On the heels of their award-winning collaboration on the HISTORY™ refresh earlier this year, Blue Room has been tapped to create an international version of the graphics package. AETN International, the international sales division of HISTORY, turned to the New York-based creative services agency to convert all domestic HISTORY refresh graphics to international formats and standards taking into account multiple time zones, languages, different alphabets and alphabets that read right to left. Blue Room provided the network with After Effects toolkits with separate aspect ratios for different regions/countries including: 4×3 PAL and NTSC, 16×9 PAL and NTSC, 1080i @ 59.97fps HD, and 1080i @ 50fps HD. The refresh began its roll out internationally in September and will be completed by January 2009. more

Fluid, innovators in creating a collaborative of Original Music, Editorial, Design and Interactive resources, celebrates its 10th Anniversary in October. Launched in fall 1998 by founding partners: Composer/EP David Shapiro, Composer Andrew Sherman, and Managing Partner/EP Marc Schwartz, Fluid now boasts a staff of 35. With its recent partnership with Boom Design Group, the company has extended its reach into interactive web design and development.

Says Shapiro, “We’ve grown incrementally over the years, with the help of so many outstanding talented people. The diversity of what we offer has allowed us to sustain steady growth in challenging times for our industry.” more

NewBlueFX Introduces “Video Essentials” Effects Plugin Suite The “Swiss Army Knife” of Video Effects Collections

Video, Multimedia and Technology Editors

LA JOLLA, CA (September 22, 2008)— NewBlue, Inc. announces NewBlue Video Essentials, a comprehensive collection of NewBlueFX video plugins designed to enhance, optimize, and accelerate productivity and workflow. Featuring an indispensable toolbox of 10 distinct video effects plugins, NewBlue Video Essentials aids video professionals and enthusiasts in repairing, refining and improving their video. more

Please Visit IBC Stand 7.J30

Revolutionary PCIe storage technology pioneer catapults into the European broadcast and video post production markets at IBC

AMSTERDAM – September 12, 2008 – JMR Electronics, Inc. (www.jmr.com), a premier innovator of Storage and Server Platforms for OEMs, Systems Integrators and VARS, will showcase its revolutionary and patented BlueStor™ PeSAN™ PCIe storage solutions at the IBC Conference and Exhibition, held at the RAI Centre in Amsterdam. The company will co-exhibit with a distribution partner, Global Distribution, at display 7.J30. more

PORTLAND, Ore. - Sept. 8, 2008 - Cascade ACM SIGGRAPH, Oregon and Southwest Washington’s local SIGGRAPH chapter, today announced that renowned visual consultant Bruce Block will address the Portland community regarding his unique aesthetic theories behind visual structure and style. His lecture, based on his prominent book, “The Visual Story,” will showcase intriguing visual examples of how these theories may be used within the direct planning and production of new projects, bridging the gap between theory and practice. The event will take place at the University of Oregon Portland Programs Center on Wednesday, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. more

Leading visual effects software developer, The Foundry, (www.thefoundry.co.uk) has appointed Richard Shackleton as the new product manager for Nuke, its leading-edge VFX compositing system. Shackleton has over 15 years experience of product development in the visual effects/editing markets, having previously worked in similar roles with well-known manufacturers, including The Foundry. He takes over from Matt Plec who has become Nuke product designer. more

LOS ANGELES (SIGGRAPH Booth #521) – Several of Sony’s highest-profile technologies were highlighted across the SIGGRAPH 2008 Conference last week.

The Sony technologies on display ranged from 4K SXR® ultra-high resolution projection systems to the Cell/B.E. (Cell Broadband Engine™) for multimedia computing applications such as computer graphics and scientific visualization that require massive data quantities to be processed.

“The production community is relying more on high-powered processing and interactive technologies for visualization, motion picture animation, simulation, CAD/CAM work and post-production,” said Andre Floyd, marketing manager for SXRD systems at Sony Electronics. “The Cell technology is driving a range of diverse applications, from our Playstation3 system to now production for motion pictures and visual effects end-to-end workflows. Sony’s 4K SXRD projector is the ideal device to display the full power of the Cell processor.” more

CBS Affiliate in Roanoke, VA Streamlines HD and SDI Broadcasts

AJA Video Systems, a leading manufacturer of professional video interface and conversion solutions, announced today that it has completed a sale of 23 FS1 converters to CBS affiliate WDBJ-TV in Roanoke, VA, via AJA reseller Digital Video Group, Inc. The FS1 is a universal HD and SD, audio and video frame synchronizer and converter supporting virtually any input or output format. more

LoiLo, Inc. today introduced LoiLoScope, their breakthrough video editing software that redefines the video editing experience with speed, sophistication and playfulness never before seen in video editing software. LoiLoScope introduces an entirely new user interface based on an unconstrained, infinitely zoom-able workspace. Their pioneering direct interface with the graphic processing unit (GPU) lets users create and manipulate HD videos freely with one-touch operation and without time-consuming rendering. more

SPEC’s Graphics and Workstation Performance Group (SPEC/GWPG) announced a wide range of upcoming benchmarks at the SIGGRAPH 2008 conference in Los Angeles.

The new offerings will include a power-performance benchmark for workstations, a new version of SPECviewperf, and new and updated application benchmarks. All are slated for release before spring of next year.

“Under our expanded charter announced last year, we are branching out in new directions such as power consumption, while continuing to move ahead with our graphics and workstation application benchmarks,” says George Chaltas, SPEC/GWPG chair. “The overriding objective is to apply SPEC’s expertise and proven methodologies in areas that provide the most value to users, vendors and testing labs worldwide.” more