The WAVE Report on Digital Media
3D --- Media Creation --- Shared Space
Published by 4th Wave, Inc.
Issue #722 8/29/97
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CONTENTS
722.1 Quick News
By Christina Person, Jonathan Sunberg, John Latta, and Malisa
Burkeen
3Dlabs and Microsoft Announce Direct3D
Masterclass Tour
[August 19]
3Dlabs and Microsoft announced a series of Direct3D Technical Masterclasses that will be given in September and October of this year. The tour will consist of two-day masterclasses and will offer Direct3D programmers the opportunity to interact on a technical level with experts in Direct3D software, hardware and drivers. The first day will cover technical subjects like DirectX 5, advanced optimization techniques and discussions on AGP. The second day consists of 45-minute one-on-one technical surgeries between Direct3D experts and developers. Masterclassses are scheduled for San Francisco, CA on September 18-19th, Austin, TX on September 22-23, New York, NY on October 2-3rd and the UK on October 17-18th. The fee is $150 and includes lunch. You can find additional information at the 3Dlabs Web site.
http://www.3dlabs.com/d3dclass
http://www.microsoft.com
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Number Nine – Revolution 3D Available
for AGP
[August 25}
Claiming 137 3D WinMarks in the 3D WinBench benchmark, Number Nine announced an AGP version of its Revolution 3D graphics controller. Also announced was WHQL certification from Microsoft. The Revolution 3D card comes with 4MB or 8MB of WRAM, expandable to 16MB. The street pricing is 4MB $299, 8MB $399 and add on memory is $129 (4MB) and $219 (8MB).
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Micronics – Two Systems Boards
Use Intel’s AGP Chip Set
[August 25]
The Tigercat and Spitfire EX both use the Intel 440LX chip set and support ISA, PCI and Wake-On-LAN capabilities (PC Power up based on LAN remote turn on). Both boards support SDRAM.
Tigercat supports processors from 233MHz to 333MHz and features UltraDMA/33 IDE hard drive support for up to 33MHz transfer rate.
The Spitfire EX will support up to 2 Pentium IIs and has an integrated SCSI Dual Channel controller (Adaptec 7895).
In response to a WAVE Report inquiry Micronics stated that they typically do not do WHQL submittals, in part because Microsoft does not do motherboard certifications. However, this is expected to change next year when Microsoft will test motherboards. Micronics ran test suites internally within its compatibility lab. For the full WHQL certification system integrators and OEM customers will submit their systems to Microsoft for testing.
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NEC and VideoLogic invest $25 M to assist
PC Game Developers
(April 7)
In April NEC and VideoLogic announced the "PowerVR Ready Games Enhancement Program", an effort to help developers build and sell PC-based games for PowerVR 3D graphics accelerators. Of the $25M funding the program, $16M will go to content marketing development funding, while $9M will go to a comprehensive consumer brand marketing and retail merchandising program.
This program differs from programs of the past, by assisting the game developer from the first line of code, including onsite support during porting, through, packaging, brand marketing and promotions, co-op advertising, and retail channel enhancement and sales opportunities. In return game developers, OEM’s, and technology partners must agree to meet a variety of criteria, including display of the PowerVR Ready logo in game software, on packaging and in advertising and promotional efforts.
http://www.powervr.com
http://www.nec.com
http://www.videologic.com
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Superscape Announces "3D Webmaster"
Product
(August 5)
Superscape announced 3D Webmaster, a new 3D web site authoring tool. The product is a lower end version of the company’s VRT5 authoring product. The product supports both VRML 2.0 and the SVR format. Targeted towards Web masters and Web developers, 3D Webmaster will start shipping later this year at an as yet unannounced price.
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Canopus Announces Pure3D
(August 19)
Canopus announced Pure3D, a 3D-only game accelerator for the PC. Pure3D is based on the 3Dfx Voodoo Graphics chipset, has 6MB of memory, 4MB of dedicated texture memory, and offers 640x480 Windows desktop resolution. The accelerator will be available in early September at an estimated price of $179.
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Cyberware Extracts Tailor Measurements
From 3D Scan Data
(August 1)
Your next suit could be cyber-tailor made. Cyberware, a leader in 3D scanning, has completed the first phase of a research project aimed at using 3D scanners to extract tailor measurements from subjects who have been scanned. In its present form, the 3D scanner is used to scan the entire body, an operator then marks the model with critical points that allow a software program to generate clothing measurements.
The project is being run through the Apparel Research Network (ARN), which is administered through the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). The system will initially be used to fit military personnel with their uniforms, but is expected to move into the civilian market once the project is complete.
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Next Generation Reveals Latest 2D and 3D
Board Benchmarks
(August 23)
Next Generation Online has reported the following 2D and 3D WinBench scores based on the most recent Mercury Research Report:
2D WinBench Scores:
Board Score
Number Nine Revolution 141.0
Matrox MGA2 (WRAM) 124.0
Matrox MGA (WRAM) 116.0
Matrox MGA (SGRAM) 113.0
ATI Rage Pro 111.0
3Dlabs Permedia II 102.0
Trident 3Dimage 95.7
S3 ViRGE/GX-2 95.2
Rendition V2200 93.5
S3 ViRGE/GX 93.0
Cirrus GD5465 90.7
S3 ViRGE/VX 90.4
Trident 9397 90.1
Tseng ET6100 89.7
S3 ViRGE/DX 89.6
Cirrus GD5480 88.0
Trident 9685 83.0
S3 ViRGE 82.0
ATI Rage 2 81.9
Alliance AT3D 77.5
3Dlabs Permedia/Delta 76.5
Tseng ET6000 75.8
Cirrus GD5464 73.8
Number Nine 128/2E 72.4
S3 Trio64V+ 60.0
Alliance AT24 57.9
Sigma Designs SD6425 56.0
IGS 1682 45.0
Rendition V1000E 43.9
ALI 3147 37.0
Source: Mercury Research
3D WinBench Scores:
Board Score
Nvidia Riva 128 222.0
Rendition V2200 208.0
3Dfx Voodoo 193.0
3Dfx Voodoo Rush 152.0
3Dlabs Permedia II 149.0
ATI Rage Pro 137.0
Number Nine Revolution 128.0
NEC-VL PowerVR V2 117.0
3Dlabs Permedia/Delta 100.0
Trident 3DImage975 90.5
Trident 9397 82.1
S3 ViRGE/GX-2 71.3
Matrox MGA2 (WRAM) 64.2
Cirrus GD5465 63.1
Matrox MGA (SGRAM) 56.7
ATI Rage 2 53.6
S3 ViRGE/GX 50.0
S3 ViRGE/DX 47.9
Rendition V1000E 39.1
S3 ViRGE/VX 37.5
Alliance AT3D 36.3
S2 ViRGE 31.2
Source: Mercury Research
The WAVE Report understands that these tests were run on a Pentium II, 266MHz, 64MB system with PCI.
http://www.next-generation.com/news/082297c.chtml
http://www.next-generation.com/news/082397c.chtml
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Several Members of Sega’s US Hardware
Team Resign
(August 26)
Next Generation Online has reported that between five and ten members of Sega’s Black Belt design team resigned last week in response to the decision to use PowerVR over 3Dfx. The article stated that a spokesperson told the publication that "he was ‘unaware of any resignations that have happened recently’".
http://www.next-generation.com/news/082697a.chtml
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FTC Requests Additional Information on Chips
and Technology Offer by Intel
(August 26)
The Federal Trade Commission requested additional information from both Chips and Technology and Intel on Intel’s offer to acquire Chips and Technology.
http://www.chips.com
http://www.intel.com
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3Dlabs to Supply Intel’s VxD
(August 26)
3Dlabs will ship the Intel VxD driver to its OEMs so that the 3Dlabs AGP products will support AGP under Windows 95. The final version of the AGP drivers are expected to be released Q3 1997.
Strata Inc. Announces StudioPro v2.1 and Power Module 1
Strata Inc. introduced StudioPro v2.1, an optimized and enhanced version of their 3D modeling animation and special effects program. Strata also announced a collection of plug-ins for StudioPro 2.1, Power Module 1. Plug-ins included in the Power Module 1 are The Deformer, Bones-Based Inverse Kinematics System with Motion Constraints and Digital Hair Particle Effect. Versions for the Power Macintosh are expected by the end of August while the Windows NT/95 versions expected towards the end of the year. The suggested retail price for StudioPro is $1495 and the Power Module 1 is $495. For a limited time only, the new purchases of StudioPro 2.1 will include the Power Module 1.
Strata Inc. Ships Vision3d v5.0
Strata Inc. announced the shipping of StrataVision3d v5.0. This version is designed for both beginners and professionals that combines advanced high-end capabilities and user-friendliness. Vision3d 5.0 is priced at $495 with an upgrade price from Vision3d of $79 and a competitive upgrade price of $99.
Strata Inc. Announces VideoShop v4.0/3D
Strata Inc. announced VideoShop v4.0/3D, a full-featured, QuickTime-based, video editing application for creative professionals. VideoShop 4.0/3D includes new features like QuickTime 3D tracks to import an animated 3DMF model onto a 3D shape and TuneBuilder from AirWorks Media, a professional music editing feature. VisionShop v4.0/3D is priced at $495 while upgrade prices from previous version of VideoShop are $89.
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General Reality Company Introduces First
Wireless DataGlove
General Reality introduced its Wireless 5th Glove, a device with outputs wrist orientation and finger bend to PC serial ports over a high-speed wireless link. The new glove is based on the 5th Glove DataGlove. The wireless glove has a small transmitter which is placed on the user’s arm, belt or in their pocket. The glove tests finger bend and wrist pitch/roll data up to 200 samples/second. It also outputs to a serial port at 8-bit accuracy. The Wireless 5th Glove is scheduled to begin shipping in September 1997 with a list price of $995. Volume discounts will also be available.
General Reality Company Introduces First Gesture Interface for the Web
General Reality Company introduced its GloveGRASP JAVA, a developer’s kit for building gestural interfaces to 3D VRML content over the Web. The software kit builds networked gesture recognition applications using the wired or wireless 5th Glove DataGloves. It will ship with demonstration source code illustrating interactivity with a 3D VRML environment. GloveGRASP JAVA SDK will be shipping to Beta users in September 1997 for $995.
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Side Effects Software Announces WindowsNT
Porting and Houdini 2.0
by Jonathan Sunberg
Side Effects Software, the company that its president, Kim Davidson, describes as "a ten year old company and the third leading vendor of 3D animation software on the SGI workstation, with customers including DreamWorks SKG, Digital Domain, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Namco, and Sega," announced the porting of Houdini to WindowsNT.
Houdini, which is a fully-integrated, procedurally-based environment for 3-D digital animation, began shipping last year and was used in the movie "Contact", as well as the upcoming movie "Titanic". Mr. Davidson explains, "By porting Houdini to WindowsNT, more schools can take full advantage of the high-end tools that professional animators are demanding. Houdini has a short learning curve to allow students to start animating and modeling very quickly in a production environment."
The latest version of Houdini, 2.0, contains new features such as advanced 3-D modeling, new high-speed rendering capabilities and enhancements to the user interface including a four-view modeler, advanced OpenGL display, support for transparent objects and projected spotlights, and more.
Houdini 2.0 will be released in October 1997 for SGI workstations running on IRIX 5.3 or 6.2. The new version will be the same price as its predecessor, around $15,000. The NT beta will begin in the fourth quarter this year.
http://www.sidefx.com
http://www.intergraph.com
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Softimage Announces Softimage 3D 3.7
Service Pack
by Jonathan Sunberg
Softimage announced the first full Service Pack (SP1) for Softimage 3D 3.7. The upgrade, which provides improvements in production workflow, interactive tools and mental ray rendering, is also the first link to the new Softimage standalone rendering product, currently code-named "TWISTER". "TWISTER", due for release next year will be the first product working towards Softimage’s next generation 3D line, currently code-named "SUMATRA".
Softimage 3D 3.7 SP1 will include improvements to Inverse Kinematics and Shader animation, new selecting and viewing tools, an updated mental ray workflow, and a new tool called RenderMap, which allows the prerendering of textures using all scene-rendering parameters, including mental ray shaders.
"Twister", designed to work in conjunction with Softimage 30 3.7 SP1, combines the speed and power of the Softimage mental ray 2.0 renderer with the next-generation interface and architecture of "SUMATRA".
The pack, which offers full support for Nintendo64 game platforms, will be delivered at no additional cost to current Softimage customers with maintenance agreements. New customers will automatically receive both version 3.7 of Softimage 3D or the Softimage 3D extreme version and the Service Pack upgrade.
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722.3 Visionary Design Systems Acquisition
of 3D/EYE
by Jonathan Sunberg
On February 18, 1997 Visionary Design Systems, Inc.(VDS) merged 3D/EYE (WAVE 702, 613.6.4, 604.5) into its overall operations. VDS, considered the fourth largest CAD/CAM VAR/System Integrator in North America, according to Daratech Inc., incorporated 3D/EYE, a privately owned 3D software developer, in order to extend their product line to the SOHO and consumer market.
3D/EYE, now a wholly owned legal subsidiary of VDS, will continue to market and develop its main product line, TriSpectives. But will also aid in the development of VDS’s SolidTools.
3D/EYE released TriSpectives 2.0 in May. The latest version of 3D/EYE’s 3D-solids CAD product has added more tools for easier creation (including 2D profiles to extrude, sweep, and loft models). Models created with TriSpectives and TriSpectives Professional are fully compatible with the new version. The rendering engine has also been improved from previous versions of the software. TriSpectives Technical 2.0 is available directly from 3D/EYE or from one of the many authorized VARs.
SolidTools, which also was released in May, incorporates 3D/EYE’s 3D technology to allow companies to leverage critical 3D engineering data throughout their organizations. The program offers comprehensive 3D data import and export features through a fast rendering engine, an easy to use interface, and drag and drop features. SolidTools is available on Win95 and WinNT and can be purchased for as low as $1,000 per seat through VDS directly.
Ed Tubridy, Product Marketing Manager of VDS, explained to WAVE that 3D/EYE will continue operating at its headquarters in Atlanta, GA while VDS will continue operations in Santa Clara, CA. Samir Hanna will remain CEO of 3D/EYE, however he has also taken on the responsibility of becoming vice-president of Research and Development for VDS. Mr. Tubridy stated, "This is only the beginning for 3D/EYE. VDS is very much focused in supporting 3D/EYE in the engineering and technical market spaces at the SOHO and consumer levels."
http://www.vds.com
http://www.3deye.com
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722.4 Correction – OpenWorlds
is a DraW Computing Product
In WAVE Issue 718, we incorrectly stated that OpenWorld’s C++ Library was a 3D Web product. This library is actually a DraW Computing product.
http://www.drawcomp.com
http://www.openworlds.com
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722.5 Intel – AGP Core Logic Chip
set announced – 440LX
by John Latta
Intel has announced the core logic ship set, the 440LX, that supports Pentium II processors and AGP. At the same time Intel announced 3 motherboards: AL440LX for single Pentium II systems, the NX440LX for small form factor Pentium II processors and the DK440LX for dual processors Pentium II’s. Volume production is underway now. There are two components to the chip set: PCI AGP Controller (PAC) in a 492 pin BGA and the PIIX4 in a 324 pin BGA package. The cost of the chip set is $64.
Intel has told the WAVE Report that at one time Intel had considered an AGP chip set for Socket 7 processors. However, the memory interface on this class of processors would have served both the L2 cache and the AGP. In their view this would have compromised AGP performance due to conflicts between cache usage and AGP access to system memory. The Pentium II is claimed to have superior performance due to the DIB (dual independent bus) between the CPU core and memory – both the L2 cache and the AGP chip set which serves both memory and the 3D accelerator.
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722.6 SAIC – SIMTools Products
by John Latta
Science Applications International Corp. has released a SIMTools product family for real time distributed visual simulation that runs under Windows 95 and NT. SIMTools allows for the building, execution, viewing and interaction of multiple active objects within simulation and training environments. SIMTools includes both software and packaged systems, however, this article will examine the software products
SIMTools Architect - $3,000
The core product which includes a standard DIS network communications server, an environment generator, a simulation manager and a tool for integrating user modules. Another tool is provided for training, analysis and collaborative decision making. Plug-ins are supported. Users can write their own or obtain modules from external developers. One external module comes from Boston Dynamics that simulates multiple individuals walking and moving in the environment.
SIMTools Stealth - $2,500
This is a plug-in for Architect that allows for multiple viewpoints. In addition, also supported are multiple terrain databases, 3D models, special effects including time of day and fog, special display types and 2D overlays, and camera scripting.
SIMTools Flight - $6,000
This software allows for the eyepoint to be a dynamic entity in the environment. There can be multiple objects in the same environment and they can see each other. An example, of this is multiple aircraft flying in the same space where the eyepoint is determined by the cockpit in the aircraft. Associated with each eyepoint is set of behaviors – in the case of an aircraft the motion dynamics. Flight is also a plug-in to Architect.
SIMTools Environment - $9,000
Environment is a real time scenario generation and execution system. User entities can include components in the air, sea, ground and space that may include sensors and platform dynamics. This module will be available 1 October 1997. This is a port of the Virtual Prototypes STAGE (Scenario Toolkit and Generation Environment) software from Virtual Prototypes.
SIMTools Composite Tracking System - $40,000
This component allows for multiple applications in the environment to execute over a network. The best example of this is sensors and active objects. Information can be dispatched across the simulation using emulations of actual communications systems between vehicles.
SIMTools will become HLA compatible with the addition of a HLA plug-in. Expected availability Q2 1998.
http://www.saic-simtools.com
http://www.bdi.com/
http://www.virtualprototypes.ca/
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722.7 Matrox m3D Accelerator Uses NEC
PowerVR PCX2
by John Latta
A 3D PCI upgrade card for $99, street price, called the Matrox m3D, and based on the NEC PowerVR PCX2 chip, will ship Q4 1997. Supporting up to 1024 X 768 resolutions, 4MB of SDRAM and bundled with 2 games Matrox claims the card will support game play at 30f/s.
By being an upgrade card this means that the PC owner must also have another PCI card for 2D acceleration. The m3D works in conjunction with a stackable HAL so that the resident 2D accelerator processes the 2D calls and the 3D calls by the m3D. This is not a replacement for the Mystique product but works along with it and other 2D cards. The m3D communicates with the VGA card over the PCI bus. It will also support TV out as long as this is also supported by the VGA card.
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722.8 National Semiconductor and Cyrix
- Shaking the PC Industry
by John Latta
There are early signs that important shifts are underway in the PC industry. It has been accepted for several years that the consumer sweet spot for PC purchases was in the range from $2,000 to $2,200. Machines below <$2,000 were seen as fire sale computers based on previous generation technology. More recently the sweet spot has begun to erode with useful computers at $1,500. Only in the first quarter of 1997 has a major change taken place with the dramatic success of the <$1,000 PC. Behind this move has been Cyrix. On July 28, 1997 National Semiconductor announced that it would be purchasing Cyrix. At the recent Robertson Stephens Semiconductor Conference (WAVE 718.4) both Cyrix and National Semiconductor spoke about their merger and these industry trends.
Cyrix has had a vision of making possible low cost PCs that could be afforded by a much broader audience than has been possible in the past. In fact, the company spoke last year at the Robertson Stephens Semiconductor conference about a PC available for $1,000 including a monitor. Few believed that such a capable machine could be produced but Cyrix and Compaq has demonstrated that this was possible. Cited were impressive statistics on the % of PC sales at the <$1,000 price point, at retail, in the US.
January February March
6% 15% 22%
The graphic sound bite was attached to these numbers – the sub $1,000 PCs were "flying from the shelves." It was also noted that the sales of PCs in the $1,500 price band had declined.
Yet, Cyrix was severely constrained in its ability to make this happen. At this year’s conference Cyrix admitted that as an independent company the obstacles were too great. For example, they stated that the company had difficulty in securing major Tier-1 OEM deals because they did not have fab. Further, without a license to Intel’s process technology they were limited in the number of independent fab companies that could be used. Cyrix believes that to implement their strategy there must be higher levels of integration on the chip of traditional PC functions, including multimedia. Yet, a relatively small company in the X86 microprocessor business has limited resources to pursue such an expansive agenda.
Brian Halla, the Chairman, CEO and President, National Semiconductor, spoke to his vision. He is certainly one of the most dynamic individuals in the semiconductor industry today. His presentation left no doubts that he has objectives for the merged companies.
Brian stated that it took several months of talks to understand that both companies were on very similar paths. That is, both companies were seeking to create the all-in-one highly integrated chips using the X86 architecture as the computing core. What Cyrix lacked was the resources to get the rest of the functions, such as multimedia and power management, to accomplish the all-in-one computer while National lacked the CPU core. It was indicated that they had a X86 project underway and the Cyrix purchase moved their efforts fast forward. Another key area for Cyrix is that National is an Intel fab licensee.
A key OEM in the success of this segment is Compaq with their Presario 2100 and 2200. In it is a Cyrix 180MHz Pentium like part. Cyrix has for this computer the two chip MediaGX.
Brian described how he sold Fairchild Semiconductor for $550m and used those funds were used to buy Cyrix.
He views the X86 architecture as a commodity. Because of its pervasive use in PCs this is the core which will launch a whole new set of opportunities based on the Information Appliance. Another term which has come into use is the Application Specific PC (ASPC). The key is tight integration of functions on one chip. Brian showed a rendering of such an integrated processor on a single chip. At the center, as the core, was the CPU and around it were the rest of the functions (with the source of the technology):
Power Management – PicoPower
MPEG Decoding – Mediamatics
Graphics and Sound – Cyrix
Modem
Temperature Sensor
Speaker Control – Boomer
Communications (1394, USB, 10/100 Ethernet)
Brian questioned why the PC industry should be thinking about a 70m unit year. In his mind this is not the issue with the potential for an information appliance – "../we need to be thinking about a 700m units…" In his view this will only come with all-in-one chip integration. The next step in the pricing curve is the sub $500 PC. As an illustration of the competition he cited the fact that 40m units of video games a year are sold. It is an irony of the market that these are being bought for 9 year olds by their parents. In Brian’s mind the next price goal should then be sub $200 PC.
Brian challenged the audience with "…the lowest cost parts are those with the most advanced technology." Thus, the concept of a $200 PC should not be seen as trivial technology scooping up the dregs of the market. Only leaders will be able to participate in this market.
A major advantage of the sub $1,000 PC is that it opens new markets. It allows low-income families to buy their first PC and "families such as ours to buy the 2nd and 3rd PC for our children."
On the operating system side he stated that Windows CE would merge with Windows NT and be the foundation of the ASPCs. This OS would displace Windows 95 or its predecessors in low cost appliances. He implied that having such a closely coupled OS with a mainline OS, Windows NT, is important in developing this market.
Brian closed by calling Intel the "black hole CPU" a reference to the Intel's high end-user costs.
The WAVE Report visited National Semiconductor and spoke with Michael Maia, Director of Marketing, Personal Systems Strategic Business Unit of National Semiconductor to follow-up on the presentation by Brian Halla.
The merger with Cyrix is not scheduled to complete until November, as a result the company is still reserved in what it can say about the merged organization. Thus, Michael brought a view most directly associated with the near term prospects of National’s current efforts.
Michael sees the dominant players in the X86 market positioned as follows. Intel is positioned at the high end and Merced is representative of the direction the company will continue to go. While AMD is seeking the Mid-Range of Personal Computing and most directly competitive with Intel. In contrast, Cyrix (and National when they merge) is focused on the low end. In particular they are focused on devices less than $999.
At present National has its attention focused on two of the most prevalent segments of the PC and related markets: NetPC and the NC. They see considerable evolution possible in the NetPC and have a reference design that is focused on significant cost reduction, it is highly integrated and Socket 7 based. In the NC market they are focused on the Strong Arm platform. However, they see this as a significantly smaller market that the NetPC.
As they extend the information appliance applications in other markets the following are on their short list:
Set-Top boxes
WebTV (This is an example of an Application Specific PC (ASPC))
Telephony - wireless
Intelligent Pagers
The latter two are ones which they see a near term product potential which directly leverages their strengths in analog and mixed signals, in particular communications.
Coming out of National’s development efforts is a high-speed internal bus architecture to be used within these highly integrated chips. The first implementation of this is due Q1 1998. When asked if this will be applicable to chips based on the Cyrix X86 core, the answer was – to be determined.
Another area they are excited about are new forms of displays which could support information appliances. One cited was the company MicroDisplay Corporation.
A key component in many of these new platforms will be wireless, which leverages their strengths in this area.
http://www.cyrix.com
http://www.national.com
http://www.microdisplay.com
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722.9 Points to Ponder – Extending
the PC into Commodity Markets
by John Latta
We are left wondering: Is driving the PC cost to consumer appliance levels, in Andy Grove’s words, a Strategic Inflection Point for the computing industry? At the center of this premise is the assumption that the PC, in the form of the X86 core, is a commodity from which much larger markets can be based. The industry has had clone X86 processors before and at each transition to the next generation Intel has raised the bar such that the clone companies are left playing generational catch up. We see the potential that it may be different this time. Our reasoning is as follows:
Information appliances do not need sophisticated processing techniques such as out of order execution to support Application Specific PCs (ASPC). Thus, it is doubtful that limited function PCs, and their core logic, will need to keep up with Merced to provide viable computing solutions;
Many of the extensions to the PC, such as multimedia and 3D, are not dependent on extending the X86 core so much as the associated processors and OS APIs;
The continued quest for unlimited processing, in the microprocessor, is leveling off, at least for many information processing requirements. Thus, there is little basis that a Merced will be required for future information appliances. In fact, the trend in the microprocessors is to larger dies sizes and greater power consumption – just the opposite of the needs of portable, battery operated and wireless devices.
Yet, if it can be assumed that a Pentium II or equivalent could be the basis of a 5+-year cycle of information appliances questions remain. For example:
Can ASPCs be cost competitive with dedicated function consumer electronics?
What OSs will support these appliances? (National spoke to Windows CE, yet it is not clear that this OS is at the level expected to support these appliances. Two areas include multimedia and networking.)
What are the near term markets which will provide the return sufficient to justify the significant investment required to create the highly integrated chip sets?
Will Intel let such a significant new market, even at the low end where it has not shown significant interest, be taken out from underneath it?
What role will 3D play and how much silicon real estate will it consume in these highly integrated devices?
If Brian Halla is even 50% right, and the market for ASPCs is only 350m units, a major shift in the PC market will have taken place – thus fitting of the label of a Strategic Inflection Point.
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722.10 NVIDIA – Design Wins Announced
and WHQL Certification Achieved
by John Latta
Design Wins - Dell, Gateway 2000, Diamond and STB
NVIDIA announced major design wins for its RIVA 128 2D and 3D accelerator on the heels of the Intel 440LX AGP chip set announcement. Wins were achieved with Dell, Gateway and Micron. Dell will use the RIVA 128 for its XPS D series for use at home and in the office. STB will be the card supplier. Gateway 2000 will use an AGP implementation on the G-266 and G-300XL products also with the STB card with 4MB of SGRAM. Micron, for its Millennia XKU systems, targeted for the consumer and SOHO market, will use the Diamond Viper card. At the same time Diamond announced its Viper card. NVIDIA also stated that STB, who first announced its support when the chip was announced at WinHEC, is an important supplier to the OEM market. At the same time, SGS THOMSON Microelectronics, its fab partner, announced from St. Genis Pouilly, France, design wins at: ASUSTek for AGP on the high end 3DexPlorer 3000 systems, Canopus will supply cards for both the US and Japanese markets using RIVA 128, ELSA introduced the VICTORY Eraxor entertainment board, E4 announced the Cool3D product line, Dooin Electronics will be using RIVA 128 and Mediaforte Products Pte. will be providing the RIVA 128 for its customers.
The Diamond Viper card, the V330, will be priced at $199.95 with 4MB. Only the PCI version will be sold at retail and the AGP version will be sold to OEMs.
First Real-Time 3D Chip to Achieve WHQL certification
NVIDIA announced that it is the first 3D multimedia chip company of achieve Microsoft's WHQL certification to run AGP under Direct X 5.0 and Windows 95.
The WAVE Report interviewed Michael Hara, NVIDIA, Director of Strategic Marketing, who provided the following background on the certification process.
"The accomplishments of the NVIDIA software team were great. We had to handle many firsts both here and at WHQL. We were the first multifunction graphics chip that passed "Designed for Windows NT and Windows 95". This didn't just include a D3D driver for win95. It included:
Certified Win95 Display drivers,
Certified Win95 Direct3D,
Certified Win95 DirectDraw,
Certified Win95 Video Port Extensions(VPE),
Certified Win95 DirectShow(ActiveMovie)
Passed all Win95/Memphis AGP tests
Certified WinNT4.0 Display Driver
Certified WinNT4.0 DirectDraw Driver
Certified WinNT4.0 OpenGL Driver
Passed all WinNT4.0 PC97 Tests
By getting these drivers certified in a timely manner, we have enabled our customers to ship WHQL certified systems. NVIDIA invested in writing high quality drivers early on and it showed in the short time period that first silicon came back and when WHQL process was complete. NVIDIA received it's initial prototype in April and received certification and was shipping production parts to customers in August. NVIDIA participated in Microsoft's self test process that allowed us to partner with Microsoft in completing certification within an aggressive schedule."
http://www.nvidia.com/
http://www.microsoft.com/hwtest
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722.11 Rendition – New Chip Family
Announced and Next Round of Financing
by John Latta
V2200 Chip Family Announced
Rendition announced a family of V2000 chips. The first, V2200 is sampling now and will be in production in September. In 10,000 unit quantities the pricing is $30 and lower with larger quantities. The V2200 specifications include:
50Mp/sec (bilinear)
500K t/sec
100MHz SGRAM up to 8MB
1X AGP, PCI and 66MHz PCI
Anti-aliasing
Specular lighting
Video Support Including
TV Out
Planar YUV conversion
Digital Video In (50MB/s)
Digital Video Out with selectable flicker filters
Motion Compensation
X-Y scaling/filtering
RAMDAC with 170,200, 230MHz Clock (w/230MHz later in 1997)
API Support
Direct X, OpenGL (MCD) and Speedy3D & RRedline(Rendition)
Process - .35 micron
3D WinBench – 208 WinMarks
The chip is accomplished in only 1.8m transistors. Rendition claims that this is 50% smaller that comparable products.
A V2100 was also announced with availability in Q1 1998 at lower performance and in a 208 PQFP. 3D WinBench of 175 WinMarks.
Due in H1 1998 is the next member of the family the VXXX, which will have greater performance than the V2200. It will be announced in Q1 1998
All V2000 products are pin compatible with the V1000.
Rendition Receives Equity Financing for $22m
Rendition announced on 4 August, 1997 that it had received $22m in equity financing from an investor group lead by Patricof & Co. The partners included the CIT Group, CSK Venture Capital Company Ltd., and Velocity Venture. Hambrecht & Quist LLC was the investment banker.
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722.12 Veronis, Suhler – 1997 Communications
Industry Forecast Released
by John Latta
The annual update to the Communications Industry Forecast has just been released. It is again the source of benchmark data for the communications industry. The segments covered include: television, radio, subscription video, film, recorded music, newspapers, consumer books, consumer magazines, business communications, professional publishing, and interactive digital media. Some facts of note:
In 1996 the average consumer spending on subscription video
was $140
while movies were only $27.
Interactive Digital Media spending was $39.31 in 1996 and this
is
expected to grow to $75.63 by 2001
Consumer spending on books was $16.2b in 1996
The consumer on-line market was $4.24B, while the packaged multimedia
software market was $1.8b and the video game market $2.4 in 1996
The consumer on-line market is expected to reach $12.7b in 2001
On-Line Advertising will rise from $200m in 1996 to $2.5b in 2001
There are 395 pages of market data and insights across the whole communications and media industries.
The report is priced at $995 and is available at:
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722.13 E&S – Comparison Between
REALimage 1000 and REALImage 2000
by John Latta
E&S offered the following to highlight the similarities and differences between the 1000 and 2000 chips. The 2000 was described in our SIGGRAPH article in WAVE 721.1.3.
REALimage 1000 REALimage 2000
Ingest Geometry Rate 2M Primitives/sec 4M Primitives/sec
Pixel Rate: Bilinear MIPmapped 60Mp/sec 90Mp/sec
Pixel Rate: Trilinear MIPmapped 30Mp/sec 45Mp/sec
Maximum Frame Buffer 15MB 30MB
Maximum Texture Memory 16MB 32MB
Maximum Screen Resolution 1280 x 1024 x 32 @ 85Hz
1600 x 1200 x 32@ 85Hz
1920 x 1080 x 32 @ 85Hz
E&S also informed the WAVE Report that both REALimage 1000 and REALimage 2000 support both AGP and PCI.
At SIGGRAPH, they announced the availability of a new AGP DMA chip for the REALimage 1000. Since the REALimage 1000 has a DMA chip in front of it that handles the actual interface to the I/O bus, E&S is able to introduce both a faster PCI DMA chip and a new AGP DMA chip.
The REALimage 2000 has incorporated the DMA engine into the graphics controller. This eliminates the DMA chip in front of the graphics controller (i.e., lower chip count for board build) and allows the graphics controller to interface directly to the I/O bus (i.e., lower latency in transactions). The REALimage 2000 is designed to support both 3-volt and 5-volt signals, allowing it to directly interface to AGP, PCI 66MHz and PCI 33MHz.
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722.14 4th WAVE, Parent of
WAVE, Revamps Website Offering New Features!
(August 26)
4th WAVE, parent of WAVE Report, has created an all new website (http://www.fourthwave.com), which details its consulting strengths in high technology industries. Among the features of the new site are descriptions of the consulting services offered by 4th WAVE in its core business areas of 3D, virtual reality, and multimedia, as well as a growing diverse list of other technologies.
Also at the site:
Descriptions of 4th WAVE and WAVE Report on Digital Media
Contact Information
Descriptions of the industries we cover
3D
Entertainment
Internet
Investment
Multimedia
Primary Research
Virtual Reality
Other
Sample market data from 4th WAVE
Tables and Charts related to recent WAVE articles
WAVE appreciates its continuous reader support and looks to utilize the website as a way to enhance each issue, through tables and charts over the Internet.
If you have any suggestions or comments about the new site, please feel free to contact Jonathan Sunberg at jsunberg@fourthwave.com. If you would like to learn more about 4th WAVE or WAVE please contact John Latta at jnl@fourthwave.com.
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Copyright 1997 4th WAVE, Inc.
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Comments on or questions about WAVE: wave@fourthwave.com
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