LightWave® first to give digital content creators the advantage of new processor innovations

Las Vegas, NV, NAB Booth SL1949 — April 18, 2005 -- NewTek, Inc., manufacturer of industry-leading 3D animation and video products, announced today the optimization of their Emmy® Award-winning LightWave 3D® for multi-core processor systems. Following NewTek’s industry first 64-bit beta announcement, LightWave 3D is leading the industry again as the first professional 3D graphics application to provide optimization and support for multi-core technology. Native multi-core support will be included in the upcoming 8.3 release of LightWave 3D.

Multi-core processor technology will provide the power of two processors on a single chip, allowing LightWave® to leverage system resources to significantly improve work flow, performance and the speed of the 3D rendering process over the current generation single-core processor systems. For the end-user, multi-core processor technology will offer the best performance-per-watt ratio, offering systems more efficiency and performance while reducing heat dissipation and consuming less power than multiple single-core systems.

Even though LightWave can now run on upcoming multi-core chips, NewTek will continue to license LightWave on a per seat basis with 999 free render nodes; there will be no additional charge for multi-core support.

"We are very enthusiastic about bringing the performance that these new hardware technology advancements offer to our customers," said Jay Roth, NewTek president of the 3D graphics division. "We have placed a high priority on making sure that LightWave takes full advantage of the latest technology. We understand our customers need the maximum level of computing power available - that’s why we’ve made the effort to support multi-core technology right out of the gate. It is our belief that the release of these new technologies will significantly benefit LightWave users."

"We commend NewTek for their leadership role in supporting AMD64 processor innovations, including multi-core technologies," said Ben Williams, vice president, enterprise and server/workstation business, Microprocessor Business Unit, CPG, AMD. "Because NewTek has taken a customer-centric approach, LightWave users will benefit from software that is finely tuned to take advantage of all the performance and efficiency the AMD Opteron™ processor with Direct Connect Architecture can offer without having to pay pricing penalties."

"The beauty of LightWave is that it offers so much in terms of versatility and cost effectiveness in a 3D production pipeline," said Rob Powers, visual effects artist, James Cameron's Aliens of the Deep. "Now, with NewTek adding native support for the latest hardware advancements of multi-core and 64-bit, we can push the envelope even further and produce better work faster and more efficiently. Once again, NewTek widens the gap and positions LightWave as the solution of choice for 3D artists who require innovative tools."

Pricing and Availability

LightWave [8] full package including an English printed documentation is available for a suggested retail price of 1295 €+VAT (UK RRP: £899 +VAT). Registered owners of LightWave 3D [7.5] or earlier are eligible to purchase a LightWave [8] Electronic Upgrade Pack for 295 €+VAT(UK RRP:£199+VAT). The English printed documentation is available as an option for 70 €+VAT (UK RRP: £44). For a limited time, a LightWave 3D® Electronic Full Competitive Upgrade is available for 495 €+VAT (UK RRP: £339), for registered owners of Maya™, Softimage™ XSI, 3ds max®, Electric Image™, Strata Studio Pro™, Cinema 4D™, Truespace™, Hash Animation Master™, Autocad®, Pro/Engineer® and SolidWorks®. Proof of ownership required to qualify. Registered LightWave® owners will also be able to purchase an additional seat of LightWave® at the 495 €+VAT (UK RRP: £339) price. This special offer is available through April 30, 2005, from any NewTek Europe Authorized Reseller or directly from NewTek Europe. For more information or to purchase, visit: http://www.newtek-europe.com or call NewTek Europe Sales at + 33(0)5 57 262 262. Authorized Reseller link to http://www.newtek-europe.com/uk/purchase/resellers.html

About NewTek and NewTek Europe.

Sited near Bordeaux in the southwest of France, NewTek Europe has been the European branch of NewTek, Inc. since 1999 for distribution, communication, and the technical support of NewTek products throughout Europe, Russia, Africa and the Middle East.

NewTek, Inc., based in San Antonio, Texas, is one of the main players in the animation and special effects markets with LightWave 3D®, winner of the "2003 Primetime Emmy® Engineering Award" as well as the producers of video editing solution Video Toaster™.

NewTek was the instigator of the desktop video revolution with the launch of the legendary Video Toaster™ in 1990. This product has been in continuous use since then for video aficionados as well as for professional applications in the world of film.

Among the latest productions NewTek tools have helped with, you'll find: "I, Robot", Spiderman 2, The Manchurian Candidate, The Exorcist: The Beginning, Garfield, Hellboy, Van Helsing, les Triplettes de Belleville, The Last Samurai, Torque, The Children of Dune, Battlestar: Galactica, Firefly, Taken, Smallville, Star Trek : Enterprise, Matrix Reloaded, Collateral Damage, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Secret Agent: Cody Banks, Daredevil, Spy Kids II, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (nominated for an Oscar®), Final Fantasy, Blackhawk Down.

Latest game work includes: Doom III, Burnout 3, Killzone, The Moment of Silence, Unreal Tournament, Serious Sam, Age of Mythology, Civilization III, Dead to Rights, Baldur's Gate II and EverQuest.

Information about LightWave 3D^®:
http://www.newtek-europe.com/uk/products/lightwave/index.html

LightWave 3D^® artists interviews:
http://www.newtek-europe.com/uk/community/lightwave/index.html

LightWave 3D^® Projects List:
http://www.newtek-europe.com/uk/products/lightwave/projects.html

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- LightWave and LightWave 3D are registered trademarks of NewTek.
- TriCaster, iVGA, VT[4], VT[4] Live, VT[4] Post, VT[3], VT[3] Live, VT[3] Post, VT[2], VT-Edit, Aura Video Paint, LightWave Express, VT-CG, VT-Vision VT-Scope, VT-DDR, Tool Shed, Tool Chest, SX-84, SX-8, RS-8, LScript, Digital Confusion, HyperVoxels, Endomorphs, Intelligentities, Motion Mixer, Morph Mixer, HardFX, SoftFX, ClothFX, MultiMeshes, Particle FX, P.A.V.L.O.V., Skelegons, SkyTracer, and Vmaps are trademarks of NewTek, Inc.
- All other products or brand names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Press contact:

Audrey-Jane Belin
Marketing & Communication Department
mail to: aj@newtek-europe.com

Newtek Europe
Europarc
17 avenue Léonard de Vinci
F-33600 PESSAC
Tel:+33 (0)5 57 262 262
Fax:+33 (0)5 57 262 261
www.newtek-europe.com

FOR GENERAL INFORMATION
Call +33 (0)5 57 262 262
Or email info@newtek-europe.com