Silicon Graphics Inc, Mountain View, California has joined the race to support really sexy animation and graphics on workstations with launch of its Live Video Digitiser option for the Iris 4D/GTX Series stations. Key feature of the option is that it enables users to integrate real-time three-dimensional graphics with full colour video imagery, and the company cliams that unlike other video products, which display only the video on the screen, it enables users to overlay and blend in 3D graphics with the video. Computer graphic images can move in real time, and include both real-world and computer generated components. The Live Video Digitiser takes a signal from a video source – TV camera, video tape recorder, integrates it into the graphics system of the workstation and displays it in a window on the screen – and the 4Sight windowing systems enable this to be done while other applications run concurrently in a multi-windowed environment. It digitises and displays at up to 30 frames a second; has inputs for RGB and composite video at NTSC and PAL resolution; and software control of hue, saturation, brightness and contrast. It is available in four configurations, running at from 15 to 30 frames a second in both the US NTSC and PAL – for most of Europe – TV standards, will sell for from $6,000, with first shipments set for July.
Content from our partners
