Powering up designs

Firm that renders 3-D work into 2-D images to get computing boost

Friday, October 01, 2004

By MARIAN ACCARDI

Times Business Writer accardi@htimes.com

When ResPower Inc. settles into a larger office building in a few weeks, the small Huntsville company plans to have about 600 computers up and running.

All this computing power - some 2,700 gigahertz - will give the company's customers - mostly architects and developers of TV commercials and feature films - more speed during rendering. That's the process of transforming a three-dimensional design into a two-dimensional image with color, lighting, texture, reflections and shadows.

"The process is analogous to developing film," explained Early Ehlinger, the 31-year-old chief executive officer of the company.

ResPower's "render farm" lets users to log in 24 hours a day, seven days a week, submit their jobs and complete them more quickly than they could using just their one computer.

For example, if someone is using a two gigahertz Pentium class computer, the rendering process using ResPower's render farm is "the equivalent of 1,350 times faster than with your computer," Ehlinger said.

The company's move to a larger building on Elliott Street is necessary because it has outgrown its Ivy Street location, where more than 400 computers are stacked up across three rooms. "The goal is to have close to 9,000 computers by December of next year," Ehlinger said.

Ehlinger and his brother, Ladd Ehlinger Jr., 36, started the company in late 2000 with 20 to 30 computers and little capital between them.

The idea for the business came when Ladd Ehlinger, a multimedia producer for a Huntsville engineering and research firm, was working all night on a scene for a project. At about 2 in the morning, facing a deadline later that day, Ehlinger checked online for an automated service to help speed up the rendering process. He found out that he had to call the companies and reserve time for the service.

Early Ehlinger left a job as a programmer with a dot-com company in Austin, Texas, to join his brother in launching the company. "We started up on a shoestring," he said.

The brothers have filled a need in the market; they now have more than 2,100 users.

"We typically don't know what (projects) our customers are doing, we just provide them the ability to do it," Early Ehlinger said.

The Ehlingers have been approached by other companies about some possible alternative uses for their rendering services. For right now, "we're focusing on 3-D," Early Ehlinger said, "because that's what (the render farm) is designed to handle, that's where our passion is."




Powering up designs Firm that renders 3-D work into 2-D images to get computing boost Friday, October 01, 2004 By MARIAN ACCARDI Times Business Writer accardi@htimes.com When ResPower Inc. settles into a larger office building in a few weeks, the small Huntsville company plans to have about 600 computers up and running. All this computing power - some 2,700 gigahertz - will give the company's customers - mostly architects and developers of TV commercials and feature films - more speed during rendering. That's the process of transforming a three-dimensional design into a two-dimensional image with color, lighting, texture, reflections and shadows. "The process is analogous to developing film," explained Early Ehlinger, the 31-year-old chief executive officer of the company. ResPower's "render farm" lets users to log in 24 hours a day, seven days a week, submit their jobs and complete them more quickly than they could using just their one computer. For example, if someone is using a two gigahertz Pentium class computer, the rendering process using ResPower's render farm is "the equivalent of 1,350 times faster than with your computer," Ehlinger said. The company's move to a larger building on Elliott Street is necessary because it has outgrown its Ivy Street location, where more than 400 computers are stacked up across three rooms. "The goal is to have close to 9,000 computers by December of next year," Ehlinger said. Ehlinger and his brother, Ladd Ehlinger Jr., 36, started the company in late 2000 with 20 to 30 computers and little capital between them. The idea for the business came when Ladd Ehlinger, a multimedia producer for a Huntsville engineering and research firm, was working all night on a scene for a project. At about 2 in the morning, facing a deadline later that day, Ehlinger checked online for an automated service to help speed up the rendering process. He found out that he had to call the companies and reserve time for the service. Early Ehlinger left a job as a programmer with a dot-com company in Austin, Texas, to join his brother in launching the company. "We started up on a shoestring," he said. The brothers have filled a need in the market; they now have more than 2,100 users. "We typically don't know what (projects) our customers are doing, we just provide them the ability to do it," Early Ehlinger said. The Ehlingers have been approached by other companies about some possible alternative uses for their rendering services. For right now, "we're focusing on 3-D," Early Ehlinger said, "because that's what (the render farm) is designed to handle, that's where our passion is." Copyright 2004 al.com. All Rights Reserved.