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X-FACTOR SPEEDS DIGITAL VIDEO PRODUCTION WITH GRID TECHNOLOGY

GridIron Software, a developer of Grid computing solutions, announced the availability of its X- Factor extension for Adobe After Effects Professional 6.5. Adobe After Effects Professional creates motion graphics and effects for film, video, DVD and the Web, and uses the X-Factor extension to allow digital professionals to use Grid computing technology to rapidly increase the speed of preview and rendering capabilities in an easy-to-use and non-intrusive manner.

X-Factor by GridIron divides and distributes the work ordinarily performed on a single computer among several computers joined together in a network, allowing Adobe After Effects users to complete preview processing and rendering twice as fast on two computers than on one, three times as fast on three computers, and so on. Unlike a render farm, which uses multiple computers for the final rendering of frames at the end of a project, X-Factor speeds up processing while After Effects 6.5 is being used. Preview processing and rendering take place in the background, allowing the full computing power of the Adobe After Effects workstation to be used for other tasks at the same time.

The bundling of X-Factor with Adobe After Effects represents the first time Grid computing technology has been offered with a commercial software product for consumers and small-to-medium businesses. Early users of X-Factor are seeing dramatic improvements to their digital media rendering and editing applications due to increased computing power provided by Grid computing technology.

"Even after working with After Effects as our primary design and effects program for seven years, I was astonished with the performance improvement X-Factor provides," said Scott Bryant, owner and creative director of Steam, a production company specializing in live action and graphic design for advertising. "A high-definition project that took over 33 minutes to render locally with After Effects was completed in just 1 minute, 54 seconds using a Grid of 10 computers. The introduction of X-Factor has fundamentally changed our HD workflow."

"X-Factor makes it easy and affordable for Adobe After Effects users to realize impressive gains in productivity," said Dave Trescot, senior director of Digital Video for Adobe. "X-Factor greatly extends the value of After Effects by reducing time and processing limitations. Adobe After Effects Professional users can now spend less time rendering and invest more time in their creative efforts."

Steve Forde, president and CEO of GridIron Software said, "GridIron has received tremendous reaction from Adobe After Effects users and the industry for X-Factor, and the demand keeps growing. GridIron has brought traditional Grid computing to the digital content market, allowing professionals to use this technology to create and render projects never before possible due to time and technology constraints. Our work with Adobe underscores this, and demonstrates the ongoing need for abundant, low-cost processing power, particularly as broadcast production houses and professionals migrate rapidly to high-definition standards."

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