Discreet Launches First High-End Online Editing System for the Linux Operating System
MONTREAL (Sep. 04, 2003) -- Discreet announced the high-end non-linear editing and finishing system for the Linux operating system, smoke 6. The addition of Linux workstation support in the version 6 release, combined with new pricing, will significantly extend Discreet's market for smoke; ensuring its accessibility to broadcasters and a new segment of mid-range post-production facilities. Discreet will debut both Linux and Irix versions of smoke 6 at the International Broadcasting Convention in Amsterdam, The Netherlands (booth 7.421) from September 12-16, 2003.
With more than seven years of leadership in online editing, smoke will be one of the most sophisticated digital media applications ever released on the Linux operating system. The performance of today's PC workstations combined with newly enhanced capabilities of the Linux operating system enables robust support for the rigorous editing and finishing performance demands of smoke. smoke 6 on Linux is a standard definition (SD) editing system designed to work with Red Hat Linux 8 and will ship as a turnkey solution on IBM's high-performance IntelliStation Z Pro 6221 workstation.[an error occurred while processing this directive]"Discreet has shown that not only is a high-powered creative solution possible on a Linux workstation, but that it delivers phenomenal performance," said Bob Lenard, Director for IBM IntelliStation Workstations. "Similar to our experience in other industries, we are now finding that post and broadcast companies are migrating to Linux for its surprising speed. Artists looking for the finest creative applications available will find that smoke 6 delivers them unparalleled performance."
The smoke 6 IBM system features high quality OpenGL graphics, uncompressed standard definition video I/O (PAL/NTSC) and a choice of Discreet's high-performance stone(R) Fibre Channel storage arrays, including the option for fully redundant hardware RAID 5 solutions.
"By taking advantage of NVIDIA's extensive Linux capabilities and the Quadro FX 3000G graphics genlocking feature, smoke 6 should radically reset industry expectations of what is possible on IA based workstations," said Jeff Brown, director of workstation product management at NVIDIA. "Discreet and NVIDIA's development teams have collaborated to develop and deliver a solid, turnkey solution. Discreet's breakthrough innovation to take advantage of the full capabilities of NVIDIA'a Quadro graphics is enabling advanced functionality on standard platforms--a trend that we expect to see change the landscape of professional visual computing."
"Discreet's move to embrace new platforms for smoke 6 is a watershed event," said Paul Lypaczewski, Discreet general manager and executive vice president, Autodesk, Inc. "We're offering digital media professionals choices--one of the most valuable benefits a manufacturer can provide. With access to a mature, robust and production-proven editing system on a choice of platforms, clients gain greater flexibility and efficiency in how their facilities are equipped."
Linux/Irix Platform Transparency
With smoke 6 Discreet is introducing a cross-platform software design that will provide clients with more choice in the types of hardware infrastructure in which to invest. Discreet clients now have greater freedom to choose between platforms or to migrate between platforms depending on their exact facility and productivity requirements.
"With today's general purpose PC workstations, we can now deliver a software solution that does not compromise the level of performance required for online editing and finishing," said Martin Vann, vice-president of worldwide sales and marketing for Discreet. "As Moore's law pushes PC performance and throughput, our users will achieve significant benefits without the need for investing in proprietary boardsets."
Pricing and Availability
smoke 6 will be available as a turnkey system for Linux on the IBM Zpro 6221 IntelliStation workstation, and Irix on the new SGI Tezro(TM). Discreet plans to release smoke 6 for Linux in early 2004. For price information, please contact Discreet Sales at: 1 (800) 869-3504 or +001 (514) 393-1616, or visit www.discreet.com.
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