TOTAL IMPACT AND MENTAL IMAGES COLLABORATE 
ON NEW RENDERING SOLUTION FOR COMPUTER ANIMATION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Camarillo, CA – February 13, 2002 Total Impact and
mental 
images GMBH today announced mental ray support for the Total Impact briQ
RenderEngine.

Total Impact provides some of the smallest, fastest and energy efficient
Power 
PC computer clusters available in today's animation marketplace.  By
integrating 
these briQ RenderEngines with the industry leading mental ray Renderer, Total 
Impact has given animators an expandable, fast, compact and very low power
rendering 
solution for all mental ray supported animation software.  Shipments of the
new 
mental ray Version 3.1 will include PowerPC support.

While running complex frame animations at leading animation studios, mental
ray 
supported briQ RenderEngines have exhibited performance improvements of more 
than 75% over high-end dual Pentium systems.  At the conclusion of one such
test 
at Tigar Hare Studios, director David Hare stated: “At Tigar Hare Studios, we 
have intermittent but intense rendering needs. When we render it can be for
weeks 
at a time so anything that speeds up that process is welcomed.  We have just 
used an eight-node briQ RenderEngine on a project for Hallmark Entertainment. 
 Using 3D Studio Max and MentalRay, the briQ RenderEngine provided reliable
rendering 
significantly faster than our dual Pentiums.  Also, it never crashed during
the 
project, which speaks to the robustness of the Linux operating system as well 
as the briQ RenderEngine itself.”

“All in all” said director Hare, “the briQ RenderEngine offers a tremendous
solution 
for the 3D Studio Max/mental ray combination.  Our Total Impact briQ
RenderEngine 
was smaller than a PC case, very fast, produced almost no heat, and was very 
cost effective.  We can recommend it completely”

Asked about the mental images alliance, Brad Nizdil, Total Impact's
President, 
responded: “True cluster (parallel) rendering, which was previously the
domain 
of large studios and IT departments, is now available to all at remarkably
affordable 
levels.  Porting mental ray, the foremost renderer on the market, to the briQ 
RenderEngine, was a natural step. We now offer high speed rendering
capability 
to users of all animation software supported by mental ray. We think the
mental 
images alliance will turn our briQ RenderEngine technology into the
industry's 
leading rendering platform.”   

The building block for the briQ RenderEngine is Total Impact's “briQ”, a
CD-ROM 
sized 32 ounce stand-alone computing engine, nominally rated under 20 watts, 
designed specifically as a network appliance for integration into both Apple 
and PC based networks.  The briQ uses either a PowerPC 750 (G3) or 7400 (G4) 
RISC processor with AltiVecä. The internal design for the briQ and its Linux 
operating system allows it to perform processing at a level of performance
not 
seen before in a computer this size.

briQ RenderEngines are comprised of four or more briQs configured in parallel 
and installed in a single case.  The parallel capability is managed by the
briQs, 
themselves, and does not require user hardware expertise. It's truly “Plug
and 
Play” equipment.  The small size and low power consumption of the briQ also
means 
that large numbers can be installed in small spaces with no need for
additional 
cooling.

Total Impact designs, manufactures and markets innovative scalable and
modular 
computer systems that fulfill commercial infrastructure and computing
requirements 
of the Internet and corporate networks as well as high performance systems
for 
industry, science, research and education." Utilizing PowerPC microprocessors 
and the Linux Operating System, Total Impact products are small, quiet and
the 
most energy efficient available.

mental images GmbH & Co. KG is a recognized leader in providing next
generation 
rendering and modeling software technology to the entertainment, CAD and
visualization 
markets, and to other industries where sophisticated images are required.
Customers 
of mental images include major original software developers as well as select 
key industrial end-users. Users of mental ray include most of the leading
visual 
effects and digital film studios, game development companies, and companies
in 
the automotive and aerospace industries.

For more information on Total Impact, contact Brad Nizdil at (805) 987-8704, 
info@totalimpact.com or visit www.totalimpact.com.

For more information on mental images, contact Silvia Hanko at +49 30 315
9970, 
office@mentalimages.com or visit www.mental.com


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