SynEyes Makes Tracks for Linux

The SynthEyes 3-D tracking application completes a triple-header with the introduction of its Linux version by developer Andersson Technologies LLC, joining the existing Windows and Mac OS X versions.

Says company founder Dr. Russell Andersson: Weve had more and more interest in Linux as visual effects studios look to upgrade older equipment and shift their entire production pipeline onto a common operating-system platform. Studios value the control they can achieve with a Linux configuration, emphasizing workstation productivity, versus the increasingly consumer-centric focus of Windows and OS X.

To support robust production use, SynthEyes for Linux is designed to work with the major supported Linux builds, RHEL/CentOS 6 and Ubuntu 12.04 LTS. It should also run on common distributions such as Debian, Fedora, Mint, openSUSE, etc. Customers can explore the free SynthEyes for Linux demonstration version, downloadable starting at http://www.ssontech.com/regis.htm

SynthEyes for Linux is available now for 699 US dollars (USD). The SynthEyes cross-platform license expands to encompass Windows and OS X and now Linux for 799 USD (http://www.ssontech.com/simultan.htm). The Windows and Mac OS X versions continue at 599 USD. For students and hobbyists, an entry-level Intro version (http://www.ssontech.com/introlim.htm) for Windows or Mac is 399 USD.

A one-year site license for qualifying educational institutions is 495 USD (http://www.ssontech.com/educate.htm). Contact the company with particulars for information on volume licenses for student computers.

For existing customers, upgrade pricing varies depending on the versions; for example, a SynthEyes 2011 64-bit license upgrade to SynthEyes Pro for Linux is 273 USD. See the online order form for specific upgrade and non-USD pricing for all versions.

* Background Information on SynthEyes

SynthEyes is a 3-D camera tracking (aka match-moving) software application which is widely used in film, television, commercial, and music video post-production. SynthEyes can examine an image sequence from a live-action shoot and determine how the real camera moved, the cameras field of view, and where various features were in 3-D, so that computer-generated imagery can be inserted precisely into the shot. [screen shot link below]

Tracking artists use SynthEyes to help insert animated creatures or vehicles; fix shaky shots; extend or fix a physical set; add virtual sets to green-screen shoots; produce 3D stereoscopic films; create architectural previews; reconstruct accidents; do product placements after a shoot; add 3D cybernetic implants, cosmetic effects, or injuries to actors; produce panoramic backdrops or clean plates; build textured 3-D meshes from images; add 3-D particle effects; and capture face or body motion to create computer-generated characters.

SynthEyes handles camera tracking, object tracking, object tracking from reference meshes, survey shots, multi-camera and -object tracking, tripod (nodal, 2.5-D) tracking, mixed tripod and translating shots, stereoscopic shots, nodal stereoscopic shots, zooms, lens distortion, rolling-shutter shots, controllable stabilization, motion capture, and light solving. A keyer simplifies and speeds tracking for green-screen shots. The image preprocessor helps remove grain, compression artifacts, off-centering, and varying lighting, with RAM and disk caching. Textures can be extracted for a mesh from the image sequence, producing higher resolution and lower noise than any individual image, for set reconstruction and clean plate generation.

SynthEyes offers complete control over the tracking process for challenging shots, including an efficient workflow for supervised trackers, combined automated/supervised tracking, offset tracking, incremental solving, multi-phase solving, hard and soft path locking, distance constraints for low-perspective shots, and cross-camera constraints for stereo. Users can set up a coordinate system with tracker constraints, camera constraints, an automated ground-plane-finding tool, by aligning to a mesh, a line-based single-frame alignment system, manually, or with advanced solver-phase-based techniques.

SynthEyes exports to about 25 common animation and compositing packages, all included standard. A multi-export tool can output any number of formats in one step. A Python API/SDK is available.

* The Company

Andersson Technologies LLC is located outside Philadelphia near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania and is headed by computer vision and robotics expert Dr. Russell Andersson. SynthEyes has been solving the toughest problems for visual effects professionals since 2003, with customers in over 75 countries.

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