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| Architosh Staff ([email protected]) |
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MacCAD News: Web 3D MetaStream for Macintosh
Web 3D METASTREAM 3D PLUG-IN NOW AVAILABLE FOR APPLE MACINTOSH PLATFORM MetaCreations Corporation, the Creative Web Company, announced at Siggraph the immediate availability of the Apple Macintosh version of MetaCreations' streaming 3D technology, MetaStream. The Macintosh MetaStream plug-in, available for free download at http://www.metacreations.com/metastream, is an open 3D-file format that enables the easy and affordable incorporation of 3D images into almost any Web site.
"As more and more Web sites go live with MetaStream, Web users are understanding that this open, free technology is a key catalyst for revolutionizing Web content. It's been a real priority for us to enable everyone to join in transforming the Web from a 2D to a 3D medium, regardless of their hardware, platform or connection speed," said Scott Krinsky, senior product manager of MetaStream technologies, MetaCreations Corporation. "The Mac MetaStream plug-in is another step in making the Creative Web vision a reality, and we're pleased to extend this invitation to the Mac community to be part of the next-generation Web." The MetaStream 3D file format addresses the need for 3D files that stream efficiently over the Internet and scale to the user's processing power. Unlike other 3D technologies, MetaStream objects stream without a server and scale automatically. No matter what connection speed viewers have - be it a 56K modem or a T1 - they'll see lifelike, photo-realistic 3D images and be able to manipulate them in real time. This, in turn, permits Web content developers to generate sites of the highest possible quality for enjoyment by power users, while still assuring the satisfaction of users with limited bandwidth and/or computing power. MetaStream files are also small, compressed and scalable, more so than today's other 3D technologies for the Internet, resulting in faster viewing times. Further, MetaStream objects are highly versatile - they can easily be placed over backgrounds and images, and can be incorporated into existing Web sites using the most popular consumer HTML Web authoring software. But What About Macintosh Authoring? Currently a downside to this new technology is that a thrust of the new work seems directed at serving customers on the Wintel platform. Intel Corporation and MetaCreations were partners in this development. As with any situation like this the thing to do for us Mac users is to BANG on the doors at MetaCreations' website (You can do that here). [Editor: click on feedback bottom left] Currently, there is a number of programs that export the MetaStream format. Max 250 MetaStream Exporter is the first professional-quality MetaStream exporter for Kinetix' 3D Studio Max (and available for free). Unfortunately, that program is for Wintel only. One way Macintosh users can create MetaStream models for the Internet is to purchase or update MetaCreations' Infini-D 4.5 Macintosh version which supports exporting to the MetaStream file format. You can bring-in existing models into Infini-D 4.5 from other popular 3D applications by importing common formats like DXF and 3DMF (QuickDraw 3D) into Infini-D 4.5. In the near future, if this technology really catches on, you can probably expect exporters to be created for your favorite 3D Macintosh applications. For more info click here.
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