[Dave Baumann]

New Era of Interactive Real-time Graphics Debuted in UK Election Programme

LONDON, May 6th, 2005 - RT Software's new MixTV real-time graphics system, which is powered by NVIDIA® Quadro™ graphics hardware, was used for the first time by the BBC during its UK General Election coverage last night. You will have seen it in action when the graphics of constituency results appeared to sprout from the tablet PC screen on presenter David Dimbleby's table. The power of MixTV was fully demonstrated when the PC was passed around the table and the position and perspective of the computer generated graphics remained true.

Traditionally, this type of effect could only be achieved in post-production, not live on television using data which had only just been received. MixTV heralds a new era in real-time graphics.

MixTV processes the video signal from the studio cameras and provides target-tracking data to a separate graphics rendering system, known as tOG-3D - also from RT Software (RTSW). This system creates the actual 3D graphics that are then overlaid on to the camera output correctly. As the graphics showed results as they came in, the challenge was to produce high quality graphics in real time. This was achieved by the combination of powerful graphics processing hardware from NVIDIA and the efficient software from RTSW.

“NVIDIA is our GPU partner for several very good reasons,” says Mike Fredriksen of RTSW. “The NVIDIA Quadro 3000 and 4000 series cards are extremely stable broadcast quality products and the power of the cards enables RTSW to incorporate advanced features into its real-time rendering system. This is demonstrated in effects such as reflections and refractions in our models, effects that bolster quality and differentiate our graphics from competitors.”

It is this combination of reliability, high performance and cost-effectiveness that puts NVIDIA Quadro technology ahead of the pack when processing complex graphics in real time.

According to Fredriksen of RTSW, tOG-3D was based on over a decade of experience gained working on election programmes with the BBC and is uniquely designed to provide a full range of real-time graphics capabilities from a single, tightly integrated system.

Mike explains: “As in previous Election programmes, the BBC used tOG-3D to provide the lower third text and tickers and the full screen graphics of results. These were supplemented by two MixTV systems requiring an additional two tOG-3D systems.”

The complete solution provided by RTSW for the election programme also included a virtual reality element. This enabled a model of the House of Commons to be put on to David Dimbleby's desk. This was then used to show the changes in the balance of power in the house. The same tOG-3D system that created the MixTV graphics was able to switch seamlessly into a VR mode to create this effect.

About RT Software Ltd www.rtsw.co.uk
RT Software is a privately funded UK company established in January 2004 to provide sales and support of tOG-3D, its real time 3D broadcast graphics solution. The founders of the company have many years of experience in real time graphics gained at the BBC, and have picked up Bafta and Royal Television Awards along the way. It is the creativity and vision of the founders that will give tOG-3D a technical edge in the real time graphics market place. RT Software provides sales, consultancy and support locally in the UK and has a network of international Value Added Resellers to provide tOG-3D based solutions worldwide.

About NVIDIA
NVIDIA Corporation is a worldwide leader in graphics and digital media processors. The Company's products enhance the end-user experience on consumer and professional computing devices. NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPUs), media and communications processors (MCPs), and wireless media processors (WMPs) have broad market reach and are incorporated into a variety of platforms, including consumer and enterprise PCs, notebooks, workstations, PDAs, mobile phones, and video game consoles. NVIDIA is headquartered in Santa Clara, California and employs more than 2,100 people worldwide. For more information, visit the Company's Web site at http://www.nvidia.co.uk.