d3's r12 Software Release Introduces New and Improved Features

	d3 Technologies screenshot of Universal CrossFade

d3 Technologies announces r12, the latest release of the company's award-winning software. With a mix of new and improved features, the company says r12 adds capabilities demanded by today's marketplace and offers efficiencies to maximize customers' time and creativity.

Notable features in r12 include dynamic blend, content management, universal CrossFade, BlackTrax integration, direct matrix routing, and projector list.

"r12 is an overall refresh that advances the state of the art," says Ash Nehru, d3's technology director. "Everyone is projecting onto moving objects with multiple projectors so facilitating the way that works is a key part of r12. We have also streamlined tons of tiny things for better performance and much more efficient workflows."

Leading r12's new features is dynamic blend, which automatically calculates projector edge-blend masks in real-time even if objects are moving. d3 enables customers to project content onto moving surfaces from multiple projectors -- "a first for the mass market," says Nehru.

When combined with dynamic blend, r12's support of CAST Software's popular BlackTrax infrared LED tracking system offers customers a whole new level of projection capability.

The content management feature introduces faster workflows for content creators with built-in version management and the ability to create file proxies. "Content management has long been on the agenda," Nehru notes. "r12 takes a huge leap forward in speeding up the workflow for getting new content into the system on site for complex shows."

Universal CrossFade has also been high on customers' wish lists, he reports. "It's probably our most ardently-requested feature," says Nehru. "d3 now lets customers jump from any part of the show to any other with a smooth dissolve instead of a hard cut. The result is tidier timelines, easier sequencing, and smother shows than ever before."

The legendary failover and understudy ability of d3 has been further improved with direct matrix routing, which allows a complex understudy failover system to be constructed without using up limited matrix presets -- "a big advantage for large shows," Nehru says.

In addition, projector list, developed for use at the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show, is now available to all customers. It offers a new, more powerful, and convenient user interface for managing large numbers of projectors.

Current d3 customers have automatic and immediate access to the r12 upgrade. All new d3 systems will ship with r12 software.