed out "that Sega is only a fraction of our business, representing less that 10 percent of our projected 1998 revenue." Although Mr. Ballard did state "We are disappointed with this notification, and believe that it is without legal justification." 3Dfx is determined to explore its options in regard to the announcement, including legal recourse.
For more see the 3Dfx presentation in 718.4 below.
LightWork Design Integrates OpenGL into New MachineWorks 3.1 (July 23, 1997)
LightWork Design announced the shipment of MachineWorks(tm) 3.1, an NC simulation and verification toolkit for CAM system developers. The latest version uses OpenGL hardware acceleration to increase its speed on WindowsNT and 95, Sun, SGI, Digital and IBM workstations.
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718.2 Conference Announcements by Christina Person
VRAIS '98 Call For Technical Papers in Virtual Reality
The Virtual Reality Annual International Symposium has announced its call for technical papers in all areas of virtual reality. Papers can be submitted in English, long or short format, and must be mailed by September 1, 1997. The symposium will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 14-18, 1998. Check out the web site:
http://www.eece.unm.edu/eece/conf/vrais/
The WinHEC 98 will be held at the Orlando Convention Center in Orlando, FL, from March 25 - 27, 1998. Updated information is available at:
http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev/winhec.htm
WSCG '98 Call for Papers and Participation [July 14]
The Sixth International Conference on Computer Graphics and Visualization 98 has announced its Call for Papers and participation. Papers are to be received by September 30, 1997 and should not exceed 8 pages in length. The Conference will be held in Pizen, at the University of West Bohemia, February 9-13, 1998
EUROMEDIA 98 Call for Papers [July 30]
This year the 1998 SCS EuroMedia conference will incorporate three individual conferences, WEBTEC, MEDIATEC and COMTEC. The last day of the conference will climax with an applications conference(APTEC). EuroMedia is a scientific conference on new media, Web technology, communications and telematics theory, methods, tools and applications. The abstract submission deadline is October 1, 1997 and the Short Paper submission deadline is October 15, 1997. The conference is organized by the European Simulation Office of the Society for Computer Simulation International(SCS) and will be held in Leicester, United Kingdom, January 5-7, 1998. More information on the conference, including topics covered can be found at the following web site.
http://www.sepa.tudelft.nl/~alexandv/scs/conf/euromd98/
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718.3 Pre-Siggraph Announcements by Christina Person
MetaCreations will be showcasing Bryce 3-D and Infini-D 4.0 in Booth #2413. Bryce 3-D incorporates 3D landscapes and animations, while Infini- D 4.0 brings high-end special effects and 3D animation power to the desktop. There will be demonstrations of Final Effects, Ray Dream Studio 5, Painter 5.0 and other MetaCreations digital design tools. Image Tech's new linticular 3D printer will be used with MetaCreations' Real Time Geometry technology to produce faces scanned and printed in 3D.
Dynamic Pictures, at Booth #801, will be introducing their new Multi- Threaded OpenGL driver. By intercepting OpenGL graphics requests and forwarding them to the CPU to process in parallel, the driver can automatically take advantage of multi-CPU systems. Dynamic Pictures' multiple host CPUs and scalable Oxygen architecture can simultaneously communicate with multiple Oxygen chips. This will also yield an improved rendering and texture mapping performance.
http://www.dynamicpictures.com
The Motion Factory will be showing their new technology and development tool suite called Motivate. Motivate features Digital Actors who have innate intelligence so that they can respond immediately to arbitrary stimuli. 3D modeling applications like 3D Studio Max can be used to create the models of the Intelligent Digital Actors.
Caligari Corporation will be showing their trueSpace 3.1 update which features an Improved Key Frame Editor. This version includes 3D paint, 3D plug-ins, integrated VRML browser, Direct 3D support and VRML 2.0 support.
http://www.caligari.com/ns_index.html
Silicon Graphics will be introducing their new OpenGL Optimizer, a cross- platform solution for interacting and viewing with complex 3D models. There will also be a Windows-specific announcement with improved 3D performance for the personal computer with applications like games and CAD. The OpenGL Booth is #1447.
The Symmetric Booth, #1276, will have the first public demos of GLINT MX- based and PERMEDIA 2-based graphics boards for Alpha CPUs and Windows.
SENSE8 will be featuring a 3D/VR walk through of the Martian landscape and the caves at Lascaux, France. Guests will experience Martian terrain from inside a Cave Automatic Virtual Environment(CAVE). The CAVE was invented by the University of Illinois at Chicago and is distributed and manufactured by Pyramid Systems Inc. The simulation is controlled by an application constructed on top of the SENSE8 WorldToolKit. It will be run on a Silicon Graphics Onyx supercomputer and will include a pair of LCD stereoscopic glasses from Stereographics Corporation.
Template Graphics Software Inc.
TGS will be introducing new products that feature 3D/VRML capabilities for 3D/Web designers, CAD and application developers. 3Space Publisher and 3Space Assistant v2.0 for Windows are now shipping and will be highlighted at the conference. TGS will be demonstrating HP's DirectModel API on Sun, Windows and SGI. 3D-MasterSuite/JAVA Version, TGS's integrated, object-oriented developer tool set, will also be highlighted. TGS is in booth #1005.
Intervista Software Inc. will be featuring its WorldView 2.0 for Windows and Macintosh platforms at the conference. Intervista software will be showcased in the Microsoft booth, #621. Tony Parisi, president and chief technology officer for Intervista Software, will be making presentations about VRML technology at the Microsoft booth also.
Apple will be highlighting the Macintosh as a leading platform for creative professionals. Also highlighted, are the cross-platform advantages of QuickTime Media Layer(QTML) technologies. The Apple booth, #1307, will feature demonstrations and presentations of new Apple products.
The Infografica booth, #461, will be demonstrating their newest products and developments. Some of the products highlighted are MetaReyes for 3D Studio Max, an organic modeler with a new spline based primitive, the Metamuscle. CartoonReyes for 3D Studio Max, a cartoon render that makes high quality 2D cartoon images based on 3D scenes will also be showcased.
The Muse Technologies Booth, #1469, will be featuring their Continuum. Continuum is a new software technology with permits multiple users to work together over networks, from various geographical locations in a real-time, multisensory and multimedia environments. Users can interactively travel through different simulations like the human brain and 250,000 cars moving in a city. The Muse Continuum combines many aspects of multimedia to bridge the gap between problem solving and entertainment.
Muse will also be sponsoring a press conference, which will include NASA and Jet Propulsion Lab, on Tuesday, August 5th at 10:30 a.m. Representatives from Jet Propulsion Laboratory will be presenting design plans for future space missions and will be available for interviews. A virtual reality demo of the upcoming Stardust mission will also be available to view. The conference will be held at the Muse Technologies booth.
Intergraph will be sponsoring a QUAKE Exhibition Contest at Siggraph. Dennis Fong, the Death Match King from E3 will be accepting challengers for deathmatch QUAKE games at the Intergraph booth, #439. Cash prizes total $4,500 with first, second and third prize including an Intergraph Intense 3D Voodoo 3D graphics add-in card.
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718.4 - Conference Report - Robertson Stephens & Co. Semiconductor Conference San Francisco, 7/29-30/1997 by John Latta
This was an investor focused conference which had presentations by 101 companies. Key companies in the 3D market participated and we provide a summary of their comments and news.
S3
Gary Johnson, President and CEO, gave the presentation. They see the key expansion markets in PC graphics being the workstation, sub $1,000 PC and consumer electronics. Multiple 3D chips are in process that will go into production in H2 1998. The 3D innovation rate,for the industry, is running at 2X the performance every 6 months which implies 8X improvement in 2 years. By 1999 their graphics chips will approach 50m transistors. S3 was also described themselves as the 2nd largest buyer of fab production in the world.
S3 will not implement the full Talisman design in their chips. The 5 chip reference implementation was not cost effective and this is the reason why it was dropped. S3 will implement what they feel are the best technologies from Talisman and chunking is one. Products using Talisman technology will come to market H1 1998.
In a striking statement S3 claimed that 2D parts are having a longer life than they expected. He stated that the Trio V2 is likely to last another 18 months. Right now the income is split 50-50 between 2D and 3D parts. Strength in the 2D side is coming from NetPCs and Servers.
3Dlabs
Osman Kent, President, described "3D is a hardware designers dream," in reference to the unending quest for more compute capability. 3D growth is also not linked to the growth of the PC market - it is based on taking over 2D on the PC. The market drivers for 3D include, in 3Dlabs market space, the replacement of Unix workstations with PCs and business applications using a serious API (OpenGL) on Windows NT.
A success of 3Dlabs was cited in the fact that they have come out with 7 products in 2.5 years. The GLINT MX was cited as a technology example - it has 4m+ transistors and uses a 5 metal layer process. Today 3Dlabs uses 3 foundries.
In Q2 MX represented 18% of their revenues. In Q3 they expect the Permedia sales to kick in and in Q4 Gamma sales to begin. In Q4 they will announce another Permedia II fab partner. Later in this Quarter they will have announcements on Permedia II OEM deals. Permedia I is selling well in the Asia.
Creative Labs is their gateway to the consumer market. With the increasing emphasis in silicon design at Creative they will play a greater role in doing more 3D design work for mass market products based on the 3Dlabs technology license.
Osman gave a twist on the Andy Grove statement about the battle for the eyeballs. He described this more as a battle for the cortex.
3Dfx
Greg Ballard, President gave the presentation. Banshee will sample in December and ship in Q1. This is an integrated 2D and 3D chip with an AGP interface. The chip can either go down or up. It will be priced at under $30 and have better resolution than Voodoo. A new version of Glide will be available to support Banshee. It was indicated that the fab for Banshee will be TSMC and they expect no problems meeting production needs. The next generation chip is called the SST-2 and it is due in 1999. In the last quarter they have secured 11 new design wins. To date 3Dfx has 1,400 developers.
In his opening statement he described their disappointment with the Sega contract termination and indicated that the company reserves the right to respond - indicating a possible suit. This effort was expected to contribute no more than 10% of the revenue line in 1998. Greg described 3Dfx's work on the contract as fully compliant and that the chip significantly exceed the specifications of the contract -" it was worldclass." 3Dfx met all the contract requirements and the termination was not due to performance.
Diamond Multimedia remains the largest customer of the company but its relative role has declined from 55% in the prospectus to 37% in the last quarter.
R&D expenses are split 50% between HW and SW.
They not yet to begun shipment of their OpenGL ICD (driver).
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718.5 - Conference Report - Meltdown Revisited by John Latta
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718.6 - AGP, Socket 7, X86 Processors and Intel by John Latta
By Q4 1997 we expect to see PC systems which have AGP for 3D acceleration. The clear leader in this race to market is Intel. Yet, the company has yet to announce its widely rumored core logic chip set that supports AGP - the 440LX. We expect this announcement in August. As we reported on in our last AGP conference coverage, WAVE 615.2, Intel has been less than open in disclosing the full details on AGP. A similar situation is taking place as the specifications for the 4X implementation take form, WAVE 715.4. Further, Intel has carefully positioned AGP to be just for Pentium II systems. Yet, technically there is no reason that AGP cannot work with both Pentium and Pentium Pro systems. Intel has also positioned AGP as an attractant to move buyers to the next generation microprocessors. In this positioning many see Intel as having left a gaping hole of opportunity. That is, why not have systems with AGP that support other processors? The key impediment is having core logic chip sets that support AGP. At the same time these new chips sets can support X86 processors from AMD, Cyrix and IBM. This is what is happening. Via Technologies was the first to announce a core logic chip set that supports AGP. We expect chip sets from VLSI Technologies, Silicon Integrated Systems (SIS), Acer Laboratories Inc.(ALI) and AMD.
The migration of AGP into PC systems is more complex than just integrating the latest technologies into the next generation PC motherboards. The complex fabric of today's PC business is also an important forcing function. At the retail level Dell is causing havoc with its aggressive direct marketing efforts, including custom systems being sold on the Internet and delivered in days, among the traditional PC companies - especially Compaq. Thus, all the OEMs are seeking to differentiate their systems. 3D will play a role here. At the same time PC prices are under significant downward pressure. At one time $2,200 was the sweet spot in the market for a PC system and this is moving to $1,500. This has created important market opportunities for the X86 clones, AMD and Cyrix and IBM who is also producing Cyrix microprocessors. By undercutting Intel's prices, these companies, with systems below $1,000, are moving the PC into new consumer markets at price points Intel prefers would not exist.
The situation is made all the more complex because Intel tripped in its transition to MMX. In a superb article, Microprocessor Report, July 14, 1997 entitled "Intel Fumbles MMX Transition" estimates that Intel could lose up to $1b in sales because it poorly handled the shift to MMX microprocessors. As part of its recovery plan, according to the article, Intel will be forced to lower the prices on its Pentium MMX products earlier than anticipated. Significant drops are were recently announced. This only places additional pressure on AMD and Cyrix as they attempt to complete with Intel with their prices typically 30% to 50% lower. Thus, any technology that will allow AMD and Cyrix to remain at parity or surpass Intel is essential in their competitive strategy. Again, AGP and 3D acceleration are increasingly important in the X86 market.
If the situation was not yet complex enough there is the slight problem of getting OS support for AGP. Everything would be fine if the Memphis release matched AGP's rollout. Memphis provides the necessary functionality for AGP memory management. DirectX 5.0 already has AGP support but what is critical is the memory management support for AGP chip sets to allow for the paging of textures from system memory to the 3D accelerator. This critical piece of software was announced at Meltdown by Microsoft, the VxD, which enables Windows 95 to support AGP. However, the VxD to accomplish this was written by Intel and we doubt that Intel will be willing to license this to its X86 competitors. Thus, if the X86 companies are to launch in 1997 they not only must have AGP core logic but a software VxD that is compatible with Windows 95 and Direct X 5.0.
The WAVE Report has been contacting many of the X86 microprocessor and core logic companies. Acer Laboratories will be announcing their chip set in late July. AMD was cautious about making any announcements but they stated that they would have AGP support this year including the necessary software for Windows 95. In order to protect a forward looking statement the response was put in the context of a "plan." VLSI Technologies confirmed they are working on an AGP core logic set. VLSI also sees that AGP has become a check box item - a vendor must have it to qualify in all future PCs.
Via Technologies, was the first to announce an AGP capable chip, the Apollo VP-3. First silicon is back from fab and it will be sampling by mid-August. Dean Hayes, the Director of Marketing spoke to the WAVE Report. Via sees Socket 7 as a huge opportunity. Since Intel has announced that they are getting out of the Pentium support market Via will be glad to take it. In fact, Via sees them in a position to take over the leadership position of for Socket 7 support. They view Socket 7 as the best desktop solution. One reason is the modular approach that Intel has adopted with the Pentium II carries too much overhead and costs. Via is emphatic in stating that there is no reason why AGP will not work well with Socket 7 microprocessors. In their view AGP is the best way to bring 3D to low cost machines and the market today is being driven to meet customer demands for lower cost computers. Graphics is a big way to increase the user perception of the performance of a system. Via has not yet announced any design wins, however, they expect up to 6 companies in the next 2 months. Via will supply the necessary software to work with Widows 95 and either they or their customers will provide systems to Microsoft's WHQL for testing. The WAVE report 715.4 also pointed out the hazards for consumers of "going down" with a fixed AGP installation that cannot be upgraded. We found it interesting that Via has found no OEMs interested in AGP down installations. When asked if the interest in the VP-3 was only from companies in the Far East, he responded emphatically that there is a strong interest here in the US for systems for the US market. Dean concluded the interview with a simple statement on the current state of the market - "...if we deliver we will sell."
IBM is also counting on AGP in its PC systems. The WAVE Report spoke with Jill Kaplan, X86 Marketing Manager, IBM. At the center of the non-Intel microprocessor business today is the longevity of Socket 7. Jill is quite bullish in predicting that this could well last into H2 1998. The extended life is made possible by Intel's actions, the high prices of Pentium II systems and the robust infrastructure that has built up around supporting Socket 7. For example, a Socket 7 motherboard will run $65 while even a non-Intel Pentium II motherboard is costing $170. This $100 differential makes it hard to have Pentium II systems which compete in the $1,500 range. Even though Christmas systems will begun to be built at the end of August Jill stated that X86 implementations of AGP will enter the market in 1997. Jill also described a community of suppliers in the non-Intel segment of the market. This community tends to band together to solve common problems and those relationships helped overcome an Intel centric approach to MMX. By the same token that link is serving to address the AGP issue. Jill indicated that at least 2 companies are implementing VxD support for Windows 95 OSR 2.1. The reason being, as stated by Ms. Kaplan, Windows 95 is critically important to the X86 market. The non-Intel X86 market is a significant one with 10 - 12m units in 1997 and an expectation that this could rise to 17m units in 1998.
Ken Huang, Silicon Integrated Systems, responded to WAVE's questions. SIS has an AGP core logic chip set in part SIS 5591 and this supports all Socket 7 processors. The chip is fully AGP 1.0 compliant including 2X and sideband addressing. It is also fully PC97 compliant and will support UltraDMA. SIS is also working on a 3D AGP chip called the SIS 6326 that is sampling now. The company claims that it is the 5th largest supplier of VGA chips on a worldwide basis. SIS stated that it will have the necessary software to support Windows 95 and AGP. They will be shipping systems to Microsoft for WHQL for certification in October.
In spite of the progress by non-Intel vendors they are facing significant activities in order to make Q4. At the WAVE Report we see the following:
The core logic silicon must work in a system with virtually all the AGP chip sets; The VxD software must be fully tested with Windows 95 and applications which use the memory management features; and Complete systems must pass through Microsoft's Windows Hardware Quality Lab (WHQL) in order to obtain the Windows Logo.
Currently only Intel is in a position to have passed these gates. Thus, if the X86 vendors are to sell in volume in Q4 and compete with Intel they must focus on systems that work flawlessly. If not it could be a consumer nightmare or that only few systems being sold in 1997. The responses we received in compiling this article indicate that the X86 companies are behind Intel but working to be at parity in time to have systems for sale in Q4. It will be an interesting Christmas.
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718.7 - Company Profile - MetaVR by John Latta
The WAVE Report spoke with W. Garth Smith and Richard Rybacki about their virtual company MetaVR. This is a classic "Crossing the Chasm" company. Using PC technology and 3D accelerators, based largely on the 3Dfx Voodoo chips, MetaVR is providing what they call ultra-low-cost image generators for the visual simulation community. As the military seeks to use more COTS (commercial off the shelf) equipment low cost PC systems are a natural fit into systems which have typically cost an order of magnitude more. At the same time MetaVR has a software strategy based around a visual database format they call MVB - Meta Database. This uses demand paging of data to achieve rapid load times from smaller data sets based on the region being displayed and the display conditions. They see an important military market in on-the-ground simulation training. Components in these simulations are dismounted infantry and resolutions in towns can approach 1'. Most of these vis-sim applications benefit from low cost systems and do not require the complex motion bases present in flight simulators. Thus, a PC solution, with innovative ways to handle existing databases, offers a compelling solution. MetaVR is becoming a contender in this market.
The important question lies in how to cross the chasm - that is, how to move into larger commercial markets? One approach MetaVR is taking is to marry satellite imagery with terrain elevation data for the rapid creation of visual databases. They also have a tool, for $3,500 called Quick Immersion, that takes US Government DTED (digital terrain elevation data) and combines it with imagery, including commercial satellite imagery, to create a MVB. They claim this process can be done in minutes on a PC while it could take days using more conventional approaches. Yet, for the best databases DTED data is only available to qualified government sources.
MetaVR is faced with the classic management challenge of moving from niche markets into broad commercial markets - the chasm dilemma. In that context, the task of creating large visual data bases from readily available source data, the problem is fundamentally one of providing new tools to the GIS market. This is an interesting and largely undeveloped market for 3D. In includes urban planning, population migration trends and even facility siting. 3D provides another tool to better understand our environment and what MetaVR is doing is building a foundation of tools to support these new markets. At the same time is must cross the chasm to realize the potential.
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Copyright 1997 4th WAVE, Inc.
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Copyright 1997 4th WAVE Inc.
May be redistributed in full for individual readership and posted to newsgroups, Web, and FTP sites. May not be reprinted or redistributed for profit. Short quotes are permitted but must be attributed to the WAVE Report on Digital Media.