AMSTERDAM, Sep 12, 2002 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

Powerful New Infrastructure Solution Will Provide Significant Benefits for inferno 5, flame 8 and flint 8 customers

Discreet, a division of Autodesk Inc. (Nasdaq:ADSK), today announced burn -- its new Linux-based background rendering software for Discreet's visual effects systems customers. Shown for the first time in public at the International Broadcasting Convention in Amsterdam, burn is Discreet's first Linux-based software solution designed to increase productivity and reduce time to project completion by allowing customers to utilize PC-based render stations for processing effects.

Today's digital post-production facilities demand maximum "artist time" on their Discreet visual effects systems -- with minimum "wait time" while projects render. Using burn, rendering is completed offline in a Linux-based render farm. burn will free up Discreet online effects workstations allowing the artist to focus on the creative process, and utilize more time designing the complex high-resolution effects that can be sent to burn and rendered. In addition, burn will allow inferno 5, flame 8 and flint 8 systems to leverage multiple CPUs simultaneously to calculate results.

    How burn works

Customers using burn will be able to initiate background rendering tasks from within the Batch module of inferno 5, flame 8 or flint 8. The initiated request is submitted to backburner -- Discreet's render management software, currently used in both Discreet's 3ds max 5 software and combustion 2 desktop compositing software. backburner -- which is installed on PC workstations running Windows 2000 -- is responsible for receiving rendering requests, prioritizing them, splitting them between available resources for faster execution, and then dispatching them to all available burn systems. backburner also maintains and relays the status of each request to the user.

"burn is the result of long standing requests from our visual effects systems customers to provide a cost effective rendering solution for the Linux platform," said Maurice Patel, Product Marketing Manger, Discreet Systems. "burn will increase clients ability to meet accelerated production targets and help them leverage more production value from their existing assets."

Discreet's burn software is designed to run on PC workstations configured with Red Hat Linux 7.2 software, providing an alternative, cost-effective rendering solution from an IRIX-based workstation environment. burn requires no user-interface; its core function is to execute full or partial render requests as determined by backburner.

Discreet is showcasing burn in booth #7.321 at the IBC RAI convention center in Amsterdam, The Netherlands from September 13 to September 17, 2002.

burn is expected to be available by NAB 2003, and will be sold and distributed as a software-only solution--offered as either a single unit or in 5-, 10-, 15- and 20-license packs. For more information on burn, contact Discreet UK Sales at +44 (0) 20 7851 8000, Discreet Montreal Sales at +1 (514) 393-1616, or visit www.discreet.com.

    About Discreet

Discreet empowers moving media professionals to realize the visual experience, transforming their most evocative and ambitious visions into reality. Its range of award-winning systems and software is developed for digital media creation, management and delivery--across all disciplines from visual effects and editing to animation, game development, web and interactive. Discreet is based in Montreal, Quebec and is a division of Autodesk, Inc., the world's leading design and digital media creation, management, and distribution company. Product and corporate information is located on the Internet at www.discreet.com.

Note to Editors: Discreet is a division of Autodesk, Inc. Discreet, 3ds max, backburner, burn, combustion, flame, and flint are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. /Autodesk Canada Inc. in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

CONTACT:          Discreet Public Relations
                  Kevin G. Clark, 415/547-2457
                  kevin.g.clark@autodesk.com
                  or 
                  Access Communications
                  Tuesday Uhland, 415/844-6267
                  tuhland@accesspr.com

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