Supercharge Your Creative Workflow - See how AMD boosts the quality and performance experience on Adobe Photoshop® CC and Adobe Premiere® Pro CC

Supercharge Your Creative Workflow - See how AMD boosts the quality and performance experience on Adobe Photoshop® CC and Adobe Premiere® Pro CCAMD is a sponsor of this year’s Adobe MAX, The Creative Conference in Los Angeles (May 4-8) where we are pleased to announce continued collaboration with Adobe to boost quality and performance of new and enhanced features in the latest versions of both Adobe Photoshop CC and Adobe Premiere Pro CC, by leveraging the massive compute horsepower in AMD APUs, AMD RadeonTM HD graphics, and AMD FireProTM Professional graphics. By continuing to use an open standard, cross-platform approach with OpenCL™ and OpenGL, coupled with the affordable and flexible licensing terms of Adobe’s Creative Cloud membership, Adobe is bringing the benefits of acceleration in its flagship products to a broad range of PC form factors for all types of users.  Now that Adobe and AMD have shattered the cost and performance barriers, any creative pro or consumer can access the tools needed to follow their dreams. Last month at NAB 2013, I posted a blog highlighting AMD and Adobe’s announcementon expanded OpenCL support for Premiere Pro, including multi-stream and mixed-format accelerated workflows with real-time effects, color grading, and finishing with hardware-accelerated rendering to the chosen final destination format. Today AMD has more good news: Premiere Pro offers even more OpenCL-accelerated features, including the following: OpenCL hardware-powered rendering with Adobe Media Encoder. Users can queue up multiple Premiere Pro projects to be rendered using all of the available GPU horsepower in the background. Multi-GPU support. Users with multiple AMD graphics devices in their PC can achieve fast render results by leveraging all of their GPUs.The latest version of Adobe Photoshop adds new and enhanced features on top of the dozens of existing open hardware-accelerated features. Adobe Photoshop’s impressive list of GPU-accelerated features now includes the following:An all-new, higher-quality Smart Sharpen filter. The new Smart Sharpen filter leverages OpenCL and AMD graphics technology to sharpen images faster1 while minimizing halo effects on distinct edges and providing precise noise reduction control.An enhanced Blur Gallery. The Blur Gallery now harnesses the power of AMD graphics technology to deliver mouse-down previews quickly, accurately, and in high on-screen resolution of up to a million pixels. This high-quality, instant on-screen feedback allows artists to work more efficiently without unnecessary disruptions to their creative workflow. Non-destructive hardware accelerated Blur Gallery effects are applied as as Smart Objects to create a desired look for images and even video within Photoshop CC. Faster Liquify. Performance enhancements made to the Liquify effect  so that creative professionals can now push, pull, rotate, reflect, pucker, or bloat selected image areas to achieve unique artistic effects with greater speed2 while working with even the largest images. And now with the added Smart Object support, you can create, edit, and maintain a specific look without having to ever start over. Both Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere Pro fully support advanced display technologies, such as 4K and AMD Eyefinity multi-display technology. If you are at Adobe MAX this year, please come check us out (Booth #115). See www.amd.com/adobe for updated information about AMD and Adobe. With Adobe Creative Cloud, a simple monthly membership gives you the complete collection of Adobe creative desktop applications. Along with cloud storage, Creative Cloud members automatically get access to new tools and product updates as soon as they’re released.For more information about AMD PerformanceDetails about AMD and AdobeFor more information about AMD FirePro™ GraphicFind more great apps accelerated by AMD at www.amd.com/appzoneFor more information about AdobeFor more information about AMDClarice Simmons is a Senior Marketing Manager at AMD. Her postings are her own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites, and references to third party trademarks, are provided for convenience and illustrative purposes only. Unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such links, and no third party endorsement of AMD or any of its products is implied
1 - AMD tests are performed on optimized AMD reference systems. PC manufacturers may vary configuration yielding different results.  Test project used the new “Smart Sharpen” effect with Adobe Photoshop CC pre-release build, version 1.0.0.157 from 4/23/2013, test image: 5616x3744, 60.2MB, .PSD format.  A notebook PC with AMD A10-5850M APU with AMD Radeon™ HD 8650G Graphics, 2x2GB DDR3-800 RAM, video driver 12.105.0.0 - 07-Apr-2013, SSD hard drive and Window 8 Professional (x64) build 9200 took 14.84 seconds with GPU acceleration on versus 31.03 seconds with GPU acceleration off.  RIN-272- AMD tests are performed on optimized AMD reference systems. PC manufacturers may vary their configuration yielding different results. Test project used the new “Liquify” effect with Adobe Photoshop CC pre-release build, version 1.0.0.157 from 4/23/2013 compared to the original “Liquify” in Photoshop CS6 released in May 2012, test image: 5616x3744, 60.2MB, .PSD format, on a notebook PC with AMD A10-4600M APU with AMD Radeon™ HD 7660G Graphics, 2x2GB DDR3-1600 RAM, SSD hard drive and Window 8 Professional (x64) build 9200. he original “Liquify” effect (with video driver: 8.981.0.0 - 06/20/2012) took 7.47 seconds and the new “Liquify” effect (with video driver: 9.17.10.2932 - 2/12/2012) took 36.67 seconds.  RIN-28

View the original article here

Read More

Product News : SAMSUNG’s EX2F SMART Camera, Now Available in Stores, Combines Sturdy Design, Pro-level Versatility and f/1.4 Performance Lens for Stellar Shooting in Any Situation

on Sep 24, 2012 With Wi-Fi Connectivity for Seamless Sharing On-the-Go, EX2F is now on Sale at Samsung Retailers Nationwide

RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J., Sept. 24, , 2012–Samsung Electronics America Inc., a market leader and award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, has announced the nationwide availability of the latest model in its extensive range of Wi-Fi enabled SMART Cameras, the EX2F compact camera, for $499.99 MSP. Boasting a bright f/1.4 lens for premium image quality and performance, the EX2F builds on the success of its predecessor, the TL500. Additionally, with full manual control in a strong yet lightweight magnesium body, the sleek EX2F is a great option for professional photographers seeking something more portable than a DSLR or for aspiring photographers looking for a step-up in quality from a point-and-shoot while keeping the same convenience and ease-of-use. Timed to the start of the holiday shopping season which kicks off in early fall, the EX2F packs enough punch to impress even the most discerning shutterbugs.
“Samsung continues to blaze the trail in the SMART Camera space and the addition of Wi-Fi to the EX2F, coupled with the brightest lens, give this camera a pedigree far above others in its class,” said Reid Sullivan, Senior Vice President of Mobile Entertainment, Samsung Electronics America. “As consumers start to compile gift lists for the 2012 holiday season, the EX2F has the prowess and flexibility to be at the top of the lists for even the most tech-savvy.”
Clever Handling, Creative Control
No matter the shooting conditions, the EX2F delivers top-caliber image quality, thanks to a number of features. The industry-leading advanced f/1.4 24mm wide-angle lens and wide aperture deliver clear images and video even in very low light conditions. The EX2F excels in dim atmospheres with a 1/1.7-inch 12-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor to achieve crisp, blur-free images regardless of the lighting. The EX2F also incorporates full manual control as well as Aperture and Shutter Priority modes. The Dual Dial and front wheel keys allow photographers to quickly and easily adjust exposure for effortless manual control. These features keep the EX2F ahead of the curve in the point and shoot category, offering effortless versatility typically offered in higher-end interchangeable lens cameras.
Housed in a compact and lightweight body, the sleekly-designed EX2F is easy to carry anywhere and capture spontaneous shots at a moment’s notice. The 3-inch Swivel AMOLED display is perfect for lining up great shots and viewing them under any lighting conditions. The quick-responding screen responds displays images in high contrast, while the swivel functionality allows picture-taking from low and high angles with minimal effort. The screen also touts Samsung’s Smart Panel user interface, which packs all shooting options and image parameters into one menu screen for easy control over the final image.
The camera also delivers 1080p Full HD Movie Recording at 30 frames per second, with stereo sound for exceptional quality video that begs to be enjoyed on a Full HD TV. Plus, with the Dual Capture feature, 12-megapixel photos and HD video can be captured simultaneously, so that any scene can be remembered in both photo and video.
Snap Bright Images in Low-Light Conditions
The EX2F’s f/1.4 24mm wide-angle lens is roughly four times as bright as an f/2.8 camera lens, and the lens unit now consists of 11 elements in nine groups, with four aspherical lenses and two high refractive lenses. This combination allows for an increase in the amount of light on the sensor, resulting in an increase in both image quality and zoom ratio.
Designed with a built-in Neutral Density filter, the lens gives the user greater control over exposure time in different conditions and gives photos a more neutral appearance even when over-exposed. It also allows for shooting at a very shallow depth of field to isolate subjects from the background for stunning portraits. To make bright images clearer, the EX2F also includes Dual Optical and Digital Image Stabilization (OIS and DIS) to minimize the effect of camera shake– especially useful in low-light situations.
Share in Real-Time
With images so good they have to be shared, the EX2F takes the combination of high-quality imaging paired with connectivity to a new level. Integrated Wi-Fi connectivity enables users to connect to wireless networks without the need for any additional cards or devices, making it seamless to share and store photos and video directly from the camera. In addition, sharing to social networking sites such as Facebook or Picasa is easy and pictures can also be sent directly via email.
The Samsung Mobile Link application makes it quick and easy to transfer photos from the camera directly to a supported phone or tablet, using a free app. Users can also access the Remote Viewfinder app to use their smartphone or tablet’s screen to frame shots from a variety of angles.
For more information on the EX2F and the full line of Samsung digital cameras, please visit www.samsung.com.
About Samsung Electronics America, Inc.
Headquartered in Ridgefield Park, NJ, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., markets a broad range of award-winning, digital consumer electronics and home appliance products, including HDTVs, home theater systems, MP3 players, digital imaging products, refrigerators and washing machines.A recognized innovation leader in consumer electronics design and technology, Samsung is the HDTV market leader in the U.S.Please visit www.samsung.com for more information.


View the original article here

Read More

Amerijet makes performance fly with Compellent Data Progression tiers

Compellent received a lot of praise for its Data Progression automated tiering software a few years ago when solid-state drives began showing up in enterprise storage. Dell Inc. executives mentioned that feature prominently when Dell acquired Compellent in early 2011.

But Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based cargo shipping company Amerijet International finds Compellent Data Progression and its Fast Track feature valuable even without any flash technology. Jennifer Torlone, Amerijet's senior director of technology and information services, said solid-state drives (SSDs) won't help her company, but storage tiering is a key feature for its Fibre Channel SAN.

Amerijet currently has a Compellent SC8000 system with approximately 125 TB of raw capacity and an older Compellent SC30 at its disaster recovery site.

"Solid-state is wonderful and has incredible performance when you read a lot of data," Torlone said. "But we write a lot -- one application is changing at a rate of 500 GB to 700 GB a day -- and we found in testing that solid-state doesn't give us better performance, so we applied faster spinning disks, more spindles and Fast Track technology to get the performance we want from hard drives."

Torlone said Fast Track was one of the main reasons she chose Compellent. Fast Track places the most frequently accessed data on the outer edge of a drive for fastest access.

With Compellent Data Progression and Fast Track, Torlone said, "you build your replay schedules and Compellent will progress data up and down, depending on how different files are used. Not only does it move data up and down the array, but also in and out to each platter."

Amerijet has three storage tiers based on the rotation speed of SAS drives. Tier one is 15,000 rpm, tier two is 10,000 rpm and tier three is 7,200 rpm drives. Torlone said the least-expensive 7,200 rpm drives make up the largest tier. "We can have a lot of less-expensive storage to optimize the cost," she said.

Torlone said she plans to add two more storage tiers: one would be DRAM on servers that Compellent software would read as tier zero for its fastest storage, and the cloud would serve as tier five. "Dell is working on its Fluid Architecture to put Compellent in the cloud for the oldest data that requires the slowest access," she said. "We would put incremental changes in the cloud."

Amerijet switched from IBM storage to Compellent in 2011 as part of a move to a new data center built on Dell and VMware technology. Torlone said Fast Track was important to Amerijet because the company was moving its legacy cargo system from green-screen applications based on Cobalt programming and an IBM DB2 database to applications based on Microsoft .NET and SQL.

"Fast Track allowed .NET and SQL programs to behave in a quick manner, typical to what our users expect from green-screen programs," Torlone said.

Amerijet uses Dell's AppAssure backup software for disk-to-disk-to-cloud backup. Data goes from Compellent to a Dell EqualLogic iSCSI SAN, and then to a private cloud. Amerijet also uses EqualLogic as storage for its video cameras.

Torlone said she has a knack for finding Dell's next acquisition targets before Dell does. "I was looking at AppAssure software before Dell bought it," she said. "I like AppAssure because it allows us to back up to the cloud. Then I was talking to SonicWall, and all of a sudden Dell bought it. I was evaluating Wyse for VDI [virtual desktop infrastructure] when Dell announced it bought Wyse, and we also looked at Quest Software."

Heavily invested in Dell technology, Torlone said she follows the company's plans to go private and thinks founder Michael Dell is doing the right thing.

"I understand exactly why Dell is going private," she said. "Who wouldn't want to be able to invest profits the way they want to in research and development and move toward consumerization of IT in a way that shareholders won't be as favorable with?

"I think Michael Dell is very brave," Torlone said. "It's his company, and I'm happy that he wants to take it in the direction more toward services, the enterprise and the data center. With the recent acquisitions that he made, you can see him steering the organization that way."

View the original article here

Read More