In nuce: Nvidia, the developer of graphics processors, has released an extensive update for Omniverse Enterprise. This is according to a message on 80.lv, published on 4 January this year (based on the official announcement of 3 January 2023 by Senior Director Brian Harrison, published on Nvidia’s blog). The most important new features include: Omniverse DeepSearch, new Omniverse Connectors, innovations for key components of the Omniverse platform – and generally higher performance.

Click back: Digital Production reported on12 August last year when Nvidia announced a new toolset for Omniverse, including the introduction of Omniverse DeepSearch for the Omniverse Enterprise version.

In toto: Interested parties will find a compact list of the most important new features below.

• New connectors: These are intended to allow users a seamless workflow across application boundaries. According to the announcement on 80.lv, applications such as Adobe Substance 3D Painter, Autodesk Alias, PTC Creo and Paraview from Kitware are now also supported as part of the update. Substance 3D Painter is a 3D texturing tool (see Digital Production from 10.06.2022); Autodesk Alias is an industrial design application that is primarily used for automotive design; PTC Creo is a professional 3D CAD(computer-aided design) application; Paraview is used to visualise scientific content and is available open source.
• Omniverse DeepSearch will be made generally available. In our report from 12 August 2022, we outlined how DeepSearch works for our readers. There we wrote: “With DeepSearch, users can also search databases filled with 3D assets that have not been indexed. To do this, the user uses keywords (e.g. “yellow pyramid”, “high tower” or “pointed octahedron”) to find the objects they are looking for.”
• Key components of Omniverse DeepSearch have been improved: These improvements include the fact that Omniverse Create now supports Nvidia DLSS 3 (Deep Learning Super Sampling). Digital Production reported on DLSS 3 on 11 November 2022, as part of the release of Omniverse Create 2022.3, explaining that the support would not only result in “performance improvements, but also additional frames would be generated in real time – via the RTX renderer”. The background to this: DLSS 3 is a new technology that handles render upscaling and frame generation, built into Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 40 series graphics cards.” In addition to DLSS 3, the update now also supports multiple viewports, Omniverse View has been made more user-friendly and Omniverse Nucleus comes with improved IT management tools.
• Revised user interface: The user interface should be more user-friendly and perform better. In addition, Kubernetes from Google is now also supported. According to wikipedia.org, Kubernetes is an open-source system that can be used to manage container applications.
• New cloud containers: These are offered for, as stated on 80.lv, “Enterprise Nucleus Server, Replicator, Farm and Isaac Sim for Amazon Web Services” (see links for further details). It goes on to say that these new cloud containers are particularly useful for facilitating teamwork.

Read on: In our previous three-part advertorial series on Nvidia’s Omniverse, we reported on the basics of the collaboration platform (“Omniverse” on page 56 of DP 03 : 2022), how it can be set up professionally (“Getting started with Omniverse” on p. 84 of DP 04 : 2022) and how a sensible workflow can be set up (“Working in Omniverse” on p. 87 of DP 05 : 2022; the issue is also available as a free trial copy!).

Sources: 80.lv ( announcement by Ana Kessler), blogs.nvidia.com ( announcement by Brian Harrison)

The post Nvidia’s Omniverse gets an extensive update! first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Patrick Poti.

Several years in development and now finally available: The VLC 3.0 version of Videolan‘s media player. The update is called “Vetinari” and comes with useful new features, here is a hopefully equally useful overview:

New VLC 3.0 features

While not much has changed visually in the interface itself, users can look forward to many new functions. According to Videolan, the 3.0 version will be the last with support for older platforms such as Windows XP and Vista – so watch out if you install it on your parents’, grandparents’ or authorities’ computers.

Network, HDR, 360° and Chromecast

With the new update, local network browsing is now possible, with support for SMB, FTP, SFTP and NTFS, among others. Furthermore, the player now also offers HDR thanks to new 12-bit codecs and extended colour spaces. 360° videos and 3D audio can also be viewed and listened to via VLC. Ambisonics audio and more than 8 audio channels are also supported. HD audio codecs can be forwarded directly to external systems. A long-awaited feature for many users is the stream option to Chromecast, even for formats that are not natively supported. Those who also want to watch videos in high resolutions and fps can use the automatically activated hardware decoding.

Hardware decoding & codecs

Since the update, hardware decoding is possible on all supported platforms, which means you can now watch 4K and 8K videos. The following hardware decoders, among others, have been added for acceleration:

• HEVC hardware decoding (Windows, Android, macOS, iOS)
• MPEG-2, VC1/VMV3 decoding (Android)
• New VA-API decoder and rendering for Linux

In addition to reworking the MP4, PS and TS containers, Videolan has also added support for the following codecs: Cineform, TDSC, Canopus HQX, SpeedHQ, Pixlet, QDMC and FMVC decoders, as well as experimental AV1 and Daala video decoders. A complete list can be found in the release notes.

Compatibility

VLC 3.0 Media Player is available for almost every platform. Supported platforms include Windows XP to 10 RS3, macOS 10.7 – 10.13, iOS 7 – 11, Android from 2.3 – 8.1, GNU/Linux, Ubuntu. Further information can be found here.

To the download

The post VLC 3.0 Media Player: With 8K, HDR and Chromecast support first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.