Fusion ioFX Accelerates Graphics-Intensive Applications …

Fusion-io, Inc. is bringing the power of its ioMemory technology to visual effects professionals with the ioFX.

Designed to eliminate data bottlenecks that slow the creative production process for digital artists, the ioFX enables creative professionals to meet deadlines while exploring more artistic possibilities by bridging the performance gap between workstations and powerful digital content creation applications.

"Fusion’s ioMemory products have helped Pixomondo not only meet tight deadlines, but also explore new ideas and approaches that otherwise might never have been possible because of the time it would take to make changes and new effects," said Ben Grossmann, Visual Effects supervisor at Pixomondo and 2012 Academy Award Winner for Best Achievement in Visual Effects. "Pixomondo used ioMemory during our work on Hugo. It’s incredibly liberating to know you don’t have to wait anymore to see how an effect might look. As a new memory tier for accelerating our workstations, Fusion-io’s technology unlocked the potential of our tools and our creativity."

Based on the ioMemory platform to accelerate their data centers, the 420GB ioFX connects via the PCIe bus to provide studios and artists with a memory tier that bridges the gap between creative potential and hardware performance in the production pipeline. Thanks to ioMemory, the ioFX provides low-latency data performance tuned to manipulate digital content on the fly. Professionals can now view changes in real-time, even when working with high resolution stereoscopic content. The ioFX is also designed to accelerate video playback and rendering, video and image editing and compositing, encoding and transcoding as well as other data-intensive activities required in digital production.

The ioSphere management system included with the ioFX allows studio IT managers to monitor and manage all ioMemory products deployed throughout the infrastructure from a single interface, including ioFX in workstations and ioDrives in servers. The ioSphere system delivers historical performance monitoring and reporting, live performance metrics and alerts to ensure production continues running.

"Whether working on shots in a large studio, boutique or as an independent artist, there has long been a performance gap that limits how well even the most cutting edge applications can perform in professional workstations," said Vincent Brisebois, Fusion-io Performance Computing Industry senior director. "Not too long ago, performance like this would have been cost prohibitive for boutique studios or independent artists. With the ioFX, artists now have a powerful tool to unlock creative possibilities in their workstation, and industry leading software developers can finally deliver impressive new features that were not previously possible."

The solution can be deployed in minutes and delivers up to 1.5 GB/s bandwidth with sub-millisecond sustained access latency. In addition, the ioFX enables artists to interactively collaborate on high resolution, stereoscopic 2K and 4K content, which was previously impossible without a massive storage array. From footage capture in the field, to post-production of the finished film, the ioFX is architected for uninterrupted manipulation of digital content in real time.

ioFX Video Production Contest
To enable artists to tell the ioFX story in their own words, Fusion-io is launching a video production contest on May 31, 2012. Artists will be able to create their own 60-second short incorporating footage posted on the ioFX Facebook page. Fusion-io chief scientist Steve Wozniak and actor Danny Trejo will be among the contest judges, with prizes including a Red Scarlet camera, Adobe Creative Suite software, and Fusion ioFX. The contest finalists will be invited to SIGGRAPH 2012 in Los Angeles for the grand prize ceremony.

Fusion ioFX at NAB 2012
As a special presentation from Fusion-io and Adobe, Steve Wozniak presented a joint keynote address with two time Academy Award winner Rob Legato at the Post | Production World Conference on April 15. Highlights from the keynote will be available on http://www.fusionio.com/blog.

The ioFX will be demonstrated at NAB conference in Las Vegas April 16-20 at the Adobe, ASSIMILATE, NVIDIA, Sony booths, Creative Software demo area of Sony, The Foundry and Qube Cinema bootes, as well as industry whisper suites.

Pricing and Availability
The ioFX will be available from Fusion-io and select resellers in late Spring 2012 at a list price of $2,495, which includes a one-year support contract.