SAN FRANCISCO & BERLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--mental images, a global leader in rendering software and visualization tools and wholly-owned subsidiary of NVIDIA, announced today that its iray® rendering solution has been incorporated into the Autodesk Subscription Advantage Pack for Autodesk 3ds Max 2011 and 3ds Max Design 2011 software. Harnessing iray rendering technology and the parallel processing power of NVIDIA® graphics processing units (GPUs), 3ds Max and 3ds Max Design 2011 subscribers will now be able to render images with much higher speed and accuracy, more effortlessly achieving photorealism.

“Our objective in incorporating mental images’s iray rendering technology with Autodesk 3ds Max and 3ds Max Design is to make it easier for design professionals to create realistic images in a fraction of the time,” said Ken Pimentel, director of Visual Communication Solutions at Autodesk. “Artists and designers can now focus more on their creative vision without having to spend time on elaborate render settings.”

iray rendering technology balances ease-of-use and scene setup with a higher quality final frame output. A highly productive workflow is achieved by enabling artists to more accurately simulate their creations with “push button” rendering. Only a small number of intuitive settings are required to bring about the lifelike appearance more quickly, using materials and lighting that relate to the physical world. During final rendering, iray rendering technology progressively refines the image until a desired level of quality is reached, giving the artist faster insight into the appearance of the final result with full control over the time it takes to render. iray rendering technology leverages NVIDIA GPUs to deliver unbelievably fast photorealism.

"iray technology has radically changed our production workflow. We are able to create the highest quality images and receive immediate feedback in just a few seconds when using iray with NVIDIA GPUs," said Dionissios Tsangaropoulos, CEO of Delta Tracing. "In addition, fewer settings to test mean more time can be spent on the actual creative process, and all without compromising the production of our ultra-realistic images. This is truly a rendering revolution."

iray technology supports the Autodesk Materials set, IES light profiles and seamlessly enables a designated object to become a light emitting entity with texture support. This helps ease the set up times for complex lighting scenarios within the scene. iray technology automatically uses all valid processors within a system, with NVIDIA GPUs based on the NVIDIA Fermi architecture delivering over 5X* the performance of a typical quad-core CPU for iray rendering.

"The incorporation of iray into 3ds Max and 3ds Max Design represents a milestone in our cooperation with Autodesk and marks the beginning of a new era in visualization," said Rolf Herken, CEO and CTO, mental images. “Thanks to ten years of fundamental algorithm research, world-class engineering and the unprecedented high performance computing capabilities of the GPU, rendering a truly photorealistic image has now become as easy as taking a picture.”

The Subscription Advantage Pack with iray technology is now available to current Autodesk Subscription customers on the Autodesk Subscription center at subscription.autodesk.com.

*As measured using a Quadro 5000 or Tesla C2050 vs. an Intel Xeon X5570 CPU.

About mental images

mental images, founded in 1986, is a recognized international leader in providing component and platform software for the creation, manipulation and visualization of 3D content. Its rendering and other technologies are used by the entertainment, computer-aided design, architecture, scientific visualization, and other industries that require sophisticated images primarily as part of their software products and application services. mental images is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the NVIDIA Corporation with headquarters in Berlin, Germany, a subsidiary in the United States, mental images, Inc., and a subsidiary in Melbourne, Australia, mental images Pty Ltd. mental images has a multinational staff of top qualified engineers exclusively dedicated to basic research and development in the area of 3D graphics and 3D Web Applications and Services technologies. For more information, visit www.mentalimages.com.

About NVIDIA

NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) awakened the world to the power of computer graphics when it invented the GPU in 1999. Since then, it has consistently set new standards in visual computing with breathtaking, interactive graphics available on devices ranging from tablets and portable media players to notebooks and workstations. NVIDIA’s expertise in programmable GPUs has led to breakthroughs in parallel processing which make supercomputing inexpensive and widely accessible. The company holds more than 1,100 U.S. patents, including ones covering designs and insights which are fundamental to modern computing. For more information, see www.nvidia.com.

Certain statements in this press release including, but not limited to, statements as to: the impact and benefits of iray rendering technology and the NVIDIA GPU; expertise in visual computing and parallel processing; and the impact of NVIDIA’s patents on modern computing are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause results to be materially different than expectations. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include: global economic conditions; our reliance on third parties to manufacture, assemble, package and test our products; the impact of technological development and competition; development of faster or more efficient technology; design, manufacturing or software defects; changes in consumer preferences or demands; changes in industry standards and interfaces; unexpected loss of performance of our products or technologies when integrated into systems; as well as other factors detailed from time to time in the reports NVIDIA files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, including its Form 10-Q for the fiscal period ended August 1, 2010. Copies of reports filed with the SEC are posted on NVIDIA’s website and are available from NVIDIA without charge. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and speak only as of the date hereof, and, except as required by law, NVIDIA disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances.

© 2010 NVIDIA Corporation. All rights reserved. NVIDIA and the NVIDIA logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of NVIDIA Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. mental images and iray are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of mental images GmbH in Berlin, Germany; in the United States; and in other countries. Other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated. Features, pricing, availability, and specifications are subject to change without notice.

Double Forte Marketing + Communications for mental images:
Nicole Arena, +1-415-848-8103
narena@double-forte.com